"Now fill the Bride's hairline (partition) with vermilion and tie this sacred Nuptial chain around her neck". The pandit (priest) started chanting holy verses while Akshat did as he was directed by the pandit ji.

When the time came to tie the nuptial chain around the Bride's neck, he picked the chain from his mother's hand and while tying it around her neck, he didn't missed the chance to sensually caress her nape which made her body go completely stiff. When he was done tying, he leaned over her shoulders and whispered in a really low and husky voice "Tonight, who'll save you from me wifey'", which indeed made her heartbeat erratic with jolts of shiver running down her spine.

After a few minute of doing the rituals, it was finally the time of the Pheras. When Aranya forwarded her hand towards Akshat to hold it then instead of holding it, he starts squeezing her hand till his nails dug deep inside her sensitive skin.

She anyhow endured the burning sensation in her palm but when it got totally out of control, tears started pooling her eyes and she finally lifts her damp lashes to look at him for mercy. He enjoys seeing the pathetic look on her face and grins evilly when he notices her teary eyes.

When finally the time came for taking vows, she felt as if she's promising herself to death. Each words, each line were getting stuck in her throat but she was anyhow forcibly uttering it.

Finally, when it was the time to bid farewell (bidai) to the bride, she had no tears in her eyes. She was staring blankly at her mother who was crying bitterly while embracing her in her arms.

"Beta, please forgive me....for what I...did. I never expected....this to happen...! Please...."

"The doors of this house will always be opened for you. Don't hesitate to come back Aranya!!", she looked at her father, for the first time after these many years and he was looking ever so pathetic just like her. She couldn't hold her tears anymore and bursted out crying in his arms...

After her little crying session, her family finally settled her in the car beside Akshat who was not even paying attention to what was happening around him. He was busy typing something on his phone and didn't even threw a glance at her direction. The car eventually drove left towards it's destination...

All the way she was looking out of the window, staring at the trees that were passing by while pouring immense tears...

"She's our daughter for heaven's sake vijay! How can you be so heartless? I will never give my daughter to those Malhotra's!!!"

"Then prepare for my funeral"

"What kind of heartless father you're? You're trading your own daughter for saving yourself!! You're handing her in those evil hands that were once the cause of our miseries!!!",she yelled at her husband, feeling disgusted by his words...

"I'm not selfish Ridhima! Neither selfish nor heartless but you're not thinking rationally here. You thought I was doing all this for saving myself but you never thought that they could even harm Neel if we didn't oblige to his words. They're really powerful and if we didn't give them our daughter then also they'll forcefully have her but in another way and that time we wouldn't be able to save her from their clutches.

Her trance broke immediately after she felt something being thrown abruptly on her lap. It was a large pack of tissue papers...

She raised her lashes to look back at Akshat who was already staring at her with a glint of amusement in his eyes.

"Keep them safe! Incase you'll always need them... whenever you'll be around me",he replied with a sly smirk and again engrossed himself on his phone. What more generosity could she expect from her monstrous husband? Afterall he married her for a reason...and that reason was to make her and her family's life a living hell!!

"One thing more! Don't consider yourself as my wife!! I love someone else so don't get your expectations too higher. You're only here to serve me",he spat venomously while she nodded her head frantically, gulping down the bitter truth that now her cruel fate had slowly started unveiling in front of her.

"That's like a good girl",he smirked and shoved his phone inside his pocket. Immediately the car came to a halt in front of a beautiful mansion and they both stepped down hand in hand and started walking towards the entrance where his mother was awaiting eagerly to welcome her daughter in law into her new abode...

"Kick the Kalash (Urn/metal pot filled with rice) with your right foot and step inside the house",juliana; her mother in law said after doing the aarti of the couple.

She mindlessly did as she was directed like a robot and finally on completing all the post wedding rituals, she was now inside her new room or her new cell as she started feeling suffocated the moment she stepped inside the room. She felt like she was being pushed inside a predator's cage, against her will. Getting a handsome husband and having a lavish wedding is the dream of every girl but for her, it turned out to be a nightmare. Instead of blushing like a new bride, her face was deep red due to the immense crying and she knew very well that the tears she rarely used to shed, would now often leak in this house.

As the time was progressing, she was feeling her heart sinking in the pit of her stomach. After his confession about having an extra marital affair with another woman, she was very sure that she would be never be given the title of Mrs. Malhotra. Her worth would not be more than a servant here...

She kept sitting in the crouched position for hours till her body started aching badly but there was sign of her so called husband. After about four hours, she finally heard the door creak.

Her heartbeat started getting erratic with the sound of the footsteps nearing towards her. She involuntary crouched herself more into the headrest when she felt the bed dipping under his weight.

The atmosphere of the room turned tensed, cold and creepily silent which started making her more and more frightened...

"Who told you to sit on my bed??"

She flinched and immediately her face snapped towards his direction. She gasped seeing his red puffy eyes that were intensely staring back at her.

"Answer me bitch!!!",he barked on her face with his voice slurring a bit, while grabbing her hair in a tight fist.

"Ah!!! Please... pl-please leave m-my hair... it's hur-hurting...please Akshat",she pleaded while trying to loosen his grip on her hair but in response, he tightened his hold even more.

"When I fucking ask a question, answer it instead of making me angry!!!",he yelled abruptly pushing her from the bed and she fell straight on the floor, wincing in pain.

She remained like that on the floor, sobbing, while clutching her stomach till she fell asleep.

Next morning, Aranya woke up from the sound of the alarm clock buzzing. Groggily opening her eyes, she looked at the alarm clock and gasped in shock. It was 8 in the morning and she was still sleeping. As she swept her gaze across her new room, she noticed that she was lying on the floor.

Tears started blurring her vision as soon as the images of last night's incident started flashing in her mind. Her whole body was aching badly because of sleeping on the floor without any mattress or pillow. She anyhow lifted her body from the floor but as soon as she turned to leave the room, his deep and husky voice resonated in the whole room making her abruptly dead in her tracks...

"Are you here on a vacation, sweetheart?"