"Aradhya, please get in."

"Aru"

"Damn! Woman, you'll catch a cold!" my husband yelled from the car while following me as I walked ahead in the rain, royally ignoring him. Nevertheless, the people of Chennai couldnt ignore him and the way he was following me in the car while I kept running away from him.

He drove slowly, matching my pace while leaning over to open the passenger seat door for me, and requested again "Whatever it is, we'll sort it out later. For now, just get inside for god's sake!"

The desperation in his voice to convince me was evident, but I paid no heed to his request and fastened my pace.

"Aru, please" he pleaded, but I showed no response and continued walking.

Work has been good today. As I exited my office with colleagues, I noticed the sky was painted in a vibrant blue hue. I was about to get into the office cab when I received a call from Abi saying he was somewhere near my office for a meeting and would pick me up in ten minutes.

I had no second thoughts about waiting for him since I assumed he was serious when he said, Ten minutes. Besides, I thought the drive back home would be a good chance for us to catch up on the missed topics of the past two weeks as we were occupied with our jobs.

The ironic part was that I had been waiting for thirty minutes, yet he didnt show up. I called him three times only to hear he would reach me in five minutes, which eventually turned into another half an hour.

Despite being tired of the past two weeks of hectic schedule, I tried to remain calm, reasoning myself that he might be stuck in traffic. However, I couldn't contain my anger when the climate suddenly changed, gathering dark clouds, and blowing harsh winds.

Pulling out my phone from my handbag, I tried to call Abi, but his phone was switched off.

Wow! Great! one more reason to be mad at him.

Looking around, I let out a long, frustrating sigh, finding no cab or auto for

for the time being.

A few more minutes passed, and clouds turned darker, transforming the surroundings into a gloomy shade. It looked like it was going to rain, and I had no umbrella since it wasn't the monsoon season.

Getting drenched in rain might sound lovely to others, but for someone like me whos sleep-deprived, exhausted, and hungry, its a nightmare. I decided to wait inside the office until Abi arrived. But before I could step inside the office building, the rain started pouring, drenching me in a splash. I was too stunned to make any swift movements for a few seconds. By the time I

reacted, it was too late. I was fully drenched now. Going back to the office didn't seem like a good idea either.

There's a bus stop a few steps away from the office building and I thought I could use it as shelter until I get a bus or auto. I quickened my pace in the bucketing rain while my evil side of mind plotted in how many ways I can murder my husband tonight.

If I had taken the office cab without listening to him, I would have been at home by now. But no, my husband had to make things difficult for me, making me suffer more than I already did for the past week. How could he be so irresponsible? It had been one and a half hours, yet he still hadn't shown up to pick me up.

"Just let me reach home. I'll make him go through hell. I clenched my jaw as water dripped from my hair and face. I didn't know if it was the frustration from the work or exhaustion, but I became more aggressive thinking about how Abi is taking me lightly these days.

The neighborhood aunties were right. All the attention and care only last for the initial months of marriage before losing interest and becoming ignorant towards their wives. How stupid of me to think that Abi is different from those husbands who shower all their attention and care on their wives only when they need a good time in bed.

Aghhh! All men are the same.

I grew angrier with every passing second. How annoyingly irresponsible of him!

Walking on the footpath, I finally saw the bus stop and was about to walk towards it when I heard the loud blaring of Abis car behind me. Looking around, I found him driving close to the footpath, lowering the window glass. He chanted 'Sorry' like a mantra before requesting that I get inside the car.

I refused to get in.

How dare he take me for granted? Let him plead all he wants. I wont give in easily this time.

"Aru, please... get in." Hearing him scream, I came out of my thoughts and glanced around.

"I'll get an auto. You should go and take care of more important things." I snapped, quickening my pace without glancing at him, before walking away from the car.

I know I was causing a scene in the middle of the road, but he was the one who made me do this. He should bear with it!

A few seconds later, I couldn't hear his voice or the car honking anymore. Did he leave already? I panicked and turned around to check, but my face collided with something hard.

