" why don't you try to pursuade him for a vacation?" Shehnaaz was contemplating ways to bridge the gap between  Shradha and her husband.

" you think I haven't tried that! " Shradha scoffed, yet non chalant, puffing in her cigarette. They were back to their weekend tryst. Secret meeting if friends that was not so secret after all.

Sidharth , he never had a problem with his wife's friends . Not that she had many, but the seldom occasions and plans she would indulge into with her colleges at the university, he had never really objected. Give him food on time and keep the house swanky clean, spic and span, and he is happy.

Sidharth was a demanding man when ur came to his desires and wishes. Rest, he never interfered with his wife's life. She was free to do as she wished.

A little too free! She would wonder at occasional moments.

Shehnaaz was straining two cup of tea for themselves. This weekend, they were chilling out at her place. She turned to look at her friend at her nonchalance. Wasn't she being a little too dispassionate about her marriage and husband!  She supposed. Yet, hasn't she herself been quite similar to how her friend was being now. Laid-back and unemotional of her own marriage. When had she taken the pain to out forward her own desires and wishes into her own relationship! The possibility of a tussle always kept her at bay from putting forward her view points and inputs into her own marriage, she had always accept d whatever Sidharth had to give with open arms.

But now, with Shraddha as a mirror, reflecting her own uninteresting relationship, Shehnaaz felt the voidness into her own marriage that had started to feel empty to her.

Empty! They lacked emotions!

" You did! " She asked, settling herself down to the soft couch. Shradha sighed, nodding in affirmation. She did didn't she! Had tried every measure to make her marriage work. It just wasn't turning out the way she wanted. Or the way every woman would want!

She took a long puff of the burnt out cigarette, crashing it on the ashtray. Eyes closed, she leaned against the backrest of the couch. Defeated. Shradha felt defeated. Aware of the negligent husband she had for herself. Love doesn't always secure the future action of a man. Or a woman . No one knows what propels the change of the heart of a man. Shradha's husband was one such man. She herself was unaware what changed his heart within such a short span of time.

Some marriages, they just fail to overcome the hurdles that comes with time! Lacking the gusto and the determination to make it work. Make two people work. Love, it would always fall short to this determination!

" Try harder, " Shehnaaz implored,  her heart in a denial to let go of a pious bond as marriage so easily, specially one that started with love. Unlike hers! She whispered to herself.

It was tough to accept to her that love could diffuse over time. Shradha's marriage was so not like hers! She and Sidharth hardly had any emotional bonding to start with, she surmised. Yet, her own heart thudding with a propounded enforcement she wasn't  aware till date. What was happening to her!

" I did sweetheart.  I have tried everything over the years. We just drifted away!" Shradha shrugged, so nonchalant. Unaffected. Shehnaaz felt that bother her a little. Was marriage that easily  dispensible! She wondered.

" You are so casual about it Shradha.  I don't see an effort from your side. You just don't wanna try?" Shehnaaz asserted back, a little  irritated yes. The lack of zeal from her friend to save her marriage,  she felt. Why? They were in love weren't they! Where did it vanish to!

" He's  just not worth my time and effort Shehnaaz. I know you wish well for me, magar kuch log is effort k layak nahi hote hai and apparently my husband is one of them." She added further, stating her own marriage. Without an ounce of knowledge of the collateral damage her denial was causing to her friend's conjugal life indirectly.

" Shaadi mei efforts dono taraf se hone chahiye babes. The efforts need to come from both the sides. One sided endeavor is just not enough Shehnaaz.  In the long run, it just tires you out. Bojh ban jaate hai rishtey jab the burden is shifted to the nimble shoulders of a single person. Specially in a marriage." Shraddha sighed, stating the facts though. Marriage isn't just one partner's obligation.  The strive needs to come from both the sides for its survival. If failed by one, the burden becomes unendurable to the other.

" Still Shradha, just one last time. Ek baar pooch k toh dekh!  " Shehnaaz was persistent.  The age old belief of safeguarding a marriage with everything  one has in themselves! Shehnaaz was a believer of the traditions. Or she was brought up that way.

Biyeta chelekhela na sona. Nijer iche, nijer chahida ta bhule giye sei r Ekta manush er chahida k prioritize korte sikhte Hoi. Oto sojha na  biye. It's more like a war where you need to keep on fighting to save your marriage.  Amader meyeder onek kichu tyag korte sikhte hoe,adjust korte sikhte hoe. Effort put on korte sikhte hoe! 

