A throbbing headache woke Keerthi up, wincing as she massaged the side of her head. Her eyes felt as though they were stuck to each other, as she turned towards her husband, blinking.
He looked poised, though he had a frown on his face.
She quietly stood up, not making any noise as she got ready quickly and left the room.
She didn’t want to face her husband yet, they would most probably get into another tiff, she thought sadly.
Their married life was turning upside down, tears filled Keerthi’s eyes when her mind forced her to live through the previous day’s fiasco again.
She dashed out of the room before she could cry, desperate to take her mind off things, it was too painful, and it was too early in the morning to cry.
Vikram blinked his eyes open, looking at the time as he sat up. He inspected the room, only to find it empty.
He clenched his jaw, flinging the covers off him as he stood up.
Keerthi saw her mother in law when she went downstairs, stopping in her stride.
Indirectly, Sakshi was the reason for their nasty debacle.
But Keerthi was surprised she didn’t find herself thinking ill about her mother in law. Her mother in law was just looking out for her.
It was her husband’s mistake, twisting his mother’s words.
Keerthi forced a smile as she remembered Vikram’s words.
They were playing in her mind like a broken recorder, not letting her be,”Good morning Mom.”
“Morning Keerthi”, Sakshi gave a warm smile to her daughter in law.
Sakshi weighed Keerthi’s appearance, her daughter in law seemed troubled.
“Everything okay?”, Sakshi asked, hoping her tone was casual.
Keerthi kicked herself for displaying her emotions so easily on her face. She had to learn to control them.
“Of.. Of course Mom”, Keerthi’s stomach twisted in knots.
Her husband wouldn’t let her hear the end of it if her mother in law caught up with her mood.
It would be an utter disaster.
Sakshi was getting suspicious. “Do you have to leave early today?”
Keerthi had come down for breakfast earlier than usual. The idea of getting out of the house seemed appealing,”Yes. A little.”
“Okay”, Sakshi acquiesced, though she wasn’t convinced.
She wasn’t close enough to her daughter in law to drill her about her issues, if she had any.
Or she could be wrong, if everything was alright, making her worry for nothing.
Keerthi gulped her breakfast quickly, desperate to leave before her husband came down.
She just couldn’t handle drama right now, and given the suspicious look her mother in law threw her, she knew the safest thing to do was get out of there.
She bid a quick bye, jumping from her seat.
She found her action a bit drastic. She debated typing Vikram a text she was leaving, finally settling on a, Left to work. Morning.
She would be pissed off too, if he left home without intimation, especially after a fight.
Vikram glared at his phone, why was his wife overdoing it?
He pocketed his phone, clenching his jaw as he descended the stairs.
Sakshi was sure something was the issue when she glanced at her son.
Was it a coincidence both of them looked upset at the same time?
Probably not.
“What’s the matter?”
Vikram was having enough with his mother.
Though he respected and loved her, he didn’t appreciate her continuous meddling,”Nothing.”
Sakshi sighed,”Did you and Keerthi have a fight?”
She knew she guessed right when her son turned his head away, clenching his jaw, his face hard.
“It’s alright. Arguments are normal between couples”, she patted his hand.
Vikram sighed, tired.
He wished his mother kept quiet. But he was already on bad terms with his wife, he didn’t want the same with his mother too.
“I know.”
Sakshi narrowed her eyes,”When are you going on your honeymoon?”
Vikram snorted,”In a hundred years.”
Honeymoon was out of the question now.
He would be glad if his wife gave him a kiss. They normally left for work at the same time. If she was so pissed that she didn’t bother to wait, mentioning honeymoon would make her go bat shit crazy.
He didn’t blame her though. She had every right to be upset. His insides ate at him for hurting his wife so much unnecessarily. .
He would be hurt too, if Keerthi made wrong allegations about him.
His heart ached at the pain his wife must have gone through, not allowing him to be at peace. He had already apologized to her, but he knew a simple Sorry won’t cut it out.
Vikram should be the last person to hurt his wife, they were a team. But he had separated her from himself the previous day, hurting the both of them. He wanted to be his wife’s crying shoulder, whenever she wanted one, not be the person that made her cry.
He loved his wife, he preferred her smiles over her tears.
Right at that moment, Vikram hated his temper. He saw it as an obstacle. He silently promised himself to control it.
