Part 7

RK woke up in the morning. He rubbed his eyes. He saw he was covered in blanket. He also noticed his sherwani was kept neatly folded on the chair, his shoes and watch was kept on its place. He remembered how last night Madhu took care of him even after his callous treatment. Though he had said sorry and she forgave him also but still he felt ashamed of himself. He decided he will ask for her forgiveness once more. He stood up from the bed when he noticed a mattress lying on the floor. He felt more guilty thinking that Madhu slept on floor because of him.

"Poor girl must be afraid of me after what I did to her" he thought. He was lost in his thoughts when Madhu's voice again captivated him in its dulcet tone.

Oh Kanha ab toh murli ki, madhur suna do taan

Main hoon teri prem deewani mujhko tu pehchaan

madhur suna do taan

sagar se bhi gehri mere prem ki gehraai

lok laaj kul ki maryada taj kar main to aai

meri preeti se oh nirmohi, ab na bano anjaan

madhur suna do taan

Oh Kanha ab toh murli ki, madhur suna do taan

He followed the sweet sound and reached the living area of the house where a temple was located in the corner. He saw Madhu was praying. She had her eyes closed. He remembered their meeting in the Radha Krishna temple. She was wearing light pink color saree with golden border. Her hair were wet. She was not wearing any jewelry or accessory. It looked like she directly came to temple first to complete her pooja. Madhu turned around. She found RK in front of her just staring at her blankly. She came near him and wished him good morning which brought him out of his trance.

She gestured with her eyes to take aarti. RK didn't understand.

"Aarti le lijiye" Madhu said holding plate close to him. RK took the blessings.

Madhu noticed her mummyji and papaji came into the room. She went towards them and touched their feet. "Our mornings are now going to be blessed like this listening to your melodious voice. Seems like our dream is fulfilled." Radha said as she blessed Madhu. 

RK looked at his parents. They really adored Madhu a lot. How come everyone knew about her feelings but only he was unaware of it. He thought then went into the room to get ready for the day. RK came out of the bathroom and was about to search for clothes to wear when he noticed a pair of his favorite jeans and casual shirt was kept on the bed and bed was also clean and blanket folded, the extra mattress on the floor was also not there anymore. He wore his clothes. He decided to go in kitchen to ask his mother for coffee when Madhu entered in the room with a tray. She handed him the coffee mug and herself sat in front of dressing table to get ready. RK took a sip of coffee and closed his eyes in content. It was exactly made according to his taste, strong, less sweet, less froth.

"She is doing all the wifely duties from the very next day of their marriage and here I am still struggling to accept that I am married to her." RK thought.

"And how does she knows each and every thing about me?" he wondered again.

He looked at Madhu who was getting ready. She lined her eyes with kohl and put bindi on her forehead then she put kumkum in her mang and wore her wedding chain. If it would be any other time and she would be any other girl then till now he certainly would have shouted on her. He didn't like all that cliché Indian symbols of marriage one bit as he found it orthodox. But don't know why they all looked beautiful on Madhu.

"Thanks for the coffee." RK said to start a conversation. Madhu just smiled at him.

"How do you know how I like my coffee?" RK asked.

"I know everything about you. Your likes, dislikes, preferences, hobbies etc." Madhu replied as she continued drying her hair.

"But how...we never interacted much?" RK asked curiously.

"You never interacted much with me but I was always around you, observing and noticing then somethings I got to know from mummyji." Madhu replied as she remembered how she used to admire him always and tried knowing smallest details about him.

"If you loved me this much then why you never told me?"  RK asked as he finished his coffee.

"I Tried but couldn't. Either I used to feel shy and nervous or I didn't get right moment for that as you always used to be very busy with friends whenever you came here." Madhu said as she started wearing her jewelry.

"Why are you getting ready?" RK asked.

"Today is a ritual of my muh dikhayi. Some aunties from the colony and mummyji's friend circle will come to meet me." Madhu informed as she stood up to wear the waist chain.

