Finally here comes the most awaited Chapter. First Double update of this story will be at 12 p.m.
****************************
The tension in the house continued for the next three weeks. Except for Padma, no one brought up the topic again. But Padma never missed an opportunity to taunt Meenakshi.
Lavanya and Rajesh remained unusually quiet but Lavanya often glared at Meenakshi and treated her as if she were a plague.
Aakash continued with his part-time job and returned home late every night. Meenakshi would quietly serve him dinner but there was no conversation between them. Aakash would always ask if she had eaten but Meenakshi simply avoided answering him.
She kept bottling up everything inside and she was on the verge of exploding at any moment.
Meenakshi woke up as usual the next morning. Her back and legs had been aching for the past two days as she was close to her period date. But that morning the pain was unbearable.
Suddenly she felt something wet and immediately rushed to the cupboard. Grabbing a pad and a change of clothes, she hurried into the bathroom.
When she stepped out, the pain had only intensified. All she wanted was to lie down in the room and rest for the day. Even the thought of standing for a few minutes terrified her.
But reality was different. She still had to manage everything in the house as usual. She knew she couldn’t ask anyone for help and even if she did, no one would willingly help her.
Leaning against the wooden cupboard, she tried to steady herself. Her already fragile mood worsened as she remembered the day the cupboard had been delivered. The fury on Padma and Lavanya’s faces when they saw it was still fresh in her mind, especially after the chaos Lavanya had created when she was denied money for the coaching class.
Eventually, Meenakshi had silently placed money on Aakash’s desk. Aakash had taken part of it and given it to Lavanya for the coaching class. Yet Lavanya continued to treat Meenakshi like an enemy.
Another sharp wave of pain made her groan. She noticed that Aakash was still asleep.
Slowly, she walked into the kitchen, poured milk into a vessel and placed it on the stove. While waiting for it to boil, she leaned against the refrigerator for support.
Her entire body screamed with exhaustion. Her hands trembled slightly, it was the first day of her period and the weakness was overwhelming.
She moved slowly, forcing herself to finish the work. By the time she managed to cook breakfast, it was already too late to prepare lunch.
She placed the breakfast dishes on the table and returned to the kitchen, pretending to search for something, hoping no one would notice how much pain she was in.
“Maharani couldn’t even serve breakfast,” Padma mumbled sarcastically as she served food to everyone.
“Meenakshi, where is Aakash’s lunch?” she suddenly shouted.
Meenakshi walked out of the kitchen slowly. She looked pale and exhausted, which immediately worried Aakash.
“I’m not feeling well, so I woke up late. I couldn’t cook lunch,” she said quietly.
Padma slammed the ladle onto the table with a loud clang.
“Why can’t you even do the only work you are capable of? If you couldn’t manage it, why didn’t you wake me up? I could have cooked for him,” she snapped.
But Aakash wasn’t looking at his mother. His eyes were fixed on Meenakshi.
” Amma, ippadi ellaaththukkum avala kaththitte irukkaadheenga” ( Amma, please stop screaming at her for every thing ) ” he said and he was worried about Meenakshi.
A few minutes later, in their room, Meenakshi sat on the floor leaning against the wall.
Aakash placed a plate of breakfast in front of her. ” Enna aachchu ? hospital polaamaa ? ( What happened? Should we go to the hospital? )” he asked anxiously.
“Thank you, but I’m fine. You should leave for the office. And… I’m sorry I couldn’t cook lunch.” she replied softly.
“Do you want me to at least buy some medicine? You really don’t look well,” Aakash said again, his voice filled with concern.
Meenakshi stayed silent and he didn’t feel like leaving her alone.
“I’ll work from home today,” he said suddenly.
But Meenakshi immediately stopped him.
“Please leave. I’m perfectly fine,” she said, almost raising her voice.
With great effort, she stood up, picked up the plate he had placed for her and walked out of the room.
Aakash followed her out with his office bag and walked into the kitchen looking for her. Meenakshi was standing at the sink washing vessels. The breakfast he had given her was still untouched.
He glanced at his mother and Lavanya, who were casually having coffee after finishing their breakfast. Then he looked at his father, who was already watching him quietly.
Aakash walked toward his parents and cleared his throat.
“Amma, Meenakshi doesn’t seem well. Please let her rest,” he said and then he turned to Lavanya.
