“You filthy whore! Get out of my life!” Manav screamed at Manvi.
“Why are you talking to me like this?” Manvi wailed. “I am pregnant! We are going to be parents within a few months. Is this how you want to start a new journey?”
“I am not even sure if this child is mine, you characterless bitch.”
“What do you mean this child is not yours? We have been married for three years now. Whose child will it be? Have you lost all your senses?”
“Oh yeah! I have known you clearly in these three years. How you have fucked several guys before me! I can’t begin to imagine that destiny handed me a degenerate slut.”
“I was not handed to you by destiny but by your family, you rotten piece of shit! I told you about my relationships because I wanted to have no secrets between us, to start with a clean slate! This is what I am getting in return for being honest. And why on earth are you remembering all of this now, three years later, when I got pregnant? Why didn’t you object in the start? When you wanted my body, everything was excused, but when you have gotten bored and I am pregnant, you want to get rid of me! This is not going to happen,” Manvi screamed.
Slap!
Manav could not counter her with words so he turned to the vulgar show of strength.
Manvi was wailing at the top of her lungs anyway and this slap shocked her. She lost her balance. She fell on the wooden stool on which a glass vase held place. The stool could not absorb the force and crashed down. The vase exploded into several pieces. A few sharp ones made their way through Manvi’s skin and blood started coming out.
She looked gutted. She had never thought that the simple and gentle Manav she met at the start of their wedding would hit her someday with such audacity.The mask was finally coming off.
Like any other arranged marriage story, they first met each other through family. There was no instant spark between them from the beginning but they trusted their family that in reality there are no such sparks. These are mere figments of imagination of poets and writers.
Manvi had a long-term boyfriend before the wedding. They wanted to get married but families decided that their prestige was far more important than the life of the couple. They were asked to separate and like any obedient kid, they somehow managed to do so. Once the family had their way with her, they decided to find the ‘right’ guy for her as soon as possible.
The middlemen did their job with solar efficiency and in no time, Manav was presented as a solution to all the problems.
He was a simple, soft-spoken engineer. Most likely, the only woman ever interested in him was his mother. He could have died a virgin if his parents hadn’t actively searched for a ‘right’ girl. It’s amazing that parents not only take care of the safety of their kids but their virginity as well.
A heartbroken Manvi seemed docile and gentle enough for their son. Her parents also agreed to pay more than 2 million as dowry. All the wedding expenses would be carried out by them as well. A grand wedding was their only demand. And it was delivered in style. The wedding became the talk of the town.
Manvi and her father had to take separate loans just to make the wedding grand enough.
The couple departed for their honeymoon. It was a chance for them to explore each other both physically and mentally. He asked her about any previous relationships. She trusted him enough to share her deepest secrets. She thought that the baggage of the past would someday come back to sabotage her marriage. Manav heard her but didn’t react. He acted as if a long-term addict was in possession of the drug he always dreamt of. He wanted to fulfil every desire of his as soon as possible. Manvi cooperated as far as she could. She soon realised that at that point of time, she was nothing more than a piece of meat for him. They were standing in a queue to a museum with her just in front. He kept looking at her back and then suddenly asked her to go back to the hotel.
He pounced as soon as the door closed.
It looked bizarre to her in the beginning but she thought of it as a romantic gesture. Very soon, that thought started thinning. There was no love, just hunger and lust. He spoke to her like a beggar before but turned around and slept without saying a word after sex. She felt humiliated and abused. More importantly, she felt no respect.
Both returned home having contrasting experiences of the so-called ‘honeymoon’.
She spoke to one of her close friends to find out if her experiences were unique. She came to know that her friend felt nearly the same. They discussed that when the phase of wooing is not a part of the relationship and a person is handed over to someone without any effort, one looks to use the other in any way they fantasise. Her friend informed her that with time, things may come under control. They concluded that a man who never learned intimacy will often confuse possession with love. They discussed how her boyfriend had earned her love and wasn’t served.
