~•} C H A P T E R|5 {•~
"Vardhaan....is that you?"
"Yes, baby it's me YOUR Vardhaan," Vardhaan replied and cringed on himself for saying that so-called name for the first time. Though he did that to make Ishani feel as low he could.
Ishani played with her fingers nervously, yeah she didn't like him at all but still, all this just didn't feel right to her.
For god's sake, he was officially her husband.
But her eyes went round when she heard what that girl on the phone said next.
"Oh please Vardhaan, shut the fuck up! I am not your baby whom you could easily woo and I feel it's probably your time to have a baby of your own with your newlywed wife rather than calling someone 'baby'. And how dare you call me now after everything happened!"
The phone was on speaker and every word Natasha said could be easily heard.
"Natasha we can sort this out." Vardhaan protested.
"SORT THIS OUT! Are you even in your senses you bastard! You have a goddamn wife now and you are telling me that we can sort this out."
"Natasha listen-"
"Just shut up you scumbag! And listen to me now! If you are thinking so highly of yourself that I would still lurk behind you even when you are married to someone and having your shares of fun then let me break your bubble, Mr. Vardhaan Rathore, that you aren't that worthy shithead! Also, I am Natasha Malhotra, a famous and rising model, do you think that I would ever be a doormat that a person just uses when he wants? No, I was, I am and I will always be a person's first priority and if someone makes me his second priority then Natasha doesn't give a fuck about that person. So sorry but no sorry Stranger."
With this, the call on the other side went dead.
Vardhaan never felt this insulted in his life before. His hands were balled into fists, his eyes squinted, jaw clenched and his body shaking visibly due to the sheer anger he was feeling right now.
He opened his eyes which depicted nothing but hate, pure hatred.
He clutched Ishani's arm in his monstrous grip and made her stand up from the chair.
"You! Because of You, someone dared to insult me! You are the reason for my every problem! You sl-"
Before he could complete, a loud slap was landed on his cheek by Ishani.
"Now you have crossed the line, Mr. Rathore. You have no right to degrade a woman. You have no right!" She screamed as anger blinded her senses as well.
Abruptly she was grabbed by her neck and Vardhaan slammed her into a nearby wall harshly.
Ishani winced as her back collided with the wall roughly due to being roughly handled. She glanced upwards with protruding eyes and came directly in contact with his hard ones who were glaring back at her with the same intensity.
Vardhaan rolled his sleeves up, loosened his collar, not once taking his predatory gaze off from her while Ishani held her chin high maintaining their intense eye lock.
"You dared to slap me? You dared to slap ME!" His nostrils flared and his breathing was sharp.
"Yes! I dared to slap YOU. Do you want me to slap you another time so you can remember it this time?" her tone dripping with pure sarcasm.
Vardhaan's eyes darkened in unadulterated rage due to the insult, grabbing her nape harshly he slammed his lips on her's furious. In a second he pulled it back.
Ishani was stunned, her eyes narrowed and neck tilted as she processed what he did. Her eyes burned with rage as her expressions hardened as epiphany hit her hard.
"How dare you kiss me without my permission, Mr. Rathore!" Ishani roared gritting her teeth.
His lips twitched in a half-smile as he studied her face for some time making her more irritated than she already was.
"Yes, I dared to kiss you. Now, do you want me to kiss you another time so that you can remember it?" His lips curled up into a devilish smirk.
Ishani squinted her eyes shut-hard for a minute. She crinkled her nose in a disgusted manner and looked at Vardhaan furiously to which Vardhaan just laughed loudly humorlessly. Suddenly the laughter stopped and he looked dead in the eye.
He abruptly clutched her cheeks hard which crafted her lips in a pout.
"Never. I repeat NEVER dare to slap me again Mrs. Rathore or else you won't like the consequences next time. Also about the rights, I feel you better know what rights I have on you."
"You just can't treat me like this!"
"I will and you can't do anything, you know why? Because even you know that you deserve all this and you can never win from me! You destroyed my freaking life Ishani! And now you will pay for your deeds. I will make you regret your fucking decision, your fucking existence! You will shed the tears of blood." Vardhaan's dark gaze focussed solely on hers like his face contoured into a determined one.
"I vow to myself that I would never even shed a tear in front of a monster like you!" Her orbs blazed with determination.
"I will break you in a way that you won't be able to stand up again. I will cut your wings and you will beg me for mercy Mrs. Ishani Vardhaan Singh Rathore, it's my oath." He ran his knuckle on her jaw with a smirk.
Now it was a matter of ego, pride, and self-esteem. They would go to any extent to prove the other one wrong.
With this, he abruptly left the room making Ishani slump on the chair with a thud.
The abrupt turn which my life has taken...
Ishani thought and ran a hand on her face in frustration.
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Ishani wore a simple saree and went downstairs for the rituals which were left.
