Chapter 37 - Suman
After the prayer ceremony, Ranaji and Prince Ranvijay left for Suryagarh, and all the ladies got busy shopping.
The royal jewellers and fabric artisans were called upon to present new designs.
However, for my wedding dress, Princess Aishwarya had taken responsibility and had already begun working on it.
She said she had been eagerly waiting to design the wedding attire for Kunwarsa’s bride, and knowing it was me made her even more thrilled.
We all had lunch and then gathered in Queen Trisha’s chamber. Everyone was excited, but I was slightly tense about what Pandit ji had said. And I could sense that it had affected Kunwar-sa, too, but I didn’t know how to reassure him. I hadn’t seen him since the ceremony.
“Suman, how is this for Haldi?” I looked at Princess Aishwarya holding up a yellow ghaghra, jewelled with cut-out pearls.
I smiled. “Beautiful.”
“And this one for the mehendi?” Daadi-sa asked, holding a pear-green ghaghra.
I nodded. “This one’s nice.”
I couldn’t concentrate. Even though I was sitting with all these ladies, surrounded by hundreds of beautiful dresses, my heart longed to meet Kunwar-sa. His worried face kept crossing my mind.
“And this one for the sangeet?” Nandani asked.
I smiled distractedly as she held out a magenta-pink dress. “It’s amazing,” I muttered.
As they got busy again, looking through more collections, I got up.
“Um, I need to freshen up. I’ll be back in a moment,” I excused myself and walked out of Queen Trisha’s royal chambers.
On my way, I came across an attendant.
“Have you seen Kunwar Agastya?” I asked.
She shook her head.
“Okay, but if you see him, let him know I want to meet him. I’ll be in my chamber,” I said before walking away, searching around, hoping to find him somewhere. But I couldn’t. Eventually, I went back to the ladies’ gathering.
We talked, made fun of each other, and reminisced about old memories. Once we had bought clothes to our hearts’ content, we finally had dinner together, gossiping about our husbands, sharing their silly habits.
My stomach hurt from all the laughing, listening to every wife’s complaint about her man.
“You tell us, Suman,” Daadi-sa chimed with a grin. “What is the one thing you hate about Kunwar Agastya?”
I bit my lower lip, looking down at the beautiful bangles adorning my wrists.
“Nothing, Daadi-sa,” I said softly. “There’s nothing in him that I hate. He’s always making an effort to keep me happy.”
“Oh, ho…” Queen Trisha drawled playfully. “And what have you thought of keeping him happy after marriage?”
I felt the crimson heat rush up my cheeks. In that moment, all I could think was, thankfully, Rani-maa wasn’t there. She had gone to put the babies to sleep.
“I can tell you, Bhabhi-sa,” Nandani teased, wagging her brows. “She’s probably planning to use her tongue.”
My eyes widened in flustered shock, and a wave of laughter erupted in the room.
But Daadi-sa voiced her confusion.
“Tongue?” she frowned. “For what, Nandani?”
“Talking, Daadi-sa,” Nandani exclaimed quickly. “T for talking, T for tongue for talking,” she smiled sheepishly.
Everyone laughed except me. They kept pulling my leg until midnight, until finally I escaped them, using sleep as an excuse.
Nandani was happy. After so long, I had seen her laughing, really. She had stopped smiling after her father’s demise. And that was why they took a three-year break before having their first baby.
But, after Princess Rudraja was born, she believed it was her father who had come back to her in their baby’s form.
When I returned to my chamber, I noticed a few attendants still awake.
“You didn’t have to stay up. You all can rest now.” I said, retiring them for the day.
I plopped onto the bed and stretched my arms. It had been a long, eventful day.
As I got busy taking off my bangles, I suddenly heard the heavy sound of anklets.
My brows creased. I had asked all the attendants to leave, so who was it at such a late hour?
Lifting my gaze, I looked at a very tall… bulgy lady stepping in. She had her face covered with the veil, and her walk was oddly… manly.
I frowned, tilting my head, observing the strangely familiar figure.
My eyes widened in shock.
Kunwar-sa!!!
As he stepped closer, I noticed the red skirt he had worn low on his hips. The dupatta hung awkwardly around his neck, covering him to the chest but open at the back. And as he lifted the veil off, my mouth opened wide.
“Do you want anything, Princess?” he said, feigning a high-pitched girlish voice, kneeling before me.
His eyes were unusually large, rimmed with thick strokes of kohl.
His hair fell messily over his forehead.
A bold dot of red vermilion sat between his brows; big jhumkas dangled from his ears, and the way he ‘tried’ to blush, fluttering his lashes, left me torn between sheer amusement and dying embarrassment.
