Chapter 38: Chapter 38

"The saddest thing about treachery is that it never comes from your enemies."

"I am excited to meet your father, I hope he just does not shoot me at first sight," Kunal laughed awkwardly while looking at Chandani who was busy driving his car towards her father's unknown destination and Kunal was now sitting on the passenger seat.

"No, he won't. He'll not kill someone whom I love. He may resist you but eventually, he too will agree for us," Chandani gave him an assuring smile and continued driving the car.

"I wish," Kunal put his hand on his heart, dramatically. And Chandani laughed at that.

After an hour of driving, finally, they were on the outskirts of Kolkata, a rural area that was at least a hundred kilometres away from the main city. In the middle of a big field, Kunal could see a traditional bungalow.

"So, we have finally reached," Chandani ignited off the car, and after pulling out the keys, she got out along with Kunal.

"Well, it's too far from Kolkata," Kunal commented while looking at the bungalow in front of him, which had a huge gate in front of it and a guard was standing there under a small shed.

"Yeah, business like that of my father cannot be done in the middle of a city, can it?" Chandani was again boasting about her father's dirty business.

"By the way, it's majestic and beautiful," he complimented and Chandani just smiled at him in acknowledgement.

"Yeah, so even I had to come this far daily," he commented and held her hand and started walking towards the bungalow.

"Yup, even you too have to help my father," Chandani was over the moon, just thinking how good it'd be that her would-be husband would rule her father's empire, he'd take her father's 'bloody' legacy to a new level. She smiled inwardly, and looked at Kunal's handsome face, adoring him.

Finally, they were at the entrance of the bungalow and the guard immediately opened the gate without any further delay as he knew that a delay in opening it or even a question to the daughter of his master could lead to his brutal death.

"Nomoskar, Dada (Namaste brother in Bengali)," Chandani greeted the guard with a smile and he greeted her back, with confusion lacing his mind as this rude girl had never greeted any helpers before. Then his eyes went towards the man who was accompanying her and holding her hands as well.

'Maybe he is her boyfriend, and to impress him she is acting all sweet with me,' the guard thought in his mind and smiled at her forcibly.

"So, here you go, welcome to my empire Kunal," Chandani winked at him and Kunal was flabbergasted seeing the number of guards guarding there. At least a hundred of them were just safeguarding the entry of the house. Those men looked too powerful, just like the bouncers that you could see inside the famous pubs.

"Woo, they look so big and macho kind of," Kunal whistled and was busy looking around the place, carefully.

"Yeah, they are well-trained bodyguards who are here to protect my father from all the enemies which he had made in his earlier years," Chandani revealed and started walking towards the main door, walking hand-in-hand with Kunal.

No one dared to stop them as they knew that it was their lord's daughter who was going inside the house and not someone else, they didn't even dare to ask her that who was the man beside her as they were well known of her rude behaviour as well as her stupid tantrums.

One complaint from her side, just one and the person will be shot without any chance to explain himself. Kunal observed all this but didn't comment anything on it, just walked silently with her wherever she was taking him to.

"So, this is the door behind which my father will be now, so are you scared?" Chandani tried to scare him with her words, but it had no effects on Kunal. He shook his head and instead smiled at her.

"Well, you are very brave, my boy," she kissed on his cheeks, and finally the door was opened, the door to Mr Thakur's study room. Gangsters too had study rooms, where they studied the dead bodies of the victims who had been butchered by them. Not exactly, but some important data and other weapons were currently in his room.

"Baba," she cried out in joy and ran towards her father who was currently busy examining the new collection of rifles which he had imported from the United States of America to export it to the neighbouring countries. He immediately stopped whatever he was doing and turned towards his daughter whom he was meeting after so many days, well exactly twenty days. Exactly the same number of days when for the first time Kunal had met Chandani. These days there was a lot of load on his head because of pressure from the neighbouring countries.

"My daughter," he hugged her lovingly, embracing her tightly in his arms. After his son's death, only Chandani was there, to extend his lineage, his generation, and to handle his business as well. But then his eyes fell on Kunal and a wave of sudden anger erupted within him.

"Who is this guy?" he seethed in an angry tone, seeing an unknown stranger standing in their private room.

