Chapter 13: chapter 13

SHIVAI have imagined this wedding scenario thousands of times during my college days but the only difference is the bride. And that makes all the difference.I stare at the woman who is my wife now. That is all, she simply accepted my condition. I observe her face carefully. There is no hint of remorse or regret. She stares back at me with the same emotion I have for her.Loathe. Dislike. Hate. I believed that she would do something and stop this wedding. I sigh and continue my walk. It is no use now. The marriage is over. I must have taken things into my hands instead of believing this stranger.I increase my pace and don't care that she can't walk fast with those jewels. But when we complete one round and are about to enter the line of sight of our family, I stop and wait for her.When she reaches me, she raises her eyebrow in question. “Our parents aren't supposed to know about the divorce. So, act before them,” I tell in a whisper.She gazes at me. The cold look turns colder and I honestly don't care if she is judging me. I expect her to oppose me or say something that would give away her real intention of getting my money but she simply shrugs and walks ahead of me. I get in step and try to match her slow pace but she intentionally walks more slowly.  A small smile plays on her lips like she enjoys seeing me trying to match her slow pace when all I want to do is walk away faster from this woman.🍀🍀🍀🍀Gowri is sitting next to me in the car. Her knees are bouncing. She is nervous but I am in a fury. We arrive at my mom's house straight from the temple for the post-marriage rituals. I take a deep breath as I try to push back all the disappointment at not being in this situation with the woman I wanted.We exit the car and I smile at my in-laws who have come for our post-wedding rituals. Why do we have to do some many rituals?My mother's house is decorated beautifully for the arrival of the bride. My mother welcomes us with an arti. A pot filled with rice is placed in the entrance and Gowri pushes it gently with her right leg as the custom says. My sisters beam at her and are happy that I am getting married because they hope this marriage would change me and the old pre-breakup Shiva would resurface but no, they are wrong. The pre-breakup Shiva is dead and he will never make an appearance.We both enter the house. My mother calls Gowri to the Puja room to light the lamp.  Gowri heads to the Puja room.DAMN! THIS WOMAN IS BEAUTIFUL.That thought hits me hard when she lights the lamp and in the glow of the golden light, she looks divine. Her brown skin perfectly complements the saree she is wearing and her hair is braided traditionally and is adorned with a lot of flowers. The lamp's light makes her eyes glow in a picturesque way. Her jewels add to her beauty. She is heavenly.Remember, why this woman married you?Just like that I feel repulsed by her. Hell, every woman looks beautiful on her wedding day. The one I met in the cafe is real. Honestly, that day in the cafe, she looked like an average woman. I check my phone as Gowri is taken to one of my sisters' rooms for some rituals. My finger hovers over the install button of the Instagram app. After I deleted my Insta account and uninstalled the app at Gowri's office, I have not visited the app or site. I am tempted to reinstall it and check my Ex's page but the rational part of me says,Seriously Shiva? How shallow you are to check other women's photo on your wedding day?  I sigh and exit the App Store and open WhatsApp chat. Since the marriage took place in a simple manner, photographers were not employed and my sister Nithya took photos of the wedding. I scroll through all the photos she had sent to the family group. I guess I have to accept this fate. 🍀🍀🍀🍀