Married To A Stranger

“You and I have a lot to discuss, don’t you think brother-in-law?” Tej said mockingly.

Karthik nodded understanding his meaning.

He is finally going to taste the punch Tej is going to throw at him. He was not the lean guy, he remembers when he first saw him.

Karthik gulped and nodded.

He will not defend himself as he deserves it more than anyone else.

“What do you want to discuss to my husband, dearest brother?” Sreesha mocked, grabbing Karthik’s hand entwining their fingers. She raised an eyebrow at Tej and started tapping her foot.

“Just business, Sister dearest” Tej responded, mirroring Sreesha’s actions, rubbing his palms together.

“No one’s having this so-called discussion to anyone especially not with my husband.” Shoving Karthik behind her, standing in defensive mode. “I already had my discussion with my husband, so you better stay away from him, Tej” Sreesha warned seriously, making Tej narrow his eyes at Karthik, zeroing on his cheeks.

Tej was in total shock at first, then started grinning like a fool.

“I see, you really did take care of your husband di” he said dragging each word, proudly and started walking towards Karthik with evil glint on his eyes. Karthik thought, he’s going to get punched in front of his whole family but all Tej did was, grabbing Karthik’s chin and tsked, sympathetically.

“Ouch Jiju! That must have hurt like hell” he stated, inspecting his cheeks. Karthik understood what he is doing and stepped away from him, not before sending a death glare at him.

He was staring at the fingerprints on his cheeks. Karthik sent an accusing glare at his wife, who was scrutinizing the nearby wall with utmost curiosity like it was made of gold but not cement.

Karthik’s mother, who was standing with his father jumped into the scene and took over the drama like the Queen she was.

“Oh my, my, Sreesha darling, what did you do to your husband’s cheeks! It is domestic violence.” She said, gasping dramatically and fanning herself frantically. Sreesha, now knowing her mother-in-law’s antics hid behind Karthik knowing too well what’s going to happen.

They were going to be the pawns in her game.

“It is illegal to make this artwork go unnoticed! These marks would have been so beautiful when they were fresh. I’m so disappointed in you” she started shaking her head disappointedly, making tsk tsk sounds now and then.

Kathik sighed and glanced at his father for help, who was enjoying the drama and smirking.

A smirk that says, ‘Remember all those times when you enjoyed my misery’.

“Drama Queen” Karthik muttered under his breath.

“Mom” Sreesha whined, covering her face with her hands.

Karthik was annoyed by the drama while Sreesha was too embarrassed to look at her family.

“What? The fingerprints on your cheeks are almost invisible now. How are they going to believe when I claim my bet money? I know my daughter; she always makes me proud and wealthier” Everyone stood stupefied. She made a bet about this with god knows how many people or on how many other things. They wouldn’t be surprised if she made a bet on how many times Sreesha and Karthik are going to fight in a day just so she can show off her manipulative abilities to the world, and she will be the reason behind every single fight theirs.

Karthik massaged his forehead and promised himself to take Sreesha far away from his mother, so he can have his innocent wife back… Or whatever innocence is remaining in sreesha.

“Let me take a picture so I can show off my training abilities to my friends” saying that she clicked a few pictures and threw the phone in the waiting hands of Tej, when Karthik tried to reach it.

“This will be my Screensaver, until I get a niece or nephew to replace it” Tej stated, sending the pictures to his phone.

“I am so proud of my sister” he added cheekily, returning their mom’s phone not before sending his sister’s artwork to the gang.

Sreesha and Karthik groaned in annoyance.

Jaykar, who was standing silently until now, slowly reached them and examined Karthik’s cheek, rubbing his jaw and nodded proudly.

“You did this?” He asked Sreesha, who’s now standing behind Karthik, gripping his shirt like her life depended on it.

She looked at him through her eyelashes, her hands shivering a little.

“I am asking you, Sreesha” his voice reverberating throughout the house. Real father or not, Sreesha is still afraid of him. It is not easy to be normal with him, the fear and anxiety she feels whenever he is around are her normal.

“Fath- father” she stuttered. Karthik wound around her waist, while Tej stood beside her protectively.

“I should agree with your mother-in-law it is rather artistic” he commented, stepping back, returning to his wife. His wife slapped his shoulder for using that tone on Sreesha again.

“What?” Shouted Sreesha, Karthik and Tej at once.

“I think she got that trait from her mother, remember when she used to scratch us whenever we try to annoy her? Her nails were her deadly weapons” he said, looking at Jayanth and stilled.

There is a pin-drop silence in the room. It is not like every day, Jayanth and Jaykar makes a lighthearted conversation.

“Don’t remind me. I had to use all her concealer to cover the bruises on my cheek” Jaykar replied, rolling his eyes.

“I sported a black eye one whole week” Jaykar stated proudly.

“I had my hair colored pink” Jayanth challenged.

“I had to walk for 10 kilometers since my dearest sister thought it should be fun to leave me in the middle of nowhere with no money and source to contact anyone” blinking his eyes, trying not to let the tears fall.

“That’s because you threatened to take away her pet and leave it in the middle of nowhere. You should have known better than making threats against Gagana Thakur, you idiot” Jayanth shared same emotion as his brother.

“She was a devil disguised as an angel” Jaykar’s voice is thick with overwhelming emotions.

“I miss her” They both admitted to each other.

It was Jaykar, who reached out to his brother embracing him in an awkward hug. It was always used to be group hug which includes Gagana whenever they were succeeded in pranks wound by the evil trio.

Her death not only changed their relationship but created a distance that cannot be recovered for decades.

The Shekhar’s eyes were brimming with tears, thanking all the god for reuniting both brothers.

Sreesha was crying in Karthik’s arms, she never saw her father being emotional let alone cry for someone. She was crying for their loss. She was crying for not being a part of that happy family. She was crying for her loss.

Karthik and Tej were trying not to cry while Tej’s mother was crying in the corner for she knew her husband went through hell with guilt.

“You are a bastard, you know that?” Jayanth said, pulling out of the hug. “Keep your husband away from me, sister-in-law. He’s as clingy as he was in his twenties” Jayanth complained to Jaykar’s wife.

“Don’t drag me into your fights, Gagana and I have had enough of your antics” she said, rolling her eyes at them, wiping her tears away in the process.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

“What the hell is happening here?” Tej mumbled, still in shock.

“A reunion” Karthik stated in awe.

This was the first time he saw Jayanth Thakur making jokes at anyone let alone crying. It is a rare scenario to witness a smile on his face let alone a full-blown laugh. He was laughing at the comment made by Mrs Verma… no, Mrs Yamini Thakur.

They were never Verma’s but Thakurs.

Tej is a Thakur too.

Sreesha was never a Verma.

She was always a Thakur and still is.

But Sreesha wants to be a Shekhar, not Thakur and definitely not Verma.

If her father… adopted father was a Thakur, how did he end up taking Verma as his last name which is same as the man who killed her mother?

What happened twenty years ago?

Who is this Rajat Verma?

What had he done to this once happy family?

All questions and no answers yet.