Anika slowly opened her eyes, but didn’t dare to move. She took in her surroundings with her senses. Everything seemed to be surprisingly calm except for the slow hum of an air conditioner.

Her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness as the last memory came to her in a flash.

The man had carried her to his bed, and the fragrant petals she smelled, confirmed she was on the same bed that was decorated for the wedding night.

She pulled the edge of the blanket over her ears, desperately wondering if there was anyone in the house she could get help from.

Help for what? To stay alive?

She took a deep breath refusing to let the fear consume her again. Her mind threw in different ideas of escaping, but she knew the moment she was found missing, her crazy aunt would have no mercy on her family.

She lay on her side, barely moving a muscle as she re-played the events over the past few days. A slight movement followed by a ruffling sound brought her out of the haze of the night.

She froze in cold fear when she realized the man she feared the most was only a few feet away from her. She shut her eyes, and held her breath, pretending to be asleep. She lay still until the early hours of the morning, unable to go back to sleep due to the fear of the unknown.

An alarm went off while the sun had barely risen. She heard the man getting up, and moving around the room. She heard the sound of typing on a keyboard, and later there was a scrape of a chair. A door opened and then shut.

After what seemed like only a few minutes, she heard the man return and walk past the bed. There was a sound of a heavy door opening.

The cool morning breeze blew over her, making her burrow into the bedding even more. A constant and continuous whirring sound of some kind filled up the next thirty minutes. Then a little later, there were masculine grunts as something was being systematically punched.

The punching stopped, and she heard the footsteps return to the room. She held her breath when the footsteps sounded louder as they approached the bed.

There was no sound or movement of any kind. The tense silence made her tremble deep inside. She tried to relax by staying still and regulating her breathing.

“If you are done pretending to be asleep, I need to talk to you.” The man’s deep voice resonated in her ears, making her shudder.

She wanted to ignore him, but if she had to stay alive, she needed to follow his orders. She slowly opened her eyes and looked into the dark eyes that threatened to make her have a nervous breakdown. “I-I wasn’t pretending. I just wanted to stay out of your way.”

There was silence.

Then his nostrils flared. “I know you didn't want to get married to me, but it's too late. You better accept the situation now.”

“I-I don’t want to be your wife.”

“Too bad. You are already my wife, and what you saw outside the Singham temple is the way of life here. Accept it,” he growled out.

“I want to…I…” She lost her voice when he crossed his arms in front of his broad chest waiting for her to complete.

Something flickered in his eyes, but it was gone before she could decipher it. “You need to follow every order I pass here. You have no choice, and there are no exceptions.”

She nodded, looking down at the pattern on the blanket.

“Look at me when I talk to you.” It was a demand, and she obeyed instinctively. “Do not go out. Remain inside until I take you with me. And when I do, you will not utter a word about your family to anyone. Never discuss anything about the families. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“You will sleep next to me on my bed and not elsewhere like you tried to do last night.” His voice was deep and gruff, making her shiver constantly with fear.

“Okay.” She felt the burn behind her eyes as she accepted whatever the man was throwing at her like she was a meek mouse. She hated herself at that moment. She hated what the circumstances were turning her into.

“I also don’t want a repeat of your performance from yesterday morning before the wedding. If you damage anything deliberately, I’ll teach you a lesson that’ll make you regret your tantrums.” His eyes bore into hers.

“It wasn’t a tantrum. I was being forced and… I don’t even know you.”

There was another eerie silence. “It’s already done. You are a Singham now.”

Everything inside her rebelled at those words, but she held her tongue.

“Even though I trust my people to an extent, I don’t want you to trust anyone except Dev or me.”

She stared at him blankly, not understanding what he meant. There was no way she could trust anyone, not even her own so-called family in India, let alone her new husband.

“Do you understand that?” he snapped, making her jump, and nod vigorously.

“Stop being so jumpy, it’s annoying,” he growled.

Before she could respond, he turned away and disappeared into the bathroom.

She lay back on the bed and closed her eyes. She was fighting tears when she heard him return and move around the room. Was this going to be her life if she ended up being stuck here forever? A meek wife to an indifferent, cruel man she was bound to for life?

No! She refused to give up. She had to find a way out of this mess.