( love is not a child's play sona. You need to let go of your selfish desires and need to prioritise the need of your partner. Marriage is not that easy. Its more like a wat where you need to keep on fighting to save your marriage. We women need to sacrifice a lot of things. We need to learn to adjust. We need to put on our efforts!)

Her mother's invaluable words of sagacity resonating around every nook of her mind. Words that were true, but the question was the gender. Why would such sagacious words often spared for the woman and not the man! Is it the sole duty of a woman to become the torchbearer of a marriage! And the man! What role does they need to play in the game of marriages! Bread earner? Was that all!

Yet, every man and woman were different. And so are their ways of chipping in their efforts in a relationship.  No two marriages are same. Mixing up two different relationships is the biggest gaffe one could conduct.

" Give yourself a nice gateway from this hustle and bustle of everyday life. " She added further, sipping from the smouldering hot cup of tea. Ginger one. Sidharth's favourite. The one she had nurtured the habit of making as a regular one over the years since her marriage. Her own liking for the elaichi flavoured one, crushed somewhere down the years. This was an insignificant gesture. To prioritise ones partner's preference over hers, quite a normal with other couples, yet, down the long run, it creates the most significant frizz in a relationship.

Marriage, it's about balancing and not prioritising the other over oneself! Ignorance of oneself only leads towards th destruction!

" Somewhere away, wadio mei, where there would be just the two of you and no one else between you. Giving each other exclusive time. The romance in the air, the mountains giving you the freeway to that Elysian land of love. The the smouldering weather, the intimacy taking the lead, the problems diffusing off, the love blooming while two spild would come close and become one....." She laid her head back on the couch, eyes closing, speaking her mind out. The secret desires of her own heart that had submerged so deep inside, letting the reality of their busy life take over the desires.

Her desires, it was restricted to the few movie night outs, and to the confinement of their room. All thanks to the corporate world and their tight schedule of no play and all work and Sidharth falling prey to that same field like everyone else! And Shehnaaz was being the understanding wife here. Only they both were unaware of the unbridled damage they both were bringing into their marriage, taking it slowly towards its ultimate ruination .

" Are you talking your own heart's call." The snigger brought her back to the present reality, pricking the illusion of the figment of her mind's simulacrum.

Castles in the air! 

Shehnaaz shrugged, but a longing etched itself inside her heart. The illusion, beautiful, the one she wanted to turn out to be a reality.

Holiday! a vacation! A gateway from this hustling life!   She and Sidharth was in dire need of one she felt. It's been so long they had been off to a vacation.

Wouldn't it be nice! She wondered. Just the two of them, away from this boring regular life, the mountains, the romance, the gateway to that eclectic superlunary!

" How is your equation with Sidharth! " Shradha asked, a little sceptical to see that deep longing in her eyes. Was she going through the same phase of ignorance!

" G. Good. I'm good. " Shehnaaz was on an instant defensive mode. The Indian wife, the trying ones, taking over the rebellious one. She was never a rebel in life to be precise. Always living with the adjustments and compromises. Her marriage, wasn't that a compromise as well!  Giving importance to her parents choice over hers!

" Are you sure? " Shradha tried to purge, yet she dismissed it off immediately.

" I'm good Shradha. I really am.  But this isn't about me. This is about you. You can try for one last time, can't you Shradha? Ye shadi hai babes. It's not a child's play. Koi gudda gudiya ka khel toh nahi hai nah joh ek jhatke mei hum todh de? Try kar hi sakte hai, hai nah! " Shehnaaz was persistent. The typical Indian wife, giving the vows and the relationships more important than their own self! She had always been like that. Brought up in a certain way.

" Okay. I would. " Her friend said, giving her that peace of mind. Shehnaaz was being the friend trying means to save her friend's marriage, yet somehow she couldn't realise when she had unknowingly started to wrap her own marriage  with the shrouds of someone else's. 

The grave of Shradha's failing marriage,  luring hers to sleep beside it, and Shehnaaz was completely oblivious as to when she had started to fall prey to the bait of the shaitaan!

" But I know the end result Shehnaaz. I know my efforts are gonna go futile. Absolute wastage. He is just not in love with me anymore. " She added further bit gave in to the pleading eyes of her dearest friend. The one who seemed to be more concerned to save her relationship than herself.  Probably trying for her own through hers! She precised, but silently.

That night, as Shradha dialled the number of her husband, there was a determination, a slight one to out up the effort for one last time.

May be they could work it out! She hoped, the words of her friend creating a zing within her heart... This was her marriage after all. And this was her husband. The one she had loved hopelessly.

