Chapter 11

The next few days passed smoothly.  Aman took Priya to only one other outing, a charity event where there was no dancing required.  The two barely talked to one another other even at the charity event.  Aman left early in the morning before Priya woke up and came home late at night.  She didn’t understand why he worked so much, but she thought it best not to disturb him when he returned home after a hard day’s work.

This morning, Priya woke up early.  She had a difficult time sleeping and eventually gave up trying to fall asleep.  She got dressed for the day, choosing to wear a simple Anarkali style salwar kameez.  She began to descend the stairs, but stopped to wonder whether or not Aman might be awake yet.  She turned around and walked down the opposite hallway towards Aman’s bedroom.  She had never been inside his room before.  She raised her hand to knock on his door, but hesitated.  What if he was still asleep?  She put her ear against the door, listening for any sounds that would indicate that Aman was awake.  She heard nothing.  Priya took the risk anyways.  She knocked.  Nothing happened.  She tapped her knuckles against the door more forcefully this time.

The door swung open and Priya took a step back.  Aman stuck his head out.

“Good morning Priya.  You’re up this early?”Aman greeted.

“Yeah. I couldn’t fall back asleep.” Priya admitted.

“It’s good that you’re up. Come in. I need to talk to you.” Replied Aman.  He opened the door wider and stepped to the side, waiting for Priya to enter.  She walked in, and he closed the door behind her.

She looked around taking in the details of Aman’s room.  It was the largest bedroom Priya had ever seen.  It was almost double the size of her own room.  The décor was very modern and neat.  He had a king sized bed and a massive plasma TV on one side of the room.  There was a separate seating area at the back of the room near the giant windows.  The curtains were opened allowing sunlight to spill into and illuminate the room.  French doors separated a miniature office area from the main bedroom, and another set of French doors led out to the terrace.  Priya continued to stare at the features of Aman’s room completely forgetting that Aman needed to discuss something with her.

“Priya.” Aman attempted to get her attention.

“Sorry. What did you want to talk about?” Priya turned her attention back to Aman.  She took in his appearance.  His hair was disheveled.  He was dressed in dress pants, but his shirt was slightly unbuttoned and untucked like he hadn’t finished getting dressed yet.

“Us.” Aman answered Priya’s question.  Priya was surprised.  What could Aman possibly mean?

Aman walked over to his bed and took a seat.  He waited for Priya to join him.

“We need to figure us out, Priya.” Aman started.

“What do you mean?” Priya asked, completely confused.

“In the eyes of the law, we’re husband and wife.  In reality though, what are we?  We live in separate bedrooms.  We’re not in love.  We barely know each other.  Nothing about us says husband and wife, so where does that leave us?” expressed Aman.

“I don’t know. Friends?” suggested Priya.  She understood Aman’s concern.  They needed to define their relationship and discuss their future together, but she didn’t have an answer for him.

“Friends, Priya? Just friends?” Aman asked incredulously.

“Well…I don’t know how else to classify us.” Priya replied.

“What about children? Do want children?” Aman blurted.

Priya gasped.  She definitely was not expecting him to mention children.  Truthfully, she had always dreamed of having a family.  She wanted a son and then a daughter.  However, she had given up these hopes once she and Aman got married.  Priya looked away, not wanting to discuss her now broken dream.  Upon seeing Priya’s reaction, Aman immediately regretted his question.

“Priya, I di-” he started.

“Yes. I wanted children.” Priya interrupted.

“Wanted. Not anymore?” asked Aman.

“Aman, we can’t have children.  We’re not even really husband and wife.” Priya said.

“We can, Priya. We can do whatever we want.” Aman said quietly, almost in a whisper.

“No. I don’t to.” Priya said sternly.

“You don’t want to have children or you don’t want to have children with me?” Aman retorted angrily.

Priya bit her lip and lowered her gaze. Aman had received his answer.  He didn’t really want to have children any time soon, but he did eventually.  He didn’t think he could handle the responsibility just yet, but one day he would be able to.  The thought of Priya not wanting to have children with him infuriated him.

He sprung off the bed onto his feet.  He stood still for a moment and took a deep breath before turning back to Priya.

“To what extent does our relationship as husband and wife go, Priya? You won’t have children with me. Would you take care of me if I got sick? Would you oblige if I forbid you from doing something?” Asked Aman furiously.  He could feel his blood boiling.  He was becoming increasingly frustrated.

“Of course I would!” answered Priya.  “I’ll always take care of you if you need me to. And I wouldn’t disobey you. No matter what the circumstances are, you are my husband.” She finished quietly.

“What about physically? Am I your husband or your friend?  In public, can I hold your hand or kiss you?  We are married. Shouldn’t we act like husband and wife in the presence of others?  And here? Are we just friends or will you come to me at night to satisfy my needs and fulfill your duty as my wife?” Aman roared.  He knew he was treading on dangerous ground, but he felt that these questions needed to be answered.

Priya was astonished! How dare he speak to her this way? Yes, he was her husband, but that doesn’t give him the right to treat her this way.

