Page 80 of Strictly Solo
“What’s going on?” he asked, trying to understand.
Ryma sighed heavily, her shoulders slumping as she turned to face him fully.
“I came back because I’ve decided…I’m getting a divorce.”
His eyes widened in shock.Divorce?He couldn’t believe it, though he knew she had struggled in her marriage for a few months now. “You…you’re serious?”
Ryma nodded. “Yes. I am. I need to end this, Ruhaan. That’s why I’m here. I couldn’t tell you or Mom over the phone. I’m flying to Chandigarh this evening to talk to my in-laws’ face to face.”
Ruhaan opened his mouth to respond, but before he could say anything, his mother did.
“How could you, Ryma? How could you even think of ending your marriage? It’s like neither of my children respects the sanctity of marriage anymore! My son doesn’t want to settle down, and now my daughter wants to break her vows? What will people say? Do you think anyone will respect us after this?”
Ruhaan saw the pain in Ryma’s eyes, the internal conflict she had struggled with. She was his strong, intelligent, and compassionate sister. And ifshehad decided to end her marriage, he knew she hadn’t done so lightly.
“Mom, please—” Ryma started, but Kaushalya wasn’t finished.
“In our times, we made marriages work. We didn’t just give up when things got difficult. What example are you setting for your younger cousins? And you!” She turned to Ruhaan. “If you had settled down by now, at least I could have shown people that one of my children understands family values!”
Now Ruhaan’s patience snapped. “Enough, Mom! This isn’t about what people will say. This is about Ryma’s life.” He moved to stand beside his sister, placing a protective hand on her shoulder. “Ryma isn’t making this decision on a whim. If she’s made this decision, she must have thought it through carefully. She’s a grown woman who deserves our support.”
“Support?” Kaushalya snapped. “You want me to support the breaking of a sacred bond?”
“I want you to support your daughter,” he said firmly. “For once, think about what Ryma needs, not what society expects.”
Her eyes filled with tears. “None of you will understand what a mother goes through.” She turned and stormed back into the kitchen, the sound of pots and pans clattering in her wake. Her retreat left a tense silence in the room before he turned back to Ryma, gently resting a hand on her shoulder.
“What happened? Tell me everything.” He guided her to the couch. “I thought you and Soham were working things out after... after what he did. Didn’t he end things with… the other woman?”
Ryma let out a heavy sigh, glancing away for a moment as if gathering her strength.
“Yes, he did. He broke it off as soon as the family found out, but it wasn’t enough, Ruhaan. We tried. Or at least I did. But every time I looked at him, all I could see was his betrayal. The trust... it just never came back. Every time I looked at him, I just… remembered. And it hurt too much.”
Ruhaan listened silently. It wasn’t the outcome he’d hoped for her, yet he understood.
“Ryma,” he murmured, “I can’t tell you how sorry I am that you had to go through this.” He pulled her into a comforting hug, his embrace offering the silent support he wished he could have given her sooner.
She smiled softly and then pulled back.
“I know. And believe it or not, I’m okay with this. Soham and I have been living apart for over a month. And you know what’s funny? This time, he didn’t even try to win me back. Maybe he’s as tired as I am of pretending. We’re both done trying to force something that’s already broken. I came here to tell you and Mom because I needed you both to understand that this ismychoice, and I stand by it.”
He let out a deep breath, nodding.
“And you spoke to him about divorce?”
“Yes. He agreed without much resistance.” A bitter smile crossed her face. “Mutual consent is probably the only thing we’ve agreed on in months.”
Ruhaan felt her shoulders tremble slightly as he pressed them to comfort her.
“Honestly? I’m relieved,” he said. “Ever since he cheated, I kept hoping you’d realize that you deserve better, that you didn’t have to stay in this marriage. I’m glad you’re finally doing what’s right for you. This is exactly why I say marriage is overrated. People put so much emphasis on this institution, but in the end—”
“Stop right there,” Ryma cut him off. “You can’t generalize like that. Don’t you dare use my situation to justify your fears about marriage. What happened between Soham and me isourstory, not the universal truth.”
“But Ryma—”
“No, listen to me,” she insisted, grabbing his hand. “A marriage’s success or failure lies in the hands of the two people in it. You can’t build theories based on the few broken marriages you’ve witnessed. When two people truly love each other, when they’re willing to give their all, when they can’t imagine life without each other – marriage becomes beautiful. It becomes a sacred bond that can withstand anything. Not every relationship is meant to work, true, but that doesn’t mean the whole institution is flawed.”
Ruhaan fell silent, his mind drifting to darker memories: his aunt’s suicide after her marriage crumbled, her son running away to escape the constant fighting. He thought of his friends trapped in loveless marriages for their children’s sake, and now his own sister, Ryma, another painful example of broken vows, joining the list of failed relationships he’d witnessed.
