Bound by Law

Bound by Law || 12- Dreaded Confessions

We ended up sitting in the theatre for 'Jab Harry met Sejal' a Shah Rukh Khan movie.

Jai hadn't said anything when I suggested the movie, but I took it as silent agreement, and both my parents-in-law were excited.

I loved Shah Rukh Khan and I couldn't wait to see him in yet another romantic movie.

Our seats were at the very back and I was internally grateful for that; I was afraid we'd be in the middle or the front because some indecent guys would poke and touch us from behind with either their hands or feet, and just the thought of it was giving me anxiety.

I didn't want a repeat of what happened, and definitely not at the cinemas.

Shaking my head from all those negative thoughts, I noticed Jai wasn't pleased to be there.

He just sat there, scrolling through his phone as we waited for the movie to start.

My in-laws were both on the left side of me with Jai on the right. Noticing that Jai was trying to avoid his parents, I ended up sitting in between.

I tried to lean closer to Geena aunty on the left because I was afraid of getting touched by Jai.

So, I focused on talking to my in-laws animatedly, sharing thoughts about how we thought this film was going to pan out.

I couldn't keep the excitement off my face or my voice and the smile was etched onto my face almost permanently.

Jai and I said nothing to each other the whole ride here or even now. We maintained our own distance, even though we were seated right next to each other.

As the lights in the cinema dimmed, I got more excited.

I couldn't wait.

***

The movie was horrible.

It was the first ever Shah Rukh Khan movie that I hated. The story line was cheesy and cliche and there were some inappropriate scenes that I was too embarrassed to watch when it came on screen.

Those scenes where when I turned my head away. But when I had peeked my eyes open to look at what Jai, and my in-laws were doing, they seemed to be fine.

They didn't seem to care at all, especially not Jai. He just stared at the screen, bored.

We were on our way back home, Prem uncle and Geena aunty chatting to each other quietly. For some reason, I could feel the tension hanging thickly in the air.

The way Jai was seated whilst driving — stiff and his knuckles white as he clutched the wheel almost as if he was about to burst any second.

Prem uncle looked at me, his eyes questioning which brought me out of my thoughts.

"So, how did you like the movie?"

I hesitated in telling them my answer, in case they liked it, resulting in them judging me.

As I glanced up nervously, my eyes met with those familiar honey-brown eyes through the rear-view mirror but as soon as we mad eye contact, he tore his away and looked back at the road.

Geena aunty must have noticed me hesitating because she smiled at me warmly.

"You can tell us, Karishma. We're family so don't hold back because we don't judge."