silence. So I walked up to the bedside table and picked up his phone
to put it on silent. It buzzed again. A Whatsapp message flashed in
the notifications. It was from someone called Kristin: Miss ur body
honey. Wish I had u with me tonight.
Kristin had sent pictures of her body too.
I came back to bed. I didn’t feel bad. In fact, I felt light. I had to
make a tough decision and that decision had just been made for me.
Legible entry #5
13 June 2008
My marriage is over.
I left London without telling anyone and came home. I landed in
Delhi this morning. When I told Mom everything, she wanted me to
take the next flight back, and she had to call Dad. I told her I had
decided I was not going back, no matter what Dad said.
‘He seemed so nice,’ Dad said at dinner without looking at me.
I explained Rohan to them. Rohan liked to conquer. Whether it is
a hotel property or his wife, he liked the thrill of chasing more than
what he chased.
'I said no to him. He had to have me. Once he did, he didn’t care,’
I said I skipped some stuff. I didn’t say how he used to force himself
on me when he was drunk. I didn’t say anything about Rohan’s
mother asking her son to teach me a lesson, or about Kristin.
'Rohan’s mother controls him. And she doesn’t like me,’ is all I
said.
‘Women have to learn to adjust, beta,’ my mother said.
‘Adjust? How does one adjust to violence?’
I lifted my left hand to show her the swelling. Rohan had pushed
me and I had broken my wrist.
'What will people say?’ Mom blurted out.
Let's find out.
Legible entry set #6