1 Chapter 1

Fifteen days earlier...

It was only a couple of weeks into the marriage when Rohan took Sneha into the office to introduce her to his colleagues. Even though most of his male colleagues were looking her up and down, Rohan was bothered more about what Stella's reaction would be. Stella had been his girlfriend for the past five months. Oblivious to the dynamics of her husband and a woman she didn't know, Sneha enjoyed being the center of attention.

While everyone was chatting, one of her husband's colleagues, Paritosh, took the opportunity to engage Sneha in conversation, asking her with a smirk, "Has your husband told you yet that he's divorcing you?"

Paritosh had a reputation for gossip, regularly listening in on other people's conversations, and he knew about Rohan and Stella and the conversations they had had in the past.

Sneha was stunned at this, coming as it did from a person who barely knew her; so stunned in fact that she could barely speak. They had only been married for fifteen days, for heaven's sake!

She controlled herself and said, "Are you mad?"

Paritosh, a small pasty looking specimen of manhood, was expecting this and just shrugged, replying, "You'll soon see", while looking over pointedly at Stella and Rohan, who were deep in conversation.

Sneha watched the two from a distance and couldn't help but notice their close proximity. She navigated her way through the office and upon reaching them the two gave her a surprised look as if they weren't expecting her to barge in on their discussion. Sneha, who was feeling extremely jealous, said, "Hi" to Stella and asked Rohan if they could go home. Rohan agreed reluctantly.

Stella gave her a really dirty look and barely managed to say, "Hi," back to her, but, after a short pause, she added, "Bye." As Sneha and Rohan turned to leave, Stella said, "See you tomorrow, Rohan." Sneha was startled; tomorrow was Sunday.

Stella was a good-looking girl with a milky white complexion; she was about 5' 2" tall and had hair that fell to her shoulders. That day she was wearing a knee-length grey skirt paired with a lavender shirt. However, she always wore very strong perfume, which really annoyed her colleagues.

He wasn't sure about his feelings for her but had started to like Stella's presence. Stella told Rohan that she loved him within two months of them being together. It was five months now and Rohan felt obligated to tell Stella that he loved her too. At least he was beginning to like her company and had started to imagine his life with her.

The human mind gets so conditioned to its immediate surroundings that any shift from the current, cosy comforts of everyday routine tends to make that life complicated. The 'frog in the well' syndrome manifests itself and change becomes difficult. Perhaps this was the reason why people don't want to explore new surroundings or different situations. New situations pose challenges that cause discomfort in their lives. Swimming in the same current brings comfort; tides may throw you into a storm exposing you to a world of shock (although this was not always the case).