Aditya Kapoor's and Shradha Advani's marriage was decided more than two decades ago as a deal to unite their always rivaling mafia families. But it was something neither of them wanted.
Aditya never really cared about this arrangement as he chose t...
Shradha knew the feeling of being rejected and asked to stay out of Aditya's way. He only showed affection whenever he wanted something from her, and most of the time, it was sex he sought. She didn't complain either. This was her duty in this marriage. To be the perfect little wife that played dumb and didn't raise a question back.
Today the weather was much warmer. After the infiltration, the mansion was heavily guarded with security. They didn't want to risk another enemy attack. As Shradha walked past the courtyard where workers were fixing up the broken glass windows, she found Mrinal sitting by the fountain, with a book in her hand.
Mrinal was older than her by five years and wiser too. She was the mother of two gorgeous children but was she a successful wife? Shradha could not tell. She had grown up in a world where a woman's worth was determined by her fertility and her ability to keep her husband only in her bed. And Mrinal had failed the latter part of it. Karan, Aditya's cousin was a man whore. He kept multiple mistresses.
Her marriage was not a success and the poor women suffered a lot for that. She looked paler and thinner. Shradha was too busy taking in her appearance to notice that Mrinal had raised her head up from the book and was now smiling at her.
"I didn't see you there Shradha. Come sit." She offered the chair opposite to her.
Returning the smile, Shradha sat down but for a brief second, her eyes glanced at the book that was in Mrinal's hand. It was a magazine, a health magazine.
Makes sense. She thought.
"Are you alright?" Mrinal asked scanning her from head to toe referring to her past kidnapping. Shradha nodded in assurance. "I've had better days. I hope the children were safe during the attack?"
"They were. I managed to get them in the safe room right on time." Mrinal replied with a smile that was forced. Shradha could see how tired and lonely the women in front of her was. It reminded her of her own self in the mirror. Perhaps that was how the women in this world was.
"Why do you still stay? It's easier to walk away than hold on."
Shradha saw the glint of sadness that covered Mrinal's eyes at that question but she once again smiled through the pain she felt. "Leave and do what Shradha? I do not have a degree. Who will give me a job? How will I raise two children alone?"
The reality hit Shradha hard then. A world outside from this seemed bright to her but what exactly would she do after leaving? She will not last even a day. Them as women were born and brought up to be at their man's protection and nothing more.
"I always think why me? Why only me? But then I realised I actually have it better than most of the women out here. I have a roof over my head, food on my plate, two amazing children and the Kapoor title along with my name."
As Mrinal said those words, Shradha stared in horror. Conditioning. The women in this world were conditioned in such a way that they think their only purpose is to get married and birth children. It was absurd but also the truth.
"You are wrong Mrinal. Anything is better than living in this house, trapped and void of emotions." Shradha tried reasoning but deep down she knew that there was no point. It was only her own self that she was reassuring and not Mrinal. Because she didn't want to believe the bitter truth that there was no escaping from the last name she carries.
"You know Shradha, on the day of my wedding, my mother told me something that I still remember crystal clear. She said, just lay down and pray that you get pregnant." Mrinal let out a small laugh of pity reminiscing the memory. "And silly me, that's what I did. I just layed down and prayed to get pregnant as soon as possible. And indeed I did, but by then the man I was supposed to please was done with me. All because I was busy praying."
Shradha's chest knotted at that. She didn't know where this conversation was going but she knew Mrinal needed someone to talk to. And she was giving her comfort by listening.
"I realised it the hard way. Soon enough Aditya will also get tired of you just like Karan did with me. They all do. Our bodies are changing and will not stay the same forever. If it wasn't for the two kids I birthed, my survival in this house was done. I'm here because I gave birth to Kapoor children. I can't say the same for you Shradha."
Shradha's heart paced up as the words Mrinal were saying slowly started to make sense.
She leaned forward to Shradha almost as if to whisper something. "So two options. Just lay down and pray you get pregnant, or make him tied to your bed forever that he never goes out seeking pleasure from someone else."
She pulled back and with a smile again, said, "That's the only way you can survive in this house."
Her head hurt, and suddenly it all started spinning. Her body fell tight and limb, until she found herself leaning back against the chair to support her spine. Shradha was realising the cycle of women then. The one her mother followed, the one her ancestors did and soon that she will have to too.
There indeed was no escaping.
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