Love Happens

Chapter thirty-five

Anand stared into Shraddha's deep eyes.

"What is bothering you Anand? Tell me or your mother. Tell someone and let it out. It hurts me seeing you in this condition."

"I'm sorry." he blurted after seeing the side of her forehead which was bleeding due to him.

"About?" Shraddha asked cluelessly.

"Sit down. I'll bandage it for you." he told her and turned to go bring his first aid box. Shraddha returned to the balcony and threw the bottle in her hand to the ground. Anand sighed as he heard the sound. He reprimanded himself for making the mistake of bringing the bottle home when he could have drank more outside without anyone finding out about it. After he carried the box, he turned and saw her waiting for him on the bed. He went there and sat beside her.

She shivered slightly when the cold spirit touched her wound. However, the pain disappeared after her eyes focused on him. Her mind wandered back to earlier when he kissed her. She was smiling widely without knowing it. It was a moment that happened so quickly but was still very magical. She didn't fancy it to be that way. She wanted her first kiss to be when she will be in a bridal lehenga and Anand will take her hand to make her walk with him to the journey of forever. But still, the moment turned out better.

Anand finished dressing the wound. He glanced at her to ask if he should bandage it or not as it wasn't necessary to. She was still smiling as the previous moment they shared still played in her mind. Anand breathed out. The glow in her eyes was telling him she was thinking about their kiss. About that, he had to apologize too.

"Look Shraddha,"

His voice startled her out of her thoughts.

"Earlier, you and I," he paused and hesitated to speak the rest. She gave him her complete attention. Always when he was speaking to her, she would pay attention attentively as if her life depended on it.

"The kiss," he added.

Her eyes left his while her cheeks turned red. Her smile kept growing wider.

"It was a mistake. I'm sorry. The truth is, I drank earlier. I thought it won't influence my thoughts because I only took a glass, but I was wrong. It turned out stronger. I went and kissed..."

"And so? Are we not husband and wife? Is it not the right thing to do? It's not like it's something wrong. I'm not one of your siblings or daughter. I'm your wife. Your life companion." she gathered courage and looked into his eyes again. Her smile was still etched on her lips. It was going to be permanent and nothing he'll say will erase that from her. She had her first kiss. She will keep remembering it for the entire night even if he thinks it was a mistake. For her, it wasn't. It was just her husband expressing love to her.

"Do you not feel it's a mistake?" Anand asked. He was emphasizing the matter because he still thinks his age was a barrier in their relationship.

"I don't care if it was on your side. For me, it wasn't. I liked it. Very much. It was the first time you came close to me. You treated me as a wife. What mistake will there be when your nuptial chain is still around my neck?"

"It really wasn't a mistake?" Anand asked again.

Shraddha thought of how she would convince him she doesn't find what he did a mistake. An idea struck her mind, but she was very scared to implement it. Anand was staring at her and waiting for confirmation. Her breath quickened making her heart rise and fall with rapid breaths as she leaned forward while whispering, "It wasn't a mistake." her lips grazed his lower lip. Anand didn't expect her gesture. Shraddha's lips stayed there. If he was correct, she was indirectly giving him the go ahead. He had a lot of respect for her so he was uncertain so as not to over cross his limits. He doesn't want that respect to ever perish. Shraddha had no plans to draw away. Anand took control like a man and kissed her back. Both of them lay on the bed while Anand proceeded to trail his kiss from her lips down to her skin.

In Poonam's room, she finished having dinner with Riddhima.

"I'm very sleepy. Good night." Riddhima stood up from the floor dining area she made with her extra blanket and pillows for them to sit on.

"Sleep well." Poonam answered and she went to her bed. Poonam took the two plates they used outside their room and returned in. She was feeling weird in her house for the first time. It wasn't feeling like home to her. It had changed. Neither her father nor mother were now with her. Her father had been bewitched by Shraddha. And her mother's memories don't seem to be in the house like they used to. She doesn't feel her presence anymore around her.

She stood beside the window for a long time. It began to rain. Sleep was very far from her eyes. She might be tired, but she didn't feel like sleeping. Tonight, for the first time, she felt alone with no one to share her feelings with. Her grandparents had travelled to Delhi for an important meeting and wouldn't be back for two days. Riddhima was too tired to listen to her. And her father,

She sighed.

She loved him very much. Whatever happened between them was because of Shraddha. She blamed her for successfully creating a rift in their relationship. She vowed not to let her win.

She went out of the room despite it being very late at night to go and patch things up with her father. Whatever it was she did, she would apologize. In the end, it was only him she has in the world. She knows he still loves her a lot. And she will also promise him she will be a good child. She'll enquire about his health as she had been informed he suffered from a heart attack. The day her grandmother told her that, she couldn't eat anything the whole day. Her mind returned home that day as after parting with her mum, she wasn't ready to lose her father too.

She stopped by in front of the door and leaned her ear against it. It was completely silent inside. She deliberated with herself whether to go in or not. At last, she went in. The room was dark. She searched for the light switch on the wall and found them. After she pressed them, the lights in the room returned.

She covered her lips with her palm to prevent her scream from waking up her father. She knew he would be angry if he finds out she went into the room without knocking and waiting for permission. She quickly turned off the lights and left the room. The sight,

Tears rolled out of her eyes endlessly. Her father wasn't just her father anymore. He went and became a husband to someone cheating on her beloved mother. He had embraced Shraddha in his sleep as if they were one soul. What broke her heart was the fact both of them were naked. Although they had a blanket on, it couldn't cover them in full. He had broken her mother's heart by loving someone else.

She rushed downstairs where no one would hear her even if she screamed. The lights in the hall were off too. She tripped over things repeatedly and eventually led herself to the kitchen. Anger clouded her mind while she turned on the lights in the room. She saw the matchbox resting on the counter.

As she approached it, she kept thinking of the sight she saw in her father's room. He couldn't protect the love he shared with her mother. She was angry with him on her behalf. How could he go behind their backs and sleep with Shraddha? The illegitimate child despite the fact he knew she didn't like her?

Her hand grabbed the box.

"I will set the house on fire. Let's all die and meet with Mother. Then, she will ask you why you cheated on her." she mumbled.

She took out the stick inside the box and grazed it against the box. A flame evolved as a result.

"The fire will be blown out once I throw it."

She went to the oven and removed the pan which had oil. She spilt it all over the place and then turned on the matchstick again. She threw it at the oil and a gush of fire exploded in the kitchen. She ran outside and returned to her room, went onto her bed, pulled her duvet on her body and closed her eyes. She wasn't a coward to run away and leave her sister or father to die alone. She set the fire. She will die with them. They both will reunite in the other world.