Things really did come under control in a few months as both Manav and Manvi returned to their normal working life. He was no longer a beast but she never felt any respect. She really felt more like a ‘house maid with benefits’ rather than a loved member of the family. On top of it, she was expected to earn and continue in her career as well. Her office hours felt like relaxation given her time at home.
She informed her family about the situation. Her mother tried to console her that men are like that and things would improve after a baby. Her father started crying. He asked Manvi if any more things could be given to make her situation better. He wanted to know if he could buy her comforts. Manvi was shocked. She outright rejected the idea of any such action. She reminded him of the amount he had already paid even when the marriage seemed like it was going to hell.
She understood soon that the battle was hers and she alone would have to either conquer or perish. From that day, whenever she got a call from her parents, she informed them that she was doing really well.
Manav on the other hand started losing interest in her. She didn’t look as pretty as she had at the wedding and on that trip. Her looks without any make-up were sub-par to say the least. He started finding other women more attractive. But he didn’t have the courage to pursue them even when he was unmarried, so now he really had no chance. He didn’t even try. What was eating him from inside was a feeling of being stuck with a woman who no longer matched his desires and nothing could be done about it.
The stories of her previous affair started to bother him more and more. He would often imagine her with her boyfriend and felt a burning sensation somewhere in his heart.
He often cursed himself for agreeing to the marriage in the first place. He told himself that he was served dinner in a ‘used plate’.
The veil of normalcy kept the inner feelings from the outside world for nearly three years. And then one day she informed him that she was pregnant. He didn’t know how to respond to this information. His first instinct was fear. He feared ruining a child because of his fucked-up marriage. He feared having to love and care for a child that would come from a woman he finds despicable. He said nothing and went away. He felt as if a time bomb had been set under his butt.
One evening, he returned late after an office party. He was drunk. She had already returned from work early in the evening and was ready to go to bed. He looked at her and the alcohol ignited a desire. He tried to have his way with her but she resisted vociferously. He was so irritated by this rejection. He felt humiliated. How could she say no to him when she had said yes to someone even before marriage?
The burning sensation returned. He shouted, “You filthy whore! Get out of my life.”
She was bleeding from that fall but was not ready to submit. She started abusing him for being a psycho and a retard. That added fuel to the fire he was already feeling inside him.
He picked up his shoe and threw it at her. The flying shoe landed on her head. She was hurt more. His anger was in no mood to subside. He ran towards the kitchen and brought a knife with him. Manvi stood up in the meantime. He returned and ran toward her to stab her. She realised his move and stepped away. He had gathered momentum and her sudden move made him lose balance. He fell on the wooden table already lying on the floor. His chest crashed with the tabletop. He cried out in pain. Given the severity of the fall, some bones of the rib cage might have broken. He tried to get up. Manvi realised that him getting up would not go well for her. She kicked his stomach several times. He fell down. She kept looking for any moves but he made none. She saw blood spreading on the floor. She was horrified. She turned him over to find that the knife he had brought to stab her had somehow made its way through his neck. The blood continued to gush out. She tried to find her phone to call for an ambulance. They reassured her they would be there soon. She waited. She pulled the knife out and covered the wound with cotton. Blood still rushed out. She realised her mistake as the speed of blood flow increased. One hour passed. She tried calling the ambulance again and was informed of a mechanical failure. She was told that something would be arranged soon. She tried other hospitals many times but as fate would have it, no help arrived. She then decided to go and fetch help herself.
She ran out into the night to find a taxi or auto to save a man who had wanted to kill her just hours before. Her eyes were wet. The tears made it difficult to see clearly. The roads were mostly empty. A few vehicles that passed by ignored her and zoomed away. Frustrated, she stood in the middle of the road. She heard a loud honk from ahead. It was a big truck. She waved it to stop but it couldn’t do so in time. For the first time that night, a vehicle came toward her — but the truck’s speed and a half-awake driver made her waves goodbye.
