Can 'Life' be a genre for a story? This will be just that. Based on a few real-life incidents for very real people. I was toying with this concept since I wrote 'thodi si bewafai'. The only difference is, while TSB was a one-off incident of mistrust more so insecurity, this story is of hardcore, repetitive doubting behavior! And it's hardly fictional. Having said, I still do not want anyone to get any triggers or think I am offending you(specially my women readers). In fact, I am going to write both versions of this, His and Hers. Agree or not, we women are guilty of being shakky(doubtful) on our partners equally if not more! With that prelude, hoping I've prepared you for what's coming next, dive in.
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Arnav's heart was beating furiously against his chest as he drove towards his house. He was running late. Again. He didn't need a fortune-teller to tell him what awaited him at home. A livid wife who would be ready with a set of questions that could put a criminal lawyer to shame! But she wasn't a lawyer, neither was he a criminal. She was his love, his wife, Khushi. And maybe that is why he had been letting her do it for so long.
Theirs had been an arranged-love marriage. One where they met through mutual friends and immediately sparks flew. The families were only too happy for this match and hence they got married at a beautiful beach location in Goa. He couldn't have asked for more...or so he thought.
Soon, Arnav started noticing some traits in Khushi's nature that weren't so obvious before. She was always possessive about him but when on their honeymoon she refused to let him speak to the lady receptionist at the resort, he felt it odd. At first, he termed it as her protectiveness and honestly, he enjoyed it. Which man doesn't like his wife's whole attention on himself and her getting annoyed at the slightest possibility of another woman looking at him? He in fact teased her about it and then would be blown away by the mind-numbing kiss she initiated, as if trying to prove something...
Slowly, he observed her behavior was bordering over-possessiveness and he started worrying. Initially he even thought it was something wrong with him, his soft-spoken, easy-going nature, his many friends (that included girls) were the reason why she was worried so much. After marriage, whenever he met his friends, he took khushi with him anyway, simply because he didn't like to go without her. But then, she would pass snide remarks to the girls in the group or unreasonably excuse themselves to leave sooner. Eventually, he stopped hanging out with his friends. He then tried to reassure her that he was only hers. She didn't have a reason to worry. But nothing changed much and his friends drifted away...
The next big issue was his work colleague, Sheetal. A woman with an hour-glass figure, extra sugary voice, and artificially long lashes, Sheetal suspiciously tried to get touchy-feely with Arnav and other men in his office. So, Arnav agreed she didn't give much good of an impression of herself. But he still maintained she was just a colleague for him, nothing more. However, Khushi always believed sheetal was trying to seduce Arnav and thus, always asked Arnav to work from a different office. When eventually Sheetal eloped with a married man in their office, Khushi got a chance to say how she was right! That kind of fueled her behavior and he didn't know how to reduce her insecurities...
And now her new concern was his PA, and his college friend, Lavanya! She was an old friend with whom he hadn't been in touch with for years. In fact, ever since college ended, he had not seen her until now. But ever since Khushi got to know that Lavanya was with him in his college, that she had feelings for him, and his friends even teased them to be a couple, Khushi grew insecure. So much so that she wanted Arnav to fire Lavanya from the job...