Yet, her trial and effort , falling into deaf ears as the call slipped past to his voice mail, Unresponded.

Could she take on any further. Was it worth it to put herself at the backdrop just for the sake of the survival of a relationship that had probably lacked the zeal a long while ago!

Only time could say that, as Shradha went to bed with a dejected and broken heart. Nitin hadn't been in touch for days. And his ignorance was becoming impossible to deal with each passing days.

And that night, as Shehnaaz laid beside her husband, their bare body glistening with sweat after a hot and steamy copulation,  Shehnaaz dared to ask for the unimaginable.

A holiday!

A holiday her subconscious mind was aware that he would deny instantly. Yet, the novice heart falling prey to the shaitaan's bait . She was only human.

" Sidharth!" She murmured, turning to face her husband. Her lissome hands snuggling the bedsheet around her bosom to make herself a little  modest.

" hm" a soft humm was all she earned in return. Sidharths body, still recovering from the Elysian encounter with his wife. His face wasn't splitting a grin, but the corners upturned slightly,  showcasing the satiated his physical body felt after that mind-boggling sexual episode. Eyes closed, Sidharth was still basking under the aftermath of their escapade.

" kotodin hoe gelo kothao ghurte jai ni amra. ( it's been so long we haven't been to a vacation. ) Let's plan a holiday!" She implored, hopeful. His good mood definitely acting as an incendiary. The sex, the impetus. Post copulation, the best time to approach a husband, she had learnt first hand.   A satiated husband, the best with getting away with one's demands.

" hm!" Was all that she got again in return.

" Ki hm hm korcho! ( why are you humming) "  She felt her mood spoiling at his lack of response. A proper one, the kind she expected. The excitement, no where to be found in his silent demeanour. It irked her a little.

" What am I supposed to do then! " He asked, eyes still closed in satiation. The lips still curled with that barely there smile. His languorous mein, playing tricks with her patience.

" You can show a little interest at least by looking at me for a start. " She sighed, not really shouting, but feeling downcast.

" And why do you think I lack interest. Did I say so! " His snide remark, uttered playfully but taken in an absolutely wrong way, as the bed dipped. Sidharth opened his eyes to find the space next to him empty. The running of water from the washroom, indicating Shehnaaz had left the conversation hanging .

She never fought. She never created a fuss over things in all these years. And Sidharth could only be gratified for the mastery of her comprehensive skills. Yet, sometimes, taking that understanding quality of a partner for granted was the biggest blunder kne would often succumb to without cognizance.

Marriage is anything but taken for granted. The lack of interest acting a catalyst for a failed marriage so many times.

Yet, Sidharth let the matter slide as he took a turn and tried to sleep. Never in dreams expecting the woebegoneness he had brought upon his wife subconsciously.

The next three days were as normal as it could be. The regular life with him getting busier with office while shehnaaz was caught up with her university. The impending syllabus and the pre semester lurking at the back of her mind. The day would just skip and jump without much of an interaction between them. The evenings, busier with her students getting extra classes for themselves. And the nights, heavier as they would take an early night, owing to the heavy workload of the while day.

Three days later, as Sidharth got off his workload with the assignment completed, his hungry body approached for his delectable wife beside him at night. Three days of reclusion and his physical body was hungry for her softer one.

But as soon as he tried sneaking his hands to the soft mounds on her chest, he was instantly jerked off. Perplexed, he tried to approach again. Only to be rejected again.

" What's up? Not in the mood? " He tried to joke off,  wrapping his hands around her waist instead, trying to pull her towards himself. But Shehnaaz pushed him away.

" Yes. I'm tired. " She excused herself, shoving him away from herself, putting a good amount of space between them.

" Okay! " He tried being the understanding husband this time. Two more nights of excused, he still tried to be the patient man that he was.

But the weekend and once again his hungry self had his wandering hands travel down her front towards her private zone, his mouth, hungrily kissing her back and the exposed skin at the crook of her neck, stimulating him to no end, and Shehnaaz pushed him again. Their physical closeness was diffusing her impending fury and she was in no mood to give in to these physical intoxication, letting her grievances fly off like always.

But the weeklong celibacy and annoyed a little with the rejection, he yelled out to her a little. The abstinence and sexual frustration acting as a adjuvant to his rotten mood.

" What is wrong with you! " He was offended. Loosing his cool a little. Something that Shehnaaz wasn't used to much. He had always been a man with an amazing patience level. He would hardly create a fuss between them.