“What?” That was the only word I could utter after several failed attempts to open and close my mouth.
My eyes dropped south to his blouse, which was barely holding on, ready to rip at any moment. His buff chest and half of his nipples were visible.
I stood up from the bed and walked behind him to see his back. And…
I instantly burst into loud fits of laughter.
“Oh my God, Kunwar-sa!!!”
“Shhh…” he immediately hushed me, and I pursed my lips.
He then stood up and walked toward the table with exaggerated grace.
I couldn’t control my laughter as his back came into my view again. I bit my inner cheek, seeing his blouse’s strings tangled here and there, tied only at the end.
Picking the fruit bowl, he returned to the bed and placed it on the mattress.
“Don’t you feel suffocated in this?” he asked, adjusting the skirt before lying down, propping himself on his elbow. “It’s so tight. I can barely breathe. How do you even walk in this?” he added, savouring the grapes.
I smiled, lying opposite him on my elbow.
“Women can do anything,” I said, sliding the fruit basket toward me. “And who said you could eat fruit? Don’t you remember? You’re supposed to behave like Suman, like a helper. Come on, help me take off my jewellery.”
He sat up. “Ji, whatever you say, Princess.”
I smiled. “You see, my husband is very ill-tempered. If he finds out you’re not doing your work right, he might kill you,” I whispered the last part, gesturing across my neck.
He raised his brows.
“Wow!” he said, using a fake sweet voice. “Interesting man.”
I just laughed upon hearing it.
“So, I got to help you take off this jewellery, right?” he asked.
I nodded, popping a grape in my mouth, shifting onto my back.
Momentary silence followed before he began removing my bangles.
“These are heavy,” I said, placing my feet on his lap. “Take them off, too.”
He frowned, which made me smile.
“What? You don’t want to do your work?” I asked.
He clicked his tongue. “Does your husband know you’re taking off his gift?”
“No,” I shook my head. “I don’t know where he’s been since the afternoon. I bet he’s busy flirting with women.”
He unclasped my anklets, saying, “Wow, you know him so well. Tell me more,”
I slid closer and rested my head on his lap. He stroked my hair gently.
Closing my eyes, I inhaled deeply, then looked into his piercing emerald-like eyes.
“Kunwar-sa,” I called slowly, carefully, as I knew the weight of my words. “If you’re worried our child might take a place not meant for him, then we won’t have children. I’m with you.”
He leaned backwards on the pile of pillows and shook his head while his hand lowered down to touch the end of my braid to open it.
“I don’t know, Suman, it feels wrong,” he muttered.
“It feels wrong for so many reasons. I mean, Bhai-sa was always the deserving one, and because of our uncle’s ego, he had to slit throats to claim what he deserved, what was his.
I know our children will grow up with what we teach them, but there’s no guarantee. ”
I frowned, not getting his words.
“Urgh… I don’t even know what I’m saying. I mean, the baby is not born yet, and who knows whether that prophecy or those blessings are going to be true or not,” he said.
I nodded in understanding.
“Perhaps he may become a king,” I suggested. “But of a smaller state under our kingdom. That could be possible, right?”
He hummed as he undid my braid and brushed his fingers through it.
I moved closer, resting my chin on his chest.
“It feels surreal, Suman,” he murmured. “From seeing you standing in a corner to having you in my arms. A lot of things have already changed, and seven days from now, everything will change.”
“And once the rituals begin, we cannot see each other,” I said, and he chuckled.
He smiled wickedly. “No one can stop me,”
I shook my head.
“You shouldn’t do that. It's not good,” I said. “Rituals are significant, and I want you to enjoy our wedding. You look happy, but it feels like everything is being forced upon you.”
He leaned in closer and pressed his lips to my forehead.
“You’re my everything, love, every fucking thing,” he murmured. “In you, I’ve seen almost every shade of love—the magnetic pull, the infatuation, the care, the emotions, and then the pain, the hopelessness. And after all of this…” he sighed deeply, unevenly.
Then added, “… I’ve finally got you. I got you as a reward for my lifetime of hard work and longing.
Someone who actually understands what pain means, someone for whom I matter, someone for whom I’m everything, and the separation, even if it’s just for a day, makes my heart ache.
I seem frustrated because I can’t wait any longer to see you as my bride.
But yes, I am enjoying our wedding. It’s beautiful. ”
I smiled, closing my eyes, and turned onto my back.
His fingers weaved through my hair, and his hands caressed mine, over my midriff. It all felt so special.
I felt an overwhelming urge to live every moment fully, afraid that if I didn’t, those moments would pass me by too quickly.
“You look tired, love,” he said softly.