"Baba, please don't be angry, actually he is Kunal Oberoi, CEO of Oberoi resorts and hotels, and I love him, that's why I brought him here," Chandani spoke everything in a breath while holding Kunal's hands in front of her father, with her eyes trying to beg him to accept them without any disagreement.

"And you thought that I'll allow you to marry someone out of our caste as well as our community?" Although his voice was calm, only Chandani knew how hard her father was trying to control his anger.

"Sir, I think I can explain my.." before Kunal could speak more, Probhakor Thakur showed his hand to him, silencing him abruptly.

"I don't want to hear anything from an outsider, so just keep your mouth shut," Probhakor was too rude, Kunal concluded and just shut his mouth, allowing Chandani to explain everything to her father.

"Baba, I fell in love with him the moment I saw him for the first time, sitting behind the windshield of his car. I knew it was love because I had never felt like I had met him for the first time, it was always like I knew him from so many years and in these twenty days, I have just fallen more and more in love with him," Chandani spoke out in a confident tone, matching her eyes with her father's.

"I know you are angry, but for the first time, I am asking you for something Baba, please," Chandani looked at her father pleadingly. Unknown energy was surfacing within her, giving her the courage to face her outrageous father.

"And he doesn't have a problem with our business?" he asked while glaring at Kunal who was busy looking at Probhakor's bald head.

"I do not have any problem with that, because I am a businessman, and the more money I make, the more content I will be but I don't want Chandu, I mean Chandani to deal with the 'Prostitution business' after our marriage," Kunal put his conditions in front of Probhakor, having man-to-man eye contact.

"Then who's going to handle that?" her father asked him in a solemn tone, observing Kunal's body language, trying to find anything odd in it.

Working in the Mafia, the thing which he had learned the most was judging a person by his body language. And he had never been wrong in judging a person, not even for once.

He could judge someone by just having a glance at their body language. And, by the way, Kunal was answering his peculiar questions, he had at least got an idea that whatever this boy was saying, he was truthful about that. His eyes didn't flicker, neither did his hand shivered, nor any sweat beads or uneasiness on his forehead, he was maybe telling the truth. But still, he had many questions to answer and then he'll be selected, maybe. For his Daughter's marriage with him.

"Sir, I can handle that as long as you give me permission, but I won't allow my wife to work in this field anymore," Kunal spoke out in his confident tone and Chandani just looked at him in awe.

"What do you know about the Mafia?" Probhakor fired another question at him while sitting on his recliner, folding his hands near his chest.

"A big group of powerful men who trade illegal commodities, give loans to people, maybe, I am just guessing," Kunal blurted out everything that he knew about 'Mafia'.

"So, you don't have any idea about the real Mafia, just the rumoured knowledge," Probhakor chuckled at the naïve boy, while Chandani had a stressed look on her face now.

"Sir, I had not worked in Mafia ever, so how would I know about this?" Kunal didn't like the way her father talked and laughed at him and that thing touched Probhakor's heart.

'This boy has some self-esteem,' he thought and stopped his chuckling.

"So, who will handle my business then?" Probhakor fired another typical question at him while observing his eyes deeply, trying to find the truth within it.

"Sir, I have a sharp mind as long as my practical knowledge is judged, so I think I'd learn it too when there's someone who can make me understand the inside story of Mafia," Kunal's equanimous demeanour was enough for Probhakor to be impressed by this man, who didn't even stutter once at his perplexing questions.

"Then will my daughter just sit and rot inside your house?" Probhakor spoke out in a hard tone.

"Sir, in these twenty days, I had got to know that she just loves dancing so she can open a 'Dance Academy' and teach the students the art of dancing," Kunal spoke out while looking at Chandani who smiled back at him. They had already discussed all their likes, dislikes, and seeing him talk about her likes and ambitions, she thanked the Almighty to give him as her 'would-be' husband.

"Where do you live?" Probhakor asked him while ignoring his answer.

"We are from Madhya Pradesh but my family is currently settled in London. I had come here to attend my cousin's wedding and a business meeting as well along with my family," he replied truthfully.

