Author's pov

Next morning

There was pin drop silence in Chowdhury house.
Everyone except Saptarshi were eating their breakfast together at the dining table but still only the sounds of cutlery was there.

Soon Saptarshi entered the room which made everyone stop in their places. Without looking at anybody , he sat down on his chair . As soon as he sat down on his chair, Piyali stood up and left the dining room.

Saptarshi closed his eyes in pain and let out a tired sigh.

"Don't worry...she will come around ." Siddhartha said ,patting his son's back.

Now ,you will ask me what happened and how this tension suddenly took birth...Let me explain it to you,

Flashback (it's all about yesterday )

Saptarshi was waiting in the cafe and when he saw the person whom he was about to meet didn't come on time, he decided to call him and dialed the number.

"Don't need to call me...I am here." Hearing the voice he looked up to come face to face with the person who not only destroyed his sleep last night but also destroyed his peace and sanity.

"We need to talk ....seriously this time." The person said to him and sat in front of him.

Saptarshi braced himself for the upcoming storm.

"Tell me fast ,Akash." He said to him.
Impatient could be clearly traced in his tone.

Akash took a sigh and said, "Whatever I am going to say to you, you need to listen to it without getting hyper. "

"Stop with this statutory warning thing, dimwit...tell me fast ." Saptarshi said, gritting his teeth. He was getting angry with each passing second.

"Okay okay, relax and listen, as you know currently I am in Kanika's house for post wedding rituals. So Last night me and Kanika decided to have pizza late at night. It was around 1 am when the delivery boy came with the pizza and I collected it. I thought everyone was asleep but I was very much wrong. ..while coming back to Kanika's room, I was passing by Biplob uncle's room when I heard voices coming from inside." Akash stopped to take a bit of a break.
Saptarshi gestured him to continue.

" They were discussing the proposal which came from Santanu's home.
Santanu is Smita's friend and is a frequent visitor there.
Apparently Santanu likes Aratrika so he made his parents talk with Biplob uncle for his marriage with Aratrika." Akash said. The words he uttered instantly burned Saptarshi's heart and the mere thought of someone eyeing Aratrika made him mad enough to bash that person black and blue.

Akash understood his state. So he took advantage of it.

"So they are coming tomorrow in the evening to fix the marriage...as you know Biplob uncle will do what he wants to do, anyone's opinion, likes and dislikes don't matter to him. " He said.

"Like, I will let the marriage happen. You know what , I will just go now and tell them that this marriage will not happen ." Saptarshi muttered angrily and was about to stand up when Akash stopped him.

"Listen Dude, why so? Do you love her?" Akash asked him though he knew the answer very well.

"Ofcourse dude, you know that." Saptarshi answered in a baffled tone.

"No, that's not my point. .my point is do you see your future with her? Do you want to marry her?
You already know that your mother won't accept this marriage for two reasons, one she is a widow and Secondly she is elder to you.
I am damn sure that you won't offend her by marrying against her wish.
So first decide what you want to do? Then Go ahead and I am with you in this ,remember that." Akash Said to him. He needed to put some sense into him .

After that Saptarshi came back home. He wasn't in that mental state to go to the police station. His mind was disturbed by everything .

Avoiding questions of his mother regarding his sudden holiday, he went straight to his room.

He needed to make a decision first.

He loved her, that's true. But it was also true that he never thought about marrying just now.
He was sure that it's only Aratrika with whom he wanted to spend the rest of his life . He wanted to marry her as well but after his mother gave him consent.
He knew that at first she wouldn't be convinced but one time would come when she would accept Aratrika because of her sweet and calm nature, her loving heart...most importantly for the type of person she was.

But now it's too late. He needs to convince his mother as soon as possible. He can't let her marry anyone else. She is too precious for him to lose. He will do everything to have her in his life....no matter what it takes.

.
.
.

After lunch everyone was present in the living room. It was Saturday so it was a holiday for everyone.

