The Marriage Contract

21 - It's Not Just Yours, It's Ours

Akshara heard the front door slam shut and felt the loud banging of a man's footsteps against the hard stone floor making her aware the her dear husband had finally managed to find his way home. She felt the rush of his presence around her as he moved past the kitchen where she was busy cooking to go to their bedroom.

Akshara paused chopping the green bell peppers, "Well, good evening to you too," she mumbled to no one in particular.

Just then she heard a loud bang of a door closing and the sound of the shower turning on. Raising her eyebrows, frowning at the sudden urgency in Abhimanyu's demeanor, she deduced that husband dearest was either having his time of the month or he had a bad day at work.

Feeling it was none of her business to interfere in Abhimanyu's matters, she acknowledged she was better off not wasting her time trying to understand that puzzling man. And so she went back to focusing on chopping the remainder of her bell peppers.

After it had been a couple of minutes, she heard the shower turn off. Akshara had finished sautéing the bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms and just about had finished adding in the cheese cubes when she heard the sweet, sweet sound of her husband's voice.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"Ah, and there it is." She smiled to herself, fully prepared to go to battle.

"AKSHARA!" Abhimanyu's voice boomed across the apartment making Akshara roll her eyes.

"Yes, I'm here!" She chirped, cool as a cucumber. Silently enjoying her raging husband. "What's caught your panties in such a twist?" She teased, wiping her hands on the apron she was wearing, walking towards their bedroom.

Except the sight of what she witnessed in the room caught her off guard —enough to faint.

"What the —" Akshara stopped her words midway as she clasped one hand over her mouth in order to muffle her laughter.

In front of her eyes stood Abhimanyu, wearing a pair of sweatpants, his hair damp from the shower, looking miffed as he had one arm slinging through the neck hole of her cotton shirt. A shirt of hers which looked no less than a handkerchief trying to cover his hard, abs-olutely chiseled body. Her eyes roamed down to his sweatpants and then to the outline of the large bulge which he carried.

What? She was a girl. How could she not notice a hot man when he stood right in front of her? And Abhimanyu Birla was an exceptionally hot man.

"What are you wearing?" Akshara questioned, unable to stop herself from laughing.

"What do you think I'm wearing? Where the fuck are my clothes?! What the fuck is this?!" Abhimanyu shouted, bewildered.

Akshara controlled her laughter, clearing her throat before answering him. "Calm down, Dr. Banner. No need to go all Hulk on me." Akshara paused, amused by her own words. "Wow! What apt comparison. Good job, Akshara." She patted herself on the back, feeling proud.

"Have you ever gotten yourself seen by a psychologist? If you haven't then you should. I highly recommend it. Perhaps they could be able to answer why only you find your stupid dumb comparisons to be funny."

"Don't be jealous. You'll learn to make good jokes one day too." Akshara replied back, mockingly, earning a glare from Abhimanyu.

"Akshara, I'm going to ask you again. What the fuck is this?" He asked, circling back to their original topic of discussion.

"It's my shirt." She answered, catching a hold of her lewd thoughts and bringing her back to reality.

"No shit, Sherlock." Abhimanyu responded, miffed and trying his best to not end up in jail for homicide. "What I mean is, what is it doing in my closet?" He asked calmly.