It had been a long but happy and lovely day for Katha.
Happy because everyone loved the food she cooked, lovely because she finally had a woman in her life giving her the mother’s love she had never gotten from anyone.
She was finally in her chambers, where Devika helped her take a bath with the jasmine scent, one of her favorites, and got her into her nightwear after getting rid of all that heavy jewelry she had been wearing the whole day.
All the work had exhausted her, and now she only wanted to sit down and relax. This could have been done at only one place, her new favorite place, the garden adjoining their room, reminding her of her brother, who used to play with her at a place like this at home when they used to be kids.
Her Bhai-sa
Katha suddenly remembered him as tears threatened to fall from her eyes. She couldn’t help but think of everything about her brother at the moment. It made her remember every beautiful moment that she ever shared with her Bhai-sa.
As she was cherishing all the memories she had with her brother, it suddenly occurred to her to write a letter to her Bhai-sa, telling him that she missed him. She thought of doing this as the first thing in the morning.
Happy that she would be writing to her Bhai-sa soon, Katha was playing with water, splashing it a bit. Not caring even after the realization struck her that her dupatta had fallen from her head, she was sitting with her loose braid resting on her back, and a few strands of her hair cupping her face.
A faint creaking sound caught her attention. Startled, she turned her gaze towards the entrance of the garden, only to find the door swinging open. A smile instantly graced her lips as she realized it was Mrityunjay standing there, his eyes already fixed on her.
The sight of him made her get up. She adjusted her dupatta, delicately placing it back on her head. A slight tremor coursed through her as she stood there, her gaze lowered, avoiding his eyes, hesitant to meet his gaze.
“Hukum,” Katha greeted him softly, her voice laced with a mixture of surprise and delight. She watched as he took slow strides toward her, his eyes never leaving hers. The way he looked at her made her feel seen, even with her lowered gaze, understood, and desired in a way she had never experienced before.
Without a word, Mrityunjay closed the distance between them, his steps confident and purposeful. As he drew nearer, Katha couldn’t help but notice the way his gaze lingered on her. It made her feel something to her core.
He came to a stop right in front of her, their proximity creating an electric charge in the air. The fragrance of jasmine mingled with his head, and a thought of catching her in an intimate embrace crossed Mrityunjay’s mind.
Mrityunjay reached out, his fingertips brushing against a loose strand of Katha’s damp hair. His touch was gentle, igniting a trail of warmth that spread through her entire being. He tucked the strands behind her ear, making her face more visible to him.
“In sadharan se vastron mein bhi aap bahot sundar lag rhi hain,“
“You look beautiful even in this simple dress,” he murmured, his voice low and filled with desire.
Her cheeks flushed with a mixture of pleasure and shyness, but that was soon gone when she replaced it with a frown. She lowered her gaze, feeling the weight of her action, Mrityunjay couldn’t stop himself from asking her the reason.
“Kya hua aapko? Humne kuch galat keh diya kya?“
“What happened to you? Did I say something wrong?” asked Mrityunjay with a slight tension on his face.
“Hamein humari bahri sundarta ki prashansa sun na pasand nhi hai, humein ye sab sahi nhi lagta kyunki humare mukh ke pare koi dekhta hi nhi hai.“
“I do not like to hear praise for my outer beauty, I do not like it because no one sees beyond my face,” Katha answered with a proper sense of determination, her tone confident. Hearing this, Mrityunjay’s tension flew away as he felt a sudden proud feeling to know that his wife didn’t like the way people saw her outer beauty. It made him realize that Katha is not too proud of her beauty.
“Theek hai, yadi aapko pasand nhi toh hum aisa nhi bolenge, parantu ek baat keh sakte hain? Aap ne humein zara galat samajh liya, hum aapki prashansa isliye kar rahe the kyunki aap humari patni hain, aur humein aap bahot pasand hain.“
“Well, if you don’t like it, I won’t say so. But may I say one thing? I praised you because you are my wife, and I genuinely admire and appreciate you.”, said Mrityunjay with those Hazel eyes on her face, looking for some reaction.
As he expected, a shy reaction with Katha’s face turning crimson red at Mrityunjay’s words made him feel happy and desire her more as he then moved up his hand holding her chin and slightly lifting it up, making her look at him.
“Jab hum dono ek saath akele apne kaksh mein ho toh aapko dupatta apne sar par lene ki koi avashyakta nahin hai. Aap humari patni hain, daasi nhi, inpar aur aap par humara hak hai.“
“When both of us are together alone in our room, then there is no need to take the dupatta on your head. You are my wife, not a maid. I have my right on you and these,” he said, taking the dupatta down from Katha’s head and slightly touching her long braid, which reached down her knees.
This action made Katha close her eyes at the moment and feel what Mrityunjay was doing to her. As she opened her eyes, she could clearly see the desire on Mrityunjay’s face, the desire to make her his. It made her proud to know that she held such power over him, that her presence alone could evoke such desire and admiration.
Her plan was working.
Shaking his head, Mrityunjay slowly held Katha’s hand, brushing his lips lightly on her knuckles and making her shiver visibly. It made Mrityunjay happy to feel her shivering under his touch. It made him feel at peace.
Mrityunjay held her hands tighter and pulled her near him, not even leaving space for air to pass. He leaned a bit and said in her ear, “Bhojan toh bahot swadisht banaya tha aapne, ab hum dekhna chahte hain kya aap bhi utni hi swadisht hain ya sirf bhojan hi aisa bana leti hain.“
“The food that you cooked was very tasty. Now I just want to see whether you are also that tasty, or you just cook tasty food.”
These words coming from Mrityunjay’s mouth made Katha shiver terribly.
As Mrityunjay slightly backed up with his nose still near her cheek, Katha turned her head a bit to see in his eyes confusion in her mind and a bit of shyness, which made Mrityunjay feel something good. He could feel her chest pounding up and down at the mere thought of Mrityunjay’s words, their distance so less than ever.
Mrityunjay, not able to resist any longer, backed up a bit, saw in her eyes one last time, and held her chin again, pulling Katha’s face closer to him. The sudden pull made Katha put her hands on his chest. Both of their breaths started getting heavy as they could feel each other’s warm breath on their faces.
Mrityunjay slightly tilted his head. Ready to kiss Katha, which made her close her eyes, getting scared and nervous. As he slightly got closer to her, about to capture her lips…
*Knock*
*Knock*
*Knock*
