Bhairav's POV

It had only been a few days since I brought Sanjana home. My family had been against it from the start. Even though they had been after me to get married for the past few years, I considered it too much work. But when her stepfather's letter came to our haveli, I was the first person to read it.

From the moment I read her name, I had fixed in my heart that I'd meet the girl.

Her stepfather mentioned that her age had been 18 in that, but I was much happier when I realised that she was younger. I'd have an excuse to stay in the city and let my business flourish while she grew up at home. Nobody knew about my plan.

I was sitting in the hall, reading the paper, next to Dadi. Father was in his chair. Both of them were irritated and annoyed. Bhargav and Keshav were eating dinner, but their ears were glued to our conversation.

"Kitne paise diye us aadmi ne?"

(How much money did that man give?)

"Do hazar," I replied, looking my Father dead in the eye. He gritted his teeth.

(Two thousand.)

"Tumhare Maa ke zamane mei hota tha utna dahej! Padhe likhe ladke ho, aur agla Thakur!" Dadi thundered. Maa didn't say anything, but I knew that the same thoughts were stirring in her heart. I glared at all of them. No matter what they said, I wasn't going to return Sanjana.

(That used to be the dowry in your Ma's time. You're an educated boy, and the next Thakur!)

"Aur tum use saath sheher nahi leke jaoge?" Maa asked finally. I shook my head, "Nahi. Vidyalay jayegi. Keshav ki kaksha mei padhegi."

(And will you not take her with you to the city?)

(No. She'll go to school. She'll be in the same grade as Keshav.)

"Us ladki ko humare paise se vidyalay nahi bhejenge," Baba growled at me viciously, but I shook my head, "Mere paiso se bhej raha hu. Maine agar nishchay kiya hai ki woh meri patni banegi toh mai use sambhal lunga. Woh yaha rahegi aur har subah Keshav aur Bhargav ke saath vidyalay jayegi."

(That girl will not go to school with our money.)

(I'm sending her with my money. If I've made the decision to make her my wife, then I'll take all responsibility for her. She'll stay here and go to school in the morning with Keshav and Bhargav.)

The three of them shared looks. Baba exhaled sharply before looking at me, "Aur agla Chaudhary waris kaun dega, Bhairav? Agla Thakur kaun banega?"

(And who'll be the next Chaudhary heir, Bhairav? Who'll be the next Thakur?)

"Abhi bhi waqt hai," I replied calmly, "Use thoda bada hone do, Baba. Theen ya char saal aur, uske baad woh sab dekhenge."

(There's still time. Let her grow up a little, Baba. Three or four years... And we'll see everything after that.)

"Log kya kahenge...? Chote Thakur ki shaadi ho gayi, aur panch saal thak koi waris nahi?" Dadi asked.

(What will the people say? Despite being married for five years, the Chote Thakur has no heir?)

Their questions were irritating me, "Mara nahi hu ab. Agla Thakur hu aur bahut samay hai waris ke liye. Bachi hai woh. Maa ko bhi aise hi maar diya tha aapne!"

(I haven't died yet. I'm the next Thakur, and there's a lot of time for the next heir. She's a child. You murdered my mother in the same way!)

My Father looked away at my accusation. He knew that I wasn't wrong. He knew that my real Mother was too young to bear a child. Yet, he and Dadi had pushed her. Within two years of his marriage, my Mother died. Baba was so shaken by it that it took him eight years to recover and remarry.

I was relieved that at least my stepmother had escaped that fate. She had been twenty when Baba married her. And still, the three of them wanted me to impregnate the sleeping girl upstairs. She was a child herself. Naive and Foolish. Just like all children.

"Had hai..." I glared and got up before storming upstairs. I closed the bedroom door softly.

(There's a limit...)

Sanjana Chaudhary, thirteen years old, was sleeping soundly in my bed. I had carried her upstairs because she was shivering in my Grandmother's room. I sat beside the bed and placed my hand on her forehead, then her neck. Her temperature was still high. Two days ago, she had fallen sick, and only today did she seem a little better.

Over the phone, Maa had told me that it wasn't anything to worry about, but when I got home in the afternoon, I realised that she was awfully sick. In my presence, the midwife had undressed her torso to listen to her breathing. Sanjana was shy; her skin turned scarlet because, along with me, even Maa and Dadi were present in the room.

It was my first time seeing her naked like that, and I felt nothing inside me. In fact, I didn't understand how my family expected me to sleep with her. Her chest was the same as Keshav's. Flat, still a child. There was no feminine charm about her.

While the women in the brothels that I had frequented in my younger years were voluptuous, desirable... As much as I hated it, Sanjana wasn't close. But only time would tell what she'd turn into.

My young wife blinked her eyes open and gasped, almost as if she had seen a dream, "Aap yaha?"

(You're here?)

"Chale jau?"

(Shall I leave?)

She shook her head with wide eyes and attempted to sit up. I could tell that her body ached because her movements were slow.

"A-aapke liye paani laati hu-"

(I- I'll bring water for you-)

"Leth jao, Sanjana." I sighed in frustration. Sometimes, the kind of things my mother and grandmother taught her infuriated me. The girl didn't ask any questions. She obeyed quietly and blinked up at me.

(Lie down, Sanjana.)

"Davai kha liya?"

(Did you eat the medicine?)

"Ji."

"Toh phir so jao. Kal subah tak bukhar utar jayegi."

(Then sleep. By tomorrow morning, your fever will go away.)

"Ji."

I got up and turned off the lights before lying down on my side. Sanjana inched a little closer, still clutching her blanket in nervousness. I could feel her eyes on me, and I muttered irritably, "Kya hai?"

(What is it?)

"W-woh... aur paas aa sakti hoon? Thand lag rahi hai..."

(Can I come a little closer...? I feel cold...)

I hummed. She leaned closer. Seeing that I didn't protest, she shifted even closer. Then, I felt her small hand touch the edge of my kurta. She waited for a few minutes and moved her hands upwards. Slowly, shyly, she moved her hand in such a way that she was hugging me. I could feel the warmth of her body and the little tremors she had because of her fever.

Gently, I wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer. Even though I tried not to scare her, her heart was beating erratically.

But Sanjana didn't say a word. She hugged my chest and was asleep in minutes.

A strange fondness settled inside me, and I kissed the top of her head. She was so small, so fragile. A part of me felt guilty for dragging her into this life. But after seeing the faded red marks on her back and shoulders when the midwife had stripped her- marks that only a belt or stick could give her- I realised that she was better off with me. I might be cruel, but I was still human. And very much sensible.