Flashback:
(2 years ago)

“Let's get married Nandini” four words, which would have made her happy if they were uttered by the same person but after 4 more years.

She wanted to feel delighted and relieved but she didn't feel any of it. Instead she felt burdened with them, she didn't know what she wanted at the moment but she knew this is the only way to get out of the unexpected situation. However she wasn't sure whether this decision is going to make a way out of that situation or is closing the door of a desirable future.

“I'm waiting for your response Nandini ….. And I hope it's a yes because we both know we can't avoid it if you want to live with respect in this society” Sumit spoke firmly by holding her shoulders and she was just standing there, lost in the abyss of her never ending thoughts.

“And what about my career? ….. What about my dreams? ….. You know I had everything planned out …. Next year I was going to join the academy for preparations of MPSC and UPSC” She didn't yell loudly but her heart was wrenching with unspoken cries.

“So what ?....  Do you want to abort the symbol of our love? ….. Since when you became so heartless and selfish, Nandini? …. You are just thinking about your career and your dreams but what about me and our baby?” Subconsciously she knew she shouldn't feel guilty but his manipulation left no escape for her where she could search for herself who had dreamt to be an IAS officer.

“You are right I can't be cruel towards our unborn and I can always study after my marriage” unwilling to sacrifice her career she made a way where she can console herself.

“Yeah …. You can” he hesitated and his hesitation was more trustworthy than his words yet she failed her subconscious mind and believed his lies.

“What about our families? ….. How are we going to convince them ? …. My family will kill me if I tell them the truth” she was scared to the bones.

“If we don't tell them the truth then they will never give me your hand for marriage” he spoke out his deep rooted fear and this was the reason why she is pregnant today. He knew this was the only way to keep her bound to him and he loved her so much to let her go. He couldn't let her get educated and be the officer which she always wanted to be because he knew she will leave him the day she gets independent in all manner. It was his fear which didn't allow him to see the love she carried for him in her heart but he wasn't wrong with his prediction not because he didn't trust her but subconsciously he knew he is never going to be a better match for her, he will always remain inferior in front of her.

“Is there any other way ? ….. We can elope instead of facing this embarrassment” she will prefer to die before sharing news of her pregnancy in front of her parents, she won't be able to meet their eyes not because they were orthodox but she had been raised in conservative household and she have progressive thoughts but her roots were conservative. She herself felt ashamed of her own deeds before her parents could make her feel like a failure.

“Eloping will put their reputation at stake and that would be the worst decision” he again tried to make her agree with his decision. Because even though her parents are not very wealthy, they still have a house in Mumbai of their own and luckily Nandini is the only child they have. He is not money minded but there is nothing wrong in taking some gifts from her parents which will make her life easier and at the end she is the only child they have so what is wrong in expecting them to give their everything to her.

“I don't know what to do ….. Everything is mess” and she collapsed on the floor with him holding her and making her sit on the ground. She cried her heart out and he didn't understand why it was that difficult for her to accept everything.

“It's okay Nandini ….. It's not that of a big deal don't overreact ….. Aren't you happy that we will be together forever? ….. Everything will change for me but still I am standing strong for you” again he didn't hesitate to show how her problems are not worthy of his tension.

‘Why would you be afraid everything will work in your favor ….. Here it's me whose everything is at stake’ she wanted to scream at him but she didn't because he was successful in making her feel bad that she wasn't very delighted with the news of spending life together with him.

“I know you are scared of your parents and even I'm ….. In fact I'm scared for my life, what if your father beats me for making you pregnant but still I'm here with you….. You should be grateful that I am proposing to you for marriage and not running away from my responsibilities unlike the other guys who uses their girlfriends for fun." He was right she should be grateful but she didn't feel that instead she wished she could change her present. She loves him but she also loves her dreams and no matter how orthodox her family was they have always provided her with everything and she wasn't ready to scratch their pride with her unexpected pregnancy.

“Let's go home and tell my parents about our condition” she said after a minute because again she thought he was right and she was being selfish.

“Actually what I think is you should go alone and discuss it with your family …. Me, coming there will make them aggressive and I won't hesitate for a second before dying for your but I shall keep myself healthy enough to protect you both” he said in the last line by placing his hand gently on her abdomen.

“I'm really scared to face them alone” she clutched his shirt tightly and pushed her face into his chest, trying to seek comfort.

“I understand baby ….. But do you want me to get beaten up by your parents? …. Are you ready for that ?” He asked while stroking her hair and she nodded negatively on his chest.

“Let's go and do it ….. I will drop you to your house” and he separated her from his chest and she should have felt cold after getting snatched out of warmth but instead she felt free from the invisible cage. He was holding her hand yet she felt being pushed into the black hole where she had no one to fight her battles for her.

……...……….||

“I want to get married” her whisper echoed into the hall of her 1bhk apartment, because silence gripped the walls of her house with just her one statement.

