NO EXCUSES

Erin is sitting on the edge of the bed, lost deep in his thoughts. He wonders where he went wrong loving his wife. He gave her everything she asked for, more he wanted to surprise her with a diamond ring.

Anna knocks on the door with a tray in her hands. The soft knock distracts Erin, and he looks up at her sister.

“Erin, you have eaten nothing since morning. Please, grab some snacks or you will starve.” she requested him.

“I am not hungry, Anna!” Erin waves his hands.

“what is done, is done but life never ends this way. Have you ever thought about being happy for yourself?” Anna yells at him.

“What are you implying, Anna?” Erin asks in frustration.

“Since you have taken these responsibilities on your shoulders, I have never seen you genuinely happy for yourself. You are the eldest among us and this reason is enough to know that you worked hard to raise us but were you happy for yourself? I mean, you married because of your father's will and did what he asked you to do, like an ideal son and you were so busy being such an ideal person in everyone’s life that you forgot to be ideal for yourself.” she states in a single breath.

Erin thinks deeply about the facts, “I don’t know. Maybe you are right but does it matter?”

“Of course! I might have married against my father's will but look at me now, I Am blessed with a caring husband and a baby. I think you should reconsider your happiness too. Have you talked to them(parents)?”

Erin exhales and replies, “yeah! They are not happy with my decision. Dad wants me to abort thinking about divorce. Malina is dear to him because of his father’s relation with Dad.” there is a sign of disappointment in Erin’s voice.

“Maybe he doesn't want you to suffer.” Anna clarifies.

“She bedded that guy behind my back, I am not sure if there are more or not. I can’t live with this thought I was a loyal husband to her, but she wasn’t. It will be awkward to live together with her. More, she blamed it on me.” Erin holds his head in his hands.

Anna puts the tray on the nightstand and pats Erin’s back, “I think you should talk to Malina and her parents. Maybe, things will sort out. Everyone deserves a second chance.”

“This is about Malina’s second chance, not mine. But if you insist, I will talk to them personally.” Erin states and went to take a shower. He wears the same clothes he wore yesterday and left Anna’s house to the bus station.

He waits for the coach back to his home. There is a grim on his face as he thinks about the betrayal he received from his wife. Soon he reached the doorstep of his home but the place was empty. Her wife is nowhere to be seen.

Erin sighs and goes inside. The air inside the house is suffocating him, he leaves the house and goes to meet Malina’s parents. They live in the same town but the other end of the town.

There is this weird feeling in his guts that something is not right. Everything was wrong from the beginning, his heart knew but he denied it.

He wished for everything to work properly when the pieces were fixed incorrectly. He lied to his teeth, he shouldn’t have agreed on this marriage from first. 

Erin stands in front of the door and knocks anxiously. Malina opens the door and rolls her eyes at him.

“Why are you here? Your drama isn’t over yet?” she yells.

Erin looks at her in disbelief, “wait! What are you saying? What drama? You are the one who cheated on me and blamed me for everything. I am here to sort out everything.” Erin raises his voice.

“Who is on the door, Malie?” Malina’s mother asks. She makes a grumpy face to see Erin.

“Aren’t you satisfied with hurting my baby’s feeling that you showed enough courage to stand on my doorsteps?” Malina’s mother jabs.

“Stay back! Don’t you dare to get inside or i will call the police, you chauvinist pig. You raised your hands on my daughter but she stayed quiet. She never said a thing to us. All these years she suffered in silence but you, you were fucking hookers and sluts instead of earning money for her.”

It shocked Erin to hear such toxic words from his mother-in-law. But these words are Malina’s that she planted in her mother’s mind. He was speechless on how to defend himself. In their eyes, he is an abuser of their daughter but the reality is completely different.

“We have talked to your father about this matter. We will wait for the decision before taking you to the court.” Malina’s mother slams the door on Erin’s face.

Tears formed in Erin’s eyes. He has never been insulted like this before, more; they allege him for something he never did. He never raised his hands on Malina less talking about abusing her.

His heart is wrenching in pain. What does it leave in his life to achieve? The job he does is not enough to raise the family, now his wife is accusing him falsely more, she is the real cheater in the game.

Life is a bitch, he knows it clearly now. He has been so subtle on himself that he never cared for his happiness. Maybe the god is punishing him for not being clever and cunning than staying a simple and good-hearted guy.

He goes back to his home, and switches off his phone so no one can interact with him. No one is free enough to ask if he is all right. The marriage he thought is good and great is now broken and beyond repair.

The false allegation Malina made, irritates Erin. Why is she doing this? If she is in love with another guy, she could have simply accepted the fact but she is acting as a victim instead of a culprit.

This worries or troubles Erin to the core. Frustrated, he did something that no one has thought of. Ending his own life. 

He goes to the kitchen and grabs a sharp knife from the counter. With tears pouring out from his delicate eyes, he shuts them forcedly. Erin holds his breath and punctures the vein in his wrist.

The blood oozes like a fountain and soon Erin falls on the floor, unconscious because of blood loss.