Parinayanantaram

Pretend

“Or maybe … She is pregnant …”

“What?????” I stared at Shiva in disbelief.

“Shut up!” Paaru slapped his shoulder and gave the both of us a disgusted look before leaving the room.

“You should be happy Dude!” He smirked. I glared at him.

{This is so.. not happening. How can she be … when I never touched her properly till now???!!! Is it ...
No! My Siri is pure as fire.}

By my expression, Shiva must have understood that the matter is serious. He sat beside me.

“I … I am … Sorry. I just … tried to lighten the atmosphere. However, isn’t it about 3 months after your marriage? So it could be possible” He winked.

I groaned.
“How can she be pregnant when I never even touched her properly?”

As the words seeped into his brain, his eyes widened.
“Do you mean …?”
I nodded. His face showed amusement.

“Why?” he asked, suppressing a smirk.
I sighed.
He nodded his head.
{This is what I like in him. I need not say anything. He understands me well. So I need not embarrass myself anymore.}

After a few seconds, he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“Is that why you did not go home yesterday after leaving office?”

“I was frustrated … I … never want to force her. But I too have my needs. So I wanted to distract myself and stay as far from her, as possible. But it turned out in a different way…” I scratched the back of my neck.

He let out a light laugh.
“But staying away from her does not make things easy for you.”

“What do you mean?”

“She too needs you but she does not realise it. There is something which stops her from wanting you.”

“But what is it?”

“That … my friend; only you can find out.”

“How? I wanted a normal wife, but instead, I got this whole new package of adventure.”

“Adventure!” he chuckled.
“Yes dude! Your wife is very interesting. But trust me, as much as I know her as my sister, I can tell you that she is a wonderful person. She loves you too.”

“Love … huh! Don’t joke. I am in no mood to laugh.”

“I am not joking. She loves you. But she is not expressing it. She has built a wall between the both of you, for some reason. And she is the only one who can break it. But for that, she needs your support.”

“What am I supposed to do then?”

“Get closer to her. Talk to her.”

“She runs away from me like I am some monster.” I complained.

He smiled.
“What is the fun if I teach you everything? Learn by yourself. Observe her. Women are easy to read.”

My eyes widened.
“Are you crazy? Women are the toughest creatures to understand. You will never know what runs in their mind. Their brains are so complicated! God knows how they connect one incident to other, making every simple issue, a problem.”

He started laughing hard.
“You! my friend; need some training from me.”

I opened my mouth to say something. But Paaru entered the room with a crying Siri and the moment I saw her crying face, I felt my heart melt.
{I should not have made her cry. I promised to be with her throughout life and keep her happy. But what am I doing here? I am the reason why she is crying. Instead of coming home, I wandered somewhere.} I sighed.

“Mr. Hari!”
{What is with the weird way of calling me? What happened to Paaru?}

I raised my eyebrows, looking at her questioningly.
“You should not have spoken rubbish. You hurt her.”

“Sorry, Mrs. Parvati!”
She rolled her eyes and I smirked as I saw the corners of her lips being pulled up.
{See! Nobody remains angry at me for longer, especially Paaru. I know how to make people comfortable around me … except for one person …}
My eyes darted to Siri, who seemed to be lost in deep thoughts.

“We need to leave now. Take care of yourself Hari.”
I smiled at Shiva, who winked at me after returning a warm smile.

“Bye Siri! Take care of this idiot. If possible, tie him up in the house.” Paaru instructed to Siri, while I protested.

She kissed Siri on her cheeks and turned to leave.

“For me?” I pouted.

“Get it from Siri. I gave her extra.” Paaru answered, without looking back. I noticed Siri blush bright red, while a smile appeared on my lips. Even if I could not see Paaru’s face, I was sure that she must be smirking by now.

“Bye!” both said in unison and I heard the main door shut. I sighed in relief. {Those two make a lot of fuss … but I enjoy it.}

I signalled Siri to sit beside me on the bed.
“I am … sorry.”
I managed to say but she continued to stand near the door and suddenly broke into tears.

{Ugh! Seriously … why do women cry so much? It is extremely irritating to watch tears in their eyes.
Be frank Hari! You are afraid of their tears.
Why should I feel afraid? I feel disgusted at how they so easily shed buckets of tears.}

“Why are you crying?”
I tried my best to hide my frustration.

“I am sorry.” She barely whispered.

“Now why are you apologising? And for god’s sake stop crying.” I held my head as a sharp pain shot in my skull, almost making my eyeballs pop out of their sockets.

She ran towards me, placing her soothing palms on my forehead. I felt better instantly.
{Why?}

“This is why I am sorry.” She said in a hoarse voice. I looked into her eyes, which showed guilt.
{Why guilt?}

“I am the reason for this condition of yours.”

“What? Are you crazy? Why are you blaming yourself? If I have fallen into trouble, it is because I made a mistake. Now have you asked me to go there? Or have you served me that drink?”
{A cold sensation crawled up my spine on the mention of the drink. I have to mentally promise myself not to have alcohol in any proportion or form, knowingly or unknowingly. It is BAD for my health.}

She swallowed a sob and continued to speak. “No … it is my mistake … I have angered you …”
{Oh! So you know that you are the reason for my anger. I am blessed to have such an understanding wife. At least, you are aware of something!}

“So what?”
She was shocked by my reaction.

“What if I am angry? Does it matter to you? Stop pretending to care for me.” The moment the words slipped out of my mouth, I regretted them. {Oh shit! What did I do now? Instead of comforting her or making her feel better, I made her feel worse!}

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Hey! Sorry couldn't update on Sunday. Got busy.

That is why a long update.

Hope you enjoyed.