Aishwarya POV

My heart was beating insanely fast and I was feeling anxious, nervous and scared.

I could hear the slow and faded noise of the footsteps approaching inside.

I could not see anything due to the veil but felt him sitting on the bed.

I could feel my heart throbbing inside my chest.

"Aishwarya,"

I heard his voice. It was so strong and deep.

I could feel my fingers shaking and my palms were sweating. 

"Let me tell you your duties first,"

He said and I inhaled a deep breath to listen carefully.

"You will have to wake up very early in the morning, even before anybody wakes up. Then you will have to get ready and leave for the kitchen to cook me something. I need my breakfast on the bed. Being the head of Suggestions in the royal court and the right hand of my brother, I have a lot of responsibilities. I love discipline, my work and peace over everything. After breakfast, you will prepare for my bath and then help me get ready for the court meeting. And, while I will be busy with court meetings, you will have to do all the chores. I do not like attendees touching my things. And, after that, you will cook me lunch and then you will have to water all my plants and feed the sparrows. After that, you will cook me dinner and then you will have to feed me with your hands because I get very tired from work at the end of the day and then at night. You will have to massage my head, shoulders and legs,"

He said and tears collected in my eyes hearing the long list of work I would have to do on a daily basis for him.

My heart hurt and I felt like feeling heavy in my heart.

"Understand?"

He asked in an authoritative tone and I shivered terribly.

"Ji,"

I managed to say.

And, suddenly I heard.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa, aaaauuuuuuuchhhhhhhhhhh, Bhai-sa, its hurting,"

The same voice who was ordering me all this cried and I heard the soft, gentle and soothing voice of another man.

"What are you doing in my chamber? Agastya,"

He said and I furrowed my eyebrows.

Agastya.

The younger brother of him, I remembered.

"Bhai-sa, I just came to see Bhabhi-sa, Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh, leave my ear, pleaseeeeeeeee,"

He further cried and a small smile appeared on my face realising that everything he said was just a joke.

"Leave, right now!"

He said and I hear his voice.

"What is this? Bhai-sa, it's not been a day since Bhabhi-sa came and you are already asking me to leave,"

He turned his voice dramatically and sad.

"Leave, Agastya,"

He said again.

"Okay, okay, I am leaving, Bhai-sa, aaaaahhhhhhhhh,"

I heard him crying with a fake voice and then slow and faded footsteps of them walking towards the door.

I heard the noise of the door closing and then the footsteps walking towards me.

Now, I felt nervous again and my smile disappeared.

I felt him sitting in front of me and he said.

"I am sorry about whatever Agastya said. He is the youngest brother among us and got pampered a lot by us since childhood,"

I lowered my gaze and did not say anything.

My eyes just stared at my feet so that I could see through the veil while keeping my gaze low.

Suddenly, I felt his hand forwarding closer and I shut my eyes close.

My heartbeats started to race insanely all of a sudden, my breathing turned uneven. Suddenly, the time slowed down and with closed eyes, I was expecting my veil to be undone.

But. It did not happen.

And, with shaken breaths, I opened my eyes.

I thought he would lift my veil but he did something that shook me to the core and brought tears to my eyes.

He touched and gently placed his both palms over my feet and I felt him leaning in closer and gently pecking my toes for once. I immediately pulled my feet away.

A strong shiver ran down my spine and a lone tear fell from my eyes with this gesture, my fingers fisted on my skirt when he said.

"Hamari jindagi me aapka swagat hai, Aishwarya,"

"You are welcome in my life, Aishwarya,"

My heart swelled with the pain and I felt my chest immediately heavy.

I took my hand and touched his hand gently with my fingers as I was feeling very low with him touching my feet.

He brought his hands back and asked.

"Do you like the place?"

I gulped to control my emotions and nodded.

"Ji,"

I answered in a slow voice that sounded like a breath.

I felt a little awkward silence after that and he calmly asked in a slow voice.

"What is your age by the way?"

I blinked and a slight smile appeared on my lips realising that he was as nervous as I was.

"Nineteen,"

I managed to say.

"Oh, nineteen, you are so young, I am twenty-five,"

He said and I smiled inside my veil.

The silence once again followed for some time and I nervously touched my bangles lightly.

"Has this wedding happened with your consent?"

He asked and I immediately lowered my gaze.

Consent.

The word was feeling so familiar yet so foreign. I was told that I had to marry even a week before the wedding. This was the kind of consent I had been asked for.

"No,"

I said.

The silence followed for some time again and he said.

"I am sorry, but I hope you feel happy here or... if you would ever like or want to leave... you wholeheartedly can,"

I inhaled a deep breath hearing him and a lone tear fell from my eyes.

"By the way, have you had dinner?"

He asked all of a sudden and I nodded.

"Ji,"

"Okay,"

He said.

And, stood up from the bed.

"You just be... comfortable here and I will sleep on the couch,"

He said taking a pillow from the bed. And, opened the curtains of the bed.

Now I was surrounded by the curtains and alone on the bed.

A slight smile was there on my lips and I did not know what was the actual reason for it.

I lifted my veil and looked at the curtains around the bed.

Laying back slowly, I pressed my head on the pillow and lay on the flowery bed.

