Chapter 26

"Are you serious?"

I ask incredulously, looking at the group. "Do you think this is some joke?"

"Why joke? You are married, right? Husbands put sindoor on their wife's forehead many times. It's a very simple action and a non-issue. Unless you have been lying and he is not your husband," Chavan badgers on, his voice holding a mocking challenge.

I am seriously contemplating murder.

"Mr. Chavan, you...." I continue to protest, but Jeet steps forward causing me to stop mid-sentence.

"To hell with it!" he mutters under his breath, as he grabs the box of sindoor. In the blink of an eye, he opens the box, takes a pinch of the red powder and applies it in the middle parting of my hair.

Whaa..? Holy shit!! Nooo!!!

I am frozen in my spot, unable to move, when he does the next unimaginable thing. He takes the mangalsutra from Mrs. Dixit's hands and puts it around my neck.

"There! are you satisfied? We would like to leave now." Grabbing my hand and our photos, he pulls me out of the society office and marches home.

As soon as he closes the door, I grab him by his shirt, shaking him "How dare you? Do you understand the significance of what you did?"

"Relax! It is nothing. I did what I had to, to shut them up. But this," he points to my head, "it is meaningless. It was just an act. You know it is not real and it's not like we actually got married. Don't attach much meaning to it."

"How can you say its meaningless? It means something to me. I don't want just anybody to apply sindoor to me, even if we are playing pretend."

"Why are you making a big deal out of it? This chapter is closed now. They won't bug you anymore," he growls back.

"What if they do? I can't keep carrying on like this. It's too much for me to handle." I leave my grip on his shirt and stand by the window. I need some fresh air to process what just happened.

Like any other girl, I had grand dreams of my ideal wedding. Countless fantasies of the perfect dress, looking my best, making my way amidst the guests towards my groom, who would be waiting for me in a beautifully decorated mandap.

Oh, how I dreamed of the rituals, where the priest would chant the meaningful mantras, while we circle the fire, promising to be with each other forever. My man would put the sindoor on my head with great care, making me his. When he put the mangalsutra around my neck, he would perhaps lovingly kiss my cheek and whisper how much he loves me.

To me these symbols were sacred, and I wanted them given to me by the love of my life. The one I would spend the rest of my life with.

Never in my wildest dreams did I expect that I would have the most significant tokens for a woman, thrust on me so casually and carelessly.

It may not mean anything to Jeet, but it meant a lot to me and he shattered my dream in the most callous way.

"Rajiv, tell me you have some good news for me," Jeet barks into his phone as soon as it rang. His face getting angrier as he listens to whatever the person is saying on the other end. "You're kidding me? Three months? And he cannot be convinced to come before that?"

I stop to listen. Jeet's voice sounds urgent. He walks toward the door, obviously wanting to continue his talk outside in private.

"I need to get this sorted out before the end of next month. We have one only month.. one month.. you understand? We have to somehow convince ......."

Door closes, cutting out the rest of the conversation. What is he talking about? What does he have time of a month for?

Wait! I think I heard a trace of a Western accent, American maybe, in his speech. Was that a figment of my imagination or was it real? Come to think of it, I now realize that whenever Jeet speaks quickly, he does have an accent. That was what I had caught on the first day, when I realized something odd, but I ignored it then, too mesmerized by him.

When Jeet walks back in, he looks even more pissed than before. Judging by his frown, it seems he wants to clobber someone and I have half a mind to scurry out of here, except that this is still my house and I am not going anywhere. Besides, I am still mad at him for what he did.

"What do we do now?" I ask in a quiet voice when he walks in.

"What do you mean?" he asks suspiciously.

"I mean, we practically got married out there."

Jeet gives me an angry stare and again I wish I could hide under my bed or something. He takes a step forward and bends down to bring his face close, till his eyes are level with mine.

"Listen carefully! What happened today was just for show. I did it to protect you, because they were trying to trap us into acknowledging that we are not married and they could get an excuse to throw you out. It did not mean anything. Don't read anything more into it. As I told you before, it holds no validity anywhere."

I try to take his words seriously. But as I look into his dreamy caramel eyes, all I think about is kissing him. His face gets so animated when he speaks. The dimple in his cheek playing peekaboo.

"But we have a problem......."

Problem? Yes I can't stop thinking about you.. It's definitely a problem.

"I tried to avoid it.... temporarily........top secret.......... " dark chocolate pupils dilate. How would he look without a beard?

".......best interest...." The caramel eyes are virtually glowing. "OK with you?" His eyes grow wide. Ooh! they have a dark ring surrounding his caramel iris.

"Well?" Oh! he is waiting for my answer.

