I park my car and pick up my belongings throwing on my shades, avoiding the sun as hangover had hit me like a bullet in the head. I enter the house walking in, and notice dad at the breakfast table... with my husband and his best friend.
"What are you doing here?" I ask looking at my infuriating husband, slightly shocked.
"Why were you here last night, if your wife wasn't here?" Avinash asks surprised, Ambar rolls his eyes at him, and looks at me.
Fuck, he was here. This means my parents know that I was not here or at my in-laws, in which case I'm supposed to tell my parents about my whereabouts for security reasons. Oh Dad, will be so pissed.
"We need to talk." He says as I shrug, wanting him to just go, not even wanting him to come closer with the pungent familiar scent of nicotine mixed with alcohol.
"Yeah, but not now. I have a hangover and I'm already late for work. I'll get dressed and go to the clinic. We'll talk in the evening." I say just waving him away.
"See you at home." He says as I shake my head.
"This is my home." I say, wanting to get away and going to climb up the stairs.
"Samayra, you can't leave your in-laws house at every minor disagreement we have." He says getting up from the dining room chair as my mom speaks.
"Sammy, call the clinic and tell them you'll be late. Ambar, go upstairs and talk to her." My dad says as I shake my head, not wanting him close to me.
"HE WASN"T ASKING. GO UPSTAIRS NOW." My mother says in a warning tone and I knew for a fact that it was either I agree to her, or my dead body in the backyard.
"Whatever." I say walking upstairs as Ambar finishes his glass of lassi and follows behind.
I open my room and see the bed made haphazardly as I frown.
"You slept here... So, now this will smell of prospective lung cancer as well?" I say as he huffs.
"I'm sorry." He says as I turn to look at him.
"For?"
"For... leaving you when I should have stayed and been there for you."
"and?"
"For smoking, even though I know I how much you hate it."
"and?"
"For drinking... every night..." he says as I huff...
"AND?" I say losing patience. He knows everything he did wrong and he still did it.
"I was lost and..." he was about to say when I interrupted.
"and not coming home every night, and leaving me in bed on mornings when you did come back, without even saying a greeting like we do to strangers or roommates let alone your spouse. And for not caring how physically painful that abortion was. And..." I was saying as he interrupted.
"I KNOW... FOR FUCKSAKE SAMAYRA. I KNOW WHAT I DID WRONG." He says raising his voice.
"DO NOT TALK TO ME LIKE THAT..." I shout back and then immediately regret by the throbbing pain in my head. I put my fingers on my temple and rub sitting back on the bed as I feel a migraine building up.
"I'm sorry." He whispers.
"If you know what you did wrong, why did you do it?"
"Because I... loved that child..."
"Our child... The one growing in my belly who I loved as well... maybe always will. But did you love our child more than you love me? More than you care for me? Because if not, you would have known how much I needed you in the past few days." I say trying to control my tears as he sits by my side on the bed.
"You reek of vodka." He says as I laugh.
"You can't complain... when you yourself...." I pause and and sniff my cherry blossom shower gel on him. I chuckle as he shakes his head.
"Now what?"
"Quit smoking... I can't live with that. I'm sorry." I say being very honest. It wasn't something huge, but if it was a love marriage and I was dating a guy, smoking was the deal breaker for me.
For some people, it didn't matter but for me it did.
"It starts today." He says in a gentle yet affectionate tone.
"I'll come home when you are ready to face me."
"I was..." he was saying as I shake my head.
"The reason you don't come home was this and you know it. When you are ready to move forward and be with me. I'll come home, until then I'm here... Plus I want Grandma to leave as well." I add and he nods.
"Ishleen told me what she said... and then what you said... I respect you for standing up for yourself and in no way I'll ever disrespect your importance in my house. You're as important as Grandma and if you're not comfortable with her, I can ask mom and look something outside." He says as I squint.
"Mom will have a heart attack. She loves us, and now with Ishleen welcoming a new one, we'll need all hands on deck. Wait... dad told you his love story 1900 didn't he?" I ask by the things he said about his grandma as he nods.
"He did."
I huff and get up from the bed looking at the time.
"I need to shower and go for work." I say as he nods.
"Call me when you reach home safely tonight... And don't go missing." He says kissing my forehead as I close my eyes and he leaves my room.
I showered and got ready walking down for breakfast.
"So, how's Daman?" My father asks as I shake.
"She's fine. Her son keeps her busy... Good change or she would have lost herself after what happened with Sangram." I say as Mom enters getting me aalo ka parantha.
"Mom, just Lassi... Don't want to eat anything." I say as she takes the plate away not talking to me.
"I'm sorry... I should have informed you where I was last night." I say as nobody replies, with dad busy in his newspaper and mom gets me a glass of lassi.
"Daman called, she needed help and I completely forgot to tell you." I say as my dad squints.
"Liar." He says and goes back to reading his newspaper.
"Damn it... How do you know when I'm lying. Okay, I just needed a night away from... adulting, responsibilities, duties... Just... a tiny bit semblance of my college days and freedom."
"You could have told us and then went..." Mom says under her breath.
"Mom, I just forgot, It completely skipped my mind."
"You forgot that your parents are still alive?"
"Mom... No..."
"What if your mother-in-law or father-in-law had called and asked what would we say? We don't know where our daughter is?" She says as I shake my head.
"Mom, I lost a child. For God sake give me a break." I say as it escapes a little louder than I had expected.
There was pin drop silence in the house as I picked up my lassi, finished it and picked up my car keys.
"Shift ends at?" Dad asks.
"5." I say as he nods.
"Last entry at 6:30." He says as if he would close the gate on his own and only biological daughter.
"Dad, you've never..."
"It is for Sabina as well. Inform that I know that she wasn't at her friend's house either last night."
"Where would she go?" I say confused as he doesn't react like he heard it.
"You lost a child and if it affects you enough to talk to your mom like that, get therapy. If you need time and space to heal, do it inside the house but after the stunt you both pulled last night, If you want to stay in my house, you follow my rules." He says as I get up and walk away, wiping the tears forming in my eyes.
YOU ARE READING
The perfect groom ||
General FictionRehaan Deol or as his parents still call him "Chetan", the boy who changed his name for the love of a woman. The woman who left his heart shattered in pieces. He says he is ready to marry Ishleen and give love a chance while his sister-in-law, Sama...