When they settled down in the living room, he decided to tell them everything.

"I need to tell you something." He said, gaining everyone's attention. Everyone looked at him curiously as his expression was screaming seriousness.

"I have decided to get married. " He said and cursed himself immediately.

"Fuck, I wanted to tell everything from the start and here I am already started to mess up everything. " He chided in his mind.

Siddhartha looked at him as if he had grown two horns in head, Sanonda raised her eyebrows in amusement whereas Sanchita choked the water she was drinking. She started to cough as Sanonda patted her back.

"Stop joking like this," Sanchita chided her brother.

"I am very serious. " Saptarshi said seriously.

"Wow, it's great news...see, I have already started to search for the perfect girl for you...let me bring the photographs." Piyali said excitedly .

"Actually...umm.." Saptarshi fumbled.

"What?" Piyali asked him with a smile. But her smile wiped away within a minute after hearing his next words, "I..um.m..I love someone. "

Everyone around him was stunned and a silence prevailed .

Saptarshi is in love...this is unexpected for them as they knew how he didn't do anything without his mother's consent obviously except his job...most importantly, he himself promised his mother that he would marry the girl whom his mother would choose for him.

"What? Are you serious? Who is she? What does she do? How did you meet her? When did it happen?" Sanchita asked him excitedly.

Saptarshi was only looking at his mother. As he thought, she didn't look pleased with the news.

Sanonda gestured to Sanchita to shut her mouth as she saw the face of Piyali.

"Wow...I mean, you already had chosen a girl for you. That's great. Thank God!! you at least informed us that you want to marry her...otherwise maybe you would have brought her here directly after marrying her." Piyali said sarcastically.

Saptarshi closed his eyes in pain as he traced the disappointment in her tone. It was not his intention.

"Piyali,please don't tell him this. " Siddhartha said to his wife as she was being unnecessarily rude.

"Maa, that's not what I mean. I mean to say that if I marry anyone, it will be her...no one else." Saptarshi said in a firm tone.

"That will be seen later. ..Now tell me, who is she? When will we meet her so that I can decide if she will be your wife or not?" Piyali said in a stern tone.

Taking a deep breath ,Saptarshi replied ,"Aratrika...Aratrika Mukherjee."

Everyone was surprised.

"What? As in Kanika's elder sister?" Siddhartha asked him in astonishment.

Saptarshi nodded.

Piyali's face was describing only one expression- anger.

"Impossible. I am sorry Rishi, but I can't accept her as a daughter in law." Piyali denied straight. Saptarshi was expecting something like that.

"But why ,Maa? I talked with her, she is really sweet. I already like her...Gr..."

"Sanchita, didn't I tell you not to talk when elders are talking?" Piyali interrupted Sanchita with a loud yell.

Sanchita flinched in her place.

" Piyali, she was just sharing her opinion. " Sanonda said ,as she hugged Sanchita from the side.

"Didi , please, it's my family matter. Let me handle it." Piyali said rudely.

"If you have forgotten, let me remind you, Didi is the elder member of our family...so watch out the tone you are using for her ." Siddhartha said in a stern tone. Piyali looked down ,feeling offended.

"Besides, what is the problem in Aratrika ? She is a sweet child. " Siddhartha said with a frown.

" Maybe . .maybe she is sweet. But she can't be my Rishi's wife because I will never accept a widow for him. Moreover she is older to him ...So impossible. Rishi deserves the best, which she clearly is not at all. " Piyali said in a firm tone.

"This is not fair. Just because of her being a widow and
just a year older to me doesn't justify that I can't marry her." Saptarshi said . He was trying hard to control his anger.

"This is absolutely fair, Rishi. You have to marry the girl whom I will choose for you. Forget about Aratrika, it will be for your betterment." Piyali said.

Saptarshi took a sigh.

"So is this your final decision? " He asked his mother. Piyali nodded. She was confident that Saptarshi would do as she wanted him to do .

