Agam POV

I enter my room to find it empty, then quickly change into yellow kurta and white lower.

I hadn't came to my room last night as I was really angry and I didn't trust myself not to harm her.

I don't think what I did was wrong but some people of mine only think that I was wrong like Naina.

She glared at me today when I tried to ask about the arrangements. She told me with a snippy voice,

'Humse kyun puchh rahe hai. Hum toh nasamajh hai na? Khud hi jake dekh lijiye.'

'Why are you asking me? I am so foolish, right? Go and see for yourself.'

She huffs out, glares at me then walk out from there.

Even I could see it in Viraj and Ekansh eyes that they didn't like what I did but they supported me because I am their friend.

Nobody is willing to understand that what I did was not wrong. She took something of me so I took something of hers.

In all these people I had least expected from Avantika to come and scold me.

After I had reached my library office, I was anguished remembering those burnt potraits of my mother.

Viraj and Ekansh didn't interrupt my brooding knowing that I want this silence.

I had poured myself second glass of wine when Avantika stormed inside. She snatched away the glass and said in a low, angry voice,

'What you did right now was wrong, Agam.'

I frown, confused by her reaction and ask her,

'I thought you came here to berate and taunt me that I am responsible for what she did. I least expected from you to say this.'

She keeps the glass on the table with thud and says,

'Aap kabse bina kisi ki baat sune, dand dene lage hai. Aap toh sabko ek avasar dete hai apni baat rakhne ka toh Mohini ko kyun nahi mila waisa avasar. Kyun unhe siddhe dand mila?'

'Since when have you started giving punishment without listening to anyone? You give everyone an opportunity to express their side then why did Mohini not get that opportunity. Why did he get the punishment?'

I turn away from her because I can't answer that.

It had hurt that my mother's potrait was burned but it even more hurt me to think Mohini did this.

It just proved my mind right that she is here with ill intentions so without thinking I made her pay.

She says,

'You burned all her potraits of her closed ones, Agam.'

I muttered out,

'Toh unhe humari nahi jalani chahiye thi?'

'So she shouldn't have burnt mine?'

She turns me around to face her and looks at me with disbelief then say,

'Aap bache nahi hai, Agam. Ki usne mere baal khiche toh mene bhi uske baal khich diya.'

'You are not a child, Agam. That she pulled my hair so I also pulled her hair back.'

I look at her in anger, step menacingly towards her, from the corner of my eye, I see Viraj standing up.

I ignore him and ask her in deadly voice,

'Aapko lagta hai jo humari Maa-sa ke chitra ke saath hua abhi, wo ek bachon ka khel hai?'

'Do you think what just happened to my mother's picture is a child's play?'

She flinches but doesn't cower and says,

'Nahi, par aapne unke saath galat kiya.'

'No, but you did wrong to her.'

She steps forward saying,

'You said that it is an eye for an eye but from where I am seeing it is more unfair to Mohini.'

I look at her incredously and ask her,

'Unfair? How?'

She replies calmly,

'Hum maante hai ki aapko chot pahunchi hai, aapki Maa-sa ke chitra jal gaye aur wah aapke liye bahut mahatvapurn hai kyunki Rani-sa ne unhe khud banaya tha.

'I understand that you are hurt, your mother's paintings were burnt and they are very important to you because Rani-sa herself had painted them.

Par agar aapko kabhi bhi apni Maa-sa ki yaad aayegi toh aapke paas aapki Maa-sa ki kayi nishaniyan hai.

But if you ever remember your mother, then you have many signs of your mother.

Sabse adhik aapke paas Suryagarh hai, jaha Rani-sa ne aapko pala-posa, jaha aapki saath wo kheli, jaha unhone aapke saath samay vyatit kiya. Parantu Mohini,'

Most of all you have Suryagarh, where Rani-sa brought you up, where she played with you, where she spent time with you. But Mohini,'

I glare at her and dare with my eyes to go on, but she doesn't back down and continues,

'Unke paas un chitron ke alawa aur koi nahi hai. Woh ek anjan jagah mein, anjan logon ke saath reh rahi hai, unke paas apnepan aur kisi karibi ka koi ehsaas nahi hai sivaye unn chitron ke.

'She has nothing else except those pictures. She is living in a strange place, with strange people, with no feeling of belonging or closeness to them except those pictures.

Aur aapne unn hi chitron ko jala diya.'

