An Inconvenient Flame

Chapter 34

Abhiraj's Pov.

 18 June.2018

It was a happy day...until it wasn't. The rain that had seemed so soothing now felt like a gloomy backdrop to my mother's pain. I was relaxing after having my  dinner. Mumma cooked my fav rajma chawal. Everything was going good and suddenly I heard loud noises coming from my father's bedroom. keeping my books aside I ran towards the room and saw Dii standing outside the locked room. She was sobbing and requesting dadi to ask her son to open the door. My eyes filled, he is fighting with my mumma again. 

I was frightened. The throat tearing screams of my parents were scary; I was scared for my mumma. Even I started begging dadi to get the door opened but my father wasn't listening. My chest heaved with sobs I couldn't release, it felt as if I could cry myself an ocean.

Me and di sat in front of the door itself snuggled to each other. After an hour the door finally opened and he came out of the door. You know what were his words to us, "Your mother is a bitch. Make her behave or you three will be thrown out of my life."

I would have been the most happiest but a person can only hope for certain things. sadly this one was not possible. My mother is a loyal wife. We both ran to mumma. She was sitting on the bed, di and I silently sat beside her, silently. Her eyes were red, but her jaw was set. Even with tears on her cheeks, she looked ready to face the world for us.

I hate my father. I hate my mother's husband.

I hate him. I hate what he's done to us. To me. To Mumma. To our family.

Everyone says Whatever happens happens for good. Don't know what good happened to mumma after  getting married to the worst man in the world.

My so called absent father. (I HATE YOU SO MUCH IN THE WHOLE WORLD FOR MAKING MY LIFE A NIGHTMARE AND I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR THE PERSON  I'VE TURNED OUT TO BE.)

My father isn't just absent; he's a black hole, sucking away every bit of joy and security from our lives.

I slam the diary shut, the sound echoing through the room. My hands tremble, and I force myself to take deep, steadying breaths. I feel sick. This is the woman I married, the woman I've kept at arms length.

How...how could this be Ishika's life? My wife's life?

She treats Ivaan with such love and care. How?

I always thought Ishika is soo fragile, seeing her crying even on most minor issues.

But now reading her words, I realise how wrong I was.

The image of a young Ishika, terrified and helpless outside her parents' bedroom door, flashes in my mind.

My eyes filled with tears, and I quickly wipe them away.

I look at the diary, I accidentally discovered. And to understand my wife I invaded her privacy. But never in my dreams did I imagine that a glimpse in her soul could shake me to my core.

I hesitate, my hand hovering over the closed diary. Unable to resist slowly, almost reluctantly, I open the diary again.

The page crackle as I turn them and open any random page.  My heart pounding in my chest.

11 Sep. 2019

Hi baby,

My eyes widen and I scan the words again.

Hi Baby,

(My dear future Husband)

It's funny to think that we're strangers and you're sitting in your room maybe even in different country working hard to build your future thinking of thoughts that might not ever cross my mind.