Chapter 10

AADHI

When I came to my parents' home, I was a little hesitant to enter. I was thinking about what to tell them. But my mom saw me standing outside and called me excitedly.

"Hey, Aadhi. How are you?"

"I am fine, Mom. How are you and Dad?"

"We are fine. Why are you here, and why are you standing outside?"

"Mom... I am your daughter. Do I need a reason to visit you?"

"No. But you didn't tell me about coming here when I called you last night."

Yeah, I wasn't planning to, but that was before he hurt me.

"I just felt like seeing you this morning, so I came."

"Oh, baby girl... I miss you so much," she said, giving me a tight hug.

"Miss you too, Mom...so much." I tried not to cry in front of her.

"Where is he?"

"Who?" I looked at her questioningly.

"Your husband." She looked at me with a 'duh' look.

"Oh, um... He has some work, so I didn't want to disturb him."

"Oh... But everything is okay, right?"

Oh God... How is she THIS good at figuring me out when I lie to her?

"Yeah, Mom... Why not? Everything is perfectly fine." I faked a smile.

But she looked at me with disbelief. So wanting to change the topic I asked her

"Are you going to invite me in or are you going to send me back?"

"Oh... I am sorry, baby... Come on in. Your dad will be here for lunch. So go freshen up if want to."

"Okay, Mom." I kissed her on the cheeks and went to my room.

It brought back my old memories. This room knew every emotion of mine. I never shared anything with my parents. I tended to keep things to myself. This room was my haven.

If I wanted to cry, I would come here. If I wanted to be alone, I would come here. This room has seen my ups and downs.

I knew it was crazy to think of a room made of bricks and cement as a living thing. But I had an emotional connection with this room.

Even after all this time, I felt so good after walking into this room. I feel like I belong here and not anywhere else in the world. But this was not my home anymore.

When a girl marries, her home is where her husband is. What an irony.

I never felt I was their family even though they treated me so well. I always felt detached, like I was staying with some strangers.

Lost in my thoughts, I fell asleep on my bed. When I woke up, it was 7 p.m.

Oh my God, I forgot about the lunch!

I rushed to the kitchen, searching for my mom. She was preparing for dinner, I guess.

"Mom, why didn't you wake me up?"

She turned around and said, "Oh, you are awake. I thought you were tired and didn't want to wake you. Are you hungry? Come on let's have dinner."

"Okay, but where is Dad?"

"Hey, my beautiful daughter. How are you?" He was right behind me. I turned back and hugged him.

After catching up a little we finished our dinner and went to bed. I didn't tell them anything about me and Abhi.

I told them we were happy, a perfect couple. I would do and say anything to see smiles on their faces.

The next day, to my surprise, my twin cousins came to my home. Their names were Ria and Sia. My mom invited them so that I wouldn't feel bored.

"Hey, Aadhi." They both spoke at the same time.

I was so happy to see them. "I am good. How are you two?"

"We are fine." Again said in chorus.

Twins.

We used to be so close until I was married. I was just one year older than them. They were so much fun to be around.

"So, what do you want to do today?" they both asked me.

That was my cue. I started getting ready for wherever they were dragging me. I couldn't say no to them. If they wanted me somewhere I would be there or else face the consequences.

We went to a movie and then shopping, and we went to this new restaurant in our neighbourhood.

The whole day, I couldn't stop laughing. I enjoyed their jokes and pranks.

Ria was kind of a calm girl, but not boring or introverted. Sia was just the opposite.

When we were in the restaurant waiting for our food, we noticed a couple sitting at another table.

I heard the girl fighting with the boy. She was trying to talk calmly, but we could hear them.

I felt pity for the boy because all this time while she was fighting, he just sat there saying nothing and looking down.

I wanted to help him, but I didn't want to interfere with their relationship.

Sia got up from her chair. "Where are you going?" I asked her.

"To help him," she said, pointing at the boy.

"How? And...please, don't do anything." I stuttered in anxiety. I know what happens when Sia wants to do something.

"Oh God, no, Sia... I know what you are thinking, and you are not going to do it," Ria warned her.

But I knew Sia. If someone didn't want her to do something, she would definitely do it. So I slumped into my chair and sighed without saying anything.

She walked to them with a smirk on her face.

We heard her say, "Hey, handsome." I think she was intentionally loud because she wanted us to hear.

She approached them and sat on the opposite side of the boy.

He was a little confused. I was not sure what Sia said to him but after a minute he was kind of smiling at her and the girl was glaring at her.

You could tell the girl was a second away from killing her.

I was worried about the girl because I knew if Sia got involved in something, the other person would be as good as dead.

But it was also kind of exciting for me to see what could happen, so I eagerly watched them.

The boy started laughing at something that Sia said. In between the talks, he kind of looked at our table and smiled.

"That's it. Game over." Ria rolled her eyes.

I looked at her surprised because I was with her the whole time, and I had no idea what Sia was doing. How could she tell?

"Don't look that surprised. It's not the first time," she said.

I gaped at her, incredulous.

After a minute, the boy stood up and so did Sia. The other girl caught his arm, but he pulled it back.

Now Sia caught his arms motioning him to walk outside the table and then she said something in his ears and then he started walking outside smiling. That girl was left all alone.

Sia came to our table without giving a glance to that girl.

I was so excited to hear what happened, but she just sat there nonchalantly and Ria wouldn't stop glaring at her.

After a minute, not able to avoid her glare anymore, she asked, "What?" innocently.

"You did it again," Ria complained.

Sia rolled her eyes and said, "He needed my help, and I helped him. That's it."

