“Hi, di”, Arunima chimed in with excitement laced in her tone. Early in the morning, she had called Tapasya over the phone.

“Hello, soon-to-be bride, how are you doing?”, Tapasya asked while whisking the batter of pancakes. She was making breakfast for herself.

“Umm.. I needed a favor”, Arunima requested coyly, not knowing if she should go ahead with the conversation or not.

Tapasya asked, “How can I help you?”, coming straight to the point. With a grumbling stomach, her main priority was her breakfast. She had an important meeting with the tourism department of the state and she was looking forward to it. She wanted to be on time and she was not interested into Arunima early in the morning.

After Arunima’s engagement, Tapasya had particularly distanced herself. She was feeling jealous of the young girl and she despised herself for her emotions. After an unhappy marriage, she was ruined. She hated herself for not moving on. She abhorred herself for loving her ex-husband, but more than everything, she loathed herself for being jealous of Arunima, the poor girl who deserved happiness.

“Actually, di… please don’t tell mom”, Arunima pleaded and Tapasya got worried this time.

“What happened?”, she asked panicking as she flipped the pancake on the pan.

“I wanted you to receive an order on my place”, she requested, blushing on the other hand.

“What kind of order?”, Tapasya asked, wondering what Arunima was upto.

Was Jayant into some shady business? She wondered, getting concerned.

“Actually, I ordered a few things on the internet but I cannot get them delivered on my place”, Arunima finally said it, or more or like, whispered.

“What things?”, she asked, wanting to snap at Arunima for talking in riddles. She was getting worked up now, concerned for the young girl’s safety.

“Umm… di, you know mummy tends to check each and every thing I buy. She will see the bills too. Di, I have saved the money I received while teaching in the coaching institute. Di, please help.” Arunima pleaded and Tapasya was confused. She knew Shikha was an old lady who had lived in poverty so the concerns were genuine.

“Okay, when do I have to receive it?”, Tapasya asked, a bit relaxed.

“Di, please don’t tell mumma. I am embarrassed. I have ordered a few lingerie to surprise Jayant ji. Please receive them tomorrow.” Arunima said coyly, blushing hard while Tapasya turned pale.

“Okay, dear. Don’t worry your secret is safe!” Tapasya muttered, trying to sound as cheerful as she could. Only she knew that how much she wished for Arunima to have kept her order as a secret.

Cheerfully, Arunima disconnected the call; relaxed upon knowing that Tapasya had been backing her. She treated Tapasya like her elder sister and amidst her excitement of starting a new, blissful life with Jayant; she had missed out the changed demeanor of Tapasya.

On the other hand, the pancakes were long forgotten. With the treacherous tears pooling in her eyes, Tapasya was lost in her past, the terrible past that had ruined her for the worst.

It had been two months to her marriage and her husband had not touched her. Let alone the touch, he had not even spoken to her properly. They had not even gone on the date, let alone the honeymoon.

 A month ago, she had tried to reduce the distance between them and she had just received humiliation in return. The cake she had baked had been thrown on the floor by her beloved husband and her heart had been shattered into innumerable pieces. Since that day, her husband had been avoiding her like a plaque and she had also not dared to talk to him.

Her in-laws had indeed, been the sweetest. They had been treating her with the love and respect she deserved. They used to leave no stone unturned to bring a smile on her face. However, she had just been craving for her husband’s sweet nothings.

It had been the second monthiversary of their wedding that day. She had not wanting to plan anything until a video popped on her screen. She had been sitting idle in her bedroom, aimlessly scrolling the YouTube in her phone, when a comical video of a woman seducing her husband came up.

She had been burning for his touch, his love. She had been crushing over him since school and now that, he was her husband, she could not help but drool at him. Despite countless insults, she had been keeping up with him for three reasons.

Firstly, she wanted things to be normal between her and her husband like every other couple. Secondly, she adored her in-laws and she did not want to hurt them.

Thirdly, she was insanely attracted to her husband and she could not afford getting angry over him. Her husband had a habit of sleeping half-naked, without a shirt. A single look of his bare, masculine chest and well-toned abdominal muscles had been enough to melt her.

Only she knew, how much she wanted to touch him, feel him, kiss him and mark him hers, especially when they had been sleeping in the same room, on the same bed since their wedding night.

On her wedding night, they had slept peacefully, tired of all the rituals. Tapasya had been too tired to notice the ignoring nature of her husband however, in those two months, she had understood that they had been anything but a normal couple.

That night, she had decided to give things a chance, once more. She had a slight inkling that her husband might not like her advances however, she had been tired of merely drooling at him. He was rightfully hers after all, they were legally and religiously married. She had all the rights to love him and that night, she had been ready to claim him.

As the clock struck eight, her husband entered the room after the dinner. She had skipped dinner to make preparation for the night. The room was beautifully decorated with rose petals and scented candles.

Clad in a skimpy, wine red one-piece lingerie, Tapasya had been sprawled on the bed. Her long, toned legs had been glistening under the warm, yellow lights of the bedroom.

She had been looking as ravishing as aphrodite, the sex-goddess. No man could have stayed sane after looking at her bewitching smokey eyes and seductive, dark-red lips. Her sleek, black hair had been tumbling down her shoulder, highlighting the chiselled collarbone and flesh of her shoulders. The swell of her toned bosom had been revealing her captivating cleavage and she had been sure that her husband would shun his restraints that night.

She had been ready to give herself to the carnal desires of her husband but he had seen red.

Enraged, her husband had told her, “Clean this shit and cover yourself up”.

Perhaps, it had been her bold outfit or her desperation, she had walked to him seductively and asked, “Why?”, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Trust me, you wouldn’t like to know”, he had replied, pushing her away.

With tears in her eyes, she had continued to crib throughout the night that she deserved to know what was wrong with her. However, all her cries had gone to deaf ears. She had questioned her conduct and his ignorance, thousands of times that night while her husband had slept peacefully beside her weeping form. He had not even looked at her romantically, let alone touch her, breaking her spirit into innumerable pieces. That night, she had lost all her hopes to reconcile her relationship with her husband.

She was crying, cursing herself for being so stupid that she had felt that her husband did not pay attention to her because something was terribly wrong with her. Her trance of thoughts was broken when her phone rang. It was her office assistant reminding her of the meeting that was due in an hour. Her breakfast was indeed, forgotten as she rushed for work with a gloomy face.

★★★★★

Hello everyone!

I am really sorry for have not updated this story since long. 😑

The thing is, this is a new niche where I am writing in both past and present. Also, the storyline involves lot much more than a romantic relationship. 🤔

I am merely, confused how to go ahead but I will find a way, chapter by chapter, to convey the plot I came up with, after hearing a real-life story. 🌸

Anyway, I promise to be back soon, till then, do share your views and shower your love on the story ♥️

Don't forget to vote, comment and share the story. ⭐️

See you soon 💙