Lot Like Love: A Bengal Romance ✔

Chapter 13

"What were you thinking when you said, she's divorced so she's a bad omen?" I growl, Angshu behind me fumes with anger as well. He doesn't like to shower his anger on anyone so, he stays silent.

"Mom, she's a guest and Bratati's sister. How could you say that?" Angshu asks to his mom however, his voice doesn't show his anger.

"I-I didn't say that..." she answers.

"Sulekha aunty said that I know, I've heard it," I say.

"Ye-" she pauses to look at me, "but how can you heard in the the second floor?"

I blink at them with a gap in my mouth then close it after realising the bathroom is at the end of corridor and open my mouth again like a fish as nothing comes in my mind.

Shoot! If anyone wants to hear something they need to go through the corridor or they have to be in the bathroom.

"Yes! How did you know?" Angshu asks as well.

"I-I..." I try to find my excuse, "I was near the corridor," finally say with a straight face.

"But we were talking in whispers."

"Ah! Well, my hearing is quite great but that's not the issue here!" I tap my foot, "I saw Agni leaving the corridor."

"Beta! I would never want such a great girl to go through this. I will personally speak with her." Aunt Laxmi says, "even if Sulekha disapproves of the idea, I would not treat her like a bad omen. I've heard how her ex in laws had treated her. And I agree with her to get a divorce with such family."

Aunt Laxmi's reply manages dumbfound me and slowly a smile appears.

"Bratati is really upset," Angshu grumbles beside me.

"Why did you say that to her?" My mom asks with a glare.

"I could not find her and hadn't had her number, so I had to."

"Let's go talk to her, Laxmi, shall we?" Mom ask Angshu's mother and she nods.

*****

"It's alright aunty. She has been going through a lot that's why I was upset but I'm fine now," Bratati says with a weak smile which assures she isn't fine.

"I didn't mean to hurt her when I love that girl! And she's a great cook!" My mom loves anyone who can cook even if that person is a terrorist. If he can cook, he'll get my mom's support.

All of them laughs and Bratati says, "She wasn't like that before. She was like a shy and very introverted person and clumsy one. That's why she engraved a tattoo on her left upper chest to hide her burn marks."

We all become dumbfounded.

"What?" The word comes out before I can stop it.

"Yes. She used to be very clumsy and once when she was small like only nine years old. My aunt was boiling water and she grabs it by hands. She yanked her hands along with the pot. It fell on her chest."

She shivers at the memory, "She got a nasty mark there and everyone in school used to bully her."

"The mark was a thing, her ex husband used it against her when he used to torture her both physically and mentally." A few of her jaw muscles twitch like she can just kill him now, if he is here, "It almost destroyed her." Her palms turns to fists as if a guilty with sadness slowly wrapping her in their embrace.

If my mom and aunt Laxmi has been feeling guilty, now their shoulders slump low and eyes go down.

"All of the tattoos on her to hide the nasty marks she had from her husband." Bratati's voice has a mixture of anger and hurt. As if she still can't take whatever happened with her di. There are so many questions arise in me, however, I have no power to ask.