Chapter 8

The blinding rays falling on my eyes woke me up from my restless stupor the next morning. Stretching my arms wide while covering my ugly yawn with my hand, I sat up straight. It took my hazy head a moment to realize where I was and soon, all my memories came rushing back to me.

I looked down to find myself in my heavy, pink lehenga.

“No idea how I slept in this,” I groaned as I slid out from under the covers and rushed to the bathroom after picking up the small bag I had packed for all my first-day necessities. The rest of my bags might have already reached his home, wherever it was.

After a long warm shower, so hot it almost burned my skin but felt so good on aching muscles, I dressed in a simple white top and blue jeans. Leaving my hair loose to dry, I walked out from the bathroom in search of Aarav, my husband.

It sounds so weird, even in my head. The idea of somebody staying with me, the idea of being married, to a stranger at that. Well, practice makes a man perfect. Wait, does that mean women are already perfect? Nice!

Anyway, I had to apologize for yesterday, I should have let the poor man speak. He is tied down in an unhappy marriage too.

“Excuse me,” travelled a smooth voice from my right, and I turned around to find Mr. Singhaniya perched on a chair staring at me.

“Yes?”

“Our flight leaves at eleven, so we have to leave in about an hour.”

“Got it. Where are we going by the way?”

“My home,” he looked at me as if I was a dumb seagull and the ‘obviously’ was hanging heavy in the air.

“I know that, Captain Obvious. I meant where, as in where is your house?” I rolled my eyes.

“Bangalore.”

“Okay thanks,” I turned around and then remembered why I was looking for him in the first place and faced him again to say, “I’m sorry for yesterday, I shouldn’t have interrupted you.”

“No worries,” he replied, and a smile bloomed on my face. Did that mean he was spill?

I rushed towards him and beaming at his clean-shaven face asked, “So you will tell me what your reasons for marrying me are?”

“I meant I forgive you; my statement stands the same,” he said and dipped his head in the files he was reading.

Well, whatever, I tried. I wasn’t going to beg him or murder my pride to feed my curiosity, but suddenly, I found myself joining my hands and pleading with him, “Please, please, please, tell me.”

And do you know what my very new and handsome husband did? He ignored me - on the very first day of our marriage. I can just feel how beautiful this ride is going to be. But I didn’t let that stop me from annoying him until he spilt the tea.

I somehow slid between his knees and pushing my head from under his hands and files, I stared right into his eyes putting all the creepiness I could into that one stare. Thanks to my slim frame and years of gymnastic I did it before he could realize what I was doing. So now, his dark brown eyes stared right into mine and I asked, “Tell me”

“No,” he uttered and started moving away but I held his legs in place and glared a challenge through my eyes. It said, ‘I will keep annoying you until you answer me, and don’t you dare challenge my annoyingness. I can annoy even the most patient monk in this world.’ So maybe, this wasn’t a great route to take, but I am a growing woman, and my hunger is supposed to be satiated; doesn’t matter that it’s information I hunger for.

“I do not want to hurt you, so move,” he warned through clenched teeth as he shook his leg and if it were any sane person, they would have run away but well, I…I kind of lost my sanity somewhere in the past three days so…I held him tighter.

“Just tell me and I’ll leave, it’s simple,” I proposed.

He dropped the file on the table and through clenched teeth said, “Fine, get off.”

“You’ll answer me?” I looked at him, stars shining in my eyes.

“Yes, one question”

I untangled my body from his legs and asked the one question that I wanted a serious answer for, “Why did you marry me?”

“Because I didn’t have any other choice”

I waited for explanation and by the time I realized that there was none coming, he had already packed all his files in his briefcase.

“What do you mean?”

He ignored me.

“Excuse me, can you hear me? What do you mean?”

He ignored me, again.

“Hey! You told me you would answer”

“I said I would answer one question and I did,” gracing me with his final words, he walked out of the room.

I was pissed. He was going to pay for this. Nobody and I mean, nobody treated Riya Pathan this way.

I held onto my anger as I packed my belongings and ate the breakfast he had ordered for me. But my anger started dissipating as rational thoughts infected my brain. He answered every question yesterday and he would have answered more had I not interrupted him. ‘Because I didn’t have any other choice’ is a perfectly applicable answer. If someone asked me, I would have answered the same.

So, in the end, he did nothing wrong, did he?

Oh god! Of all things you could give me, why did you give me a post-accident working brain? Either give me a brain that works when the situation needed or give me no brain at all, why would you make me feel stupid and sensible at the same time?

I spent the next sixty minutes mumbling and grudging over my own half stupid and half sensible brain.

A knock on the door broke my connection from my internal dialogue—yes, it’s a dialogue; there’s me, the sensible side of my brain and my good old subconscious (Honestly, it’s all a mess)—and I move towards the door to greet my dear husband, with whom I was trying really hard to get angry with and not get angry with at the same time.

“Ready?” he asked and I nodded.

Walking inside, he picked up the bags and allowed me to walk before he followed. Well, so maybe he didn’t answer my questions but he was a gentleman, at least in the traditional sense of this word.

He sat in silence, still reading those files while I texted my friends as we drove to the airport.

Fifteen minutes into the ride, our group chat was going wild. Making fun of each other at every turn.

“Can you stop giggling so loudly? And turn your phone mute. I’m trying to concentrate,” he snapped out of the blue.