“I…I’ve never done…I’m…” Priya was finding it difficult to speak.  She was at a loss of words.  She didn’t have the answers Aman wanted.  Also, she was extremely uncomfortable talking about this matter.

Aman was quiet. He was waiting for her answer.

“I want to be the best wife I can be, Aman, but I don’t think I can satisfy those types of needs.” She said shyly.  She looked away, feeling slightly embarrassed.

“What if another woman did?” Aman asked maliciously.

To say that Priya was shocked would have been an understatement.  She was speechless at what Aman was suggesting.  How could he be so insensitive?

“What if I asked you the same thing? Would you let another man come to me at night?” Priya challenged.

“You wouldn’t need another man, Priya! I’m perfectly willing to satisfy you in any way you want!” Aman exclaimed.

“We’re not in love, Aman. It wouldn’t be right.” Priya tried to reason with him.

“If we fell in love before we got married, you wouldn’t let anything happen until after we were married.  Am I right?  Well we are married, and anything that happens between us in this bedroom is considered legitimate in the eyes of world.  So I’m sorry to say, but it would be considered right, Priya.”  Aman’s voice rose as he spoke.   This conversation escalated more quickly than he had intended.

Priya started to tear up.  She grew frustrated as she listened to Aman.  She knew that he was absolutely right.

“Please Aman. Let’s not talk about this.” Priya stood up, wiping away a tear.  She needed to leave.

Aman grabbed her arm before she could escape.  She tried to pull away, but he held a firm grip.

“Tell me what you want me to do, Priya.” Aman said softly.  He loosened his grip, but he didn’t let go of her arm.  “What should we do about us?” he said.

“I don’t know, Aman! I don’t know.  I’ve always wanted a husband who cared about me, someone who would eventually fall in love with me.  We’d have a family together and live a perfect little life.  But that’s not what happened, and I’m sorry I can’t be the wife that you want, Aman, but it is what it is.” Priya exploded.  She immediately regretted what she said.  She braced herself for Aman’s inevitable rage.

“You’re right.” Aman said.

“W-what?” Priya asked in disbelief.

“You’re right.  Neither of us wanted this.  I wanted a modern wife.  Hell, I didn’t want a wife at all. And you wanted to marry a good man, a much better man than me at least.  We’re too different.” Aman admitted.

“I’m sorry.” Priya said.  She didn’t know what else to say.

“No Priya. It’s not your fault.  I don’t know why I even brought this up at all.  Everything was fine between us, and I just messed it all up.” Aman replied.

“No. It’s okay.  We’ll just figure it out as we go.” Priya suggested.

“Sounds like a plan.  Priya, I have to warn you, friend or husband, I am the jealous type.” Aman said with a smirk.

“You have nothing to worry about.” Priya smiled.

After their very interesting discussion, Aman and Priya had breakfast together for the first time since the day after they got married.  They kept their conversation as civil as possible, avoiding any topics regarding their marriage.  Once Aman left, Priya decided to call Neha over.  Maybe she could weigh in on the issue.  She wondered if Neha and Nikhil had an arranged marriage.

“Hey Priya! I’m so glad you called.  I was so bored.” Neha greeted as she entered.

“Hi Neha.” Priya replied.

“So what’s this about? Calling out of the blue…what’s up?” Neha asked.

“How did you know something was up?” Priya asked.

“Come on, Priya.  As sweet as you are, you don’t seem like the type who just calls over a friend just to hang out.  Something must be wrong.” Neha said nonchalantly.

“Well…” Priya started.

“Hit me with it.” Neha said excitedly as she settled herself onto the sofa.

“Did you and Nikhil have an arranged marriage?” asked Priya.

“We had a love marriage.  We met in college, fell in love, and moved in together.  We just got married a few years ago. Late, I know, but I have commitment issues.” Neha replied.

“You lived together before you got married?” Priya’s eyes widened.

“Yep. This is America. It’s not a big deal.” Neha said carelessly.  “So you had an arranged marriage?  That makes so much sense! I never thought I’d see the day that Aman Verma got married.” She added.

“Why not?” Priya asked.

“He wasn’t the type to stick with just one woman.  He never wanted to get married.  He was just all business and pleasure. No responsibility.” Neha said.

Suddenly the argument with Aman made so much more sense.  He felt tied down because of Priya.  He asked her to reject him not because he was going to marry a stranger, but because he wasn’t ready to get married.  And when he suggested another woman…

“Priya, are you okay?” Neha interrupted Priya’s thoughts.

“Yeah I’m fine.” Priya replied.

The doorbell rang before Neha could say anything else.  Priya stood to answer it.

“Hi Didi!” a peppy voice greeted as soon as Priya opened the door.

“Payal?!”

Surprise! Payal is visiting!  Now Aman and Priya are in some trouble.  I know it’s not the best twist, but still. And I know they weren’t romantic at all, but we can’t have romance 24/7.  Tell me what you think about Payal visiting.  Tell me what you thought about Aman and Priya’s heated argument.  I didn’t mean for it to escalate, but whatevs. It happened.

The next update won’t be for a week or so. I’m just warning you now, so please don’t think I don’t love you! Okay so VOTE and COMMENT! Yay!