Oh, right. Its him and his rock-hard chest.

This man... he never works out more than twenty minutes a day yet possesses the perfect sculpted body. While I spend two hours every morning doing yoga and preparing health drinks, I still can't lose a little tummy fat.

I didn't know when he got out of the car and appeared behind me. Before I could react, he bent down, slipping his arms behind my back and legs as he effortlessly lifted me into his strong arms, making my eyes go wide.

"What nonsense put me down." I wriggled in his arms, trying to get down, but it only made him hold me tighter as he walked towards our car.

"Leave me or else"

"Or else?" He shot me a stern look, making me stop struggling in his arms. I hated how effortlessly he carried me, and I couldn't do anything about it. He made me sit inside the car before shutting the door, and I quickly got into the driver's seat.

How unfair! He was the careless one who caused me stress, tension, and disappointment. Now he was behaving as if I had made him wait for almost two hours in this rain.

Wrapping my saree pallu around my shoulder, I sat, crossing my arms, feeling cold due to turning wet and the car AC.

"I hate you" I muttered to him to listen.

" I know. You should" he replied, fastening the seat belt. His crisp white shirt, now transparent, became his second skin, making me look away immediately to keep my mind focused on holy things only.

"Here, take this." He handed me his kerchief, which I snatched immediately with shivering hands to wipe my wet face.

"You never listen to me, do you?" Abi reached for the AC button and turned it off.

"No, I listened to you. Thats why I spent hours waiting for you in the rain" I rasped.

"I'm so sorry... I mean it, Aru."

The softness in his voice could melt all my anger, but no, I can't let his voice become my weakness. At least not this time.

"Aru, I'm sorry. When I called you, I swear I was just fifteen minutes away from your office, and I thought I would reach there in a few minutes, but the bloody traffic got me stuck" he explained impatiently.

"Your phone was off" I reminded him, looking everywhere but at him.

"God! Its out of battery. Here... see this." He placed his phone on my lap.

His explanation was reasonable. Nevertheless, I wasn't ready to be convinced yet.

"Still, it's your fault"

He looked helplessly, glancing around before getting a hold of my hand as he kissed the back of my palms.

" I know. That's why I'm saying sorry. I'm really sorry" he said in between the kisses on my fingertips. I remained silent, but not my thumping heart.

" Please, Aru, say something."

" Take me home, that's all" I said with a blank face. He let out a frustrated sigh before starting the engine. The next twenty minutes were spent in utter silence as he drove us home. While I made sure, he became restless with my silence.

Tonight, I'm in no mood for mercy.

" You've lost the spark, haven't you?" It was me who broke the silence after a few minutes of thick silence.

"Huh? What spark?" He gave a perplexed look and focused on the road again, since it was still raining, and we didn't want to risk our lives.

"You've lost interest in me, right?" I asked, staring at him, hoping for his immediate denial.

But he just glanced at me before resuming driving with his mouth shut.

Silence. Thats my answer.

I slowly realised that my neighborhood aunties were right. All the attention and care last only a few days in marriage. After that, married life feels like a burden, a responsibility, and fulfilling expectations. Nothing more than that.

None of us spoke after that. He was driving while I felt the weight of the world landing on my chest with each passing second. I shouldnt have asked him that. At least I would have lived with the delusional hope that he still likes me and finds me attractive.

Gazing outside the window, I watched the raindrops glide down the glass from one spot to another and meet at the end. As my eyes followed the smooth raindrops sliding down the glass, slowly my thoughts drove me to the day that marked the riskiest decision I ever made.

The day of our marriage was four months ago.

"I don't want this marriage." I said with desperacy of voicing out the words that have been running in my mind for a while.

He gasped "Huh? What? Come again?"

~*~

The thick silence in the room muted the constant noises of the guests and relatives outside the bride's room, awaiting our marriage, which may not happen.

"Aradhya"

"I don't want this marriage, Abi." I couldn't believe I said it for the second time, leaving him totally stunned. "Aradhya, are you even serious?" There was a shocking gasp from Abi, who was still trying to process my statement.

