Every man wants a woman to appeal to his better side, his nobler instincts and his higher nature -- and another woman to help him forget them.

Flashback continued

With a sigh, Dai Maa said, "Rudradev had a pregnant wife, Lilavati, whose demeanor was elegant yet cold. Your mother's gorgeous, warm appearance was enough for him to lose his head within the first few days of her arrival into the Bali house. While your father was busy trying to guard the woman he liked against the enemies outside the house, unknown to him or anyone else, his unscrupulous brother started a secret but fervent crusade to woo the 'poor cousin' unashamedly in the house. At this point, your father had fallen completely in love with my mistress but your mother was in no condition or state of mind to seek love at that time."

Katyayani could visualise the helplessness and powerlessness of her mother.

Betrayed by her own people, injured and being chased, how could anyone be in the mood to fall in love with a stranger under such circumstances, even if he was her saviour!

Mandodari spat on the floor in disgust before picking up the thread of the story again. "Your mother ignored the overtures of that dog, Rudradev, but he was like a flea, trying to stick to her at all possible opportunities. The rules of the Bali clan had been set long ago and were staunchly followed by Kirtidev. The Bali men weren't allowed to take in a concubine or a second wife, unless there was a separation or death of the first wife. Hence, Lilavati ignored her husband's foolish behaviour early on, not putting the 'poor relative' in her eyes. Belatedly, she saw the obsession rise higher and higher in her husband's eyes and finally felt the danger."

Mandodari stopped to take a deep breath. Recalling the events of that year, she felt the disgust rise up as bile in her throat. She hadn't been with her mistress at the time due to her injuries and couldn't help her in any way possible.

She got to know about the whole story much later through the servants when she was called to live in the Bali clan. Being well aware of her mistress's nature, whom she had nursed since childhood, Mandodari managed to piece the whole incident together but much later.

Eventually, when she read the set of instructions left by her mistress after her death, she understood that the unfortunate woman had been scarred and scared by the incident which took place that year before her marriage.

"If you are feeling uncomfortable, we can finish this later," Katyayani said in a soft voice, jolting Mandodari out of her stupor.

By now, she had an inkling of the reason behind Dharitri's well-concealed hatred for her.

Mandodari waved her gnarled hand and said, "Don't worry about this old woman, Young Miss. I am fine. Also, it is better that I finish this unpleasant tale in one go."

"Not ready to look like a shrew in front of her husband, your eldest aunt, Lilavati, decided to complain about your mother to her mother-in-law instead. Lilavati tried to put the entire blame on your mother and accused her of seducing her 'married eldest cousin'. The old lady was a timid woman who had been sheltered by her dominating husband all through the years and she promptly put the matter in front of Kirtidev. It was at this point that your father got to know of the issue and immediately asked your mother to marry him. He was worried that my mistress would be disgusted by the Bali household matters and leave him. He had fallen for a woman for the first time in his life and didn't intend to let go of such a brilliant, vivacious person. I believe that your mother must have agreed to the marriage after she found herself in an impossible situation with no escape route available to her due to her special circumstances."

Katyayani understood her implied meaning.

In the eyes of Dai Maa, probably her father hadn't been the best choice for her mother. But he had been the person who saved her mother's life and given her shelter under the most dangerous circumstances.

"It doesn't matter what the reason was but I believe that my parents were deeply in love with each other during their marriage," Katyayani instinctively defended her father, even though she had no idea about how things really worked between men and women.

Dvi smiled at this moment mysteriously and said, "Young Miss, a woman hides her real feelings deeply enough for others to not discover them even in a lifetime. Elder Miss was someone with vision and a lot of composure. It wasn't so easy to move her heart. Having said that, I do believe that your father's sincerity and affection was sincere."

Katyayani suddenly realised that the two women around her were suddenly treating her differently from the past. It was as if the mist had been cleared away from the foggy mirror.

She had always believed that her parents fell in love with each other while escaping from Adra. But now it seemed that the whole scenario had shifted on its axis. Did this mean that most romantic relations were a farce, just like hers?

Considering her own unreserved and foolish behaviour in the past year, Katyayani wanted to die of shame. She hadn't bothered questioning or even exploring the intent behind the lowly groom's interest in her and plunged into a frenzied, nameless relation like a headless chicken.

Well done Katyayani!

She definitely deserved to be fooled by that scum and her cousin!

Mandodari levelled a warning glance at Dvi, noticing the pale expression on the young missy's face.

"The matters between your parents are not something that you need to speculate about, Young Miss. To cut a long story short, your grandfather was enraged with the behavior of his eldest son. Thankfully, he was wise enough to realise the truth of the matter despite the malicious claims of his eldest daughter-in law. He warned Rudradev to stay away from 'his cousin'. But to the shock of his parents, Rudradev declared that he wanted to marry this cousin whom he had fallen deeply in love with. He even proposed to divorce his first wife who was pregnant with his child," Mandodari's tone had taken an indifferent hue now.

"Before your grandfather could take any action, the news came that Lilavati was showing signs of a miscarriage. The ugliness was increasing in the house and your father was worried that your mother would become the casualty in the midst of this. He somehow managed to convince Elder Miss and quietly went to a temple to get married. By the time Rudradev realised his brother's intent, it was too late. He was enraged and the brothers had an ugly spat. It was only after a closed door discussion between the two sons and Kirtidev that the matter was eventually settled and later hushed up. All the servants and maids who had been privy to this matter were quietly executed the very next day," she said tiredly.