"Ishani you need to cook a sweet dish for today's ritual," Gayatri Rathore ordered and went away.
Ishani looked here and there being clueless. She knew how to cook but only for a living, not some specific dish.
She strolled towards the kitchen where she found Ruhanika instructing something to the servants while making the breakfast.
Why is she making breakfast when they have servants? Maybe to prove her greatness...
Ishani thought and rolled her eyes.
"Ishani you came?" Ruhanika questioned to which Ishani hummed.
"So as you already know that you have to cook a sweet dish. So here the milk is boiling, add the rice in it which I have already soaked in water before you came. Sugar and dry fruits are already kept here. If you need anything or any other instruction then servants are here to help you." with this Ruhanika got back to her work.
"Umm... bhabhi where are Raina and Naina?" Ishani inquired while adding the soaked rice in milk.
"Raina already went away with black coffee of Aakarsh bhai and about Naina, I have no idea."
Ishani sighed.
Soon everyone came downstairs to have their breakfast.
The four daughters-in-law were sitting beside each other and in front of their husbands.
Soon Ruhanika went somewhere, making Ishani frown and her frown deepend when she saw that Ruhanika was carrying a child of 3year old.
"Who is this girl?" Ishani hushed in a low tone.
Raina who was beside her answered lowly, "She is Yuvika. Yuvraj bhai and Ruhanika bhabhi's daughter."
Ishani's brows shot up in surprise and she started coughing hard as the food got stuck in her throat.
Raina hurriedly passed a glass of water towards her.
"You okay?" Raina inquired and Ishani nodded.
Soon everyone left leaving the four of them and Yuvika alone in the dining room.
"Are you my new chachi?" Yuvika pouted adorably to which Ishani nodded with a smile.
"Did Vardhaan chachu bring you the same way Papa brought Maa?" Yuvika questioned again making Ishani frown.
"How did your Papa bring your Maa?"
"Ahnnnn... You don't even know this much.." Yuvika slapped her forehead.
"Baccha, Bad manners! You shouldn't talk to elders like this." Ruhanika scolded gently.
"Bhabhi she is just a small child. Yuvika you continue." Ishani encouraged to which Yuvika nodded happily.
"So Papa brought Maa by filling that red powder in her hairline. You know many people came that day. Also, I had so many ice-creams as Papa was busy in filling that red powder, so no one stopped me!" Yuvika giggled remembering the memory.
"Bachha enough! Now it's time to go to your preschool." With this Ruhanika strode towards one of the rooms to make Yuvika ready for her preschool.
Soon Ruhanika came and sat down in the living room with the other three after sending Yuvika to school.
Unable to control anymore, Ishani asked, "Bhabhi is Yuvika, not your daughter?"
"She isn't my daughter biologically,, she was two and a half years old when I married Yuvraj Ji."
"So does it mean that you are Yuvraj Bhai's second wife?"
Naina and Raina also looked at Ruhanika curiously as even they had this question but were scared to ask her as what if she felt bad? Ruhanika was the only one they had when they needed someone to talk and they didn't want to hurt her.
"Maybe... Maybe I am his second wife or maybe he must have Yuvika with any of his previous girlfriends, who knows." Ruhanika shrugged nonchalantly.
Naina and Raina looked at her wide-eyed. Even Ishani was stunned.
"Don't you feel bad or hurt that he had a relationship before marriage?" Ishani tried to dig more into the matter.
"Well, what he does in his life is none of my concern. He asked me not to care and I don't care." Ruhanika rolled her eyes in a bored manner and lazily went to the bedroom, she shared with Yuvraj.
The other three girls looked at her retreating back with confusion etched on their faces.
Yeah, Raina and Naina knew that the relationship between Ruhanika and Yuvraj was complicated but to what extent, they had no idea. Raina and Naina were twins so they shared everything with each other, whether it was their happiness or sorrow but when they got married here, everything was new and Ruhanika was the only person who emotionally supported them. They shared everything with Ruhanika as she became the shoulder they wanted to lean upon but they never really came to know much about her or maybe there wasn't much to know about her... She was the calm one, who handled everything perfectly and acted as the perfect daughter-in-law.
Whereas Ishani was new to all this and she had no idea of the relationship between the other three daughters-in-law and their husbands.
Ishani sighed as right now she needed to be concerned about herself.
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Ruhanika released a heavy sigh as she closed the door of the room after coming inside.
She glanced up at the room, grey walls, black furniture, expensive things. Everything was perfect, unlike her life.
She sat on the bed as she recalled the memories of 6 months ago.
Flashback~
A young twenty-two-year-old Ruhanika entered inside the grey and black room of Yuvraj Rathore which was not decorated for which she was glad.
She wiped her clammy hands on her saree as she nervously paced around.