RK just nodded and then looked at her waist. The delicate chain of gold which consist of white pearls at the end were so sexily hugging her small waist that he had a sudden urge to run his finger along the chain tracing it.

"Stop it you pervert" A voice said inside his head which he believed to be the voice of his good conscience or angel side as some people calls it. He immediately averted his eyes from her waist.

"Oh how can you not look at that sexy waist...just imagine how it would feel." Another voice popped in his head immediately to counter the first voice. This time he believed it must be the voice of his inner demon or devil side as some people calls it. He looked again towards her with the corner of his eyes. Madhu came near him to take his cup when the sounds of her anklets brought him out of his inner battle field.

"Aap ko kuch aur chahiye?" Madhu asked as she was about to leave when he remembered he forgot to apologize to her.

"I am sorry for last night. I was feeling very guilty about it when I saw that you slept on the floor..I scared you...right?" RK genuinely felt bad for his behavior.

"I was not scared of you." Madhu replied as she laughed.

"I thought the circumstances in which we got married I didn't know whether you will be comfortable if I sleep on same bed with you." Madhu replied honestly.

"Why it is always about me? What about your comfort? No need to do sacrifices for me. From now on I will sleep on the floor and you will sleep comfortably on the bed." RK declared.

"Ye kya keh rahe hain aap...aap neeche soyenge toh bhi mujhe neend kaise ayegi ? saari raat bechaini hoti rahegi ki aap theek se so pa rahe ya nahi...nahi aisa nahi ho sakta." Madhu shook her head in no.

"Try to understand I don't want to give you any trouble." RK tried to explain.

"Isme takleef kaisi....or phir bhi agar aapko mera zameen par sona achha nahi lagta toh main raat mein sone ke liye dusre room mein chali jaungi aur subah kisike jagne se pehle wapas aa jaungi but aap neeche nahi soyenge." Madhu gave an idea.

Though it was a practical idea as she was the one who get up first in their house so nobody will know about it. But RK didn't know why but he didn't find it right. "None of us will go in any other room." He made it clear.

"If you don't mind...I mean if you are not scared of me and trust me enough than we can share the bed." RK suggested.

Madhu smiled again, "Forget about last night's incident because I have forgotten it. and I am not scared of you...how could I? you are my husband...and about trust...khud se jyada vishwaas hai mujhe aap par." Replied Madhu as she looked into his eyes.

RK's heart fluttered at the moment she looked into his eyes he had to take deep breath to control it. "Ya but still...." RK tried to argue further but Madhu interrupted him, "Main aapka sarmaaya hoon RK. You have every right over me.....I want you to know this....if that's the thing bothering you." Madhu said as looked down shyly. The heart which he had controlled with difficulty danced again listening to her words and he could only nod to her words.

RK went to his dad's office to talk about his future plan. "What? You still want to go back to Delhi." Mohan asked completely shocked.

"Yes and what is there to feel shocked about it. I told you already right." Said RK.

"Yes But I thought you were doing this because of that Deepali." Mohan replied.

"She had nothing to do with my start up plans. I was working on it before I met her." RK clarified.

"Look RK, I am growing old and so is your Malik uncle. We are finding it difficult now to handle all of this business. We were expecting once you will returned you will share our responsibility and ye sab tumhara hi toh hai phir tumhe aur naya kya karna hai?" Mohan tried to make him understand. But RK was still adamant to go back.

"What about Madhu? She has taken admission in her PG course only this year in Motihari and now how can she leave it in midyear? Mohan tried to give more reason to him to stay.

"What? Why she took admission here there are better colleges in Delhi." RK asked.

"Because unlike you she is not selfish. She knows that her parents are now old and they need her. In your absence she used to take care of us. She never differentiated between her parents and us. We always used to tell her that why she is wasting her time on us she should live her life and fulfill her dreams and she could be with you if she goes to Delhi but you know what she used to say? She always said that maa baap toh kabhi apne sapne pure karne ke liye bachho ko akela nahi chhodte toh phir bachhe kaise unko akela chhod de." Mohan said as he smiled remembering Madhu.

