Secret Plan

Part 3: Secret Plan

Meera sat in the corner of the room, unable to control her whimpering. Narmadha, Vedha, and Rima scolded her from all sides for the foolishness she had shown to Arjun.

“No one has ever been as idiotic as you! You will be his wife in four days, yet you treated him as if he were a rogue!” Narmadha shouted.

“Seriously! Does anyone behave like that? I can only imagine what he thinks of you,” Vedha said, holding her head in frustration.

Rima stifled her laughter, recalling Arjun’s attitude, thinking, “I hope your BABY friend won’t ask for a cradle to sleep in after our

marriage.” In reality, that was precisely what Arjun was thinking about Meera.

“How could he touch me?” Meera sniffled.

“So what if he touched your hand? Crazy girl! He’s your soon-to-be husband,” Vedha replied wearily.

“But this is unfair! I didn’t even know him before, and you want me to be calm when he touches me?” Meera was clearly upset.

“He has every right to touch you after your marriage. Remember that,” Vedha said.

“That’s why I don’t want to get married!” Meera sniffed again.

“Shut up! Just shut up... Do you even realise their status? I don’t know which virtues of your birth made them choose you as their daughter-in-law,” Vedha shouted.

“Yes, Meera, Jeeji is right. Please don’t do anything foolish; you won’t see me alive if you do,” Narmadha said before leaving the room.

“Did you hear what she said? Be careful,” Vedha added as she too departed.

Rima, Meera's friend, came and sat down beside her, leaning on Meera’s knees, which Meera was hugging. Despite their arguments, Rima was genuinely concerned about her friend's well-being.

“What’s your problem? Don’t you see how handsome he is?” Rima asked.

“Then you go and marry him!” Meera snapped.

“I would... if he wanted to marry me, but unfortunately for him, he likes you,” Rima chuckled.

“But why hasn’t anyone asked me what I like?” Meera protested.

“They didn’t ask you because they know you’ll probably say something silly,” Rima replied.

Meera fell silent.

“But now I’m worried about you, Meera,” Rima said, making a concerned face.

“Worried about me?”

“You’ve touched a bad nerve with him. I don’t know what he will do on your first night... You have trapped yourself with him,”

Rima said, suppressing a smile.

After meeting Arjun, Rima felt that he wouldn’t embarrass Meera. If she were to threaten Meera, she would expect Arjun to behave in a way that Meera wouldn’t like. However, if Arjun didn’t act out, it could give her a justifiable opinion about him, Rima thought.

“What will he do?” Meera asked with wide eyes.

“You embarrassed him in front of everyone. Do you really think he’ll let you off that easily?”

“Why are you frightening me?”

“He is your husband. He has every right to touch you wherever he wants.”

Meera nervously bit her nails, her fear palpable.

“And what? That’s what a husband does. He will kiss you, touch you. You won’t be able to run away because your family will send you to him.”

“You mean BAD TOUCH?” Meera asked nervously.

“There’s no such thing as BAD TOUCH between a husband and wife. That’s why your mother is upset with you.”

“But Amma never allowed me to talk to any boys.”

“That’s the point. She never permitted you to talk to boys, but now, she’ll send you to his house. Doesn’t she realise you’ll be living with him in his room? That’s what marriage is, Meera. You’re not a child; you’re about to be Mrs. Arjun.”

“That doesn’t mean he can do anything without my consent!”

“With your consent? By the time that happens, he will be old! Poor guy! Only God should save him from you,” Rima joked.

Meera pouted in response.

“Hmmm. Now you’re talking this way. Let’s see what you do after your marriage.”

“What do you mean?” Meera asked.

“Don’t I know how possessive you can be? I still remember how you cried all day when I said I’d take your mother to my house.”

“I was so small back then!”

“Oh, really? People will laugh if you insist a sixteen-year-old girl is small. Mark my words: you’ll be possessive about him soon.”

Meera turned her face away without replying. After seeing Arjun's extraordinary behaviour, Rima was confident he would not do anything against Meera’s wishes.

.......

Arjun's family was perplexed when they saw him. He was smiling uncontrollably, and he couldn’t help but feel excited about his bride. Sanjana was right; his life was definitely going to be remarkably different. He was about to marry a girl who had no idea who Arjun was or what his expectations were regarding relationships. He struggled to understand what his sister had told him: “She is childish.” Sanjana was mistaken; she was not just childish but a fully grown CHILD. He laughed at this thought. He had to wait three long years to make that child his wife, and those three years felt like the longest of his life. The image of her teary face peeking out from behind her mother persisted in his mind, whether his eyes were open or closed. How could a girl look so innocent and adorable?

Arjun never imagined he would find himself eagerly anticipating his wedding day. He was genuinely curious about what that night would bring—what would she do in the same room, the girl who had called for help just because he touched her hand? He chuckled at the thought. He was restless to see what awaited him on their first night together.

Seeing Arjun's unusually bright face, Sagar pulled him into his room and shut the door.

“What’s wrong?” Sagar asked.

“That’s what I’m asking. What the hell is wrong with you?”

“What are you talking about, man?”

