Dil Ki Bandagi (Early Acess CH 38)

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✨ Chapter 38: First Morning, Strange Town

Aarti woke up to noise.

Not birdsong. Not her mother-in-law, banjans ringing in her ears. This was different. Harsher.

Someone was arguing outside. A bell clanged down the street. A scooter engine coughed itself awake.

Aarti blinked against the dull morning light, momentarily confused by the cracked ceiling above her. And then it hit her all at once.

This wasn’t home.

This wasn’t her village.

This was… the town. Her new home with Raghav. Just noise and strangers and a cracked window that looked out onto a world moving too fast.

She pulled the blanket tighter around her and sat up from the small cot. The sheet scratched her skin, the room still faintly soaked in the sour scent of damp paint. Sunlight slanted through the cracked window, warming the unfamiliar air. Aarti took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart as she realized she was starting a new chapter in her life with Raghav by her side.

Raghav was still sleeping with his head buried in the pillow.

She stood and padded to the window, her bare feet cold on the cement floor.

Outside, everything was alive. The air itself buzzed. Men in vests and khaki pants shouted over buckets of water. Children chased each other barefoot across the alley. A woman was balancing a basket on her head like it weighed nothing. And the smells—chai, coal smoke, something frying in oil—hit her all at once.

Aarti didn’t breathe for a second.

This was not her world.

And yet… it was supposed to be now.

She stood at the mirror and tried to make her hair look like it did back home.

It didn’t.

It fell strangely here—flat on one side, puffy on the other, no matter how tightly she braided it. Her sari looked too crisp. Her bangles were too loud.

Her reflection stared back: unsure, alone, and pretending to be fine.

She swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Everything feels strange in here," she thought, "but I have to make it work." Taking a deep breath, she straightened her back.

She stared at Raghav and sat on the bed beside him and brushed his hair away from his forehead. "Ji…wake up, I don't know anything in here," she whispered softly, hoping he would stir from his slumber. The unfamiliar surroundings made her feel even more lost and alone. She missed her village home, Aarav, Nandini, and everyone she had left behind.

Raghav rubbed his eyes and slowly opened them, looking confused. She smiled gently at him, relieved to see him awake. "Sit here and calm down; I am here with you." Raghav took her hand and put it to his heart, feeling the steady beat beneath his palm. "Tell me, what do you need now?" he said softly, trying to reassure her.

She took a deep breath. "Water, there's no water in the home, and unlike our home in the village, there's no well. How will I bathe and wash clothes without water?" Raghav nodded understandingly.

His hand brushed her shoulder. Gentle, but unsure.

“There’s no well?”

Her voice cracked around the word. It sounded ridiculous even to her—childish somehow, out of place in this world of pipes and shared courtyards.

Raghav turned to her. “Not here,” he said, trying to smile. “There’s a tap out back. I’ll get some water for now.”

She nodded, but her eyes stayed on the window, where a crow was tearing at a paper wrapper on the street below. Its shrieks echoed up the walls of the building.

"What if I don't get used to it?" Aarti questioned, her voice filled with uncertainty. Raghav hesitated, his gaze drifting to the window. “Then we’ll figure it out,” he said, though something in his voice sounded unsure.

Unknowingly, tears fell from Aarti's eyes, making Raghav anxious. "What happened, Aarti?" he asked softly, concern evident in his voice. Aarti wiped her eyes. “It’s just… everything’s too loud.”

Raghav nodded understandingly. "It's normal to feel that way, but remember, I'm here for you every step of the way."

"I want to go home," Aarti whispered, her voice barely audible. Raghav squeezed her hand gently. "What about your dream of studying? Do you want to give up on that?" Aarti shook her head. "No, I still want to read."

"Then we're staying here, okay?" Raghav replied reassuringly. "We'll figure it out together," he added, giving her a comforting smile.

She leaned into him, letting his warmth steady her. But the ache of everything she’d left behind still sat heavy in her chest.
Outside, the crow shrieked again. The city didn’t care. But he did.

*****

💌 Author’s Note

Hey darlings 💫

Wow. Deep breath, right?

This chapter was soft—but heavy. Aarti's first morning in the city isn't glamorous. It's not romantic. It's not even hopeful (yet). It's confusing, loud, strange. And that’s exactly how it’s supposed to feel.

She’s left behind everything she knew. Her village, her routine, her people. Now she wakes up to chaos, cold floors, and a window that doesn’t open to the sky, but to noise. But beneath all that? She's still holding on to something fragile—her dream to study, to grow, to make something of herself.

And Raghav? 🥺 He’s trying. Clumsy, gentle, real. He doesn’t have all the answers, but he’s showing up. And sometimes, that’s enough.

This chapter isn’t about plot twists. It’s about that aching in-between moment when life has changed… but hasn’t started making sense yet. It’s about trying to belong when nothing feels familiar. And isn’t that something we’ve all felt at some point?

👉 Tell me—did you feel Aarti's fear? That homesick ache? Or Raghav’s quiet "I’ll figure it out for us" energy?

Comment below ⬇️
✨ And drop a 🪷 if you’re rooting for Aarti to bloom in this concrete jungle.

See you in Chapter 39—things are about to shift. 👀
(Yes… something’s coming.)

With love,
Shaar Shree

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