CHAPTER 8. PHOTOGRAPH

The month of April came quiet sooner than expected. The overbearing flowers were everywhere to be seen. April was my favorite month. It has been so because this month was the month of harvest and new beginnings. I always felt like this was the time to work on things or the ideas that I had been harbouring in me for longer times. More than anything it was the time to travel. During that time, I felt like visiting places.

I woke up early than the usual. As I did, I took a glance at my husband's sleeping face. Although I was supposed to detest him, I wasn't able to take my eyes off him. He looked so beautiful. When the term 'beautiful' is usually used for a man, it seems absurd to people. But I knew it was the right word to describe the godly figure that laid beside me. His brown shiny skin, and beautifully crafted features were appealing to me. I moved my hand towards his hair and touched those soft curls gently. I intertwined my fingers with his beautiful curls. Unable to control myself, I leaned towards him. I placed a small kiss on his forehead. I stroked his lips with my finger and kissed him there too. It was as if I was in a divine delirium, I had no control over my hands or myself. He woke up and hugged me from behind. Unable to put my desires aside, I kissed him more harder. The kiss lasted for a minute.

"Mon coeur, don't stop!", he exclaimed while staring deep in my eyes.

"I hate you but I want to make love to you", I said while staring back in his eyes. Those brown eyes were to die for. His eyes glittered so brightly. It was as if there was a cluster of thousands of stars erapped together to form a galaxy in both of his eyes. His lips were so luscious that it would end up making women jealous of him.

While unbuttoning his shirt, I started kissing his neck. I laid deep kisses on his neck. The intensity of the kisses was so high that there were even marks. Those marks made me happy as it seemed like I marked my territory on him. It was as if a tyrant conquered a land that he had been eying for months. I sat on top of him and leaned towards his face, and I bit his right ear lightly. He hissed in pain. After that I made my way towards his pants. As I was going to unbutton his pants, he stopped my hands. He got up and hugged me tightly. While enrapping me in his arms, he murmured," Not today! I shall satisfy you some other day. I have a meeting to tend to. I did not know you liked to be dominant so much".

"Don"t over-exaggerate the situation love, I was just taken in by my urges. I do not desire you", I exclaimed while moving away from him. He stared and smirked. He and I, we both knew I desired him and only him in that moment. Disappointed, I allowed him to leave. He got ready and left for the work.

After getting to the university, I still had him in my thoughts. I provided lectures and completed my day's work. After getting off the work, I saw a black luxurious car parked in front of me. The man that got out from the car was Evans. Evans Green was a common friend that me and Seth had during our university days. In the past, he was very skinny and shy, but he seemed pretty different then. He approached me smilingly. He had blue eyes, short stubble beard and huge muscles. He came towards me and hugged me. That hug was so abrupt that I was taken aback by the suddenness of it. I removed myself from him and glared back at him.

"It has been such a long time. Where have you been? It feels as if we are meeting after a decade. I so much wanted to see you but my obligations kept me tied to the work", said Evans. I exclaimed while looking for my car keys"I remember that you were invited to the wedding, but I didn't see you there".

From then, he kept talking. The one thing that didn't change about Evans was that he had always been a garrulous person. The one thing that was for certain is that the conversation was still anything but over. So, I decided to invite him over to a café which was nearby. We discussed everything. Most of it was related to Evans's travel experiences and the rest of it was related to Seth and our married life. The thoughts that were circling my mind were that 'Should I tell him the truth of this marriage or should I pretend?'. Though lying to him felt bad, I knew talking about seth outside could bring harm to his image. I didn't wish to do that. Though he had been a nuisance since the marriage, I didn't want to hurt him or his image that he held in society. Reminiscing past took almost all of our time and I ended up getting late. I bade him goodbye and made my way to home.

I got back only to notice a sulking Seth awaiting my arrival. Sitting on the recliner, he was glaring at the television. I knew he was in a bad mood. Ignoring him, I made my way towards my room. I kept all my books in the shelf and arranged all my belongings in the drawer. I grabbed my clothes and made my way towards the shower. After taking a bath, I went towards the kitchen. The food was already cooked. As I was getting the foods into the plates, Seth came to the dining table and glared at me.

"What????", I asked while getting my food.

"Prepare mine too", he asked while looking away.

"Haven't you already had dinner? or were you waiting for me ? Hahahhaha", I exclaimed while teasing him.

He glared at me with embarrassment and said, "Yes, I have been waiting and you're late!".

"But why does it matter to you? It is none of your concern", I said while passing him his dinner.

We both sat on the opposite sides of the dining table and ate the food in silence. After finishing his food, he quietly left for the room. After getting done with the dishes, I went to our bedroom. Seth was sleeping soundly. It was a good chance for me and I stared looking for his drawer. It was locked. I searched for the key. I looked everywhere for it and found it in Seth's section of books. He hid it inside his favorite novel, 'Tess of the D'urbervilles'. After acquiring the key, I unlocked Seth's drawer. Inside the drawer, there were pictures of his ex girlfriend and my belated brother. Why did he have those photographs? Why was it with Seth? What was his purpose in keeping the photographs?

I kept the photo back and locked the drawer. After getting in bed, I moved towards Seth. I placed my hand on his arm and whispered in his ear, "What's the key to you heart? Won't you let me in?. I stroked his hairs and kissed his forehead. He was in deep sleep, so he didn't notice. That photo kept crepting in my thoughts. I had suddenly started remembering my belated brother. His death was a shock to us all. He died in a car accident six years ago. Time gets by you so fast. It feels as if it was still yesterday that we were bullying each other and laughing beside each other. I adored my big brother a lot. His absence always bothered me. The photograph made it worse for me. Tears started building up in my eyes. Unable to bear the separation, I started sobbing. That night was the only time I cried after the accident. I felt so alone. It was as if I was a single warrior going against an army of thousands.