Listening about it RK felt he really was selfish. He always thought about his dreams, his ambition only. Thank God Madhu was there to look after his parents. If she could do this much for his parents then he can atleast fulfill their one wish. RK gave it a thought then told his dad that he will not go to Delhi now and will join their business. Mohan was on cloud nine and he immediately called Malik to share this news. All these little details RK was slowly learning about Madhu was making him realize how ignorant he was about her existence.

RK came back home where Madhu's muh dikhayi function was going on and the living room was full of aunties. Some even tried to bore him with their cliché jokes and teasing but he gave his famous 'I don't give a damn' glare to them and moved towards his room. He was about to go inside when he heard shrill voice of one aunty.

"Arre Radha, tumhari bahu toh bahut sundar hai par humne suna hai ki ye RK ki pehli pasand nahi hai wo toh kisi aur se shadi karne wala tha na? Kya wo ladki isse bhi jyada sundar thi?"Mrs. Meera  Singhania taunted and then laughed at her own sick joke.

Radha looked away embarrassed while Madhu hung down her head feeling sad. RK couldn't take it. He came and sat in front of Madhu. He put his finger on her chin and lifted her face.

"Bilkul galat Meera aunty. Yes I was going to marry another girl but when I saw Madhu I forgot everyone else. The girl who takes care of my parents like her own, no one can be as beautiful as her for me at least." RK said looking into Madhu's eyes. Happy tears rolled down from Madhu's eyes as she looked at RK in gratitude.

RK was in the balcony of his room lost in his thought. He couldn't believe it only one day passed after his marriage and how his major decision to settle down in Delhi changed. He was not an emotional guy he always used to move quickly from any breakup but he thought he loved Deepali and this time it was going to be difficult for him but since yesterday he has not even thought about her except for some moments where her name was specifically mentioned. Now he had a doubt did he even love her? He didn't know Madhu that much but due to her involvement in his family since childhood and her love towards his parents she fit perfectly in his household and life. She didn't have to go through that phase where any new girl takes time to know about his likes and dislikes. Madhu already knew him inside out so she surpassed that phase and came directly into the comfort zone with him but he didn't know anything about her. He was still struggling to find that comfort zone with her and on top of that their physical proximity was affecting him more than he had thought. He had agreed to share bed with her but as the night came he was nervous about it. Somewhere in his heart the image of that little girl was still stuck and now suddenly seeing her as his wife was messing up his brain big time.

RK came out of his thought when he heard the sound of bathroom door. He came inside the room and what he saw made him forget everything else. Madhu was standing there in black satin nighty. Although it was very simple and not revealing at all but the way its semi shining material was hugging her figure gave RK a very good idea about the curves of her body. RK kept looking at her for sometime.

"Stop it pervert. You are ogling at her again." His angel side admonished him.

"Don't listen to him. Look at the beauty in front of you. Come on...make a move...I know you want to touch her." laughed his devil side in his ears.

"Did you forgot she is that same little girl from your childhood in whom you were never interested." Angel side made his point.

"But she is your wife now. She is no more little girl but transformed into a beautiful woman." devil side argued.

"No, remember her innocence." Angel side reminded.

"Look at her body...man she got filled in all the right places." devil side said in sexy drawl.

"Don't you do anything stupid and scare her away." Angel side reminded.

"Didn't she say you have all the rights over her." devil side fought back.

His inner battle continued and finally RK shut his eyes to stop the banter. "Will you two just shut up." He screamed.

Madhu looked at him confused, "Ye aap kisse baat kar rahe hain?"

"Apne aap se...I mean I was thinking something and blurted out loudly." RK covered it up.

RK lie down on bed and after sometime Madhu also came towards bed. She looked at him nervously. RK shifted a little to make space for her. She came on the bed and the moment she lied down RK realized this was such a bad idea. This night is going to be the most torturing night of his life.

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to be continued.....