"No matter how hard I try, I can never forget my past, for it has left a deep scar on my mind, body and soul."
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Severe headache. Muscle pain. Tiredness. That was an understatement to what Atharva was feeling right now. Grunting words that sounded gibberish to his ears, he opened his eyes and shut them instantly when the bright light of the sun blinded him.
Wasn't everything enough for him already that the sun also decided to be a botheration?
He glanced at the table clock beside his bed which read 7:30 A.M. He slowly got up and made his way to the kitchen, his body swaying back and forth.
Pouring a glass of water, he gulped it down in one go. The drunkenness washed away, and he felt much better. That's when it dawned upon him he was alone in the house.
Aahana should have been in the kitchen by now, making breakfast for them. But she wasn't home, and there was no way she went to the office this early. Then, there it was again, the hollowness, not only in the house but also inside him. The inexplicable feeling gnawed him like never before.
No, he did not miss Aahana.
But he would admit, the silence felt strange.
Where did she go?
Frowning, Atharva shook his head. Why did he care? He shouldn't. At least, not after what she asked him yesterday. His jaw ticked, and his hold around the glass tightened when her exact words echoed in his mind.
"Are you gay?"
He didn't get why people mistook him for gay. First media, then his father and now, his wife.
A rush of irritation burst through him. He tried to block her voice, but all his efforts were in vain. He could see her. The way her eyes bore into him as her mouth moved to ask him the question he despised, to the extent he had to get drunk to take his mind off it.
Yesterday had been one of those days.
After his exhausting trip and meeting, he had driven back home from the airport, wanting to sleep before going to work. But his darling wife had some other plan. It was midnight, and he had just stepped out of the washroom when there was a knock on his bedroom door. He had pulled it open to reveal his wife who had bluntly asked, "Are you gay?"
He had stood frozen in stunned silence, simply staring at her chin with an empty expression before slamming the door shut on her face.
Rude much? Yes.
Did he care? No.
With an exasperated sigh, he ran his fingers through his hair and walked back to his room for a much-needed shower. He changed into his usual black suit and then drove to Saxena Enterprises. On the way, he couldn't help but think if Aahana felt ashamed of her ridiculousness and decided to hide.
