Chapter 40: Keth and Chameli's First Night Together

                                    

                                          
"Chameli, what took you so long? Don't you know the rituals?" Keth asked as he comfortably sat on his bed.
Chameli was standing in front of him, not saying anything.
Keth's eyes fell on Chameli's hand and he sighed in disappointment. "Don't you know that you have to carry a glass of milk and serve it to me? Didn't Bondita give you that?"
"Ji... Bondita did give me but I bumped into Mala and the glass fell," Chameli replied honestly, looking straight into his eyes.
"My wives should always lower their gazes while talking to me, got it?" Keth uttered sternly and she instantly lowered her gaze. "Besides, couldn't you get a new glass of milk?"
Chameli didn't say anything in response, making Keth sigh. 
"I will let it slide this time," he said and got up, walking toward her. He held Chameli's hand in his with a smile. "Chameli.... look. I want you to follow all the rituals and traditions at any cost. Those mean a lot to me and my baba. And—"
She pulled apart her hand from his and interrupted, "Keth Babu, I only have one question to ask. Why?"
Keth arched an eyebrow, clearly not impressed with his wife questioning him. He answered everyone but she was his wife. She should blindly follow his orders, not counter back. Mala didn't do that yet. Mala was being the obedient wife.
"First of all," Keth grabbed Chameli's hand roughly, against her will and pulled her toward him, "Never call your husband by your name."
"Then... what should I call? Patibabu like Bondita does?" she managed to ask, still trying to wriggle free from his grip, which tightened. Her heart leapt in fear.
"Nothing. Just 'Suniye ji', 'aap,' and all that. And when we have our first child, you can call me that child's baba. Got it?" he asked coldly.
Not knowing to what limits he could go, she just nodded.
"Second of all, never question me back. I prefer an obedient wife. I mean, look at Mala. She has been adjusting herself here without a word."
Chameli felt a pang in her chest at the comparison. She hated being compared, that too with her sautan!
Keth continued, "Third of all, when I touch you, respect that. Be grateful that I am willing to touch you. Feel blessed that you have your husband's attention."
A shiver ran down her spine at his words. She wanted to say a lot of things — but the harsh truth was, she wasn't Bondita, nor Keth was Anirudh. 
She wanted her and Keth to be a special couple like Bondita and Anirudh. But unfortunately, she became a normal couple with Keth — that too with another wife!
So she gave up. She knew nothing was in her hand. She had to suck it up and accept everything. She had to go with the flow. Not everyone had a special life. 
She had a nice family — maybe she could live happily ever after with that thought. Her husband would love her too as long as she followed his rules, right?
But... I didn't share my past yet, Chameli thought in her mind. 
He played with you! Betrayed you! Do you think he deserves to know the past? He will hate you if he knows it and might divorce you. Then where will you go? Who will accept you? said her sub-conscious mind as color drained away from her face. 
No! I can't tell him ever about my past, Chameli decided finally. 
"Come on. We have a long night ahead, my wife," Keth mumbled, leaning toward Chameli's lips as she clutched the edges of her saree, knowing she had to obey him and let him do whatever he wanted. 
###
It was a very nice morning. 
Chameli and Mala were in the kitchen after Bondita performed the morning puja. Trilochan didn't want any clashes between Chameli and Mala, so he announced that as usual, Bondita would perform the puja. 
Even Keth had no problem, because apparently, he was biased toward Bondita, which kind of triggered Mala, who remained silent.
"Patibabu, do you think I should go and check on them?" Bondita asked curiously as she was walking around impatiently in the study. 
Anirudh paused typing on the typewriter and glanced at his adorable wife with a smile. "Bondita, let Mala and Chameli handle everything. Kaka warned you not to go there."
"And he told you to keep a watch on me, out of all the people in the haveli!" she grumbled, crossing her arms against her chest.
Anirudh also copied her and crossed his arms against his chest as he said, arching an eyebrow, "Who else can keep a watch on you, Bondita? You can manipulate everyone and get your way."
She also arched an eyebrow. "Oh, so you are saying I am manipulative?"
"Are you not?"
"How can you say that to your adorable wife?" she said with a frown. 
He chuckled and muttered under his breath, "Speaking of manipulation." 
"What did you say?" Bondita asked sternly and he shook his head. 
"Nothing. It's just that, even if you try to manipulate someone, they might get manipulated," he corrected, not wanting to trigger her more.
"So you are saying I cannot manipulate you but everyone else?" 
Anirudh groaned. "You should stop using your barrister skills on husband-wife conversations," he mumbled, earning a small smile from her. "Also, everyone knows even if you try to manipulate me, I can at least use my brain."
"But you will stop using that the moment you see her in pain or crying," came Batuk's voice as he stepped inside alone because Som already went to college with some light breakfast prepared by Bondita.
"True," Anirudh agreed and then sharply glared at Batuk. "Why didn't you go to college yet?"
"Because I am not Som Dada. I don't want to miss the pehli rasoi of my Chameli boudi," he replied proudly. 
"And Mala," Anirudh added, earning a scoff from Batuk. "Look. It is wise to accept her because she went through a lot too. Let's not create more trouble. Instead, we should focus on changing Keth Dada's mindset."
Batuk let out a humorless chuckle. "Change that guy's mindset? Dada, I feel he is from the 1800s era! At least, that's where his mindset is."
"Batuk," Bondita spoke up and took a step to him, "Remember, when I came to the haveli for the first time even Kakasasurji had that kind of mindset? But he changed a lot, right?"
"Even Keth Dada changed, but only for you, Boudi. He is just partial to you like Kaka."
"But Kaka changed a lot after that for everyone, Batuk," Anirudh said as he got up from his chair. "We need to respect both Mala and Chameli equally because we cannot let them be unhappy in this haveli. Already, they have so much on their plates."
Bondita nodded as the two of them looked at Batuk, who just shrugged and said, "Speaking of plates, the breakfast is ready. I was assigned to call you two. Let's go. Hurry or else, Kaka will kill me. This can never change!"
The trio burst into laughter as they hurried to the dining room, because Batuk was right in that. 

A/N: Next update when there is at least 25 comments! Hope you are enjoying the story so far. Have a great day!