Prejudice

15. His Ways

Shraddha did not know why Pranav decided to eat in his room that day. She thought that he must be too worked up and was tired to come down for dinner.

She ate with him and picked up the empty tray of food and kept it on the table to be cleared later on.
Pranav chewed on his bottom lip, contemplating.

She went to the walk-in closet and came back after some time, in her sleepwear. Pranav tried to pretend being asleep, while she carried out her nightly skin care routine.
He let out a soft sigh, when she turned off the lights and was under the covers.

Both of them were in apprehension. Pranav was relieved that she slept on the farthest side of the bed, and she was relieved that he was asleep already and did not try to initiate intimacy, like many other nights.

The morning approached and Shraddha stirred in her sleep. She was startled to see her husband already awake, but like every other day, he was not out of the bed, working out. Rather, he was sitting there, leaning on the headrest, with brooding eyes, focused on her. She greeted him and rushed to the bathroom to freshen up.

By the time she was done, and came out, a knock was heard on the door and she opened it to meet Jay.

"Hi. Good morning." Jay greeted her walking in.

She was more than surprised. Jay was never home before eight in the morning and he never approached their bedroom, until the previous night.

"You can leave." He said with a smile.

She blinked rapidly and sighed in defeat. She knew, there was no point in arguing with both of them.

"You are home early today." Pranav pointed out, when Shraddha left the room.

"I never left last night." Jay replied, pushing the duvet away from Pranav's body.

He opened the buttons of Pranav's shirt and stroked the bandage once.

"Does it hurt?" He asked looking up.

"No." Pranav simply replied.

But Jay knew better.

Without another word, he marched to the bathroom and filled the tub with hot water. He dropped a calming citrus bathbomb in it and the bathroom was filled with a refreshing aroma.

Jay came out and helped Pranav to stand up.
"I can manage Jay."

Jay chuckled lightly.
"Don't worry. One day, I might need the same care. Payback that day."

"Shut up Jay." Pranav snapped angrily.

"I would never want to see you in need of this kind of help." He hissed.

Jay's heart fluttered at his brother's words.
He made Pranav sit on the side of the tub and washed his body, carefully avoiding the wound. He cleaned it again and changed it into a fresh bandage.

After Pranav was fresh, he came down to the breakfast table and left to his office after he had eaten.
There was no scope of any suspicion about his wounded state.

This arrangement continued until he was completely healed. Shraddha never knew that her husband was hurt. She had no slightest idea of the reasons of Jay's frequent visits to their room.
When Pranav was better, and did not need help, Jay too, stopped coming to their room.

Elsewhere, Jay was slowly and steadily growing closer to Diya. That poor girl would look forward to a small meeting, sometimes in the library or in the parking lot. He would often take her out to evening meals. Many times she would protest and would insist to pay. But Jay would always beat her to it and made the payments. Those small moments and his light humour would give her the strength to look forward to another day ahead.