Like a Phoenix from the Ashes

Chapter 6

Once when Shubham was in very good mood, I slowly started the topic of him not being happy in this marriage.

“Shubham, I need to ask you something. Were you 100% in, when you agreed to marry me?”

His face became stern and I could see wrinkles forming between his eyebrows. He was silent for some time.

“Are you not happy with me?”

Still there was no reply.

“Why are you asking like this Aanya? Have I behaved in any way towards you that shows that I’m not happy in this marriage?” he replied after some time.

I was seriously shocked by his reply. All he has done till now is showing that he is not at all happy in this marriage. Now he is asking me like when has he behaved in that way?

“Would you like to leave me or would you like to leave the past behind and give our marriage another chance?” I was serious this time and told what was in my mind.

He did agree that he would not want to destroy what we have and would surely like to give our marriage another chance. However, every time something was wrong, he would go on and on about how he had so many options and how he ended up being tied down to me, and so on. This was it for me. My hopes and dreams about giving him another chance and trying to work in our marriage all went out of the room and decided that from now on I should look out for myself and should never even think about expecting anything from his side.

Divorce was not an option for me as I had to consider the health of my father. He had already suffered from minor heart attack and doctor suggested us that there will not be a next time, and hence we had to make sure to keep him happy. Everything that I had shared about my married life so far was only with Arun and he always made it his mission to never let my father even get a hint of what exactly is happening in my married life.

I started distancing myself from Shubham and kept myself indulged in my works such as cooking, cleaning, washing, reading novels every now and then and so on. I even started conversing lesser with him. I decided to never bother him and to converse or even face him only when necessary. This included serving the breakfast, lunch and dinner, when he is home, while getting groceries, when something is needed, and so on. He would never allow me to buy anything if he thought that it was not necessary for the house. Everything that I buy should be approved by him and nothing would reach home, if he decided that there was no need for it at home.

He used to buy cases of liquors and other such alcoholic beverages, but never thought that it was unnecessary element for our home. If I confront him regarding the matter, then he would either simply deny the fact that drinks were unnecessary spending or would just shout at me and call me names for involving myself in his business. Shubham even started speaking ill about my family and would always wish that my dad would have offered him some millions as a good gesture from his side.

Sometimes Shubham would portray himself as the best husband on earth, by showing concern to me, taking care of me, buying surprise gifts for my birthday and so on. However, my happiness would always be short lived and he would revert back to his old drinking and abusing self within few weeks or even days, after showing his sweet side.

It was really confusing for me to understand him and also to decide what exactly my feeling towards him is. I used to normally believe that if I give some time in my married life, it would all become better and he would treat me with respect, but I was not aware about the fact that he would never change his way of life and would always remind me that I’m the one that requires making all the changes in our married life. However, I was done with holding to the last ray of hope that would really help me with giving any importance to Shubham in my life.

It was already a year after our marriage and it was the time for me to think about my career plan. I started looking through the online portals for job vacancies. I came through many options as I was not particular about the job position to start my career. I was even ready to start as a receptionist or a hotel hostess. With this in mind, I began applying for all the available options suitable for me and uploaded my Curriculum Vitae in all portals.

I started frequently checking my email for any reply from any company. It was not daily that I used to get an interview schedule. As days passed, I had already applied for many options and had also gotten reply from many companies. Some companies didn’t hire me saying that they had already filled the spot, or that the advertisement is quite old, or that they are planning for downsizing and so on.

I had seriously lost all hope and was returning my way home from one of the interviews. I was really tired and was actually not in a mood to return to an empty home early, as i would feel suffocated in it, and so thought about having a cup of coffee in any nearby restaurant. I stopped my car in a nearby restaurant and went inside looking for a place to relax sometime. While looking for a seat, my eyes accidentally fell on the backside of a well built body.

I just was not interested in staring at guys, especially the ones that I do not know. I already had so many thoughts in my mind and was seriously pissed off by Shubham and his behaviour towards me. My main aim in life was to look for a job and become independent and to never depend on Shubham again.

I walked towards the serving counter and ordered a cold coffee and also bought a samosa and chutney with it and went to my seat. I just placed my bag next to me and held my head in my hand and closed my eyes, when I heard someone clearing their throat as a way of making me notice them.

“ma’am”

I lifted my head and saw waiter with my order. I smiled at him with a “thank you” and he left to take care of his other works. I started slowly taking bite after bite from my samosa and also enjoying my cold coffee in a hot day. Samosa really tasted very delicious there and I made a note to go to the same restaurant the next time I crave for samosa.

As I stood to leave the restaurant, I again saw the person staring at me with surprising eyes. I thought he might have mistaken me for someone else or may know me from somewhere, but I was seriously not in a mood to go and introduce myself or even start a conversation. I just turned around and left my way towards my car. I unlocked my car and was about to open my car door when I felt a tug on my kurta. I turned and looked down to see a very cute little girl with two ponytails on either side of her head.

“Hello, little one. What are you doing here alone? Where is your mommy?” I bend to her level and cooed to her while lifting her up.

“I’m here with my uncle. He is in a meeting with someone inside the restaurant. I ran here while playing and couldn’t go back alone as I was afraid I would trip and fall or someone would take me away. So I came to you to ask for help aunty” she replied in her baby voice.

“Oh okay. Let’s take you back to your uncle before someone takes you away from here. Come dear” I took her hand and started walking towards the same restaurant that I came out of.

She ran towards someone as soon as we entered the restaurant and hugged her uncle, who was the same person staring at me a while before. I was really surprised as the little one didn’t have any problem finding her uncle amidst the visitors in the restaurant. That was when I realized that it was all a plot formed by both the uncle and niece.

I stared while the same Adonis was staring at me, and turned and made myself to move out of the restaurant. I was about to reach for my car door again when I felt someone pulling me by my shoulder. I turned and saw that it was the same girl again and this time with her uncle lifting her to my shoulder level. I scolded the guy and left my way without even glancing at them.

I really liked the taste of samosa that I had in that particular restaurant. It was not far from our locality and I started visiting the place quite frequently. It not only became a getaway place for me from my boring and empty house, but also helped me with feeling relaxed and also to enjoy watching some new people, when I visited the place.

As usual, I went to the counter and placed my order and went to a seat nearby the window. It helped me enjoy some fresh air along with giving me enough time to think about what exactly to do with my life from then on.

“Ma’am your order is here” waiter came out with my order and placed it on my desk and left to take care of his daily work.

I took a bite of samosa and enjoyed the flavour and thought about browsing through the online portals. Nothing came up and this frustrated me to the core, and so I just gently placed my head on the table and was lost in my deep thoughts.

“Hello again”, I was startled with the voice.

I slowly lifted my head and looked at the person standing in front of me. He was wearing a V neck white tee with a navy blue blazer and blue jeans. His hair was jet black coloured and was set in a messy and sexy kind and he was around 6'3 feet inches tall. After staring for about 5 minutes, I realized that I was actually trying to remember who is this person standing in front of me.

“I’m sorry. Do I know you?” I replied.

He gave a small smile and asked, “may I join you?” and he seated himself in the opposite cushiony seating arrangement. I was still shocked by his bold behaviour and was still trying to remember about the actual time from when I know him.

“Are you seriously telling me that you do not remember me? Or are you just shocked to see me?” was his reply along with laughing.

“I have a clue that I know you, but I’m not sure from where do I know you. I’m sorry but can you please help me with knowing who exactly are you?” I asked.

He again smiled and I seriously thought that he was really handsome. I snapped out of my thinking and started staring at him till he started speaking.