Married To A Stranger

“My f-father?” Sreesha stuttered.

“Yes” Jayanth said firmly.

“w-why?” her voice was a mere whisper.

“We can talk about this some other time, Sree. You are so pale and not…” Karthik started to say but she showed her hand to stop him. She knew he was trying to save her from grave details and to delay the inevitable. But she has the right to know who she really was and why she had been living in the web of lies until now.

“I want to know the truth, Karthik” her voice is steady, void of emotions.

So Jayanth started.

“The Thakurs are one of the most powerful families is the known truth to everyone. But what they did not know is that we belong to a very old and rare lineage of female rulers, which certainly has its own rules. For one, the women of the lineage will be treated as a Queens while the men in the family are their protectors/supporters.” Sreesha was speechless. Who would have thought that she gets to mingle with a family like this?

“The first daughter of the Thakurs will inherit the entailed family wealth on their twenty-fifth birthday. She should carry the Thakur’s name even after her marriage. Your mother, Gagana Thakur was the only daughter in our generation”

What kind of a fairytale am I living? Sreesha thought.

“Your mother was a free-spirited one with a heart made of gold. She was the angel of our family. She was very kind and pure and of course mischievous too. She was the founder of Gagana Charitable trust. Your mother was the founder to the trust which sponsored you, Sreesha.” She now understands why the sponsorship started in her college the same year she joined.

“She used to take care of everything personally and volunteer without revealing her identity. She met Rajat Verma, who was a volunteer and fell in love with him.” Rajat Verma. Is he the one who murdered her mother? She gripped Karthik’s hand tightly. Why does he carry the same last name as her? She glanced at her family and met her father’s eyes before she could voice her concern Jayanth continued taking a deep breath.

“He married your mother secretly, a fake marriage which was not registered legally and abandoned her as soon as he knew that she was pregnant. Your mother was blindly in love with him, but she never revealed anything about her family. It was too late when he got to know about your mother being heiress of Thakurs and that she is insanely wealthy. So, he came back one day and demanded to be with her again. Your mother refused to take him back, of course, Thakur women are known for their pride and self-respect. I admired her for her strength. You were a month old when he came back again with legal help this time claiming you as his and that we are depriving him of his rights to see you. Your mother had done what she felt was right. She gave you to our younger brother and asked him to protect you at all costs.”

Though she was an unwanted child for that man, I am loved by my mother. She is indeed an angel for not thinking aborting her as soon as her husband left her. No one would have questioned if she did as it was a fake marriage, but her mother loved her despite of being heartbroken by the man she loved. Sreesha thought, tracing her stomach.

I would love my children and protect them from the veils of the world She promised herself.

“She used to visit you secretly every month until your third birthday. The next day when she was on her way back to Thakurs manor, a truck crashed into her car. A hit and run case. I knew it was not an accident, so I hired a lot of investigators, but they were back empty-handed. The Police closed the case. After a couple of years, I got a call from Vinay Shekhar, who was your mother’s best friend and one of the families who knew about us. He never gave up searching for the culprit, found the evidence that proves Rajat is indeed the one who planned the accident. He was sentenced to fourteen years in prison. As Gagana’s husband, he thought that he will get everything that is under her name but was so disappointed to get to know about our family tradition. He never stopped looking for you. And we have been guarding you until now” he finished the story. No one uttered a word when he was talking.

Sreesha was in trance.

She does not know what to believe.

Is it possible to have a family with those weird traditions?

Who will allow a girl to have her maiden’s name after marriage?

Who will give everything to a woman?

All the family’s wealth?

She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.

She did not want to believe a word uttered by Jayanth Thakur.

She has so many questions to ask but her mouth was dry. She could not say a word without bursting into tears.Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

She gasped for air suddenly.

Karthik who was watching her like a hawk took her in his arms and carried her bridal style without a word or glance at others.

He knew she cannot take everything at once.

He sighed.

The next time will be his turn to explain.

He doesn’t need everyone around him when he does that.

He carried her all the way to their room and laid her on the bed. He took the water mug on the side table and made her drink some. She took a few gulps eagerly and stopped. He sat beside her and started running his fingers into her hair soothingly. She is looking at the ceiling. She never once drifted her eyes to him. After a few minutes, she closed her eyes. Silent tears started to stream out of her eyes. Karthik doubted that if she knew that she was crying.

He hated when she cries, and he can do nothing about it but watch. He was told that story repeatedly when he was off age. He got to know that he is to marry the daughter of Gagana Thakur. He thought it was the right thing to do until he saw Sreesha for the first time. He was drawn to her like a moth to the fire. It was pure torture for him. On one side he is engaged to a faceless girl on the other an angel who stole his heart.

He cannot make a move on the one he loved because he has a duty to marry the one, he is intended to. He cannot back out of his family duty to protect Thakurs. So, he gave up on his love.

He thanked all-stars the day he got to know that the one who stole his heart and the one who he must protect is the same one.

He is indeed lucky to save his honor and love of his life.

Same Time, Somewhere far away from Sreesha

A man in his late fifties held his son’s neck firmly and clashed him to the nearest wall, his nose flaring with immense anger. His eyes held menace. His free hand crashed into the younger man’s nose making it impossible for the man to breath.

“I told you, I warned you, I forbid you to not to touch any of Thakurs or Shekhars or even Verma’s after your failure. Did I or Did I not?” his voice was steely which sent shivers down the spine of the younger man.

“I warned you time and again to never intervene with my plans” his grip hardened around his neck making the younger man choke on the air. With one hard push, he threw him to the corner of the room.

“Answer me, you, worthless scum! I have been planning and building a solid future for you and what did you do?” his voice grew stony “You have gone and almost ruined your perfectly planned future. Do you have any idea the death of Sreesha Thakur would have done to you? To me?” his eyes frosty.

“Uncle!” he heard someone say and snapped his head towards the door glaring daggers at the man who dared to interrupt him. “You are responsible for everything. I told you time and again to not let him out of your surveillance. Do you have any idea what mess he almost dragged into?” he yelled at the newcomer.

“I will talk to him uncle” the newcomer answered patiently.

“If only…” The old man stopped himself.

“My mother is not a coward” he finished the sentence for him and left closing the door firmly behind him.

“Manoj” the old man yelled at him.