Bound by Law

Bound by Law || 7- Honeymooning Badly

"Have you even packed?" Jai asked me, in frustration.

We were getting ready to go to Goa, already. Things were going really fast; the last thing I was thinking about was going on the honeymoon. That, and what our parents had said really struck me, and I couldn't help but let my mind wander back to Aman.

They confessed that the honeymoon was Aman's surprise that he had planned before the wedding.

He had wanted to go to Goa with me right after the wedding, to take me to the beaches and parties.

Tears brimmed my eyes as I put the next item of clothing in my luggage. Everything was blurry, even Jai, who was peering down at me, vexed.

"Why the hell are you crying?" he asked. "You wanted to go on this honeymoon, and we are."

I sniffled.

"I didn't offer to go because I wanted to," I said as I continued to put in random items of clothing in; I wasn't paying attention because of all the tears blocking my vision.

Suddenly, a hand shot out and tore the saree I was going to put in, away. Looking up in disbelief, I blinked away the tears to focus on Jai's face.

He sighed in irritation and sat down on the bed, throwing the saree dismissively behind his shoulder.

"Is it about what they said?" he asked, snapping his eyes up at me from the ground.

His honey brown eyes seemed to pierce through my soul, causing me to squirm under his scrutinising gaze.

"Um.." I trailed off, but I knew he understood why. "It's nothing."

I reached out to grab my saree that that he so carelessly threw on the bed, when he grabbed my arm, stopping me.

His hold was gentle but it was the suddenness of it that scared me.

I squirmed in his grip, and tried to twist my arm free.

"Let me go!"

"Just let me talk, woman." His tone said he meant business and I stopped struggling to stare down at him, frustrated.

Rolling his eyes, he let go of my hand to run it through his silky chocolate hair, accompanied by an agitated sigh.

"Look," he started, not looking at me, "don't think of this honeymoon as a new beginning for us as husband and wife. I won't ever see you as more than a woman that I was forced to marry."

I frowned and furrowed my eyebrows. I didn't understand why he was suddenly saying all this to me.

My eyes followed him as he pushed himself off the bed. He adjusted his shirt before he walked over to the door with his bag.

As he went to leave, he turned to look at me over his shoulder.

"Imagine you're on a holiday by yourself; I'm not gonna be there with you half the time, so you don't have to worry about us seeing each other."

He opened the door and left, leaving me standing there in the now empty and silent room.

***

"Do you want to come with me to the beach?" Jai asked, almost forcing the words out.

It was the exact opposite of what he had told me the day we were leaving.