Suit And Surrender

Birdie's story of greed

"What's wrong in being ambitious?"

she hissed, emphasizing the last word with such a force that it rocked me.

"You were not ambitious but you were greedy.
Not everyone could attain college at that time but you got the chance and you wasted it.
You could have got a nice job, a good salary, a happy life, you could have said bye to poverty by still being on the right path."

She tsked me.
"You will not understand Aarna, you have got parents who provided you with everything. From where I grew up, you can't make millions alone, we need a ladder and had to sacrifice few things or people in between."

What is she?

"The man that I love and the man that you hate, has grown up in a condition worse than you, the condition that you created for him, and he is richer than your husband, all by himself and not using humans as a ladder."

"Do you want to hear the story or not?"

Ignorance and denial are bliss, isn't it?
Ignoring that your life would be different, better only if you had taken a few right steps.
Denying that you destroyed your life by your own hand.

"if you want to hear the birdie's story then stop interfering."

"Stop referring to yourself in the third person."
I said Because I want her confession.

"and one day I actually met the owner of the car, my husband's boss."

Fuck.
The same sick boss who had beaten up my Jay, multiple times.
And she never stopped him.
Not surprising.
If he can kill me just to spite Jay then I am sure the woman might have encouraged the beating.

"fifteen years older and married but he had money and I again started my magic and it didn't take long for him to fall in love and lust. I would make him happy with my body and my time and my words and he would make me happy with the costly gifts."

"Did you ever stop him from beating Jayraj, your son?"

"Why would I? He used to keep him in line. And to be honest, I used to like it, my son a resemble his father, and I felt like he was not only beating Jayraj but him as well."

A sick feeling clutched my gut.

"Don't tell me you used to beat him as well."
I asked, painfully and with disdain and hatred.

"If the lies are the ones you want to hear then I will lie Aarna, No I didn't beat him."

I felt like puking,
Like crying,
And mostly beating the crap out of her,
Deriving the same sick pleasure she used to derive by seeing Jay in pain,
But my hands were tied and I was in her captivity.
Any stupidity by me will result in not seeing Jay again.

And she continued, as If she didn't just confess that she and her bastard of a boyfriend used to inflict pain on an innocent child,
does their conscious never knock?

"I wanted more, I wanted to be queen and not mistress so I again played my old trick, getting pregnant, it was difficult because he used to wear condoms but not impossible.
I just used a pin and put holes in the sachets of condoms.
And one day the results came but still the man denied marriage. I delivered a child, but he still didn't agree to marry, as divorce was a taboo thing so why go through all the trouble when he already had a little birdie in his hand."

I laughed at that,
The user got another user.

She smiled at me like it-was-not-over.
And I knew it wasn't.
And I wanted to hear the horrible things she must have done to afford the manicures and finely painted nail extensions, the botox, and pouty lips.