Five Weeks by Shruti Omar (any book recommendations .txt) 📕

Yuvraaj sensed inferno of anger raging in his veins, making his blood hot. His eyes were drawn to slits and he breathed, heavily through his nostrils. “Mind your tongue, Anahita. Not a word against my family. Okay?”

“Why not?” she struggled and shoved him away. Her body was trembling in hot rage, “It hurt you that I said a word against them? Then why it never hurt you that they were the reason why I am trapped with you.” she yelled, throwing her hands in the air. “Why are you not hurt when I am bleeding from inside? You fooled my father. You influenced him so much that he refused to listen to me and he hates me,” she sobbed, looking down. “He…hates me.”

Yuvraaj was stunned by her behavior. He didn’t know what happened to her and why she was so angered towards him. He watched her holding her head and crying her heart out. He couldn’t manage to say a word to soothe her because she had hurt his emotions as well but his feet shuffled closer and he touched her shoulder.

“Don’t touch me,” Anahita wrenched his hand away and sniffed, “I don’t need your sympathy. This is a mistake and I will rectify this. By no means, am I to stay in this trap with you. You can fool my father but not me.”

"I don't need to fool a girl who is born as fool and keep your volume down.” He warned, keeping his voice commanding. “I don't want anyone to hear your abominable yelling, alright? And, what the hell are you talking about? What is my fault if you consider yourself a fool?”

He couldn’t believe that they were fighting just the same night after their wedding. Anahita scoffed, condescendingly to him, “Of course I am a fool that is why I am here. That is why I love my dad even after what he did to me. That’s why I am your wife when I love someone else.”

“What?” the ground beneath his feet shifted and he stumbled back in shock. She caught his appalled gaze and smirked, victoriously. “What you are shocked about? That I love someone else? Because you’ve always thought that I am so despicable to get loved and cherished. But, you’ve been wrong.”

“You didn’t want this marriage?” he asked, unable to overcome the shock and stared at her.

“No,” she averred, her eyes deep red from frantic crying. “I never wanted it. Why would I want to marry you when I hate you? You are the reason dad rejected Mukund. You are the reason he didn't meet him and you're the reason for I ran from my home.” She divulged everything, taking the burden off her chest. Her words shattered Yuvraaj’s expectations, his ego got jabs after jabs. Her wailing let off his self esteem and accusations bleed his insides.

“You hate me?” His voice came out in whisper. Trying to compose him, he tightly shut his eyes, "Do you really hate me so much?"

“Yes. I hate you. I hate you so much because no one cared about me. I hate you because you married me. I hate you because you're the reason of my miseries and all the hurdles I'd to face.” She spoke in a breath and seethed. “Dad doesn't want to see my face. Mom didn’t even call me once. I have lost everything only because of you.”

"I’ll free you from this marriage then!" he spat, angrily when he caught so much acrimony against him in her eyes. He thought she would get hurt but she proved him wrong. She let out a mirthless laugh, as if he cracked a joke and mocked him. “You will leave me? Huh! I will leave you. Just five weeks and then I'll go away with my Mukund. You don’t get bothered.”

Her words barely registered in his mind. His wife was telling him that she would elope with her boyfriend and he was sitting there to hear her gibberish without losing his cool. How much emasculated he could be in his life!!! Heedless to that, Anahita pushed back her tears, “I am not going to tolerate this injustice. I will not succumb to your stupid wishes. I will flee away.”

He watched her retreating, “Just five weeks, Yuvraaj. Just five weeks and I will be out of your life.”

He greeted his teeth and seized her arm, yanking her closer. “If you had to leave me, why did you marry me? So much hate for me and you still got married to me, why?” he yelled, furiously. She held her chin in air and spat, “I was fucking deprived off options, okay? Concussively, you should be thankful to me that I saved our families prestige y marrying you.” Yuvraaj inhaled lungful of air and uttered, dangerously calm. “Dare you use that tone again with me again, Anahita! You won't like the consequences.”

She didn’t dither but the coldness of his tone had quivered her very soul. Reluctant, she looked away struggling to get away from him. Yuvraaj glowered at her unblinking and the callous peace wrapped them tightly in its embrace until a knock on the door caught their attention. Anahita attempted to scuffle but he fortified his grip on her arm and held her in place, glaring her. “Who’s that?”

“Dada, Mom’s calling you down for dinner.” His little sister, Gitika, informed and he dismissed her, quickly. “Alright, we’ll be down in a minute.”

They heard her feet tapping away and redeemed Anahita with a jerk. She winced rubbing her arm and glared him. He paced the length of the room like a wounded lion and forked his fingers through his glossy hair, licking and chewing his lower lip in apprehension. His manly ego compelled him to throw her out but the amenable part snubbed him and propelled to deal with situation sensibly.

He perched on the bed frustrated and dropped his head in his palms. His head had started to pound, badly. He made a steeple of his fingers over his lips and fixed his vision on the carpet beneath his feet. He spent a few minutes to process the scenario and stood up. “Listen to me very carefully, I don’t care what you think or do but you will do what pleases my family till you are here. You can get out whenever you want, I won’t even stop you but I will not tolerate any mean behavior towards my family. Got that?”