When she entered his room for the first time and her eyes met with the TV that was mirroring all corners of her home, including the bathrooms, paralysing fear gripped her. All the while, her being watched never crossed her mind because he instilled...
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"Aunt," she said, knocking on her open door.
"The phone? Bring it," she replied, welcoming her into the room. Her eyes gave the room a quick glance. Like she had expected, it was typical middle-class with no proper upkeep of contemporary furniture. She gave the phone and smiled, sitting down on the bed beside her and starting,
"I want to thank you for the phone. Thank you."
"It's no problem. I hope you've resolved the problem and won't repeat the same again."
"Certainly." She looked down at her feet that were stretched on the bed and started massaging them, something she only did to her dad.
"Oh dear, no need..."
"I want to do it. Let me." She smiled and continued pressing them gently, while eventually the sweetness from her soft hands caused her to be silent, and she instead started relishing the moment as her eyes closed, peace swooning over her head.
"Where are you from? Where did you and Abhimanyu meet?"
"I'm from Mumbai. We met there a few months ago. Love at first sight."
"I see why he kept acting weird all this time, always glued to the phone and busy whenever he was home."
"So he's been stalking me for months? How jobless can one be?" her mind remarked.
"Yes."
"You know I don't have a problem if he doesn't want to marry Sonia. Invitations haven't been sent yet. However, I'm only disappointed he didn't tell any of us about you."
"My family also didn't know about him. We just went ahead and got married. But don't blame him. I wanted it to be that way. Like in the movies. I wanted to give everyone a surprise. However, when we went to my father for his blessings, he wasn't happy. I want to correct everything now. Please let us get married in the presence of both families. We are already married. It can't be reversed, but we can marry with the approval of both of our families. I want to correct my mistake. I forced him against his wish to marry me just because I wanted him to prove he loves me a lot and he would do everything I wanted whenever I want it. Please, Aunt," she implored, while her eyes unfurled directly at hers.
"I accept you since you've already become a part of the family. We will have the wedding. Although, I don't know about his father. He doesn't like you at all. Though, a cup of tea made by you may change his mind about you. Go to the kitchen and make us all tea."
She chuckled when she spoke of her going into the kitchen to make tea when she had no idea how it was prepared. "Definitely," she answered and got up.
"Add only a cube of sugar to his tea and two to mine."
The moment she stepped out, her smile vanished into thin air, and as she walked downstairs, she cursed Abhimanyu for introducing her to such a life that was reducing her to a tea maker.