He loved his wife more than his temper, it served as a major obstacle to win his wife’s affections. It was something he could do without.
Because at the end of the day, hurting her only hurt him. It didn’t serve any purpose.
His wife was a kind woman. He felt guilty as he remembered how much she cried, the way she held his hand and begged him to understand.
Frankly, if their roles reversed, Vikram would have asked her to fuck off, making it a major issue that his wife didn’t trust him.
But his wife swallowed her ego, she found clearing the misunderstanding more important than her pain and hurt. His heart swelled with love for his wife. He felt ashamed of himself, his head hanging low.
She wanted to pacify him and clear their misunderstanding even when she wasn’t at fault, giving him more value than her situation. She valued their relationship more than her ego.
Though Vikram was proud of his wife at that moment, he felt miserable. He hoped she had at least flung some hateful words at him. She only silently listened to all his hurtful statements, proving herself innocent and then closing herself from him.
He didn’t know what to do for her to forgive him.
He knew he wouldn’t forgive her easily, if he were in her situation.
He rubbed a hand on his face tiredly.
“What?”, Sakshi questioned.
“It’s not like everyone has to go on a honeymoon”, Vikram argued.
“Discuss your dates with Keerthi. Plan it when the both of you are free.”
His mother’s words were making Vikram even more miserable.
“Ma!”, he blurted out, having enough,”We had an argument about the same issue. Can you stop, please?”
“Why do you have to argue about it?”
“I thought Keerthi put these thoughts into your head”, Vikram grumbled guilty, looking anywhere but his mother.
“Oh”, Sakshi was stumped,”You scolded Keerthi thinking she asked me to talk to you?”, Sakshi glared at her son heatedly.
Vikram hung his head low in shame.
Sakshi sighed, she didn’t know her son would take her concern in a different dimension. She felt bad for interfering now, creating an unnecessary rift between the couple.
She knew her son’s temper. She could only feel bad for Keerthi that she had to face his wrath.
She decided to let it be. Vikram already looked bad enough. She didn’t want to reprimand him and make him feel worse.
“It’s alright. Just talk to her”, she patted her son’s cheek, silently vowing not to interfere in their marital affairs.
“Yeah”, Vikram gave a small smile.
Vikram thought of his mother’s words. She was right. He barely spent time with Keerthi the last few days. Work had kept him busy.
He wanted to correct it. He didn’t want his wife to think he didn’t care about her.
He did.
A lot.
He drove to his office, silently pledging to himself to make time for his wife and take her on that honeymoon.
Keerthi felt miserable as she worked. She wanted to run into her mother’s arms for comfort.
She dismissed the idea as soon as it came though.
Her parents would know something was wrong. She didn’t want to disclose their arguments. Her parents would give her a biased opinion, the love they had for her would make them dislike Vikram.
It was just a fight. She knew they would make up, eventually. But the anger her parents would have on Vikram wouldn’t be erased, even after they patched up, the love and protectiveness they had over her would make them come into her defense quickly, especially when her husband scolded her when it wasn’t her fault.
Her husband was a good man. She didn’t want her parents to dislike him just because they fought.
She sighed, sulking as she continued to work, pushing the thoughts of her husband away.
Merely thinking of him made her lips tremble and eyes water.
Vikram came home to see his wife swaying on the swing in their bedroom balcony.
“Hi”, he said, gaining her attention.
“Hi”, Keerthi was surprised,”You are home early”, she said softly.
Her husband didn’t come home before the sky was filled with stars the whole of last week.
The sun merely sank in the horizon today.
“Yeah”, Vikram ran a hand through his hair.
Since when did he feel awkward to talk to his wife? He would have pulled her in his arms and kissed her by now, at normal times.
But his wife appeared distant, her tone polite.
Keerthi stiffened when her husband sat next to her on the swing. She hoped he didn’t do anything drastic.
She was tired of crying.
Vikram was itching to hold his wife’s hand. He didn’t know if she would appreciate it though.
“Are you still upset?”, he asked softly, looking at her.
Keerthi gulped the lump down her throat.
She couldn’t talk to her husband without wanting to cry.
She remained mute, not bothering to answer.
Vikram turned to his wife, looking at her. When she didn’t say anything, he gave her hand a gentle squeeze, letting her be on her own as he left, his heart heavy.
What did he have to do for his wife to become normal?