“Lavanya, help her with the work today. She looks exhausted ” he said and without waiting for a response, Aakash walked out of the house, hoping Meenakshi would be alright.
“Maharani now passes orders through her husband and he takes them very seriously,” Padma scoffed.
“Looks like she is expecting… or planning to have me stay home and work for her,” Lavanya mocked.
Meenakshi’s hands froze for a moment at the sink yet she said nothing. Moving slowly despite the pain, she continued doing the chores and started preparing lunch.
Soon she heard footsteps at the door. A group of girls entered the house. Lavanya rushed to them with a wide smile and welcomed them inside.
Padma walked into the kitchen. “Prepare lunch for everyone,” she told Meenakshi casually before walking away.
Meenakshi gritted her teeth and held onto the counter for support as another wave of pain hit her. Taking a deep breath, she began chopping vegetables and cooking.
The sound of laughter and chatter echoed throughout the house while she struggled in silence inside the kitchen. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she wiped her hands and walked out.
“Lunch is ready,” she informed Padma quietly.
Lavanya and her friends settled around the table. Meenakshi stood nearby, expecting Lavanya or Padma to introduce her.
But neither of them bothered.
“Lavanya, who is this?” one of the girls asked, pointing at Meenakshi.
Lavanya didn’t even look up at her. She cleared her throat awkwardly.
“She is… she is our maid,” Lavanya said and Meenakshi froze at her words.
The exhaustion, the pain, the humiliation everything crashed down on her at once.
“How dare you call me a maid?” Meenakshi shouted, her voice shaking with anger.
“I am your brother’s wife… the daughter-in-law of this house. I have been patient all this time because I thought someday you would understand me and treat me like a human being at least.” she said and her eyes burned with tears but she continued.
“Aren’t you ashamed to call me a maid? Or did you think you could take me for granted because I never talked back? You are nothing but a pampered, selfish brat who only cares about herself.” Meenakshi screamed at her and walked straight to her room.
“Lavanya, how dare you call Meenakshi a maid? Is this how you treat your own family? Aren’t you ashamed?” Balaram thundered.
Lavanya sat frozen at Meenakshi’s outburst followed by her father.
“Your mother is to blame for this. If she had treated Meenakshi with the respect she deserves, you would have known her place in this house. Whether you accept it or not, the truth is this, one day you will leave this house. But Meenakshi will remain here. This is her home.” he continued angrily and pointed toward the door of Meenakshi’s room.
“Her husband runs this family. All of us depend on the money he earns. Be grateful that he doesn’t throw us out after hearing that you called his wife a maid.” he roared, unable to accept the humiliation thrown at Meenakshi.
The girls sitting at the table looked visibly uncomfortable. One by one, they quietly got up and left the house, clearly disturbed by the chaos and by the way Lavanya had treated her own sister-in-law.
Lavanya burst into tears as she saw the disgusted looks her friends gave her before leaving.
“Why did she have to humiliate me in front of my friends? She could have waited for them to leave before starting a fight with me. She was just waiting for a chance and today she got her revenge ” Lavanya cried.
Padma quickly moved to console her daughter.
“What she did was wrong but was there any need for her to shout like that in front of her friends? We could have handled this within the family.” she said and she glared toward Meenakshi’s room.
“How will Lavanya face her friends at college now? She is in her final semester. This could affect her studies… even her future.” Padma continued comforting Lavanya while blaming Meenakshi for the scene.
Inside the room, Meenakshi had heard every single word spoken outside. Tears streamed down her face, but this time they were tears of anger rather than helplessness.
There was a knock on the door but she refused to open it.
Meanwhile, Balaram called Aakash and explained everything that had happened. After ending the call, he turned to look at his wife and daughter, who were still not done with their drama.
“Both of you, get ready now,” he said sternly.
Padma was about to question him, but the warning look he gave her, raising his forefinger made it clear that he was in no mood to argue.
Within fifteen minutes, they left the house.
Balaram silently hoped that Aakash would take care of Meenakshi and somehow handle the situation.
On the way home, Aakash felt extremely restless. Fear clouded his thoughts. He had no idea what Meenakshi might be going through at that moment, especially when the entire family seemed to have turned against her.
He parked his bike hastily and rushed through the gate. The house was eerily silent.
The only sound that broke the silence was the muffled sobbing coming from behind the closed door of their bedroom.
Realizing that no one else was home, he closed the main door and walked to the bedroom.