And you burnt those same pictures.'

She makes waving motion with her hand saying in a distressed voice,

'Hume nahi pata ki woh yahan kyun aayi, kisiliye aayi. Hume bas itna pata hai ki unhone aapse shaadi ki aur apna sab kuch chhod kar ek anjan jagah, anjan vesha bhusa, mein rehkar usse apna rahi hai.'

'I don't know why she came here. All I know is that she married you and left everything to a strange place, strange disguise, but she is living here and accepting it.

Whe I move my head away she brings my face back saying,

'Hume lagta hai jo apne abhi kiya woh dushman samajh kar nahi kiya balki jaise aap koi karan dhoondh rahe ho unhe apne aap se dur karne ka.'

'It seems to me that what you did just now was not done considering her as your enemy but as if you were looking for a reason to distance yourself from her.'

I whips my face at her and say angrily,

'I don't care what you think, Avantika.'

She searches my face for something then say,

'Hum jiss Agam ko jante hai woh kabhi bhi dusre paksh ki baat sune bina dand nahi dete, kisi ke liye nahi par insaniyaat ke liye toh jarur.'

'The Agam I know never give punishment without listening to the other side, not for anyone but definitely for humanity.'

I smile at her condescendingly and say,

'Hate to break it to you, the Agam you know doesn't exist anymore, this Agam have no emotions, feelings or humanity.'

I pick up my wine glass turn away from her when she says,

'Then its high time that I should have a talk with Raja-sa.'

I look at her with confused frown when she continues,

'A king can't rule over his people if he has no humanity.'

Delievering her blow she turns to leave. I ask her angrily which stops her in her path,

'Is that a threat?'

She looks over her shoulders and says softly,

'I am your friend not an enemy so stop treating me like one and this is not threat but a mere suggestion.'

She leaves after which I pour myself in wine.

I didn't go for sword practicising because I knew I had to face my father and I didn't go to Chandani because I am a married man.

Even though my wife wants to destroy me. So I drown my pent up anger, frustration and hurt in wine.

I hadn't told Bapusaa about the burnt potraits and that too one day before his birthday.

I will tell him after celebrations are over.

That's why before Mohini can go to Bapusaa I have to make clear to her that he can't know about this or he will feel heartbroken at her betrayal.

I sit down and wait for her.

After sometime Mohini enters the room taking my breath away by her beauty and desire clouds my mind.

I hate how my body reacts to her and something deep inside also reacts to her.

Desire evaporates seeing anger in her eyes. I regain control and say,

'Hum aapki hi pratiksha kar rahe the. Hume aapse ek jaruri baat karni hai.'

'I was waiting for you only. I need to talk to you about something important.'

She looks at me then moves to her trunk, takes out her sewing instruments and start sewing on the string on her blouse.

After she is done, I snatch it from her and throw it aside. Her eyes flare with anger and I say calmly,

'Hume aapse jaruri baat karni hai, ye sab baad mein bhi ho sakta hai.'

'I have to talk to you something important, all this can happen later also.'

She tries to leave but I yank her back by her arm, which makes her stumble into my body and my body instantly reacts to this touch.

I regain control on myself before I do something like kiss her until anger evaporates and desire clouds in her eyes. I say,

'Humare paas aapke saath khel khelna ka samay nahi hai. Hum jo keh rahe hai usse dhyan se suniye.'

'I don't have time to play games with you. Listen carefully to what I am saying.'

I bring her closer so we are nose to nose by tilting my face down and say,

'Kal jo hua uske baare mein Bapusaa ko pata nahi chalna chahiye, aaj unka janamdin hai aur hum nahi chahte ki woh aaj ke din udaas ho ya unhe dard pahunche.'

'Bapusa should not know about what happened yesterday, today is his birthday and I do not want him to be sad or in pain today.'

I wound my arm around her waist, bringing her closer and say,

'Agar unke chehre par tanik bhi udaasi dekhi, wo bhi aapke karan toh accha nahi hoga aapke liye.'

'If I see even the slightest sadness on his face, that too because of you, it will not be good for you.'

I bring my hands infront, take her hands behind and hold her to myself.

I bring my lips closer to her ears and say,

'Aur aapko bhi pata hai ki hum kya kya kar sakte hai. Chahiye toh uski ek jhalak bhi dikha sakte hai.'

'And you also know what I can do. If you want, I can show a glimpse of it.'