Everything felt so different for her, the people weren't as welcoming as she thought. No one even had the courtesy to ask her how she was feeling. Her mother-in-law had a personal grudge towards her, she felt and her grandmother-in-law was like the one shown in serials, super strict.
If someone she liked was the little bundle of joy who kept smiling towards her whole the time, happily chirping that if she was her new mother to which Ruhanika just smiled back in return.
She hadn't seen her husband after marriage, even she had to attend the reception alone as he was too busy in his meeting to even take out some of his precious time for his marriage reception. Well, that gave her a hugely embarrassing and terrible memory which she would never forget.
Ruhanika sighed as she came to know at that time only that her husband nor his family was too fond of her.
Suddenly the door of the room was opened and there her so-busy-to-attend-his-own-marriage-reception husband was.
Decked up in his usual business suit, she noticed that even now he was attending a business call from his earpiece.
What a great start to my marriage, Ruhanika sneered at her sarcastic thought.
Well, even she didn't have much hope for this marriage but still she felt that maybe her husband would be decent enough.
But God is not on my side this time, he never is, Ruhanika thought bitterly.
She watched as Yuvraj settled himself on the bed and got engrossed in his business call, not once glancing towards his newly wedded wife.
Ruhanika settled herself on the couch as she waited for his call to end but after the call was done, he straight away disappeared into the bathroom to have a quick shower.
After that, he returned with his trousers and t-shirt. Just when he was about to lay down on the bed, Ruhanika interrupted as she had enough, "Yuvraj Ji."
"What!" Came out Yuvraj's irritated yell as he massaged his temples.
Ruhanika took a deep breath as she muttered, "Where would I sleep?"
"On the bed of course or where else!" His tone was curt.
"On the bed ......with you?" Ruhanika asked shocked.
In a swift Yuvraj sat up straight, glaring right into her soul as she nervously shuffled on her toes as his aura made her nervous.
"Well, we aren't having a typical husband and wife relationship. Plus I'm not a horny teenager that you are feeling scared to sleep beside me." Yuvraj stated frankly and Ruhanika looked at him with wide eyes as his choice of words.
"Another thing get straight into your head Ruhanika that you are nothing but a mother to my Yuvika to me. I married you because of her. You should focus on taking care of Yuvika and I don't want any carelessness or lethargies in that case. I would provide you with everything you need, expensive jewelry, clothe and other materialistic things but take care of my daughter properly. Any inattentiveness in her case and I won't think twice to strangle you. So don't try to act like my wife and what I do in my life should be none of your concern." Yuvraj Rathore stated with a stern expression and seriousness etching on his face.
"Understood?" Yuvraj roared in his deep voice making her flinch due to his loud voice.
"Y-yes" Ruhanika stuttered for the first time in her life as the man in front of her had an aura that made her shiver from inside.
"Good for you." Yuvraj declared and laid on the bed, switching off the night lamp.
Ruhanika gulped thickly as she laid down beside him still grasping the situation of her marriage.
She knew for sure this marriage wasn't a normal one from the way the marriage proposal came. She barely had any expectations, she expected things to be worse but they looked worser here.
From that day it was like the way Yuvraj wanted. She took care of Yuvika as her own child. But she never dared to poke her nose in his business nor his personal life as even she wasn't interested. If he didn't want to have any kind of relationship with her then even she wouldn't be the attention-seeking wife because he wasn't worth it. If he didn't want her to care for him then she wouldn't because she already had so much burden in her life so why would she willingly increase it.
Though she couldn't deny the fact that his presence, his aura intimidated her.
Flashback end~
Ruhanika came out of her thoughts and gazed at the room in front of her. It was divided into two halves from the beginning. The room had one changing room but two closets, one for him, the second for her. They even had two separate dressing tables.
She sighed as she thought of her routine; getting up, making tea for herself, doing yoga, making breakfast, taking care of Yuvika, trying to act like a perfect daughter-in-law, and sleeping. Then again same cycle every day and if she is a little unlucky then small rude interactions with Yuvraj regarding Yuvika also add up sometimes.
Yeah, this was what she had become. A young carefree girl to a woman who was now burdened with so many responsibilities accompanied with taunts if she made a tiny mistake.
But other than protesting and making a fuss about it she had just accepted her fate calmly. She never told anyone about her miseries, her pain because she knew that the other person couldn't change it.
I have accepted my fate...
I need to stay here.
Ruhanika thought and closed her eyes remembering her old times with her family who adored her.
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The door of their room was harshly opened by Vardhaan as he stepped in with a sinister grin on his face which even scared Ishani for a second.
Ishani glared at him hard to which his grin only got wider which made him look no less than the devil.
"Pack your bags Mrs. Rathore we are going on our HONEYMOON." his eyes glinted with pure joy as he smirked.
"W-hat?" Ishani gasped stunned...
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