He knocked on the door. Inside, Meenakshi continued sobbing, ignoring the sound.
“Meenakshi…” Aakash called softly.
The sound of his voice made her sobs stop instantly. She glanced at the clock and wasn’t surprised to see the time. She already knew someone in the family must have informed him about what had happened.
“Meenakshi, please open the door,” Aakash said again. His heart was already fighting a battle within him.
“I’m sorry, Meenakshi,” he added quietly. The moment she heard those words, something inside her snapped.
All these days since their marriage, the only thing she had heard from him again and again was ‘sorry’.
But today she didn’t want an apology. She wanted answers. And she decided this would be the day she would demand them.
Meenakshi opened the door. Aakash stood there, only to be met with the sight of a broken woman.
Her face looked exhausted, her eyes swollen and red, her cheeks stained with tears. He stepped inside slowly.
Meenakshi tucked the pallu of her saree firmly into her waist, her expression hardened with determination and she shut the door behind him.
“I’m sorry, Meenakshi, Lavanya shouldn’t have insulted and disrespected you like that. ” Aakash began but before he could process further Meenakshi immediately raised her palm, stopping him from continuing.
Her eyes burned with anger.
“Let’s talk about Lavanya’s insult and disrespect later. Right now, let’s discuss the way you have been insulting me.” Meenakshi said coldly.
Aakash froze at her words. His mind raced, trying to understand what she meant.
“Why did you marry me? I may not be the kind of woman a man dreams of having in his life. You could have simply rejected the proposal. But you married me… and then how did you treat me?” she said and her voice trembled with anger and pain.
“I know you don’t like me. You might even feel disgusted looking at me. Honestly, I never expected a loving husband or a warm family when I married you. But at the very least, you could have treated me like a human being with emotions. You could have talked to me. Instead, you chose to avoid me as if I were some kind of plague.” she continued and tears streamed down her cheeks.
The words hit Aakash like a blow. His heart shattered as the painful truth dawned on him, he was the one who had hurt her the most.
“Meenakshi… I… I may not have talked to you much. But I never felt disgusted by you. I have never looked at you that way.” Aakash said softly.
He quickly picked up the water bottle and held it out to her.
“Please drink some water. You look exhausted. I shouldn’t have gone to the office knowing you weren’t well. I really care about you, Meenakshi… but I don’t know how to prove that to you.” he replied and his voice sounded desperate as he unscrewed the bottle cap.
Meenakshi stepped closer and looked straight into his eyes. There was no softness in her gaze, it carried only pain and disappointment.
“Have you ever offered food or money to a beggar?” she asked suddenly.
Aakash looked confused but slowly nodded as yes.
Meenakshi let out a bitter smile. “Then tell me… what is the difference between me and those beggars?”
Aakash stared at her in shock.
“You offer them money or food but you don’t show them any emotion. It’s just something you do either out of pity or out of duty… so you can walk away without feeling guilty. You gave me food too. But there was no emotion in it. It felt like you were just fulfilling a duty… something you did to keep your conscience clear.” she said in a broken voice and her eyes filled with tears again.
“Oh my… do you even feel guilt? Or do you even have a heart?” she asked painfully.
The water bottle slipped from Aakash’s hand and fell to the floor. He staggered back a few steps as if the ground beneath him had suddenly shifted.
Slowly, he removed his glasses. Tears rolled down his cheeks.
Her words had struck him like a brutal blow, shattering him completely. He lowered himself to the floor and leaned against the table, unable to stand any longer. His head remained bowed, he couldn’t bring himself to look at her.
Shame consumed him that he had broken her.
He had failed her, not just as a husband but even as a human being.
For a moment, Meenakshi looked at him in confusion. The tall, composed, handsome man she had always seen now sat on the floor wiping his tears like a helpless child.
“I… I… I’m sorry,” he stammered.
Meenakshi immediately stepped closer.
“I have heard enough of your apologies. What I need are answers. And if you are not ready to give them, then there is no reason for me to stay here anymore. I can endure many things. But I cannot live without respect. I tolerated even that all these days… but not anymore.” she said firmly. Her voice trembled, but her words were resolute.
With that, she walked to the cupboard and began to pack her clothes.
“Meenakshi…” Aakash called softly.
She turned slightly.
Aakash slowly extended his hand toward her, holding out his glasses.
She looked at him in confusion.
**********************
A/N:
Please like and comment
Take care and Thank You
