Married To A Stranger

Sreesha Pov:

Mom and dad insisted to arrange a big fat wedding for them. They tried to deny it at first but gave in eventually. Karthik’s parents and Veni are taking care of venue and menu, while Karthik and I are taking care of arrangements of rituals before the wedding. Ved’s parents are arranging reception and rituals after the wedding. The bride and groom are taking care of invitations and other stuff. Anju and Anvika are in charge of shopping for the bride while Tej and Nihal for Groom.

Thank god. I didn’t take the responsibility of shopping; it would have been a mess if I did.

We moved into Karthik’s parent’s house because it is easy if we’re staying in the same place to take each other’s suggestions. Niya, Anju, Veni, and Anvika are staying here for these two weeks. Tej and Nihal would visit in the evenings after their work.

When Tej told me about working for Karthik’s uncle I felt so happy. He’s taking care of everything in-house. It was like he literally transformed completely from a kid to a man. He changed completely during these three months like he wanted to prove to others that he’s not a kid anymore. Yeah, he behaves completely normal with me, but he forgot that I could look through his soul. Something is bothering him but he’s acting like everything is fine. I need to know what’s bothering him so much.

Veni. She changed completely into a different person. These three months must have taken a toll on her. She’s not the sweet Veni who used to think matured. When I asked her to help me plan a surprise for Niya, she denied saying she was not as creative as me and she would rather help Mom and dad. She’s behaving oddly these days. When I confronted her, she just shrugged and said, ‘Everyone changes with time’.

I missed the old Veni, who I used to go when I was upset with my parent’s behavior.

My parents. They didn’t even call me after my marriage. It’s like they completely vanished from my life. When I mention them to Tej, he’d say ‘It’s for your own good di, don’t think about them. Treat your in-laws as your own parents. You’re blessed with great in-laws who will put their life before to save yours’.Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

I agree with him. I indeed have a very loving In-laws and a husband who likes me a lot, but I want a reason why I was treated like trash by my own parents. I want to know what I ever did to deserve all the ill-treatment and curses they used to use on me. If they don’t want me, they could’ve killed me when I was an infant right? I was always a failure for them.

“Are you okay?” a voice pulled me out of unnecessary thoughts. Karthik, the ray of light and hope of my life stood at the entrance leaning on the door frame.

“I’m fine,” I said giving him a small smile.

“Tell me what is bothering you Sree.” He said sitting beside me reaching for my hand and kissing it tenderly. My heart fluttered at the mere contact of his lips on my skin.

“It’s nothing Karthik, just a little tired with all these arrangements and stuff. How was your day? Did you finalize the deal that you’re talking about yesterday?” I asked trying to change the topic.

“My day was good so far and yeah; the deal is ours. And you do know I can sense when you’re lying right?” He asked sighing.

“It’s nothing important Karthik. Let’s go and have dinner, mom must be waiting for us. She gave off to the cook saying she wants to cook for all of us. She forbids me to enter the kitchen” I said pouting a little.

“That sounds like mom. She loves to cook for us. Sometimes we feel its waste of money to appoint a cook. You know dad used to forbid her from the kitchen when she hurt herself once?” I giggled leaning on his shoulder “My grandma used to say mom was a disaster in the kitchen, she used to hurt herself with every instrument we use in the kitchen. From a small spoon to knives. One day dad got enough of her clumsiness and forbade her from the kitchen. You know about mom, right? She stopped talking to dad saying she won’t talk to him until he allows her to learn cooking. At last, he gave up. Mom learned all the secret recipes from grandma and became pro in it” he said laughing to which I joined immediately. Mom can be really handful. Poor dad. But they’re the best couple I’ve ever seen.

“How do you know all these things? You must be a kid when these things happened right? Where is your Grandma now? ” I asked him curiously.

“Grandma used to tell me about mom’s crazy behavior and dad’s suffering trying to control her. She was mom’s mother. Dad used to treat her like his own mother. She died when I was doing my master’s degree. She was very close to me, always teasing me about you. She was the first one who found out about you. She stole my wallet and showed it to my parents” wallet? What is so important about this wallet? “It has your picture which I took without your knowledge” he answered my unasked question trying to smile through his tear-filled eyes. He must have loved her so much. I squeezed his hand. A silent gesture saying it will be okay, which he prefers more than words.

“Wait! Did you just say it is my picture that she found in your wallet? And you took it without my knowledge? How dare you? Where is the picture now? Huh?” I asked him, trying to lighten his mood.

“Hey, it’s not my fault you didn’t pay much attention to your surroundings you know. And it is still with me” he said giving me his wallet. It was my picture when I was in the college canteen. Probably the worst photo of mine.

I felt like I was on cloud nine looking at it. He still had it with him. I just want to kiss the hell out of him for being this perfect. I must have done a lot of good deeds in my previous life to earn a husband like him.

“Yeah, not at all creepy Mr. Karthik,” I said sarcastically. He grinned at me and shrugged. “What is your parent’s reaction when they saw my picture in your wallet?” I asked him out of curiosity.

“They were shocked at first and dad was happy that I finally showed interest in a girl rather than studies and mom squealed and said-” he cut off his own sentence and added “let’s go and have dinner, I’m starving ” he definitely trying to change the topic.

”Not going to happen Karthik, I want to know what your mother’s first impression on me” I said crossing my hands across my chest.

“She said that she liked you a lot,” he said gulping.

“I want to hear the exact words Karthik or I’m going to ask mom myself” I threatened him while he cursed himself for being in this situation.

“No. Don’t ask her. She would definitely exaggerate things and add more spice to the topic to make it more fun” he said with a pleading look.

More like a puppy face.

How can anyone resist that look from the most important person in your life?

‘Don’t give in easily Sreesha’ I chided myself.

“I gave you an option hubby. It’s either you or mom. Select one option. I honestly don’t mind either ” I said smirking at him.

“She umm she said… glad to know that… that…”

“That? Complete the sentence” I urged him. He didn’t say a word.

“Mom” I yelled.

“She said she was glad to know that I like a girl and that she thought I was a gay,” he said in a rush. It took me a while to let the words sink into my brain. When they did, I burst into fits of laughter.

To which he silenced me with a toe-curling kiss.