Five Weeks by Shruti Omar (any book recommendations .txt) 📕

“Five weeks?” She prompted, knitting her eyebrows closer. Her subconscious clanged warning bells. She knew Mukund was going to turn her down, again. She clutched her phone tightly and egged him on. “Come on, what did you just say?”

“Yeah, I can’t come right now, baby.” He divulged, confirming her doubts. Her chest rose and fell with rapid breaths as she tried to suppress her erupting anger. She pressed a hand to her throat and closed her eyes. Oblivious to that, Mukund continued to narrate his predicament.

“Fuck you, bastard!” She yelled, cursing him loud and her nostril flared, “What the fuck are you actually trying to do, Mukund? I married a man I don’t like at all only because you asked me and promised that you’ll come to get me the next day and now this!! Are you fucking mad?”

“Baby…”

“Don’t baby me, you leech!” she hissed, “You don’t deserve to fucking have me. You told me we’ll go far away from here and you’ve left me in this hell to rot.” She sobbed, covering her mouth. Her anger transformed into angry, hot tears and flew from her eyes.

Mukund swore colorfully and exhaled heavily, “I haven’t left you, Anahita. I am just trying to correct everything.”

“And, I am fucking blind to not see any efforts in that direction.” She snapped, blotting he cheeks. “I am married. You should know this is serious. Yuvraaj already considers me his property and now, I am certified his. Do you think he will leave me alone? I have staked everything for you and you’re just averting me.”

“I don’t know why it happened with us. I really don’t know. It feels like whole world is conspiring against us.” he sounded so helpless that she could’ve believed him but she didn’t. She scoffed, letting out a mirthless laugh. “What a lame excuse!”

“It’s not…”

“If you never wanted me, you could’ve told me. I could’ve died or run away…I could’ve done anything instead of getting married to that swine.” She blabbered, desperately. The upcoming scenarios haunted her. Yuvraaj wasn’t going to stop until he had her. Her heart raced a mile in a minute.

“Just shut up, Anahita!” Mukund growled at her, “I love you, okay. And, stop testing my love every second. I know you're not in good shape but I am also not better. You don't have any idea how it sliced me to ask you to marry someone. You really have no idea.”

“Then why?” She demanded, hating to sound vulnerable. “Why can’t we…”

“Don’t go there.” He impeded her, “I don’t have answer to that. Just remember one thing, I love you. Okay? You are mine. Just mine. I want to keep it that way. By no means and under no circumstances, should you allow him to come near you let alone touch you. Do you understand?”

Anahita held herself back from retorting. Getting cozy with Yuvraaj was last thing on her mind. She’d rather chew worms than to kiss him. Seriously!!! “Okay!”

“That’s better!” he simpered, “These five weeks will fly in a wink and we’ll be together.” He concocted a fairytale that she believed again and her lips curved up. “I will try, Mukund!”

“I don’t want you to try. Just trust me and I will make everything easy for you.” He coaxed her and asked her to take rest. Anahita hung up, bouncing back on her back and folded an arm over her eyes. She was beyond tired; both mentally and physically to move a muscle to change. The best remedy was to sleep. Sleep like she had all the time in the world.

“Vehini…” Someone tapped on the door and she jolted up straight. “Yes?”

“Yuvraaj baba has asked us to put the gifts in the room.”

“Now?” she enquired, cringing.

“Yes. He wants us to organize them on the table and bring a set of his clothes.”

She whooshed out a sigh and allowed them to do their job. She bunched up her hair, getting up and made a bun of it, tramping to open the door. She had momentarily forgotten that her world now collided with Yuvraaj and there’s no rest and peace for her in his world. The servants quietly engaged themselves in their job and departed, nodding their greetings to her.

She padded to the dresser and perched on the Ottoman to remove the heavy veil from her head, getting rid with Mundavalya in process. Her eyes gawked at her bridal reflection and the lack of joy within her. She put the hairpiece aside and her eyes zoned in on the bright, red vermillion on her parting. She raised her hand to touch her parting, trying to believe what really happened because it was still so surreal for her. She mentally sent thanks to her mother in law for adjusting armillary stand in the maximum space where she could place her stuff.

Five Weeks. Thirty five Days. Eight forty hours. Fifty thousand four hundred minutes. Three million twenty four thousand seconds of endurance and I will be able to fly free in the vast welkin like a bird. She mulled, optimistically and employed herself in unscrewing the earrings.

"Just remember that this marriage is out of convenience, darling. You will have to be strong and stay hundred yards away from your husband. Got it?" Mukund’s final words of warning resonated in her ears as she sighed and dropped the earrings beside the pool of her bangles on the vanity table.

With creak, the bedroom door opened and she raised her thick lashed eyes to the mirror again. Her lips - full and luscious, painted in red lip color - stretched up in a faux smile when her husband stepped inside. How could she not feel his presence and the scorching warmth that filled the void of the room instantly! He was the assassin of her happiness and her aspiration. His pair of warm, grey eyes - sparkling pool of liquid silver as she preferred to view them – examined the whole room before zeroing his wandering vision on the mirror and they shined in delight. Although tempted, she wasn’t dimwit to glower at him or roll her eyes.

A few days of pretension and I'll be out of this. She mused, smiling and coyly embraced his gaze with hers, working on to unfix the heavy piece of jewelry around her slender neck.