Keerthi was moisturizing her hands when her husband walked out of the washroom in a blue track pant and a grey T-shirt.
Her heart thudded when Vikram walked towards her.
Were they going to fight?
Keerthi didn’t want to. But she was surprised when her husband wrapped his arms around her from behind, nuzzling the crook of her neck.
Keerthi was unprepared for the disappointment that coursed through her veins when her husband peppered kisses on her neck.
Her eyes watered involuntarily, unpleasant thoughts running in her mind.
She shut her eyes, why was her husband being affectionate. Was she delusional to think they have had an argument?
But she didn’t want to have a fight.
She silently turned her neck to the side, giving access to her husband to kiss her.
She was dejected, didn’t her husband’s truly want to know her state of mind before he took her into his arms.
Keerthi was determined to not have a fight. Her husband made it seem like she enjoyed having a tiff with him, like she enjoyed getting into arguments. Though he hadn’t said much, his words hurt her.
She let her husband pick her in his arms.
It was the first time she didn’t blush when she was in her husband’s arms.
She closed her tear filled eyes when her body hit the bed, her husband’s frame hovering hers, as he placed a kiss on her mouth, nipping at her lips, coaxing her to open up for him, which she did.
Keerthi’s thoughts ate at her mind. Did men truly want to derive only physical pleasure from their wives?, the thought saddened her.
She didn’t like the direction of her thoughts. It was just a one time thing, just because she was upset with him.
Keerthi knew her husband wasn’t like that. He had been patient with her all these days. It was wrong of her to think of him that way, Keerthi silently reassured herself.
But she could neither stop the tear that slipped her eye nor her quiet sniffle when her husband’s hand disappeared into her top.
Keerthi prayed her husband didn’t hear it.
“What is it?”, Vikram mumbled against his wife’s neck when he felt her shake.
“Nothing”, his wife whispered, pulling him in for a kiss.
Vikram frowned when his wife’s lips quivered so much that he couldn’t even kiss properly. Was she so shy? All of a sudden?
He glanced at her.
“Why the hell are you crying?”
Keerthi felt cornered,”Nothing.”
“Tell me what it is–”
“Or get out of your sight?”, Keerthi finished her husband’s sentence.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Keerthi took in a deep breath. She didn’t want to provoke her husband.
She gave him a smile,”Nothing. I am fine.”
Vikram sighed,”I am tired. It’s gonna be easy if you just say what your problem is than leaving me to guess it.”
Keerthi blinked back her tears,”Nothing . Really.”
“Why do I even bother?”, Vikram rolled his eyes,”You are the most passive aggressive person I’ve seen.”
Keerthi’s lips trembled, as she bit her bottom lip hard, in an effort to prevent tears from leaking her eyes,”I am Sorry you have to deal with me”, she said quietly.
Vikram was getting a headache. He wished his wife told him what she wanted. She was on the verge of bursting into tears.
“I am not going to ask again, Keerthi.”
Keerthi kept mum, unwilling to say anything.
Vikram was getting agitated,”You have fun crying or what? Randomly crying out of nowhere.” Vikram wanted to continue what they were doing before his wife started crying.
Keerthi shook her head,”I don’t”, she answered patiently, though it was her that was upset. She had to be the one yelling, not the other way round.
But.
But her husband was being fire.
She was determined not to be fuel, even if she couldn’t be water.
Vikram scratched his brow.”Okay. Continue crying. But be silent while you are at it. I am going to sleep.”
Tears slipped Keerthi’s eyes, her husband’s words hurting her.
Their fight seemed stupid, to the both of them. Keerthi silently wiped her tears away, joining her husband as she lied down.
Though Keerthi was upset, she didn’t know why she gravitated towards her husband.
She didn’t understand the need to pacify him, though it was her that was hurt. She didn’t like it when he was mad at her, the results were always disastrous.
Apologising to him and patching up with Vikram was better than trying to prove a point, especially when her husband was in a mood.
Keerthi could suppress her ego, if it meant she didn’t have to hear her husband’s harsh words. His bitter words hurt than the actual fight.
The sooner their fight dissolved, the better.
She could explain her point of view later, when he was in a better frame of mind.
Vikram was surprised when his wife wrapped am arm around his stomach. He turned around, to find her looking down at the blanket.
He brushed the hair out of her face, tilting his wife’s chin up,”What’s the matter?”, he asked quietly.
Keerthi shook her head.
She didn’t particularly have a single answer.
What would she say? Why were you mad at me when you came home? Why didn’t you console me when I was upset? Why didn’t we go on a honeymoon?
The last question surprised her.
“Why do you get so angry when I cry?”, she asked softly, instead.
Vikram placed an arm under his head,”I don’t know. There has to be a reason for crying, right?”, Vikram glanced at his wife sideways,” I feel incapable when I see you crying, and it just rubs me the wrong way when you don’t tell me why. We could solve it together if something is troubling you.”
“Even if that something was you?”, Keerthi questioned quietly.
“What?”, Vikram was surprised.
“I don’t like to piss you off. Neither do I get any joy out of our arguments”, Keerthi said.
“What’s brought this on?”
Keerthi shrugged a shoulder,”Just thought of saying it.”
“So randomly?”, Vikram raised a brow.
Keerthi stared at her husband, did he truly not remember saying that she ‘Entertained herself’ while arguments.
She didn’t want to remind him though.
“Why not?”
“It doesn’t make sense. What’s there to cry in it?”
Keerthi shrugged again.
“Keerthi, will you tell me what’s bothering you?”
Keerthi assessed her husband. Was it a right thing to say?,”You were so angry when you came home”, she said softly.
The conversation slipped out of Vikram’s mind,”Have I said anything that hurt you?”, he frowned.
Keerthi sighed in helplessness. Was he joking?
She thinned her lips. “It’s fine.”
“So I did?”
“Can we just go to sleep?”, Keerthi didn’t want her husband to dissect it.
“I don’t really remember. But I was just pissed off I was forced to come home and then go to Rishi’s. I had to postpone a meeting and was in a hurry”, he explained.
“Alright.”
“Stop talking in circles, Keerthi.”
“I was just upset with you then”, Keerthi confessed,” And after returning home, you acted like nothing happened.”
“That was nothing”, Vikram sighed. Why was his wife so sensitive.
“Right”, Keerthi nodded.
“Keerthi”, Vikram started out carefully,”I am like that. Try to understand, I have a temper. I agree. Don’t take everything I say to heart when I am angry. Overlook it if I say anything that hurt. For both of our sake. I hate my temper sometimes too. But know that I don’t say anything out of spite. It genuinely slips. Though it is not an excuse for acting like an asshole, if I was one, it’s not my intention to hurt you.”