All the while I am looking at both of them, confused.

While they were talking, I took my glass of water to drink and saw the girl coming toward us. I expected her to shout at Sia or pull her hair or something.

But she came, stood there a minute until Sia turned to look at her, and then she picked up the glass of water and poured it all over Sia.

"What the..." Sia was shocked.

That girl gave her an innocent fake smile and continued to walk back to her seat.

"Hey, I didn't ask for your number. I just asked his number, and why do you care?" she shouted at that girl.

I sprayed the water in my mouth everywhere, unable to control my laughter. "Nice logic," I told her, without trying to stop laughing.

Ria was about to roll down on the floor laughing.

"Aadhi, you know what?" Ria tried to talk in between laughs.

"This one... This one is the first time." She started laughing again.

"Oh, shut up." Sia rolled her eyes.

We came home and all the way we were laughing at Sia. This has been one of the best days of my life. They decided to stay with me until I leave tomorrow.

When I woke up in the morning, I really didn't want to go back, so I decided to stay one or two more days. I called my mother-in-law and asked her permission to stay longer.

She told me that it was okay, and I could stay as many days as I liked. I was happy and my cousins were too. They started planning how to spend the next two days.

I told my cousins that I didn't want to go out today because I wanted to spend time with my mom and dad. They agreed and decided to be my moral support.

I rolled my eyes when I heard them saying that.

While having breakfast, I was lost in thought about the phone call that I received from Bharathi last night.

When I was about to go to bed, my phone rang. I wondered who would call me now. I picked up the phone to see who it was. It was Bharathi.

My mind started thinking about all the possibilities. Is there any problem at the house? Did he yell at her again? With all the doubts on my mind, I attended the call.

"Hey, Bharathi"

"Hey, Aadhi. How is the weekend? I heard you weren't coming for another two days."

"Yeah...it kind of happened... Umm... What's up? Why did you call?"

"Do I have to have a reason to call you?" she asked, surprised by my question.

"No... No... I didn't mean to sound like that. I was wondering why you would call at this time. It's late, you know."

"I understand what you are trying to ask, but nothing happened. He is kind of calm and weird... Weirdly calm..." I chuckled at what she was saying about her brother.

"Anyways I miss you, Aadhi. It's just two days but I miss you being around. That is why I called you and it seems like someone else is missing you too."

"Who? Mom? Tell her I miss her too and I will be back as soon as I can."

"No, dummy, not Mom. Your one and only husband."

I didn't know how to react to that so I just simply said, "Oh."

"Aadhi, I know what you are thinking and I know why you went to your Mom's home but I will tell you one thing. Don't run away from your problems. Try to face them.

I know he acted like a douchebag on that day but you shouldn't have run away. You should have confronted him. You should have acted like the strong woman you are.

He likes you. He likes you a lot and misses you a lot. Please talk to him and solve whatever the problem is. I just want you to be happy, Aadhi."

Everything she said was right, and I would have done the same thing if I was in my sane mind. But what changed now? Why did I run?

I don't know... It was the first thing that came to my mind when I think about him... Run away... Run as far as away you can.

"It is not like that, Bharathi. I just needed some time to think and I really appreciate your words of wisdom. Thank you."

She laughed. "Okay, Aadhi, take care. I hope you will find the thing that you are searching for. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." I cut the call, smiling.

"Whoa... whoa... Aadhi back to Earth," Sia teased.

"You have been sitting there like a statue for about ten minutes. What's wrong?" Ria asked in a concerned tone.

"Um, I was... I was just thinking."

They both looked at each other.

I knew that they knew that I was not telling them something, but they just shrugged and let me off the hook. Usually, they didn't. I did wonder why, though.

I wanted to change the topic. So I asked, "Sia, you didn't say anything about what you said to that boy in that restaurant."

She looked at Ria wickedly, and Ria rolled her eyes.

"You really want to know?" she asked.

"Yeahhhh... I guess."

"I just went there and told him that you like him and asked his number."

I choked on my food, looking at her bewildered.

"WHAT?"

She just shrugged.

"Why the hell did you do that?" I yelled.

She shrugged again and said, "For fun."

I glared at her. But there was one more thing I wanted to clear up. "Then why did the girl pour water on your head and not mine?"

Now Ria started laughing. Sia answered me while glaring at her.

"Because he said he liked me and asked my number."

Now it was my turn to laugh at her.

After breakfast, I informed them I was going to my room to read. They agreed and said they would head out for a while.

When I entered the room, I received a text. I picked up the phone and dropped it on the floor after seeing the name. It was him.

I picked up the phone from the floor and read the message again.

Abhi

Aadhi, when are you coming back?

Why does he care? I thought he didn't like the sight of me. I really want to throw this phone at his face right now. I didn't reply. I don't want to.

There was another message after a minute. I didn't want to see it, but my curiosity won me over so I read it.

Abhi

I know you are reading my message, so tell me.

Abhi

please Aadhi tell me when you are coming back. I really want to talk to you.

I felt startled to see this message. What did he want to talk about? Whatever... I still didn't reply. I started reading my book.

Maybe I should reply. I should at least listen to what he has to say. I should give him a chance to explain.

I picked up my phone to text him back. I received another message.

What is it this time?

Abhi

I am coming to get you. Be ready... 😈

The hell you are coming here.

Panicked by his message, I replied to him.

Aadhi

NO

Aadhi

NO YOU ARE NOT COMING.

Aadhi

PLEASE DON'T COME.

No reply. All the messages were left unread.

Oh God... What am I going to do when he comes?