"Abhira!" He bellowed.
"Armaan!" Their thundering voices shook Rohit, much reminiscent of his childhood, when Dadisa tore apart their father or when his parents squabbled. He was with the rest of the family for dinner when their argument burst beyond closed doors.
The dishes fell on the table as they rushed to see the commotion upstairs.
"You don't get to make unilateral decisions anymore. We're married, Abhira. Do you understand that?" His arms swung in the air, frazzled and frustrated.
Their room looked like a tornado had washed over it. Abhira's suitcase sprawled open with her clothes half-hazard thrown inside. Her textbooks are on the bed, with an offer letter from a firm in Delhi tucked inside like a bookmark. Armaan knew she'd get offers beyond his firm, and he expected them to discuss her options and their future. Their marriage wasn't an internship where she could resign with two weeks' notice and a suitcase in hand.
"Are we?" Abhira fought back the tears threatening to puddle in her eyes. She was Abhira Akshara Sharma - her resolve could not falter. She wouldn't let it, like her Mumma.
"What?" The sindoor on her forehead, the mangalsutra adorning her neck, and the photos on the wall of their togetherness in the last three years were all submitted as evidence of their union. What doubt was left? Armaan was flabbergasted.
Abhira scowled at the question in his eyes. It felt condescending and vicious. She handed him the divorce papers. "Dixit Sir sent them over this morning. He said Armaan asked for them."
Armaan's hand trembled. He hadn't meant for her to see it. Not like this. "I-" he couldn't argue anymore. He wanted to pull her into his embrace and apologize for the papers, for everything, but when he moved forward, she rescinded as if his touch was searing.
Abhira wouldn't let him coax her with false promises of love and forever anymore. If they were true, he wouldn't have requested the papers, her brain argued.
"Armaan?" His mother's voice alerted them to their family's presence. Everyone rushed inside, putting more distance between Armaan and Abhira. He hated how Abhira masked her vulnerability behind the crowd.
"Divorce papers?" Rohit asked. As discontent as they were with their marriage, his parents were tied by societal pressure and Dadisa's rules. Dadisa would never permit such a decision. It crossed his mind that for Abhira, Dadisa might bend her rules, but he hoped - nay, he prayed - Armaan wouldn't let it come to this. Rohit felt like his family was on the verge of a breakdown, with his Bhai and Bhabhi quarrelling.
A short lil drabble on my current ITV obsession ugh they're adorable and I'm so rooting for them and Rooh because she's Abhimanyu's baby.
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