I nod my head. But honestly, I have barely registered what he said. His eyes are so close to mine and I can't help but lose myself in those golden-brown orbs. His beautiful eyes are filled with kindness.

Caramel with flecks of milk chocolate in them and a dark chocolate center. Swoon!!

My heart is thundering in my chest, so loud I can practically hear it. Can he hear it too? Blood rushes to my face, heating it up. Gosh we are so close. His cologne is a heady mix of spice, citrus and woody scent, further firing up my senses. He smells delicious as I inhale deeply.

I remember our almost kiss. What would it be like to kiss Jeet?

"Tarana?"

My eyes, flutter open. Heck I didn't even realize I had closed them. Jeet is giving me a look, that clearly says, that he thinks I am bonkers.

"I ..umm.. yeah.. yeah. I get it." I reply flustered.

"Good. So you don't mind?"

"Don't.. mind.." I answer automatically, not sure exactly what I did not mind. I have no clue what he just said, but I can't tell him that. My brains are still frazzled being so close to him.

"Are you absolutely sure?"

I stupidly nod my head.

"OK that's settled then." He glances at his watch. The cheap knock off or is it?

"I have to leave now. Got something to take care of. I won't be back tonight. See you tomorrow."

He leaves me standing alone in my eerily empty house, wondering what kind of secret life is Jeet hiding from everyone.

Should I really trust him? I wonder.

---------------

The sun is up, throwing its golden light through the windows. I look around the house, half expecting Jeet to be on the couch. Its empty, no sign of Jeet. I am not sure if I should be happy or sad about it. I decide to take it positively.

Oww! My head is spinning. Probably due to the sleepless night I had mulling over the events of the last two days. It's a good thing that I have the day off today as well.

I hold my head to stop it from spinning so much. When I withdraw my hand, I see traces of sindoor smeared on it. I thought I wiped it all away at night. I don't want any evidence of last evening's events lingering. The sooner I forget about it, the better.

'Come on, don't lie to yourself. It felt good, even though it was just pretending to be married to Jeet,' inner voice pricks me.

I guess so. As much as I try to deny it, every time I am around him, the attraction seems to grow stronger. It is frightening at the same time, as I hardly know him or about him, maybe that's why I am fighting the feeling so vigorously.

I spend an extra ten minutes in the shower, making sure all traces of the sindoor are gone.

I put my clothes back in the cupboard which I had hastily dumped in the suitcases last night. Why is it easy to put clothes into the suitcase but so time consuming putting it back?

I warily eye the box of sindoor and mangalsutra lying on my dining table. Should I just throw it away??

I decide to keep them for a while till this matter is solved one way or another. I grab the two items and stuff it in the deepest, darkest corner of the closet. I hope I never have to see them again.

The day off allowed me to give my leg enough rest. By lunchtime I am able walk normally, provided I did not put unnecessary pressure on the left leg. I am good to go to office tomorrow.

Knock knock.

Its nerdy Jeet.

He makes himself comfortable on the couch, adjusting the pillows and settling himself against the armrest, giving room to stretch his long legs.

"I have got all the documents ready, and we have an appointment at two with my lawyer." He states as he rests his head on the pillows.

"Sorry, what?"

"Our appointment.. with my lawyer.. is at two this afternoon." He repeats. "Have you had lunch? If not let's leave now so we can grab a bite on the way."

"What are you talking about? What appointment? what lawyer? why lawyer?"

He sits up straight, eyes narrowed in confusion.

"What? have you forgotten the talk we had last night? You said it was OK, that's why I went ahead."

The.. talk? Oh! he means the one where he was talking and I was lost in a sea of caramel.

"uh.. umm. I am not sure if I um.. heard everything."

"But you said you understood and agreed!"

"Yeah, yeah, psshh .. I was just playing with you. I wanted to see how you react," I give a light laugh, though I have a sinking feeling in my stomach. What the hell did I agree to?

"Ok then. Get ready, we should leave now."

"Uh.. Jeet is it necessary to go the legal way? I mean can we find another way to settle this matter out of court?" I assume he wants me to challenge the lease contract in court and get the 'married only' clause removed.

"As I told you last night, I have gone through your options. I went to the society office and read your rental agreement. You have signed a contract where you have accepted that you are married, and you are renting the house on that basis. You have also agreed to submit your marriage certificate, and if you fail to submit it or you have provided false information you will be evicted, which you will not contest."

"So basically, you have no choice!"

I didn't know I had dug such a deep hole for myself. I look at Jeet, who has a determined look on his face.

"So then what is the need for a lawyer?"

"Like I told you, my lawyer says if you want to stay here you have no choice but provide your marriage certificate. So, we are meeting him to file papers for marriage."

I snap my head up, my eyes widening in shock

Marriage? For real?

"Are you serious?"