I know this is a big deal for both of us. It's been two months since our engagement and three months since our alliance was fixed. All this while, we spent a lot of time with each other, giving me ample time to decide.

Abi and I met in a coffee shop for the first time. A typical first meeting was arranged by our parents. Having no hope for love to enter my life, I finally told my parents that they should stop waiting for me to bring someone to meet them and start looking for a groom by themselves as I was done trying to fall in love. After numerous failed attempts at falling in love, I finally realised that love isn't something I can make happen. It's magic that happens on its own without any force.

But I was desperate for a companion just as much as I was desperate for love. I'm twenty-five. I know I can't survive being single anymore. I needed a partner. My day-to-day routine was like this: wake up, scroll social media, have breakfast, go to the office, then come home, have dinner, gossip with Amma, watch TV, or read books again on the phone, and sleep. Going out with friends occurs rarely, as I'm not blessed with such genuine friends for life. I spent my weekends sleeping and watching K-dramas which added more stress to my future couple goals. My life wasn't boring. It was just too peaceful, with no drama or chaos to deal with. I needed a change and a companion.

Well, it's not like I didn't like anyone enough to find a potential partner in them, but somehow the guys I came across were too immature and impatient. I accept that I have some unrealistic standards when it comes to life partners. Blame my obsession with fictional men, though. Being a sucker for romance novels, I developed a lot of unrealistic expectations that no guy I came across could fulfil. Hence, I had no excitement for dating or relationships.

Therefore, I agreed to the arranged marriage. An arranged marriage is not that bad.

Talking about marriage, I knew I was ready for a stronger relationship and long-term responsibility. My decision to get married wasn't solely based on how lonely I was feeling but, on my desire, to be a wife. I wasnt seeking a companion in the form of a husband, but I was ready to be a wife and a companion for someone with all my heart and soul. I genuinely wanted to be a wife, and that was enough for me to believe that I was ready for marriage.

A distant relative on my father's side brought Abishan's alliance. At first, I was a bit hesitant, but after meeting him, I was sure that we could connect well.

Abishan is twenty-seven, tall, and dark. He's a software engineer with an attractive personality and a witty smile. Unlike me, hes a calm, gentle, and composed person, who knows what he's doing and how to take accountability for his actions. Abi is a kind of man who knows what he wants and what to do to get what he wants. Though, his clumsiness shows up on random occasions which makes him look adorable.

And his voice is as soft as the touch of the wind.

The first time I heard his voice on the call, to fix a

For our first meeting, his voice felt like a combination of the cold breeze of a winter night and the heat waves of a summer afternoon.

Soft yet hot!

The way he laughed over something I said and had an enjoyable time over a hot cup of coffee when we met, his little laugh made its way towards my heart and settled there until the third of that night. For some reason, his carefree laugh continued till midnight that day.

Strange!

I never felt that kind of attraction and got obsessed over someones laugh. He seemed different. After the first meeting, we met a few more times. I was so addicted to seeing and hearing him laugh that I developed this wish of always making him so happy that he keeps laughing.

Another reason, he caught my attention like no one was his calmness.

I genuinely like men who're calm. Theres something so soothing about being around a man who talks in a soft tone rather than being loud or noisy.

Abi did have a side of wittiness in him, but he kept it subtle until I became comfortable with him. After that, there wasnt a day I went without smiling or laughing at the silly things he did or said.

Our first meeting was smooth and easy for both of us. Though it took a few minutes to build the initial conversation, we both caught the pulse of each other's wavelength, and within a few more minutes, we just felt more comfortable with each other.

Abi is too handsome, for a fact. It was his eyes, his voice, or his smile that caught my heart in his grip, but whatever it was, I liked how the thought of him would make me feel.

I never thought an arranged marriage would introduce me to such an alluring, six-foot-tall, fit, and dusky-hot man. And the best part is that he's a good man with good looks and good manners, just like the gentleman he is. With him, I don't have to settle for less than what I had expected.