“I hope you are not trying a newly learnt pranking trick on us ….. You know Nandini that we don't appreciate this kind of immature behavior in our house ….. And you should change your friend circle if they are feeding you with such bullshit ….. Now go back to your room and do your studies” her father controlled his anger after hearing her absurdity more than joke he was angry at her audacity to say such things in front of him.

One look at her face and her mother knew that her daughter isn't doing the teenage shit instead she is speaking the truth and that was more terrible than the harmless prank.

“I'm speaking the truth and not playing any prank on you ….. There is this guy and I love h….” And before she could utter a word she was slapped hard by her mother.

“Shut up Nandini ….. How dare you” her mother yelled at her before her father could take matters in his own hands.

“I love him Aai and I want to marry him” and she was rewarded with one more slap.

“Who is that bastard ?” This time the voice of slap which echoed into the room was from her father, it wasn't just the impact of slap which hurted her but the fact that for the first time she was slapped by her father not that he was very caring father but he never raised his hand on her, he always made sure she was obedient child and she respected (out of fear) him enough to not break the rules.

“Sumit Kamat ….. An…. And we lov… love each other” she was shivering with fear and just then she was pushed by her father and the impact was so strong that she fell on the floor and that didn't stop him from kicking her in the back and she wailed in pain.

“Didn't you feel ashamed before bringing disgrace to our family ….. Your grandmother was right we should have aborted you” this time he kicked her leg and started removing his belt which frightened her mother but as usual she couldn't go against her husband and also Nandini was at fault. But the fact she couldn't give them son hurted her once again because that's what she was being taunted for her whole life.

For 5 years into their marriage Asha couldn't conceive and after putting lots of efforts and lots of prayers she was gifted with news of Nandini’s arrival but when they got to know that child in her womb is girl her in laws suggested abortion but doctor denied it and also told them this is the only chance she has got to birth a child so they didn't abort the child. For a time being Asha was happy to be a mother but later on she was made to feel that she was nothing less than a failure as she couldn't give them a son. Naman always followed his principles that's why he never agreed for a second marriage which made Asha love her husband more and in the fear of securing her marriage she always lived as per his rules.

When his family's taunts became too much to bear, Naman shifted to Mumbai with his small family when Nandini was just 3 years old. He wasn't very expressive when it came to showcasing his love but he loved his wife and daughter in his own ways but not more than his reputation and principles. He broke many of his inhibitions just for his daughter, he let her study after she came 1st in 12th. He wanted her to take commerce or arts and complete the graduation so that he can get her married within the next three years but when she wished to complete her graduation in science stream he gave into her demand and provided her with everything he could.
She also wished to become an IAS officer before getting married and he didn't agree instantly but after seeing her putting so many effort he started saving money for her courses. They weren't rich in fact they belonged to a lower middle class family but still he made sure that his family was having trouble free life.

“Aaaa Papa it's hurting” she cried out when he beat her with a belt. His brain was clouded with anger and he couldn't see how she was writhing on the floor. After a few strokes of belt he was about to kick her stomach but she protected herself by holding his leg in between.

“Please don't ….. I'm pregnant” anger vanished away and the news frozen him. He couldn't believe his daughter was capable of doing something shameful like this, he collapsed on the floor and his crying wife immediately ran to him.

It broke her more to see her parents so distressed, she felt guilty for failing as a child. She should have been grateful that they nurtured her despite her being a girl but she failed them miserably. However she can't betray the love of her life, he is waiting for her and she is anything but a cheater, she won't deceive him. She has already disappointed her parents and she won't disappoint her lover.

“Never in my life have I hated her for being a girl ….. I always fulfilled my responsibilities towards her but this is what she rewarded me with, disrespect ….. But not anymore, we will abort this child before the world gets to know and later on we will marry her off to someone else” more than the pain and agony in his voice his threat affected her, it frightened her. It wasn't just her child in danger but also the future of her relationship.

“No please ….. I will die if you do that ….. I will seriously kill myself” she threatened them, she took the nearby knife and she was ready to cut her wrist, she never thought of suicide but at that moment she couldn't think of anything else which will make her feel secured, suddenly the thought of taking her own life was alluring, she will not have to face disappointed faces anymore.

Her determination shook them to the core and they hated her so much at the moment but not to the point where they wanted to see her dead.

Decision was made and they agreed for the marriage so that they could get rid of her. They didn't think anything else would make them feel more disheartened but they were proven wrong when they met Sumit and for the first they cried whole night out of anger and pity for their daughter. They wouldn't have let her marry him but she didn't leave any choice by getting pregnant and they had to give into her demands.

Within a month she was married to Sumit, apart from three of them no one knew the truth of Nandini’s marriage in her family and they tried to conceal the fact that it was an love marriage but relatives were smart enough to guess it to be a love marriage only because any sane family won't arrange their daughter in marriage set up with a man like Sumit who had no education (he was college dropout), no background, no stable income and no stable house either.

On the day of her marriage instead of going aww on her people were pitying her. Her parents had already declared that she won't be returning to their house once she gets married and they will break all their ties with her and that's what happened. They didn't give dowry or blessings; they just did whatever was necessary for her marriage. Their indifference broke her and she was anything but happy on the day of her marriage and instead of celebrating she was mourning over the lost relations.