I pull back expecting to see flare of desire when I don't see goosebumps rising on her body.

But I find a faroff gaze in her eyes.

I get worried so I cup her cheeks in my palm, which seems to shake her off from the trance.

One minute I am holding her, worried about her and the next minute I fall onto the bed on my back.

She pulls up her lehanga with another hand and places her foot on my chest to prevent me from getting up.

With another hand she picks up my sword placed on the bed and keeps the tip on the center column of my neck.

I go completely still because like the last time in place of desire and anger in her eyes, there is only anger, hurt and pain in her eyes.

The pain which I put it in there. Something twists painfully in my chest making it harder to breathe.

I chant in my head that She deserves it. She brought it upon herself.

She just looks at me with fierce eyes with none of the softness or familiarity which she showed me these past few days.

She closes her eyes, take deep breaths then opens her eyes which seem to be dead and that unsettles me.

I have always seen her brimming with emotions not like this, I don't like her dead eyes at all.

She removes her foot and place my sword on the bed, then she turns to leave when I say,

'Rukiye Mohini--'

'Stop Mohini---'

She whips around with fire of angers in her eyes, and waves her hand pointing out one finger in no gesture as if to say, Don't you dare, just don't.

Then turns around and leaves the room.

But before she turned around I had seen the lone tear betraying her and rolling down her cheeks.

I wince remebering it and hot, deep pain lances my chest.

I shake my head away and go to Bapusaa's chamber. I smile broadly so he can't see the turbulence in my eyes.

I enter and announce loudly,

'Janamdin ki bahut bahut shubh kamanyein Bapusaa.'

'Many happy birthday wishes Bapusa.'

He laughs at my gesture.

I see Viraj and Ekansh standing there looking smug.

Ekansh smugly says,

'It looks like you are late this year and we are early.'

Viraj also agrees with him and I glare at them.

It has been a competition between us for long time to see who wishes first before each other to each other's father on their birthday.

I bow down and touch Bapusaa's feet and takes his blessing.

Ekansh looks hopefully at Bapusaa and say,

'Maybe we are the first one to wish you.'

It can't be, Bua-sa always wishes him first.

He shakes his head and say,

'Mohini wished me first this morning.'

That wipes the smile on both of their face and I also turn worried thinking maybe she told him but why doesn't he look sad?

My father doesn't notice our expressions and turns toward his bedside bringing out something.

He shows a small Lord Ganesha statue saying,

'Mohini gifted me this.'

All my doubts evaporated, here I thought she will hurt me by telling about yesterday to him but she brought a gift to him and wished him also first thing in the morning.

I am a real fool and bastard doing it after hurting her yesterday.

But my ego doesn't allow me to apologize to her before she accepts her mistake.

But I am starting to doubt now whether she really did or not.

Maybe Avantika was right.

We talk for some time then it came time to distribute gifts to our people.

So we gathered outside, and everything was handed by Bapusaa. Bua-sa keeps an eye on things.

I see Mohini out of the corner of my eye standing aside hiding her hands.

When she had come Bapusaa noticed her hands and questioned her but she answered that her hands got burnt in kitchen.

I could see Bapusaa didn't believe her but the gate has been opened then.

I walk to her and say,

'You are family.'

Then I drag her beside me by the arm which Bua-sa doesn't like.

Someone comes upfront to have blessings of future queen so Mohini stops Swati and herself goes to help the person.

While I help Bapusaa with gifts.

When I see that she is slowly collecting and giving it to the person, I think maybe that it is hurting her hands.

I go to help her but the person has move forward and Mohini comes back to stand beside me.

I can feel her rigid body. What has happened from there to here? I will ask her later.

Yeah right, she wil tell you for sure.

After gift distribution is done for today we all gather in temple hall.

Katha is started where I have to sit with Mohini.

After puja is done, we make preparation in dining hall of temple to feed 21 brahmins.

Mohini along with Swati moves from here to there arranging dishes, plates, etc., while I see the preparations to welcome the brahmins.

In between I see 3 times when Mohini will stop and rock on her reels.

When it happens for the fourth time I excuse myself and move towards her.

But suddenly she collpases on the floor.

*****************

Padh liya hai toh voh star vale button par jane se pehle ek baar click kar do✨✨

✨ button

✨ button

✨ button

Please comment, follow and share the story.😊😊

Next updates soon.👍👍

By the way love y'all guys.💖💖💖