“Then work on *your* focus and concentration, complainer,” I shot back and then laughed exaggeratedly, even going as far as reading my sometimes incomprehensible texts aloud. So maybe I was being childish, but he was being too. He didn’t answer me, even when I begged him, so I had all the rights to annoy him and irritate his peace.

What’s that good piece of ass doing? – Shanaya Please! Spare my ears with this talk – Krish We all know, I am the only good piece of ass here, not her asshole husband – Manoj Just because she was forced to marry him doesn’t make him an asshole – Liam

Liam, bless him! He was the only sensible one in our group. With the amount of time he spent bulking up his body, you would think he had peanuts for brain but nope, he got both. Lucky son of a goat!

Aarav Singhaniya is a great piece of ass and you, Manoj are a *insert poop emoji here*. This is a fact and I stand by it – Shanaya Why are we even talking about him? – Krish Oh, shut up, Krish! You aren’t married, you wouldn’t know – Shanya And you are? – all three of us texted simultaneously.

Don’t gang up on me! Rex, what are you doing? Got any sleep last night? *wink, wink* - Shanaya She couldn’t make it any more obvious. I groaned aloud and texted, Pull your head out of the gutter, Shans Please stop talking about this – Krish I second that – Liam I third that – Manoj Before I could write I fourth that, she texted, Why *crying emojis*

Because it’s uncomfortable – Krish It’s weird, I have known Rexy for more than five years and I don’t want to listen to her sexcapades with a man she was forced to marry. It’s too immoral and illegal for me - Liam It’s confusing. Should I punch that asshole for ruining her and taking her away or am I supposed to laugh at the size of his dick? – Manoj Exactly, like the protective bear jumps out and we are nowhere near enough to actually protect her. I don’t like that – Krish You didn’t do it, did you Riya? – Liam I could actually hear his dad voice through the text right now, but before I could reply though texts kept pouring in. Oh gosh! Why am I such a slowpoke?

You didn’t, right? – Krish Tell me, you didn’t give it to him so soon! – Manoj Give me the deets, babe – Shanya Please spare me the details. Just tell me no – Krish Suddenly, the mobile flew out of my hands and landed inside his right pant pocket.

“No,” I screamed. The poor driver turned around to check if everything was alright, but I had my glare set on Aarav.

“Give my phone back to me,” I offered my hand sternly. I could hear the continuous pings on my phone, and I cringed inside, the conclusions they were going to jump into. It was embarrassing just thinking about it.

“No,” he answered and went back to staring at his file. I don’t even think he was reading. There was no way he could, my constantly beeping phone wouldn’t let him, he just wanted to aggravate me.

“I said give my phone back to me,” I repeated, trying to add authority to my voice. How did he do it so easily? Must come with being a CEO.

“No,” he said, and that single word held all the authority I was trying to put in my words, and he did it even when he was in the wrong. This really isn’t fair.

Seeing an opportunity, I pulled the file straight out of his hand and holding it in my left hand, held it across the blast of wind that blew the moment I rolled the window down.

“Give my phone back, or I am going to throw your file out,” I threatened, while my poor heart beat erratically at my still beeping phone.

He stared at me for a moment and as if taking pity, he sighed and said, “Let’s come to an agreement. Keep your phone on silent, your giggles at the minimum and we can barter this deal”

“No conditions. Give me my phone and you will get your file,” I shook the yellow file again.

“I told you once, I will tell you again, I don’t offer the same deal twice. I have three copies of this file and it isn’t urgent; your phone though…,” he ended on an unsure note, but I could hear what he was thinking.

Replying to my messages was important and urgent, his file wasn’t. He had back up too and I didn’t. Sue him for having an analytical, business mind.

Gulping my pride down, I said, “Fine,” and hesitantly offered him his file while I reached out for my phone with my other hand.

The moment the almost warm surface of my phone touched my palm, I panicked and quickly checked my inbox.

138 messages. Are you kidding me?

Without bothering to read all of them, I texted, NO! A BIG FAT NO!

You are NOT a fucking virgin anymore? – Krish What the bloody fucking hell! Tell me, you used protection at least – Liam You better mean NO as in NO FUCKING SEX – Manoj I gave her protection *proud smile* – Shanaya Are you dumb? Why would you push her to sleep with someone she just met? – Liam Hold your horses, how did the conversation go from my wedding night sex to my forever sex drought? Well, I mean that was a natural progression, but still.

I’m coming to the airport and punching his fucking guts out – Manoj NO! NO! NO! I DID NOT HAVE SEX, I texted back immediately. I didn’t even want to imagine Manoj and Aarav in a brawl. Manoj was a very messy fighter, seen it too many times to ever want to watch it again, especially when he was angry.

Thank goodness – Krish You didn’t do anything else, did you? – Manoj Stop acting like her dad – Liam No, I didn’t do anything else. He slept on the sofa—I giggled internally, didn’t want Mr.-snatch-your-things to take my phone again.

Good – Krish Look, we don’t have a problem with you sleeping with someone, it’s just that, we know it means a lot to you and don’t want you to feel that you have to do it or are under any pressure – Liam Talk for yourself. She is my baby sister, and she is never having sex. Boys have cooties – Manoj Told you? Liam was the only reasonable one.

I know, Li and Manoj, you better believe you’ll get a detailed description in your ears if/when I lose it.

Gtg, reached the airport. Ttyl - I sent the last message as I saw the looming figure of an airport getting bigger and shut off my phone.