A Loveless Arranged Marriage

Chapter 2. The Day After Marriage

Previously, we saw that Rishi and Deepa got married to please their parents. On their wedding night, both realized they were not interested in the marriage and decided to separate after a year. Their wedding night was filled with a mix of surprises and emotions. Let's see what happens next.

The next morning, the sun began to shine as usual. Deepa and Rishi were peacefully sleeping in their wedding night room—Deepa on the bed and Rishi on the bed sheet spread out on the floor. Suddenly, they heard someone knocking on the door and calling softly, "Deepa, Deepa, are you there?"

Deepa stirred and, groggily, responded, "Yes, Mom, I'm coming." She sat up in bed, still tired. The voice from outside laughed and said, "Haha, it's me, your mother-in-law."

Deepa, still half-asleep, responded, "Mother-in-law?" Without realizing it was Ishwari calling her, she became alert and, with a sudden rush of tension and fear, said, "Ahh, ahh, Auntie." Ishwari's voice came through the door, "Are you awake, my dear?"

Deepa, flustered, replied, "Y-yes, Auntie. Wait, I-I'm changing my dress." She felt embarrassed after realizing what she said. Ishwari laughed and said, "Okay, take your time." Deepa quickly responded, "Ah, okay, Auntie," and began to think about what to do. She then hurriedly tried to wake up Rishi.

Rishi woke up and asked Deepa, "What's going on? Why are you waking me up in a hurry?" Deepa explained the situation to him, and Rishi responded casually, "It's just my mom, so what?"

Suddenly, Rishi realized the gravity of the situation and, with a note of fear in his voice, asked, "Wait, my mom is outside?" He pointed towards the door. Deepa nodded. Rishi, now visibly anxious, started thinking about what to do. He asked, "What should we do?"

Deepa replied, "I'm not sure either." After a few moments, she came up with a plan. "Rishi, let's pretend that we had sex yesterday. You'll be sleeping shirtless on the bed, and I'll go outside to confront your mother."

Rishi, confused, asked, "What?" Deepa clarified, "It's just an act. You'll be on the bed, and I'll handle your mother."

Rishi agreed, "Fine. But first, I need to hide the bedsheet." He threw the bedsheet to the other side of the bed and placed the pillow on the bed. As he began to remove his shirt, he asked Deepa, "Can you adjust your saree a bit? It's only been put on recently." Deepa responded, "Sure."

Rishi took off his shirt, tossed it to a corner of the room, and lay on the bed, covering himself partially with the bedsheet. Once Deepa adjusted her saree, she was ready to execute the plan. Rishi confirmed, "Okay, you can start."

Just as Deepa was about to open the door, Rishi stopped her quietly, saying, "Hey, your flowers." Deepa noticed the flowers in her hair, quickly removed them, and threw them into a corner of the room. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door. Standing outside was Ishwari, holding a couple of coffee mugs.

Ishwari asked, "Are you feeling tired, my dear?" Deepa, with a fake smile, replied, "No, aunt. I'm sorry for keeping you waiting." Ishwari responded, "That's okay. Here's coffee for both of you." She handed a mug to Deepa.

As Deepa took the coffee and closed the door behind her, Rishi lay on the bed, anxious that his mother might discover the truth. Deepa then brought the coffee into the room, closing the door behind her. Ishwari, thinking they needed privacy, walked away.

Rishi asked, "What happened?" Deepa reassured him, "The plan went as expected, so don't worry. But could you please put on your shirt?" Rishi, relieved, quickly put on his shirt. Deepa handed him one of the coffee mugs.

As they enjoyed their coffee, Rishi said, "We barely escaped that situation. We didn't anticipate this at all." Deepa replied, "At first, I thought it was my mom calling. When I realized it was your mom, it made me tense."