The Second Bloom • 18+

1. Change of world (Malini's POV)

If someone would have told me that I was going to face all this after my first wedding, I would have directly punched his\her face.

I never knew that after twenty days of my wedding, my world was going to change this drastically. I was never ready. Who would be?

Why would even a new bride, new wife, new daughter-in-law think about this kind of situation in her life? No one would. Not in their scariest dreams.

But here I am.

I don't know what to say, I don't know what to do. Hell, I don't even know what I feel right now. It feels that someone just not only plucked the most beautiful flower of my garden which I had grown with lots and lots of efforts, it feels like someone destroyed my entire garden at once.

No petals, no leaves, only thorns.

Was I destined for this? If it was destiny, why did you let me marry someone whom you had already decided to snatch from me, God?

I cannot even call myself a widow.

Because, I'm yet again a newly wedded wife.

Again.

Just a little difference - this time my husband was not my choice, and this time, my husband is the one who was my younger brother-in-law till yesterday.

Yesterday? Seven hours ago.

Yeah. That's the cruel reality of my life. Scary isn't it?

No girl would ever want this kind of relationship. It feels incest. It feels miserable. It feels heartbreaking to a completely different level.

I don't understand why they even force me to do this? Just why? I understand I wouldn't have been happy being a widow. I would have been pushed into an endless journey of grief, grief and just grief. But what did this wedding change?

Nothing.

Instead, it gave me even more grief. More sadness. More pain. More negativity.

I want to strangle myself to death. It feels so embarrassing. Why wouldn't it? Yesterday I was Amrit ji's widow and today I'm his younger brother's bride!

Why didn't this earth break down into two halves and swallow me as a whole before letting it happen with me?

Basically there are quite a few reasons behind this. My father. I don't know what wrong did I do in my previous birth to deserve this great of a father who said I'm no more his daughter because I was married to Amrit ji, and all the rights and authorities regarding me lies in the hands of my in-laws since my husband is no more in this world.

My in-laws, who readily agreed to marry me off to their younger son because they wouldn't 'afford' keeping a widow in their house.

What else should I say?

My heart is aching, and I can't even cry. It's like my tears have dried up suddenly in my eyes. Because even my eyes know that my tears will not be valued anymore.

It's like I'm just a sack of potatoes right now.

Anyone who wishes pulls me up to stand in my place. Anyone who wishes, changes my clothes into a new bridal red saree. Anyone who wishes forces me to walk inside my new husband's room. And anyone who wishes, makes me sit in the center of his bed for our wedding night.

"Bhabhi, hume pata hai Aapke liye aasan nahi... par ab jo ho gaya so ho gaya. Bhul jaiye sab kuch,"

My sister-in-law breaks into a false sob.

Forget everything? Everything? My first wedding night? In the room just next to this one?

I want to laugh, seriously. Upon my own life. Upon my own luck. Upon my own destiny. But they would say I've gone mad. Yes, I would say I have.