He's too good to be disliked by anyone, including me. I'm glad that he feels the same about me.

After three months of courtship, we finally decided to inform our parents to take matters further. Between the engagement and marriage, we had a lot of time to decide. And on every point, I got the positive answer that we both will work. We were so sure that I never imagined something like this was happening right now.

Standing near the dressing table, I kept looking down, not daring to look at him, despite him being a step away from me. Im dressed in a maroon silk saree, dolled up with gold ornaments and braided hair, mostly covered in jasmine flowers. My bridal makeup was done just a few minutes ago when I texted Abi that we needed to talk. And to my surprise, within a few seconds, he was there, as if he had anticipated this to happen.

I stole a quick glance before resuming to look down. As I imagined, he looked so handsome in a white silk veshti shirt. Unlike me, he didn't have to wear many ornaments except a chain that perfectly laid around his neck, a gold bracelet, and a gold watch, along with two rings shining on his fingers. He would have looked more appealing if his face wasn't dull with worry and confusion caused by me.

"What's wrong? Did anyone say anything unpleasant that made you make this hasty decision? Or" he paused, breathing unevenly. "Or did I do anything wrong?" He completed his question, and I could feel his demanding gaze on me, making me meet his gaze.

"I don't know." I uttered those words with honesty. His eyes narrowed and his eyebrows gathered as he gave me a bewildered look.

"You don't want this marriage, or you don't want this marriage with me?" He asked sharply but ended up meeting my blurry answer. "I don't know that either."

Now I know he's annoyed. Rubbing his face with his palms, Abi looked around, resting his hands on either side of his hips. "Nervous or confused?" He asked.

"Both... nervous and confused," I replied, leaning on the table with a sigh.

Theres one and a half hours left for our marriage, which is a big question now. In a few minutes, my cousins and friends will break in if we don't open the door as promised. If our family finds out that Abi is in my room, chaos will ensue.

"What confused you?" asked Abi, reaching for the water bottle on the table. Handing it to me, he gestured to me to drink. He ran his fingers through his silky hair, giving me a puzzled look.

"This marriage is without love between us" I answered before gulping the water.

"But you were well aware, right? This is an arranged marriage, and no one forced us into this... It was purely our decision without anyones influence" he explained.

"I know No one forced us... We both took our time to decide about this marriage." I paused to gather the right words to explain without hurting or causing any insecurities in him.

"Abi, I like you. I genuinely do." His eyes lit up when I said those words.

"You're a good person with a heart and, of course, with good looks and personality... I like you. As a person... I like how you think... Your character is gold, but" I dared to take a quick glance at him.

He stood silently, focusing on me.

" But do you think just liking is enough to spend the rest of our lives together?"

From the time we met, we realised that we had good understanding, compatibility, mutual liking, and everything else between us except love. And it was also the reason why we agreed to get married; love was the only thing missing between us, and everything else was already there. We gained such a good understanding of each other within these few months. We have mutual respect, trust, space, honesty, and attraction too. But love? We didn't feel that between us. We thought we would be fine without love, since we are mature enough to learn that some marriages can work out well without love too.

But now, when it's my marriage day and I've been nervous thinking about it since morning, I couldn't bring myself to give a clear answer. Marriage, responsibility, promises, and expectations are all messing up my mind. I had no idea what to do. I made all my cousins and friends go out for a few minutes to have a mind-sorting conversation with Abi.

"Do you think a marriage can survive without love?" I waited for his response.

Abi took a long breath before he spoke. "It depends, Aradhya. You're right Love is one of the core ingredients that makes a marriage work. But let me tell you... love isn't the only ingredient. There are other things too that make a marriage work, like putting effort into each other, trying to understand each other, having tolerance for each other, trust, good communication, mutual respect, needed space, empathy, and, of course, emotional, mental, and physical intimacy."

I stayed mute, grasping the meaningful words spoken by him while he shook his head slowly and continued.

