by Swarna islam
Chapter-1
"Listen, girl, I will never be able to give you the rights of a wife."
Nila, dressed in a heavy red Banarasi sari, was sitting in the middle of the bed, her face buried in her knees. Suddenly, she lifted her head at the sound of a deep, masculine voice. Sadness was etched clearly on her face, her eyes unnaturally red, showing she had probably cried a lot. Yet, hearing those words from her husband on their wedding night, all her sorrows seemed to vanish in an instant. She stared at him blankly, unsure if she had misheard or if her husband had really said those words.
Seeing Nila like that, Nihal repeated, "You are not my choice, I married you out of my own will." The moment those words reached her ears, Nila looked at him with shattered eyes. It was as if she couldn't believe her own ears. She wanted to scream and cry, but the tears wouldn't stop. With immense effort, she tried to steady herself and looked at him with questioning eyes. A few rebellious tears slid down her cheeks and mixed with the folds of her red sari. Using the back of her hand, she wiped them away and asked, "Then why did you marry me?"
Without answering, Nihal picked a T-shirt and pants from the wardrobe and walked toward the bathroom. Nila, waiting for a response, stared at him, but seeing him ignore her and head to the bathroom, she asked again, "Why did you marry me then? To ruin my life?"
Nihal paused at the bathroom door and looked at her. "I, Redwan Chowdhury Nihal, do not justify my actions to anyone. I hope you do not have the courage to ask again." Saying this, he entered the bathroom and slammed the door shut.
Nihal, a handsome 28-year-old man, was married to Niharika Noor Nila, a 17-year-old college student. Pressured by family, he had reluctantly married her. But marrying a girl barely grown to womanhood still filled him with anger every time he thought about it.
He stood under the shower for nearly twenty minutes, his eyes red and fiery, as if they wanted to burst from their sockets. His body trembled from the water, but his hands did not intervene to stop it.
Forty minutes later, Nihal stepped out, and for a moment, he glanced at the bed, noticing the petite woman in the red Banarasi sari curled up, asleep. Instantly, he looked away, took a pack of cigarettes from the drawer, and went to the balcony.
Tonight, Nila's world seemed utterly dark. All the hidden pain in her chest wanted to escape. Her tears fell freely on the pillow, her hands exhausted from wiping them away. Her eyes were swollen, red, and utterly defiant.
The excessive crying made her head throb as if her neurons were about to explode. Nothing else could she think of, yet her rebellious eyes refused to rest. Perhaps seeing her in such anguish, a little pity overcame Nihal's heart, and he allowed her to drift into sleep despite her throbbing head and tear-streaked face.
It was around 2:45 a.m. Nihal stood on the balcony, exhaling smoke into the emptiness. By now, he had finished nearly eleven cigarettes. His burning eyes stared into the distant sky like a lover, the moonlight casting an even more terrifying glow on them. Cold gusts brushed against him, yet sweat soaked his T-shirt. Sleep would not come tonight, so he sat in the balcony chair, closed his eyes, but soon, his restless mind made him rise again to smoke.
To be continued…
#Romance #Drama #Marriage #Emotional #Mature #Suspense #NewAuthor