He nodded his head slowly. He knew what he had to do. Though it would hurt his mother, he was helpless in the matter of his heart.
He loves his mother a lot but that doesn't mean that he will leave the person who is his soulmate...his love...his passion...his Aratrika.

"I am sorry, Maa. ..but this time I can't agree with you. I will marry Aratrika and this is my final decision." Saptarshi said ,making everyone shocked around him.

Piyali was beyond shocked.

"What? Just for a girl ...you are going against your mother. I can't believe this. See, she didn't come into this house and already started to be the reason for our conflict...just imagine what will happen when she steps into this house !!! If you love your mother, forget that girl. " Piyali yelled hysterically.

" Please Maa, stop it. This is baseless. I love you and respect you a lot but that doesn't mean I will stop loving her. You both are important to me. Sorry Maa, but I will marry her. " Saptarshi declared with finality.

After that his mother stopped talking to him.

And later at night he went to meet Aratrika.

Flashback ends.

.
.
.

Mukherjee House

" Are preparations done?" Biplob asked as he entered the living room.

"Yes. Everything is done. Aratrika is just getting ready ." Binita said with a smile.

"Okay tell her to do it fast . It's already 7pm..They will be here soon." Biplob said in a hurry.

Today is the day when Santanu is going to come with his parents to meet Aratrika and Mukherjees are busy with the preparations . Most excited ones are Biplob ,Binita and Sudeshna.
Sudeshna was in the kitchen checking the food .
Suporno already told them to not be involved in this matter. He was against the way his family was rushing for the marriage. Smita was busy in her room doing her makeup whereas Kanika was helping Aratrika to get ready .

Promita, Pronoy were also here.

"Where is Brijesh?" Biplob asked Binita .

"He is in his room." She replied.

"This man!! I don't know why he is sulking . Go and call him." Biplob said. Binita left and went to their room.

"Are you sure ?" Kanika asked as she helped to settle the dupatta.

"Huh!!" Aratrika asked in confusion.

"About this marriage ." She asked again. Aratrika bit her lips. She was helpless.
Kanika sighed and said ,"Think before you decide anything. "
Aratrika nodded. Only she knew what a turmoil was running in her heart.
.
.
.
As they said, around 7pm , Santanu along with his parents came. They were welcomed wholeheartedly by Biplob.

It was the time when Aratrika was called down stairs. She was shaking in anxiety. She didn't want to do all these...her heart was against all these. But as soon as she remembered the affection she was receiving from her family and she heard how her family fought for her , she couldn't help but get confused.

Kanika took her downstairs where everyone was present except Brijesh.

As soon as she stood in front of them ,immediately she felt the creepy feelings coming back . The reason was the continuous stare she was receiving from Santanu.

"She us very beautiful, Binita." Santanu's mother said, looking at Aratrika who was looking beautiful in a light yellow anarkali suit.

Binita beamed with pride.

"We already know that she is a widow. And basically we don't have an issue with it. Whatever makes our son happy, we are happy with it." Santanu's father said.

Suporno frowned upon hearing it. He didn't like the way that man made it sound. Akash just rolled his eyes in irritation. Others became a bit uncomfortable as well .

"Where is Brijesh. ..I mean Aratrika's father?" Santanu's father asked.

Biplob clenched his jaw in anger.

Binita gave an awkward smile and said, "Actually, he is not well. So resting in his room.."

In this whole time Aratrika did not look at anyone. Sje was not interested in all these .Though She was looking down, still she felt how his eyes were roaming on her figure.

She bit her lips to stop her tears.

"Aratrika,"

A strong male voice stopped their activities.

Hearing the very familiar voice, Aratrika looked up with a jerk and turned around.

Her breath hitched as she saw the person in front of her.

There Saptarshi was standing in front of them with a determined expression.

Hmm. ..... things are getting serious now.

Share your thoughts on this chapter.

What do you think what will happen now?

Next update will be Tomorrow at night.

Don't forget to Vote, Comment and Share .

Thank you for reading.