Discordance

Chapter Nineteen

Sham, she had called their marriage a sham and he wasn't sure why it hurt so damn much. He had tried not to confront her because really what was she saying that he hadn't said a million times before? Then why did he feel a fissure run through his heart every time her words replayed in his mind?

To add salt to his injuries, something had changed with her, and she had been ignoring him since that night at the women's shelter. She was fine overall but there was some hesitation in their conversations, she seemed to be spending a lot of time with Neil or Nishtha playing games or reading books with them in her free time and he was pissed because he wanted all her attention for himself. One other thing that was throwing him for a loop was the whole conversation with her Bade papa, while it hadn't been outright crazy, some of the words he used for Akshara ruffled some of his feathers.

He had essentially asked Abhimanyu if Akshara was behaving well and pleasing the family. When Abhimanyu had asked him to elaborate on what he meant, the man had turned around and called it a joke, but something was causing all the warning signs to go off within him. He knew things were not okay between them but maybe he should be paying way more attention than he currently was. He would make it a point to observe their interaction to see if he could find out more. When Abhimanyu had told her that he had already called and invited her family, she had almost sunk to the floor in relief but when he questioned it she had immediately clammed up. He was frustrated but he knew if he pressed harder, she would take back the tremulous relationship they had created for themselves.

The day of the pooja had come quicker than anticipated and he could hear Akshara toss and turn all night, but the moment he sat up to check on her she had pretended to be asleep. He almost shot out of bed when he heard her soft crying but when he whispered her name she stopped and he felt like he was invading her privacy, all the while his heart was breaking for her. No, this wouldn't do at all. He would find out what was wrong and make it right!

"Beta, Sudha Maa Sa is coming for the pooja" Manjarai whispered next to him as he was helping set up the mattresses for the guests to sit on a little before the pooja was about to commence. Abhimanyu immediately dropped the edge of the mattress he was holding causing Neil to yell a profanity at him from the other side.

Dadi Sa wasn't really Abhimanyu's Dadi but actually Ishika's grandmother. However, since they had grown up so close to each other, Dadi Sa was an elder the family respected and who's opinion they valued. She had been visiting her granddaughter when Abhimanyu was getting married and he was lowkey glad for it because at that point he wouldn't have been able to watch the disappointment in her eyes but today he was nervous, nervous for Akshara. Ishika's family and his were so intertwined that it was near impossible to separate them, they lived on the same street when Abhimanyu was growing up and him and Anisha ate at ishika's house more than they ate at theirs and Ishika stayed with him and his cousins for breaks refusing to go home. He crossed his fingers hoping that things would go smoothly, and nobody would bother Akshara, be it Dadi sa or her Bade papa.

By the time the guests were starting to come in, Akshara still wasn't around. She had to run to the orphanage with Parth Bhai as one of the kid's paperwork had an issue and the parents who were adopting that particular kid were set to leave the country the next day. He was itching to have her back in his eyesight, his heart telling him that something was going to go wrong today.

"Abhi my child" he heard from behind and immediately a grin stretched across his face as he turned around and bent down to get blessings from Dadi Sa who hugged him with all her might. "Look how much weight you have lost, do you not eat enough? I will make halwa for you as Manjari doesn't seem to be feeding you" she glared at his mom as she said it who took all of it in stride.