Yet, tonight, he was loosing his most prized possession.

His patience! Loosing it to her adamancy and her ignorance.

" What is wrong with me? " Shehnaaz seethed back. Sex! He had always tried to solve every tiff between them with sex. Not anymore! She geared up. Her own body waking up with her own desires to be touched this intimate after a long whole week!  Yet, this time, she was resolute to not to let their hormones resolve their issues.

" Why are you ignoring me. " Sidharth was himself seething with frustration. A week long abstinence for a sexually active man was next to his tolerance.

" When did I do that! " Shehnaaz tried to be cool this time. Giving him a dose of his own medicine.

" Shehnaaaaz.... Don't try to act smart here. You have been making up excuses the whole week." He hissed, retaliating, getting up to look at his beautiful wife sprawled on the bed like a seductress. Hair opened and scattering all over the pillow. The dark black mane, a complete contrast to that white pillow cover. Her flushed face, that  alluring pout, the swan like long neck, that sneak peek of the depth of her cleavage, those pair of opulent bosoms, nude underneath the thin cotton fabric of her nighty, the nubs, prominently and taut, he felt a hitch of his breath fathoming her clothless and bare skinned and the things that he could be doing to her now. Yet, here they were, fussing over an issue non existential between them. Or to him at least. Sidharth was oblivious to why she was pushing him off at the first place!

A new for him, his wife had never in this five years of being together had declined him of this carnal pleasure ever.

" I was just tired Sidharth! Those were not excuses. "  She sibilated back.

" Tumi o excuses dao naki when you try to state your work as the cause for declining so many of my offers! " She added, frizzling.

" Ok. Justified for the week. What about today? " He reasoned back.

" Tired! " Shehnaaz tried closing her eyes shutting his existence beside her off. Her husband's exotic shirtless form, those hard pectorals, the sinewy arms, those deft set of consummate fingers, capable of such salacious titillation she had a first hand experience of, and Shehnaaz felt her resolution weakening already.

" Oh come on Shehnaaz, grow up with your excuses. " He growled, running his fingers through his thick mane, dishevelling it in the process. His tousled mane, making him look more handsome and rugged, Shehnaaz throbbed with a desire to run her own soft fingers through that silky mane of her man. She loved doing that!

" A week. A whole long week you kept up the act with the distance. I never complained. In fact I tried to understand your heavy schedule, but this is Saturday God dammit. What is wrong in a little indulgence Sanu! " He was loosing it, he felt. That natural seductress of a wife he had and the blue-balled he was, his forbearance was cracking up.

" I'm not making excuses. I was tired the whole week. " She repelled back once again.

" And tonight! " He was persistent, nit giving up this time..

" Periods! " That lie was a lame one she was aware. Not a complete lie although. Despite her menstruation not having a proper infradian cycle, she was indeed PMSing. Her toiled mood a living example of the same. Also, the intense sexual urge she felt deep inside.

But her resolution to not fall to his physical charm, distinct this time. If only she was aware how weak her resolution was getting already.

" Really! " That smirk, and Shehnaaz gasped to find his hand crawl to her core. Her eyes widening in astonishment as she felt him hovering over her the next moment, his palm right above her crotch, the rough surface, rubbing over the covered patch of nerves.

" I don't feel the pad! " His raspy voice, tickling down her spine, Shehnaaz couldn't control the soft moan that rippled out in its own.

" Sidharth. " Was all she could say, her body arching as she felt his deft fingers at the disposition of their skills on her skin, as they disappeared inside the fabric of her nighty and the next he was pulled by her gruff impatient hands, as she launched and sealed her parched lips with her mate, their body, dancing to the erotic tune of their carnal desires, giving in to their body's wants, getting lost to the track of time and fusing to unite and become one, camouflaging with the darkness of the night. The room filling up with their muffled cries of passion as the night slipped towards the dawn.

Their tussle, forgotten once again to the throes of their passion and hunger for that ultimate pleasure of carnal rapture.

The slow steps of the ruination of their marriage.

***

Hello everyone. Kaise ho saare. Is galio mei boht din baad aye hai. Hope sabko yaad hai is kahani ki shuruwat. Don't complain about this one being repetitive, because teh tussle is the essence of the story. It's gonna go like this for a few more chapters. Two or three I guess, before the climax and then the amending.

So... Hopefully, the update was worth it. Since the story might have been forgotten by many..

Let's move this story ahead to come to an end before I start with the new ones.

Till then,

❤❤

Sanu.