“You’re smiling like an idiot! (Arjun rolled his eyes, still smiling.) What happened? Tell me!” Sagar said excitedly.

“I met her.”

“Who?”

Arjun shot him a pointed look.

“Do you mean Meera?”

Arjun nodded.

“Oh my god! Really? You’re so fast! When did that miracle happen?”

“This morning.”

“What did she say?”

“She gathered the whole Lucknow.”

“For what?” Sagar sulked.

“What else? To beat me,” Arjun replied, raising his eyebrows.

“Whaaaat!!!”

Arjun explained what happened at the temple. Sagar fell silent momentarily, then burst into laughter, rolling on the bed and

clutching his stomach. Arjun playfully punched his bicep, annoyed at Sagar’s reaction.

“What an introduction, dude! Your life will be as interesting as you want it to be.”

Arjun smiled at him.

“What’s even better is that you’re not annoyed by her behaviour but actually enjoying it. I’m delighted for you, Arjun. I want to

meet her.”

“Yeah, you’ll see her at the marriage hall in four days.”

Sagar was not pleased with Arjun’s response. He went downstairs, where his sister Pooja was chatting with Arjun’s family.

“In which college did you get admission?” Rahul, Arjun’s cousin, asked.

“No. 1 college in Delhi,” Pooja responded proudly.

“You mean, in my college?” Rahul frowned.

“Of course. That’s why it took time.”

“Yeah, first-year admissions started at our college today.”

“I thought there would be many rituals here, and I could enjoy them,” Pooja said, disappointed.

“Don’t you know Arjun? He doesn’t like anything, so we didn’t perform any rituals,” Sanjana chimed in.

“Can’t I meet the bride before the marriage?” Pooja asked.

“No, dear, Shagun is already done. Haldi will be the first day of the marriage, and the groom and bride will perform it in their respective houses. There won’t be Sangeet because Chotte doesn’t like noise. Mehendi is there, but it’s a women’s ritual; we can’t perform it with Meera since Arjun is here,” Arjun's grandmother said.

“We will draw Mehendi on our hands tomorrow. I can send a beautician to Meera's house to do Mehendi for her.” Sanjana said.

“Yes, we have to send a beautician for Meera,” Grandma agreed.

Just then, they saw Arjun coming downstairs.

“Di, I have to go to Delhi tomorrow morning,” he said.

“But why?” Sagar frowned.

“Mr. Dube called me. He’s in India and wants to finalise the deal we postponed last month,” Arjun explained.

“Chintu, can’t you tell him you’re in Lucknow?” Grandma asked.

“It’s okay, Nani. I’ll come back tomorrow night.”

“Do you want me to join you?” Sagar offered.

“No, no. You just got here. Take a rest; I’ll manage.”

Arjun left for his room, and Sagar contemplated for a moment.

“Sanjana, why not invite Meera here for Mehendi tomorrow? Arjun won’t be here since he’s going to Delhi,” Sagar suggested.

Everyone’s face lit up at the idea.

“Sagar is right! We can call her here tomorrow.”

“Wow! That’s great! Then we’ll finally meet the bride!” Pooja exclaimed.

“Okay, Nani. I’m not sure what her Buaji will say, but let me try.” Sanjana called Meera’s house landline, and, as expected, Vedha

answered the call.

“Who is speaking?” Vedha asked.

“Buaji, I’m Sanjana.”

“How are you, beta?”

“I’m fine, Buaji. We’re planning to have Mehendi tomorrow. Can you bring Meera here?”

“But Beta, Arjun Beta is there in…”

“No, no, Buaji, Arjun is going to Delhi. He won’t be here tomorrow, so I’m calling about Meera.”

“Oh, then okay. I will bring her tomorrow morning.”

“Thank you, Buaji.”

She hung up the call, and Pooja and Rahul exchanged high-fives, thrilled at the prospect of meeting Meera. Ganga showed them a

Mehendi design.

“See here; this design is impressive. Arjun’s full name will appear if Meera joins her palms together,” Ganga pointed out.

“That would be great, Maaji,” Nisha, Arjun’s cousin Raj’s wife, said.

Everyone admired the design.

Meanwhile, Sagar quietly stepped outside and called Mr. Dube. He picked up right away.

“Hi Sagar, how are you?” Mr. Dube asked.

“I’m swamped, as Arjun’s wedding is in four days.”

“Oh my God! Really?”

“Didn’t you get the invitation?”

"Didn’t you receive the invitation card? We sent it to your office address in Singapore."

"Oh no, I was in Malaysia the past week and came directly to India. I'm really sorry for disturbing Arjun. I’ll call him and cancel the

program."

"Thank you so much, but not right now..."

"But why not?"

"Some rituals are happening here. Cancelling would affect them."

"Oh, I see. What do you want me to do?"

"Call him tomorrow morning, but don’t mention that you’re cancelling because of his marriage."

"Sure, I can manage that."

"Thank you so much, Mr. Dube."

"Anything for Arjun."

He hung up the call. Sagar smiled, thinking about what would happen if Meera met Arjun in his den. Wouldn't that be fun?

To be continued…