Free A Perfect Mismatch by Leena Varghese

woman that you decide to bed, to beget them.”
    “And the man who marries you must certainly have the talent and the dexterity of a consummate fencing enthusiast. A lesser man would wilt without suitable armour to protect himself from your acidic tongue!”
    She held herself straight and looked into his eyes, “Like the way you would wilt if you didn’t wear the armour that Aparna so kindly suggested you do, to protect yourself from me?”
    So she had heard the comment. He should have stopped Aparna, Armaan thought regretfully. Whatever the relationship between him and his wife, no one had the right to butt in and pass comments. It had never been his intention to hurt Zara even though they had so much animosity between them. He had planned to keep it simple by not getting involved. He had never expected to feel … this strange attraction whenever she was around. It made him angry! Out of control! All his plans were being skewered by so many external and internal factors that he wasn’t in control anymore. Aparna’s silly jibe had been in bad taste, but for the life of him he could not bring himself to apologize to Zara. In a way it was beginning to sound true to him. That he needed armour to protect himself from Zara. Dammit! He was not supposed to feel this way!
    He walked into the bathroom and called out in a hard tone. “Let us get this damned honeymoon over with. It is beginning to feel like a curse!”
    “My sentiments exactly!” Zara called out as he shut the door of the bathroom with a bang. She sat heavily on the bed. It was time to play another farce.

4
    The clash of wills between mother and son continued on how long the honeymoon should last. Vini was adamant about a week while Armaan stuck mulishly to a measly two days including departure and arrival.
    The choice of destination was also a bone of contention but Zara put her foot down saying that she could not leave the country for a vacation as she had a ton of pending work at the office. Armaan agreed firmly on that decision with her. So they grudgingly agreed on Goa for a week. The only people excited about the honeymoon were the kids and they were not even going!
    The flight to Goa was pleasantly uneventful. They refused to acknowledge each other’s presence even though they sat together. The unspoken rule was to maintain distance and dignity without indulging in a volley of acrimonious words between them. Throughout the flight and the hour-long cab journey to the hotel Armaan held himself aloofexcept for a word here and there when conversation became necessary. Away from the prying eyes of family members, they did not have to pretend to be in the throes of marital joy.
    Zara’s mother-in-law had talked herself to a standstill with the list of instructions. Armaan had finally put a stop to the harangue with a sigh of exasperation, firmly telling his mother that he had already been to Goa several times and was not a wide-eyed tourist!
    They reached the hotel in the afternoon and were led into the lounge by a uniformed bellhop. Every nook of the reception was lavishly designed; the beautiful cottages were eco-friendly, ensconced within a cluster of palms with a tiny private garden that gave it an exotic look. The view from the luxurious living room with its wide glass windows was spectacular, the afternoon sun glinting on the cerulean Arabian Sea.
    “What in the world is this?”
    Zara was astonished to see the room covered in floral decorations, scented candles and glittering streamers festooned the bed from the ceiling to the floor.
    Armaan followed her into the room with the room service staff and looked askance at the red and gold motif of the honeymoon suite which his mother had arranged to be decorated. “Great! More flowers!” said Armaan with a fatal air.
    The staff wished Zara and Armaan, gushing effusive compliments. After he was gone, bowing and scraping obsequiously, Zara blurted out, “We don’t want this cottage!”
    For the next few