Ours was an arranged marriage. Although I never had any faith in the concept of a marriage, the idea of an arranged one always made me uncomfortable. The thought of spending your whole life with a stranger is a bit odd, isn’t it? I wasn’t forced into the marriage, but my mom was persistent that it was time to get married. Moreover, she loved the wedding proposal that she had received from Arun’s family.
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It wasn’t love at first sight; however, my husband says that he knew I was the one for him since the day he saw me for the first time. Needless to say, I don’t trust his dialogue.
The beginning of our marriage has been the same as other arranged marriages. We were trying to understand each other and had to figure out whether we would need to work on our relationship or if it would turn out to be effortless and spontaneous. Since day one, I was judging Arun’s every move. I have a skeptical brain that is always busy doubting every action and reaction of another person. Even when Arun was being caring, I did not feel a connection.
My brain was always looking for a flaw because I couldn’t believe anybody can be 100 percent flawless. Nevertheless, he appeared to be a perfect, honest, caring, loving, kind and protective guy. It seemed that I had hit a jackpot, but my need to see a guy cross an ocean to show his love for me was not fulfilled yet.
One day during a quiet afternoon, we talked about almost every aspect of our lives: our dreams, desires, hopes and fears. This is when he mentioned that he is scared of dogs, both big and tiny breeds. I thought to myself that I finally discovered a flaw because I love my adorable pets, and they’re like family to me. I have six dogs at my parents’ house: four spitz and two pugs. I told him that I adore my sweethearts more than anything else. He smiled and said that he would not be able to stand them, and therefore, he would try to stay away from my furry friends on our visit to my parents’ house. He also added that he finds animals unhygienic.
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I felt heartbroken at that very moment. It was like I had woken up from a dream, and I wondered if a love marriage would really have been a better option. If I had been in a relationship with a guy, I would have known that he loved my pets, and we would have lived happily ever after. People who do not own and love pets might think that my reaction was quite bizarre, but I am sure that pet-lovers would be able to comprehend my state of mind.
Anyway, the day arrived when we visited my parents. My parents locked my pets in their bedroom so that they would not bother Arun. I did not like that my babies were being locked up because I was married to a guy who couldn’t stand them. I was going back and forth from one room to another to spend time with my babies and my husband. I did not say anything to Arun, but he sensed my disappointment in him.
After a while, he asked if I wanted to bring my babies into the room. My mom did not like the idea of doing anything to discomfort her new son-in-law, so she said that we should bring only one of them to his room. So, I took my dearest baby, Lily, in to meet him. Initially, Arun kept away from her, but slowly I noticed that he was trying to connect with her. He attempted to hold her and feed her, but this time, my adorable Lily was playing coy.
Later I asked him, “What happened to your fear of dogs?” He replied with the most beautiful words: “How can I be afraid of someone you love the most? I know that your babies mean the world to you, and I want to be a part of each world that you live in.” Those words eliminated all my doubts, and I knew that I would love this man with all my heart.
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