*What is the right age to be divorced?
*What is the right age to stand up for yourself?
*Who comes first? Self or family?
Trust me, no woman will be able to answer these questions when her own life is breaking apart.
And, I pray nobody should ha...
*Text in italics indicates the character's thoughts.
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Nobody knocked on Padmini's door with a child in tow, claiming to be his mistress, neither did she spot a lipstick stain on his shirt nor did she receive an anonymous letter that spilt his secret. The revelation unfolded in such a subtle manner that Padmini did not even hear the sound of her heartbreak.
A week after Aparna's engagement, Parul and Padmini decided to meet a diamond jeweller from whom the Malhotra's always bought jewellery.
"Bhabi you need to learn how to check the diamonds. I'll teach you today. How long are you going to be so naive and timid? What if I wasn't here to help?" Parul spoke as she drove through the Delhi traffic.
"The opportunity never came Paru, your brother is the one always who selects these things, and anyway I'm not even fond of diamonds."
Her mind raced back in time to rekindle another painful memory from Parul's wedding reception.
She had worn a designer saree for the first time and an heirloom diamond set, both gifted by her mother-in-law.
'So, with this lace thin saree, makeup, and diamonds how many men are you planning to seduce?'
Chandra spewed acid, while she had eagerly dressed up for him, anxious to break the news of her pregnancy - she was expecting Paarth, after nearly five years of being married. After that day she neither wore designer sarees nor diamonds.
The loud car horn snapped her back to reality, she glanced outside in confusion.
"Paru where are you going? The showroom isn't in this area, the address.."
The car entered a huge compound of posh bungalows, there was heavy security, they let them drive past after both theirs id's were verified and Neha confirmed their appointment.
Parul cut her short, "Arey Padmini darling! I'm not kidnapping you. My friend Neha said they have some exclusive pieces which they get only for select customers made by their designer, she lives here". She spoke to her as she entered the driveway of one of the bungalows and parked the car.
"I'm Parul Rajvansh, this is Mrs Malhotra" she informed the security guard, who guided her inside the house.
Parul's phone buzzed, "oh yes Neha! Sure thing. Will it take too long? Yeah, hope you can wind up soon!"
She turned around to Padmini who stared at her in confusion.
"she is on a video call with one of her celebrity customers from Bangalore, they are discussing some design for custom-made jewellery".
They were seated on the first floor of the house in one of the rooms when someone bought tea and refreshments. Parul was cracking jokes about the kind of customers they usually get for their Event Management company when her phone rang announcing her husband's call from London.
"Padmini I need to speak to one of my clients over a video call, it's urgent! Will finish it as quickly as possible. Sorry, darling!"
Padmini understood and stepped out to the adjoining small terrace and was admiring the manicured garden below. The row of houses across and adjacent to the one where she stood were visible and almost identical.
Some of the owners had raised their compound wall height to enable privacy. The house on the right, where a red Audi and a black Audi were parked caught her attention. The license plate was visible from where it was parked and she recognized them both.
'How is it possible? Chandra exchanged that red Audi because there was some problem with that car. Also, how and why is his car parked here? He mentioned meeting the PA of the Union Minister, whom he wants to invite for the wedding, that too in his office.'
A trepidation sat at the pit of her stomach, but she was trying desperately to shoo it off.
'Maybe that PA lives here? Oh! Yes, that could be possible too, they are well paid of course, and can afford to live in these kinds of localities.'
Padmini went on with an internal rant of doubts and reasoning all by herself, when her bubble finally broke. Chandrakanth walked out, to his car with a woman; rather a young, beautiful, fashionably dressed woman. They spoke for a while, there was a smile on Chandra's lips. It hurt when Padmini was reminded that the last memory of him smiling at her was during their wedding. Her insides twisted.
He had discarded his suit jacket and tie, wearing only his navy blue waistcoat and trousers over the crisp white shirt whose collar buttons were undone and sleeves folded up.
'that's not how he would go for a meeting'!
Was she refusing to see the truth or was she that gullible? Being in denial is a kind of coping mechanism especially when one is under stress or suffering a major loss or emotional trauma.
He spoke to the woman for a few minutes without breaking eye contact, the lady reached out and held his right arm and then they kissed! Padmini became numb!
The universe laid out the truth right before her eyes. Chandra was betraying her. Behind her back, he was having an affair with another woman. She was being fooled, mocked, and humiliated in the worst form. Her love, faith, and devotion to her husband were all scorned! He never reciprocated them ever. Initially, she accepted it meekly thinking that is how the Indian men are. That is an undeniable truth, most of them shy away or deem it unnecessary to express their love. His occasional string of flings also crushed her from time to time.
She should have felt anger, pain, humiliation, hatred and more; but she couldn't feel anything whatsoever. Absolutely nothing! Her body was cold and frozen in place. Eyes fixated in the direction where she last saw them, she couldn't even blink her eyes.
She felt a cold hand on her shoulder.
"Padmini...Padmini? Are you okay?" someone attempts to shake her to regain her attention. She felt a sharp slap to her cheek. The sting brought her thoughts back to the present. Padmini gasped for breath, her chest hurt, her throat constricted, she bent over coughing violently. Parul ran in, fetched her water, and stood rubbing her back until she drank the water and stabilised.
Panic shot through Padmini's heart, 'when did Parul come out? Did she see Chandra?'
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Author's note: Hello, my dear readers! There you go, the next chapter and a slightly painful one. Have witnessed some people being affected by their partner's adultery. The most horrible thing to do is break the trust of someone who loves you dearly! No one deserves that kind of pain. The worst part is women are targets of "victim-blaming" even if the husband goes astray.
😡 How is it the fault of a woman if he chooses to be an ass? 🥺