………………||

“I think this is the best decision for all of us Nandini”. It was the third time Sumit was pursuing her but her denial was making him furious.

“How conveniently you are saying let's abort the child for whom we did everything?” She screamed at him. It's been two months of their marriage and there is not even a single day where she has felt at peace.

“Lower your voice and what's wrong in aborting it ? ….. It's not even born and we are fighting already and do you think we can provide him or her with everything ….. We are here struggling with two meals per day, how we can feed another mouth” he shouted back at her.

“We are struggling because you are not doing anything to provide us with food and you are not even letting me to work” she yelled at him. He is not working because he is too arrogant to do small works and he is not educated enough to get a good job. He is not letting her go out because he is too insecure to do that.

“No ….. It's because of your incompetent father couldn't give anything to his daughter in her marriage …. He just shifted his burden to my shoulders” she resisted the urge to break his skull with something sharp and just held her tears back.

“It's not his responsibility to provide for your unborn child ….. It's you who is incompetent” and for the nth time she was rewarded with a slap. Before marriage too he had slapped her twice but when she stopped talking to him for a week after second slap he promised her that he won't raise his hand on her but on the day of their marriage he broke that promise by slapping her hard just because her parents didn't give any dowry. And later on she became his punching bag and everytime he blamed it on the alcohol which is always in his system nowadays. It wasn't surprising that he became an alcoholic just a week after their marriage, maybe he was always the alcoholic, it was her who was blind to see it.

“I don't care Nandini what you think of this child but it's decided we are going to abort it …. Anyways it was just a card for our marriage ….  And now when we are married we don't need it” this time it was her who slapped him.

“You bitch” and he kicked hard on her stomach, making her wail loudly due to which his mother ran into the house. Suman knew that they were fighting over something so she stayed outside, scared enough to not enter the house but when she heard Nandini's scream she immediately ran into their house.

......................||

They took Nandini to hospital and finally she lost her baby and also the will to live. She was devastated but on the other hand she was relieved, at least her unborn child didn't have to face his or her father anymore.

It took her five days to recover in the government hospital. Sumit was loaded with guilt once alcohol was out of his system. He cried for hours when he saw her on the hospital bed.

His insecurity and incompetence made him sour and bitter. In these two months whenever he saw her he was reminded of the failure that he has turned out to be. To feel better he started drinking more and that day too he was drunk and his senses were not in his control otherwise he would never hurt his Nandini, he loves her so much.

He cried and begged her for her forgiveness everyday but she didn't react to him and that continued for a month. She was slipping into depression and that's when he found a job as a teacher for her. He wanted to see her healthy and alive and that was the only way to keep her sane.

Fighting with her suicidal thoughts she took the opportunity and joined the job. It really worked in favor of her mental condition, she started earning and providing for her unwanted family.

She had thoughts of divorce but she couldn't take that step due to unstable outcomes and she had nowhere to go. Whatever she was earning was very less to provide herself with secure shelter so slowly she accepted him as her fate and started praying for him to be better husband.

Flashback Ended……

“What the fuck was that ?” Isha was the first one to break the pin drop silence in the room, it took them 2 mins to process whatever she told them and more horrifying thing was Nandini didn't cry while narrating the whole thing even when she was reliving everything she went through.

“This information itself is enough to keep him arrested for lifetime ….. I don't understand why do you want to rescue him?” It was Abhilasha, the cruelty in Nandini's story wasn't new for her and she was least affected amongst them but she didn't understand why Nandini wanted to set him free from jail.

“The reason why he is arrested is different and once I divorce him I don't want to do anything with him …… His mother is a single parent and though she knows her child is not less than satan still he is the only family she has …… I don't want to be in any guilt in future ….. He might go to jail for domestic violence but it won't be life imprisonment however this drug case will destroy his whole life” she stated her reasons and somewhere she feels she is equally responsible for whatever had happened with her, she should have left him just after the first slap and she wouldn't have to endure so much.

“I still don't understand how a girl like you can fall for that man willingly in all normal circumstances” Isha groaned in displeasure.

“They weren't normal circumstances” she whispered.

“What do you mean?” Isha asked, growing impatient.

“Don’t hold yourself Nandini ….. Be free and share everything, we are not here to judge you but to help you” Abhilasha encouraged her because it's important to know her mental state before filing for divorce.

In between all this chaos Isha noticed Adhiraj didn't react even for once instead he was frozen on his seat, he was clutching the corner of the sofa as if he was afraid to move from his spot and his eyes were glued to the phone which was laid on the side table near his legs. It looked as if his phone carried the time bomb which would blast at any moment and Adhiraj is fearing that upcoming moment.

………….. End ……………||

(Note: I don't support any violence and mental abuse in real life. Scenes were essential for the story and the thoughts of characters are written as per their characterisation and they are not my own thoughts. So please don't judge me 🥺)

One more chapter related to her past and story will move towards her divorce.

………….. Aish ❣️……………