Rejuvenating Love

13) The test of fire????

Kuhu's point of view.

Why does Raghav run all day in my mind? Like everyday he will stand at the door, walk through the room, blabber his stupid ideas to me, irritate me every moment in my imagination. Just like, now standing at the door he said he wants to speak something important to me only in my day dreams. Working under the gaze of a envisaged Raghav is difficult. I should ignore my conceptualizations. Processing the thoughts I strolled towards my dressing table to comb my tangled hair.

As soon as I held the comb, the envision hugged me and kissed me deep at my neck. But how's that possible? Is it more than just my concepts? Probably a paranormal activity! My throat choked dry to the thought. Then it's definitely Mina aunty's unsatisfied greedy soul. Afterall she left the earth a few days back and not to mention she was always after me. Being one of our neighbours her soul has the most probable chances to visit my bedroom. Perfect time she chose, in the absence of mumma and papa to terrorise me. But why in the form of Raghav? Is she threatening me to vomit the truth of him before my parent? Typical Indian aunt. She won't leave me even after turning into a ghost. GHOST!?!

My immediate mind couldn't think of attacking her with the cosmetic contents on the table nearby for I've seen in 'Haunted House' series how blood-thirsty the unearthly souls become when irked or irriated. Haunted house GHOST!?!

"AAAaaaaaa........" I squealed to make my maids aware of my harmful situation with the surity of living only a few more seconds of my earthly life.

×××××××××××××××××

'AAAaaaaaaa........!!!!' Palming her ears, closing her eyes, bending away from Raghav and losing the burden to her legs with fear Kuhu screamed as if she watched a real ghost in front of her. In her half kneeling position she was still facing away from him and squealing.

Maria and other workers shivered 'cos already their job was in danger and to add to this their ma'am shouted so loudly.

"What happened? Why you screaming? Stop it." Irritated Raghav palmed her shriller mouth capturing her from her back. Time and touch made Kuhu realise the reality. She stopped struggling in his arms and her degrading efforts stimulated Raghav to release her. She freed herself and pushed him away. Not to mention her tiny pushing effort didn't budge Raghav even an inch back.

'How dare you touch me like that? How did you enter my room? Who allowed you in?' Without breathing any air she blurted out the whole thing.

"I have been telling you since some minutes that I want to talk something important with you. But you!" Raghav rolled his eyes to her stupidity and relaxed himself on her bed. He jumped deep into her bed and turned to face the standing Kuhu.

'Does that mean you force into a girl's room directly? What would the workers and maids think of me? I don't want to be the topic of discussion among them. Moreover Mumma and papa might come here any moment hearing my yells. You need to leave. Please go out of my room. You've some respect left for elders right? So please.' Taking the pleas about her parent's arrival she tried to frighten Raghav. Raising the joined hands to her forhead she pleaded.

"Kuhu you're talking to Mr. Raghav Rajput who doesn't go for anything he isn't sure about." Raghav spoke raising his collar and shrugging his shoulder off her worries. Kuhu rolled her eyes to Raghav's everlasting pride.

"While coming I saw your parent and Rohan going out. Have some other plans to push me out of your room? And I didn't dash into any random girl's room. I came into my fiance's bedroom to talk to her and do a lot of things...."

'Just shut up! Okay! Say what you wanted to and then leave instantly orelse I won't take much time in calling the cops.' She warned him of his malicious thoughts.

"Ma'am is everything alright? Should I come up?" Maria enquired about Kuhu's safety from the drawing.

'Does she know you came here?' Kuhu asked Raghav with anger playing with both her eyes.

"Yeah she tried to stop me but......Poor girl. Don't dismiss her of the job. She was worried about it.' Raghav showed sympathy for Maria.

'You!' She pointed her finger to Raghav.

'Everything is alright. Get to your work. Go.' Kuhu ordered Maria.

"So? You're about to surrender me to the cops. In that case you need a strong and reasonable complaint against Raghav Rajput to get your work done. They won't take me handcuffed just for flirting with my fiance." He smirked by ploting the reasons of his arrest himself.

'How would attempt to r**e case go? Because you dashed into my room in absence of my parent and Maria is a witness to it, filing an FIR won't be that difficult for me.' Kuhu lifted her eyebrows twice subsequently with a wide grin.

"When did you grow up to be so smart? All my effects, aren't they?" He woke up to sit on the bed getting alerted to her smartness. "If getting arrested is destined then why not commit the crime actually, that I would be punished for." Raghav pulled Kuhu on him. Locking their eyes to seal the love between them they seized the moment and they remained still as such. "If you don't get up, I may ..."

Gaining some consciousness Kuhu got up from the bed fitting her dress properly and to steer away from the topic she asked,'Why did you want to talk?'

