43 Divorce (1)

Ch-43

Laya stood in front of her in-law's house. Her heart and brain were asking her to run away but she tried her best to stay persistent. She has a few things which she needs to collect from here. Her heart was doing many flips in her ribcage, while her stomach was churning. She could feel bile rising to her throat.

[Eshwara [Lord Shiva]… let me pass through this hurdle safely.] She prayed to lord shiva.

When she fretted over whether she should enter or not, she felt someone holding her palm, filled with reassurance along with how warm it was.

Rahul saw his wife standing in front of the gate with a dazed look. He knew she was scared of entering the same place which showed her hell. Walking towards her, he noticed her body was shivering. He can guess she wasn't sure if she wanted to go inside or not.

Holding her hand, he stood beside her. "We can leave right now. If you don't want to go inside," he said.

"I have a few things to collect. Let's leave after doing that," Laya said. He nodded.

"As you wish," Rahul said and led her in.

When they stepped inside, they were welcomed with the sight of Yendamuri's family.

Seeing Laya enter the house, Saranya ran towards her trying to engulf her in a big hug, but Laya was quick with her reflexes; she just moved aside and unknowingly hid in Rahul's embrace. Rahul wrapped his arms around her body and engulfed her in a big hug.

"Vadina (sister-in-law)?" Saranya was confused about her behavior. Even Harish Chandra was shocked at her behavior.

"Again… This bad omen came. I thought she would be taken by her family but looks like they are hell-bent on getting rid of her," Mahalakshmi's voice resounded.

Laya shuddered visibly. She could imagine the anger of her mother-in-law. Suddenly she doesn't feel safe anymore. Laya wriggled in his embrace. When she got little free space, she wriggled hard and started running.

"Laya, stop. Where are you going?" Rahul asked as he went after her. Saranya, Harish Chandra, and Maha Lakshmi were stumped at her behavior.

"I am leaving. She will kill me. I can't stay here," Laya said hurriedly and tried to run. The family of three was stunned at her words. Harish Chandra realized her daughter-in-law was facing PTSD. He realized how grave his mistake was. If he stood up for her a bit and let his son know what his wife was doing to his daughter-in-law… this wouldn't have happened. The light which was in her eyes when she married their family… wasn't there now. Her eyes were no longer sparkling; they were lifeless now.

Rahul went to her and held her tight. He hugged her tightly and whispered soothing words in her ears trying to calm her. Laya gradually relaxed in his arms and lost consciousness. He carried her in his arms to their room and laid her on the bed. He checked the whole room, in a corner he saw a tattered blanket and pillow. A tear escaped from his eyes when he realized she slept with these things. He was to blame.

He walked down, he called the maids one by one to his study.

"So… tell me how Laya was treated by my mother?" Rahul asked.

"Sir… I am just a maid. Please let go of me. I already decided to resign. Please don't make things complicated for me," the cook said.

"I will give you a month's salary in advance. I just need you to tell me what my mom did to Laya. I won't tell anyone. You can resign right after you answer these questions." Rahul said. He was dying to know all the answers.

"When I came… There was not even a single maid to do the chores. Everything is done by the madam only. Cleaning, cooking, and gardening is not easy to do. But Madam always did them without any complaint.

"But Mahalakshmi ammagaru used to take all the frustrations on Laya Ammagaru(Madam). Laya Ammagaru wasn't fed daily. She can get food only once in 3 or 4 days.

"Many times, Laya Ammagaru fell unconscious but Maha Lakshmi Ammagaru would splash water on her and used to beat her saying she was weak and can't even hold on for a few minutes. Sir… I was scared that Laya ammagaru would die because of the torture she faced," The maid.

Rahul fell silent. Till now… he didn't know that his mother was cruel. "You may leave," he said. The maid nodded her head and left the place.

Laya slept during lunch too. But he didn't wake her up. She needs rest. And he was willing to let her rest. She was too weak. When he married her she weighed sixty-five kilograms. She used to be chubby and cute. But now… she directly dropped to forty-three kilograms of weight. He can understand how much suffering she faced.

Rahul looked around the house, every wall screamed of her agony and pain. He felt useless. And suddenly he realized… It was all because of him. He used to think that his mother was at fault. But now… even though his mother was at fault… he was with her… she wouldn't have faced this. It was his fault.

Walking down, he sat in the living room. Turning on the tv, he skimmed through the channels. He tried to watch movies but nothing enticed him. Rahul tried to watch the news but he felt that they were worse than movies. He skimmed all the channels till he stopped at a cartoon channel where an episode of tom and jerry was being broadcasted. He doesn't know whether he should laugh or cry… but it was the last sad episode where Tom and Jerry commits suicide.

"Rahul, lunch?" Maha Lakshmi asked carefully. From the moment he entered the house he didn't speak a single word with her. She was worried.

"Not hungry," his curt answer came.

"I have something to say," Maha Lakshmi said. Rahul knew whatever she was going to say would not be good.

"Say it," he said.

"Divorce that bad omen," Mahalakshmi said.