My nose was inhaling the smell of fresh flowers and it was feeling beautiful.

And, strangely I was not missing my only family anymore now.

Being tired and restless for many days, I closed my eyes and did not know when I fell asleep.

I woke up when I felt like I had slept for an eternity now.

I stretched my arms and lifted my eyes open.

No one had entered the chamber and neither parted the curtains.

I straightened myself and decided to step down the bed, parting the curtains. Placing the veil on my head and pulling it low enough to hide my face, I walked out.

Lightly lifting the curtain, I looked around the chamber and my sight fell on a window.

And, surprisingly, it was early morning.

And, then my sight fell on the couch on which I could see a not-very-detailed picture of him sleeping there with his face on the other side.

Seeing him sleeping, I lifted my veil and settled on my head.

My eyes unwantedly scanned the whole chamber. The dark maroon floors, the windows with curtains, the huge couches, the round roof with detailed flowery designs. The walls were all decorated with light lampstands. It was huge and well connected with the bathing room and separate resting area that opened to the gardens.

With slow steps, I walked towards him.

The unknown curiosity of seeing him was there in me.

I could hear my anklets bells creating noises all the while and I was trying my best to walk slowly.

Walking closer to him, I maintained pretty much distance and tried to see his face.

And, just by looking at him, my heart skipped a few beats.

He was the most handsome and beautiful man I had ever seen. His hair was falling on his forehead, he was beautiful dark lashes and brows. His lips were full and he had a fine jawline. He was tall, and well built and looking at me a wave of discomfort travelled into me.

I was nothing in front of him.

We were the exact opposite.

I shivered all of sudden when he inhaled a deep breath and turned a little.

Immediately taking a few steps back, I pulled my veil down and turned my face opposite to him.

Unknowingly my heart beats were racing insanely and I closed my eyes to calm down my racing heart beats.

He is still sleeping.

I walked away from the couch, back to the bed.

And, after seeing him I could feel a different kind of worry bubbling up in my gut. 

Just by seeing his features, I was afraid that he must be expecting me to be a fair, beautiful and ideal girl who would be only the beauty standards very high.

My fingers unwantedly started tracing my bangles after I lay in the bed with my thoughts.

What if he would never like me?

What if he would deny me after seeing me?

How would he react seeing me?

Thousands of similar thoughts were bringing goosebumps to my body and I was feeling so frightened now.

But, he filled the vermillion in the partition of my hair.

May be he had laid his eyes on me that moment.

But, what if he did not.

A man who was not even interested in seeing his wife on the wedding night, what would he be thinking? What would be his expectations from me and our marriage?

Feeling a flood of thoughts irritating me, I sat up immediately and feel like my breathing were turning heavy.

What if he would just send me back, rejecting me?

I was nothing in comparison to him.

Just like his brother said that he was the head of suggestions at the royal court and right hand of his brother, he must be an intelligent and well read man.

And, here I was uninterested in learning anything whole my life.

My fingers reached to my mouth as I worriedly started biting on my thumb nail while recalling all the things he would definitely dislike.

First, I was not beautiful, nothing in front of him.

I was not even educated and well read.

I did not know anything.

My whole life was just about hearing scolding by my father and being a helper to my elder sisters.

Being the last girl without mother had been a difficult and challenging part of my life.

My whole life, I had been just trying to keep my sisters and my father happy despite I had zero interests in all the things they asked me to learn.

The household chores, the ettiqautes a woman should have, the shyness she should hold, fine fingers in knitting, cooking and everything a wife should learn.

I learnt everything.

But, what if she was expecting me to be educated and well read, someone who could help him in the decision making.

Just by thinking it, a strong shiver ran down my spine and I immediately stepped down the bed.

I had to maintain my distance with him. He should not see me, he should not learn about me.

He should not learn about a woman who was nothing but always had been a helper to her sisters.

I was not even close to what he deserved.

The way he behaved with me, the way he touched my feet and kissed them.

Oh My God!

I was not expecting this.

I was not expecting this much good.

I walked away from the bed towards the bathing room.

It was morning now.

I had to do my morning businesses and take the bath.

All covered with the similar thoughts, I took the bath and changed into the fresh pair of orange and red.

All my trunks and things were already arrived in here yesterday.

After taking the bath, I came out into the dressing room which was adjoined to the bathing room.

My eyes now exploring the beauty of the palace.

The dressing room had a huge mirror with a dressing table and chair in the front.

There was trunks full of clothes and boxes of jewellery.

I walked towards the mirror and looked at myself in the mirror. I let my wet hair open that were reaching beyond my hips. Their curly strands were dancing on the side of my face.

I forwarded my hand to touch the untouched boxes of jewellery.

My fingers unwantedly inching to open them but my mind was denying it. I was a newly wed bride and I should behave well.

I inahled a deep breath and looked at myself in the mirror.

And, as always I was looking normal, not beautiful or extra ordinary.

I lowered my gaze and looked at the vermillion bottle. Taking a pinch of it, I added it in the partition of my hair.

My pieces of jewelleries were intact as I did not take them off.

I grabbed my dupatta and settled on my head to cover my face.

And, suddenly the voice of him clearing his throat made me shiver.

"Uhmm,"

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