"I went to your office you're absent. So I drove my car here. Sit, we'll talk." He gestured her to sit on the bean bag aside. "What were you doing with your laptop by the way?" While she followed his gestures he tapped on the touchpad removing the screensaver and the Microsoft PowerPoint presentation file read - International business fest 2018, Dubai.

"How's work going on?" He faced her to ask. Kuhu was caught off guard completely to this out of topic question of him. She realised the implication of his question a bit later, that he checked her work on her laptop.

'Yeah!' 

'Oh Yeah! Its good. Everything is just fine.' Nodding her head she blinked her eyes of assurance to his curious questions.

'Raghav, is there anything you want speak other than this? Umm...I mean something more relevant?' She knew Raghav was hesitating to interfere in her professional world so she approached him sincerely to opine on her work.

"Try to keep the tender submissions, their rates, estimates and evaluations from the reports of Rathore Constructions confidential. Be it your secretary Kavya or someone very close. May be even your family. I came here to caution you in that regard." Looking into her thoughtful eyes Raghav understood Kuhu got stranggled in his words.

He flipped his fingers infront of her face to bring her back to reality and said,"Hey chill! I just gave you a business suggestion. You're taking it too seriously." Although Kuhu's face lit up to smile but Raghav knew her girl was too tender for this huge business of Rathores. Notwithstanding the fact that his tigress was no way less than any successful entrepreneur of the country. Its just like he was always there for her. He promised her.

"And there is another thing I want to share with you." Kuhu squinted and furrowed her eyebrows on seeing him talking without his shadow like confidence which accompanied him wherever he went.

"Ahem!" Raghav cleared his throat and spoke- "I know you don't have a clue of this from your family but I think you have got all rights to know." He walked towards her french window screened with colours of purple and golden and looked out of the pane to talk. "Rathore constructions' 40% share is a gift from uncle. I didn't do it on intention to interfere in your professional life. I had no such plan. Uncle wants me to accompany and assist you in taking the company to heights of success. I want to know your opinion because it is all your hardwork. If you've a problem with all this, we can tear off the agreement. I don't want anything forced on you."

'Papa wants this? When did both of you come so close? How? I mean. I don't have any problem if papa planned this. But I feel like everything is getting so hurried up like- Rakesh's proposal, your arrival with your parent at my home, your enemity with Rakesh, the shares agreement. How come all these all of a sudden in a few days?' Walking closer to him and adoring the beauty of a rainy weather outside Kuhu asked Raghav but he remained silent because all these indeed were a part of his decided plan.

'Frankly speaking we don't have the hope for any spark of love to emerge between us. Isn't it weird for us to get married? My heart resists all this a bit because I feel like there is no possible reason or chemistry between us to get married.' She looked sideways at him so as to know his views. Both of them knew her words didn't hold any significance before their ever scintillating love yet Kuhu stated them to make Raghav confess his love despite his tremendous effort to supress it within his heart. But Raghav's deadly silence was testing her patience a lot. She couldn't hold herself anymore against the restless blood rushing through her body.

'Will you mind if I ask you something?' She adored his palms slowly into her feathery hold. 'Can't this marriage be more than just your obligations? Is it true that I'm a trophy in your zeal to defeat Rakesh? Call off the marriage right now if that's the reason.' May be while asking the evolving questions from her mind she had already considered his answers to be a YES only because of his adamant silence.

To her dismay Raghav withdrew his hands from her. She received the unambiguous answers from his gestures in no time. But Raghav still had something to say. When he hadn't started till then, how could she finalise the end? Cupping her face and pouring all his love on her through his eyes he said,"I don't need to defeat someone who's already a loser. I have learnt this lesson of mine from the past few experiences. And about the lost chemistry between us?" He breathed heavily this time before speaking further.

"Till date I couldn't comprehend what you expected of me through your words during the hug at Tanya's bachelorette. I may not be the ideal one for you but I'm trying. Accept this marriage atleast for the sake of my endless efforts of fetching us together. This time I want to rub the stones harder to get the vibrant fire spark out of our deep-dug love." Hardly had he finished when the glowing face of Kuhu alarmed him of his hearty confessions.

"I've some work. I'll leave." He hadn't planned to confess his love this early so he left abruptly to escape any of her further answer-dragging questions. He left behind a Kuhu with emotions of a mixed fruit jam. Merriment of a sweet strawberry for the confession of his love, sour pine-apple for the fights between them, red as the apple for the blush in her face, seeds in grapes for the problems and difficulties in a happy marital life.

In the evening that day.

