Her Lifetime story

Kalyani’s hands were bloody from banging on the brick wall that kept he contained from the outside world. It was a wasted effort trying to escape, and she somehow knew it, but she tried anyway,
She put her back against the cold brick wall and sank down to her knees.
Tears began to fall from her eyes.
“At least he didn’t leave me outside,” she told herself.

Her husband did it again. It was now like a routine, but it came as a surprise to Kalyani every time it happened.

He used her. He took advantage of her ignorance. After he was done, he threw her in the basement. When he knew that she was done screaming and banging, his girlfriends trespassed on her used-to-be perfect life.

There were no windows; no light, no door; no way out, except from the door that she came in from, that was locked.

She looked at her bloody hands in despair. There was a light ring around her ring finger where her wedding band used to be. She missed her ring. She really did. She laid it down when she took a shower. When she came back, it was gone.

Her husband had taken it. He gave it away to one of his lady friends. Just like her diamond tennis bracelet, her golden earrings and the necklace that her mother gave her.

No one knew about Kalyani’s secret life in the small brick room. No one seemed to notice or care about the bruises on her face, hands and legs. She had no friends. It was just her and Richard.

“It’s my fault,” she told herself. “He has gotten tired of me and now I’m just like those wives on Lifetime.
My life is a Lifetime movie.”

She encountered this thought every night before she went to sleep. She never knew when her husband would wake up but she wouldn’t.

Kalyani was awakened by the sound of the basement door creaking open. A stream of bright light escaped from the room beyond the door. It exposed the profile of handsome but ugly husband.

“Honey,” he called to her. “Honey, are you ready to come back to the real world?
I brought you your favorite; Grilled chicken, Indian style.”

She smiled. He had thought about her, and brought her some food. She was so happy to see him. She forgot all about the beatings, the bruises and the twelve hours she just spent on the cold, uneven, unfinished floor.

She got up slowly due to the discomfort in her legs. She walked to the stairs and began her twelve step journey back to her real life.

When she got to the top, she could smell the sweet scent of women’s perfume which wasn’t hers. He smiled at her and reached for her to pull her closer for a quick hug.
She embraced it with fake warmth and a fake smile.
“Did you have a good time last night?” she asked, not really wanting to know the answer.
“Hmmm,” he replied. “I missed you.”
Good answer, she thought. He loves me.