"I believe love is the most important of the ingredients, but if not supported by the other ingredients, then marriage ends in suffering. What kind of love would it be if two people just hurt each other, showed no respect for each other, broke trust, didn't want to understand one another, and cheated?" He said it seriously.

" Of course, love isn't the only thing that keeps a relationship going. Sometimes it's tolerance, sometimes it's respect, sometimes it's understanding, and sometimes it's the wish of the person to stay and fix it rather than giving up." Adam's apple bobbled up with each word he spoke, and I had to drag my eyes away from that little tempting devil to sort out my confusion first.

"Yes, love is also important, but in the long run, its not the only thing that holds a marriage together" he finished saying.

"So, you're saying that we will be fine without love? People don't need love to get married. Is it?" I met his gaze.

He panicked "No I didn't mean that. Gosh, let me clear it up."

He took a step back, thinking for a while, and then looked back at me."Marriage is about responsibilities, long-term commitment, and compromises. Many marriages begin without love and somehow end in love. And you know the thing about marriage is that it brings deep infatuation between two people and love only grows there. After the marriage begins, thats when people begin to love each other; what we have before marriage is liking and infatuation. Love can grow after marriage, too. And, of course, every relationship needs love. As I told you, love is one of the core ingredients, but not the only ingredient."

"But isn't love after marriage a kind of compromise and adjustment? We know this person is our life partner, and we have no choice but to love them or try to fall in love with them" I questioned him.

He chuckled. "That happens in most cases... but not in all cases. At the end of the day, it depends on how one perceives it."

His answers gave me a new perspective on love. Just when I was lost in my thoughts, I felt him approaching me slowly.

Taking my hands in his, he looked into my eyes. "Aradhya I can't promise that we will ever fall in love with each other after this marriage because love is something that no one has control over, but what I can assure and promise you is..."

My heartbeat rose as he brought his right hand close to my face and gently stroked my cheek lovingly while looking deep into my eyes when he spoke "I promise... I will be a good husband to you."

He said everything that I needed to hear to reduce the nervousness and anxiety in me, but what amazed me was that he also said something else that made me believe in his words and decide what I wanted.

I want this marriage with him. I want him to be my husband, and I want us to be together.

Love will find a way into our marriage if it means to, and if it doesn't, then I'm sure we'll be fine without it.

- - - -

My chain of thoughts broke when he pulled in front of our house gate, startling me. Blinking my tears away, I got out of the car and walked in without sparing him a glance.

He hurriedly parked the car and followed me. Neither of us spoke. He stood next to me with his phone in hand and his gaze on it while I finally found the house keys in my bag.

Turning the knob, I unlocked the door and pushed it open. Just when I took a step forward, Abi walked in front of me and grabbed me inside within a second, causing me to gasp loudly.

Shutting the door behind me, he pushed me against the door. He caged me between the door and his arms. Everything happened so quickly that I almost forgot to breathe. With questioning eyes, I looked at him and opened my mouth to say something but—

He captured my lips in a deep, demanding, and passionate kiss, knocking the air out of me.

Dropping the bag down, I tried to push him away, but he was too strong to budge. When I attempted to turn my face away, he held the back of my head, tilted my head up, and kissed me again. My attempt to protest went in vain when he put his other hand on my bare waist and pinched me lightly before running his hand sensually over my exposed belly and waist.

I was intoxicated by him. Finally, I gave up and kissed him back while pulling him closer, gripping his shirt with the very hands of mine that were placed on his chest to push him away a moment ago.

It was a toe-curling, body-tantalising kiss that left me in a daze. My mind was mushy, and my heart was throbbing with every breath he sucked out of me.

I was running out of oxygen, and so was he, but he didn't stop until I tapped his shoulder in an urgency to let him know that I might faint without oxygen if he didn't stop.

After nibbling my lower lip for a second, he left my lips and placed a soft and gentle kiss on my forehead before he faced me, leaving a few inches of space between our lips.

I was struggling to calm my breathing, and he breathed unevenly while still looking into my eyes as he whispered "Tell me now... Does that feel like I've lost interest in you?"