"Kuhu? Where are you? Kuhu!" Mrs. Rathore's voice gradually converted to a serious one from an anxious tone. All she wanted to do at the moment is drown Kuhu with questions and explain her some social rules. She had just reached home when she headed upstairs to Kuhu's room so recklessly after getting informed of Raghav's sudden arrival from Maria.

'What happened? Why you shouting so restlessly?' Kuhu yelled at her mom by unbolting her door with a sudden jerk. 'Come in. Drink some water. Breathe rhythmically. Then we'll talk. Okay?'

"No, we are talking right now." Her mumma ordered her and drifted her into her room not forgetting to lock the door being too cautious for the workers to eavesdrop their conversation. With the force she pulled her into the room and released her hand made Kuhu incapable of balancing herself. The reason behind her mumma's furiousity was inapprehensible for her.

"Raghav came awhile ago?" This was not the question Mrs. Rathore wanted to ask because she already knew the answer to it. Before Kuhu could reply she asked," Why did you let him into your bedroom? Both of you aren't married yet. Being a girl you should have controlled yourself. You could have taken him to the drawing. You risked to be the subject of discussion among the workers at home."

'I didn't know it was him. I screamed thinking him to be a ghost first 'cos I was all alone in the home. He said he came to talk something serious so I didn't think of wasting his time ushering him to the drawing.' Kuhu mumbled, with her words threatening to peep out with a sob any moment. She reasoned that she hasn't yet crossed the limits enough to lower their head in shame.

"The bond formed between the time from engagement to marriage is so thin of a thread. We can't fully trust or distrust them until the day of marriage. What if the alliance breaks in the way? It's the girl who suffers. By the way what was so important to talk?" Mrs. Rathore's restless questions in high-pitched tone wanted to test the aunthenticity in Kuhu's words.

On seeing the worstside of her mumma where she didn't have a speck of trust on her she yelled,"Raghav had come to enquire if I had any problem regarding the 40% of Rathore Constructions being gifted to him. You all didn't give me even a hint to all this infact he was the one to enlighten me about it. And you blame me?" Kuhu couldn't believe that just blink of a second ago she fought with her mumma for Raghav, especially when questions were on their character.

Mrs. Rathore felt relaxed of her words proving her innocence. She calmed down to say,"I'm sorry. I get worried about you."

'By distrusting me?' Mrs. Rathore ran towards her to hug her tightly and whispered," No beta, I trust you. I wanted to hear you as guiltless."

'Then why those questions full of suspicions mumma?' She looked at her face ending the hug.

"Just to have the purity of gold again out of the goldsmith's furnace of red hot fire." Mrs. Rathore patted her cheek with a satisfied smile.

It's been thousands and thousands of years to Sita's fire penance in Ramayana (Hindu Mythology) but till date girls are forced to win the fire everyday with or without their knowledge. Why did she start the legacy for the women to prove themselves out of the destructive fire? One who emerges victorious is pure and the one who burns was an adulterated chasitity. Can a mere fire judge the character of radiant goddesses like us?

Next time when a fire burns the feminity of a woman observe carefully if its the fire burning the woman or her radiance burning the fire. And by the time you realise you would have lost another goddess from the earth leaving behind our hands joined and head lowered out of guilt pleading her to forgive us in the name of worshipping her.

She never wished to be worshipped; she wished to live a life full of esteem in this beautiful world. Alas! What we made of her. We unveiled her statues at temples to set example for all others to follow her path of certifying their chastity.

At Rajput Mansion

'Raghav! You at home?',yelled Mrs. Rajput. She dashed into his room to find him playing FIFA World Cup match on TV. Sitting on the couch fully devoted to the game he treated his mom and her words completely unnoticed and uncared for. She pulled the plugs out to make him listen to her.

"What's now mom?" Raghav threw the remote control on the bed and looked at her with a frustrating expression hovering over his face.

Settling down beside him she complained,' Already ignoring me from now? God knows if you would remember, you have an old mother, after marriage.' She pouted innocently to gain his leniency and attention.

"You wont change mom!" He nodded his head sideways unbelievably. Curling his arm around her neck he kissed her temple.

'Dear! Rathores and we want both you and Kuhu to sign up the legal proceedings for marriage. Is it okay for tomorrow?' Mrs. Rajput clearly mentioned everything that she had discussed with Mrs. Rathore over phone.

"No issues! I'll be there on time."His face brightened. How could Raghav deny to this golden opportunity? He remembered how helpless he was on having the gracious sight of Kuhu on bed but being devoid of touching her made him feel the reality of the scene before his eyes as merely a dream. But nowon the papers of law in no way would compromise with his desires which are considered illicit before marriage.

'Yeah! Yeah! Why not? Let the world fall apart but this should be executed on time.' Mrs. Rajput mocked as she left behind a mortified Raghav in the room.