She heard the door shut behind him, on his way out. She got down slowly from the bed and stood on her shaking legs. The traditional outfit she wore felt like a cactus field. The first thing she wanted to do was to get out of it, burn it, if possible. She went straight into the bathroom and shut the door. She cursed when she realized that there was no lock on the door, not that a lock would make her feel any safer.

She turned on the faucet to fill the tub in the massive bathroom, and slid into the water. Her skin felt the relief from the warm water, but her muscles remained tensed.

How long did she have before the man decided to start forcing her on their marital bed to make her conceive?

Fear gripped her body, making her tremble at the prospect of spending her days being hurt, body and soul.  

Almost an hour of soaking didn’t help relax her muscles. She washed off the soap and reached for a towel wrapping it around her body. She was drying her damp hair with another towel when she heard a sound outside.

She gasped when the bathroom door flew open, and the man stood still, filling the frame. She froze as her mind went blank. She wanted to scream, but she was too scared to do anything.

Moments passed, and then the man took a few steps towards her, making her grip her towel as her lifeline.

He came to a stop, only a foot away from her, and raised his arm, making her flinch and shut her eyes.

“I told you to stop being so jumpy,” he growled making her look at him again.

She wanted to shout back at him, asking him to stop being scary, but she could not.

His hand moved past her, reaching for something behind her on the vanity. It was a sleek phone, and he had forgotten it on the counter.

He turned around without another word and was gone leaving her shaking and shivering.

 

*****

 

After several minutes, when she was sure he was gone, she stepped out of the bathroom. She pulled out the first things she could reach in her bags and threw them on quickly.

Her stomach rumbled at the smell of food. She had no appetite due to her nervousness and fear. Then she reminded herself that she needed the energy for her brain to come up with a good plan.

She followed the aroma of the food to a small dining nook within the suite. The food was placed on a wheeled cart. Wondering who had brought the cart in, she lifted the covers. Then without even noticing what the breakfast was, she devoured most of it.

She also wondered why the person who had brought the food didn’t wait to introduce themselves. Maybe it was another warning for her to stay in the room, and not interact with anyone.

The man had not only ordered her to stay, but also warned her of the consequences.

What would he do if she broke his rules? Beat her? No, not beat her. She recalled his conversation with his brother about hitting a woman. He may not hit her, but he was not opposed to the idea of killing her if she disobeyed. Apparently, for the man she was married to, killing a woman was supposedly better than hurting her.

She shuddered. She could not risk being killed, trying to escape, because that would risk the life of her loved ones.

Feeling defeated, she stood up to explore the large master bedroom suite which was almost as big as her apartment back home.

She walked around cautiously, noticing a corner with a sleek laptop. The man had spent time earlier that morning, typing something.

She sat at the desk and turned on the laptop.

She knew her aunt was probably watching her every move, and maybe even had spies at this place. And if she attempted to warn her family, Neelambari would know immediately.

The laptop screen displayed a single profile. It simply said Abhay Singham. She clicked on it, but to her disappointment, it was password protected.

Frustrated, she looked around the desk, and noticed a stack of books, lined neatly on a bookshelf on one side. She reached for one of them, hoping to find some solace within the pages.

She was an avid reader, and could spend days reading just about anything if she had the time. But lately with her long shifts at the hospital, she missed reading.

She picked out a few more books on random from the shelf and walked towards the balcony. Opening the door, she settled into one of the chairs, and delved into the book, hoping the book would take her mind off her reality.

She heard the door of the suite open and realized it was lunch time. She placed the book on a side table and rushed into the suite. A woman was just about to leave after having placed a wheeled cart with dished on top.

“Wait!”

At her urgent voice, the woman stopped and turned. Seeing the look of utter loathing on the woman's face, Anika’s voice died. The woman turned away and left the room.

The same woman brought in snacks and dinner later that day, and her expression and attitude remained the same.

Each time Anika tried to make eye contact or greet her somehow, it was met with an angry silence. Dejected, she lost hope in making the woman her ally.

Finishing her dinner early, she placed the books back in their original places. It was only eight in the evening, but she went to bed early, wanting to avoid any confrontation with the man who was supposedly her husband.