"I want to meet your family, tomorrow," Probhakor spoke out in a dismissed manner.

"Ok sir, as you say," Kunal gave a curt nod to him and came out of the room as he knew that Chandani and her father needed some time to talk now, in private. He shut the door and stood a little far away from the room.

"Baba, so what is your thought about us?" Chandani asked her father doubtfully. She was sceptical that whether her father liked Kunal or not.

"I will tell you tomorrow," Probhakor spoke out and closed his eyes while resting his head on the headrest of the recliner.

Chandani took that as a sign of dismissal and she too left the room, after kissing her father on his forehead.

After exiting out the room, she immediately hugged Kunal. And he hugged her back as well.

"I love you so much and you did well inside my macho man," she kissed him on his cheeks and he just smiled at her adoringly.

"Let's go," they were just about to go when Probhakor stopped them.

"Chandani, tell him to call his family to meet me today only, in two hours," he spoke out and immediately entered inside his room.

"What?" Kunal looked in his direction in a perplexed state.

"They are in Kolkata now and it will take at least one and a half hour for them to reach here in this jungle, how am I going to convince them at such short notice," Kunal put his hand on his head in distress thinking about ways to persuade his family to come, here at this remote location. Chandani put her hand on his shoulder and tried to pacify him.

"Kunal, don't take tension, call them now, they will understand, please," Chandani tried to give him some courage and Kunal just drew out his mobile from his pants' pocket.

"Hello, Maa, please come with Dad at a place whose location I'm sending you on WhatsApp, please come soon. Chandani's father wants to meet you," he spoke with his mother in a tormented tone. And didn't even give her a chance to speak back and cut the call.

"Hush," he sighed and stood near the railings, trying to cool his mind.

"Everything will be okay, relax," Chandani hugged him from behind, after kissing on his back.

"Chandani, can we please sit somewhere?" Kunal was tired by now, his legs pained now.

"Yeah, please," Chandani held his hand and they both went downstairs towards a room which was adjacent to the kitchen.

"Wait here, I will bring water for you," Chandani was just going to exit the room when Kunal stopped her.

"I am feeling suffocated here, let's go inside our car," Kunal spoke and Chandani looked at him in concern.

"Kunal, what happened? Why are you acting like this?" Chandani held his arms and stopped him before he could cross the threshold of the room.

"Chandani, nothing happened. I am just a little angry at your father for calling my old parents at such short notice, even they would be furious at me now," Kunal was disturbed and got out of the house, with Chandani trailing behind him.

"I am sorry from his side, Kunal, I really am, baby, but at least see from a father's point of view. Maybe he would've some business tomorrow or some other reason, otherwise, he generally sticks to his words," they were currently inside his car and Chandani had held his face in her palms, trying to placate his anger

"Ssh, you don't have to say sorry," he smiled at her lightly and took out the bottle from the backseat and sipped some water from it.

"You want some?" he offered her but before she could say anything, there was a knock on their car's window.

"Didi (Sister), Shorkar (sir) sent this for you both," that man was the helper of Probhakor and at his orders only, the helper had come here with two plates of food for both Chandani and Kunal.

Chandani smiled at him brightly and took both the plates and thanked him. The helper went away and Kunal looked at her in question, not understanding the attitude of her father.

"He likes you, I can only say that," she mumbled and gave one plate to Kunal and kept another on her lap.

"Chandani, I'm a pure vegetarian and I cannot eat anything non-veg," Kunal surrendered his hands in defeat after looking at the plate which consisted of traditional Bengali food items, where the most prominent dish was the 'Fish'.

"I'm so sorry for this, let me just tell them to bring something vegetarian for you," Chandani was just going outside the car when Kunal stopped her.

"We don't even have food from someone's house if he/she is a non-vegetarian," his voice was serious and Chandani looked at him, shocked.

"Then what will you eat?" she was tensed about his appetite that what he would eat now as nearby there was not even a single hotel or something like that.

"Don't worry, I always carry ready-to-eat 'Thepla' and 'Khakhra' with me, so it's not a problem at all," Kunal replied with a smile and took out some 'Theplas' from his backseat and started having that. (Gujarati dish)

Chandani just looked at him in amazement with her mouth open.

"Wow! I haven't met a person like you ever, always ready for the unexpected things," they both shared a laugh and started having their respective food.

Finally, with some talks and bickering, one and a half hours passed and now even Kunal's parents too had reached. After greeting them formally, they reached the same room where Kunal was interrogated a few hours back.

Kunal's parents greeted Probhakor with a 'Namaste' and sat on the sofa, only after Probhakor had asked them, in a soft tone.

"As you might be already aware of your son's affair with my daughter, so what do you think about their marriage?" without beating around the bush, Probhakor directly came on the point.

"Sir, it's his life, and we have given him full freedom to choose his life partner and we are ready to accept any girl whom he wants to spend his life with. We live in London and after spending at least twenty years there, we too had adopted the western thinking. For us, no caste, no religion matters, what matters is my son's happiness and nothing more than that," Kunal's father spoke out genuinely while having a direct eye-contact with Probhakor.

'Like father, like son. Both have a good body language,' Probhakor judged Kunal and his father inside his head and moved towards his mother.

"What are your thoughts about my daughter, Mrs Oberoi?" he asked her in a typical manner.

"I just want my daughter-in-law to love my son and give me grandchildren soon," Kunal's mother spoke out while looking lovingly at Chandani. She was a jovial lady. After her comment, everyone chuckled except one person, and you already know who. Chandani blushed at that.

After some more firing of questions by Probhakor, finally, Probhakor got ready for the wedding. But he had his sources to get to know about this so-called 'Oberoi family'.

But what he found out, made him trust Kunal more. His detective found out that the Oberoi couple had two sons, the elder one was Kunal who was the CEO of their company and the younger one was studying somewhere in California, Probhakor cared less. So, it was validated that they were not some fake or fraud people. And by their body languages too, that Probhakor had judged earlier, they were truthful as well. Finally, he gave a green signal for the wedding to take place.

The wedding was finally fixed by a priest on an auspicious day which was just ten days away.

****

The wedding was taking place at one of the most expensive as well as the exquisite hotel of Kolkata, 'The Imperial Garden', which could be only afforded by big businessmen or bureaucrats and Probhakor Thakur was a big name.

Chandani's father aka Probhakor was over the moon as his daughter was going to one of the best and richest families of London. He couldn't ask for more. The groom loved his daughter and she loved him back, of course, they were going to be happy. He just wanted his daughter's happiness and nothing more.

The wedding was in the morning only, mixing the culture and traditions of both Bengal and Madhya Pradesh, the two prominent states of India.

Chandani was standing near the mirror looking at her reflection, admiring it with all her heart. Her bridal outfit was a beautifully embellished, pastel pink coloured lehenga with a pistachio coloured dupatta.

"You look like an angel fallen from the sky, my daughter, so beautiful and gracious," her mother put a black dot behind her daughter's ear, as a sign of putting bad eyes at bay.

"Thank you, Maa," Chandani smiled at her brightly, her heart was thumping loudly, anticipating the arrival of her lover, her would-be husband, her groom.

"The Baraat (the Groom's side) has come, baraat has come," younger teenage girls started shouting out in joy after hearing the sounds of trumpets, famous wedding songs, and of course the "Naagin" song. They could hear them; means they had already reached.

"Finally, your prince is here to take you to your dreamland," her mother kissed her forehead and took her outside her room, towards the Mandap (Pavilion) which was decorated so beautifully.

But instead of the Baraat which generally consisted of happy faces, colourful clothes, small joyful kids, beautiful ladies, they could see the persons in only white.

White jersey of West Bengal police!

The groom to whom Chandani had given her heart to, was standing there in his Khaki jersey with handcuffs.

"IPS Makshik Chandra, Bhopal Police. Probhakor Thakur and Chandani Thakur, we have a warrant and proofs against you, you both are under arrest for murdering Arjun Thakur, who was your son and brother, I guess," Makshik, aka Kunal, smirked at the shocked and tormented faces of Prabhokar and Chandani, who thought that the ground under their feet had slipped.

Finally, Chandani's prince aka the police was here to take her to her dreamland aka prison. Her mother's saying came true. Alas!

~**•**~

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