Arranged marriage! Arranged. Marriage. A combination of two words that was completely alien to anyone who was not born and brought up in India. However, in India, it was the norm even in 2019. Well, maybe not "the norm". Love marriages were becoming more and more commonplace in India too, but it was a far smaller number in comparison to arranged marriages. The way it worked was, matrimonial profiles were created for both girls and boys which included their basic information like height, weight, complexion, salary, etc and also a little family background. Based on this information, the parents set up the initial conversation, after which the boy and girl officially met, and a decision was taken altogether. Let that sink in.
It was far better since the 2000s. In the previous millennium, the opinion of the boy and girl would hardly matter, and the parents would okay the proposal. The Girl's opinion, especially was not even asked and there were occasions where the girl would meet the boy for the first time during engagement. Now, however, things changed drastically, and the girls became more and more demanding and hence, a balance was being achieved. But it was not being achieved fast enough, according to Anitha.
Anitha was a 25-year-old software engineer in one of the largest banking companies and was currently located in Miami. Anitha was placed there as a Btech graduate and had gone on-site to Miami within a year. A lot of eyebrows were raised and lot of people suggested it had something to with her being a girl. It was an expected suggestion since she was gorgeous. She was quite tall at nearly 6 feet. So white that she hardly needed any makeup. But her breasts, solid D cups was something to die for. She was aware of her beauty since she had been the object of desire for all the boys around her since she was 15. However, she hardly ever reciprocated since she had a dark side.
Anitha hated men! It was a dangerous, spirited hatred that started with her dad. Her dad had wanted a boy when she was born and never passed an opportunity to tell her as such. Her mom got pregnant two more times and miscarried both times through no mistake of her own. That did not prevent him from blaming her for them and he had been both verbally and physically abusive with her right in front of Anitha. Admittedly, he never laid a hand on Anitha, though. That did not mean she forgave him. It was when Anitha eventually went into the states that her dad was ashamed of himself and repeatedly asked her to forgive him. But she never forgave him and was always very cut-and-right with him and spoke with him in one-word sentences while being warm towards her mother.
Once she reached Miami, however, the story changed a little. If men were behind her all the time in India, it was nothing compared to the way she was treated here. Men of all ages were propositioning her all the time. Under peer pressure from her new female colleagues/friends she let her hair down and had sex for the first time the previous year and, surprisingly, she ended up loving it. It was amazing and she went on many dates with different guys. She had one credo, though. She was always dominant with them and the men, after one look at her, never minded. She was always on top. She decided where to go on dates, what to do, etc and while the men were troubled by this, they had no problems when she insisted on paying up wherever she went.
One of the men eventually introduced her to BDSM and the she was hooked. Sex took second place to it and very soon, she became an unprofessional dominatrix. The boys in her life were her slaves now. She brought herself a proper flat and made any boy she was dating her servant there. He had to be naked! Do all the chores and had to wear a chastity belt and a dog collar and was frequently on a leash. Any man who protested would be beaten up because Anitha had been a Karate purple belt in India at the age of 19 itself. She had learnt it specifically to ward off unwanted male advances and she now used it to subjugate any unwilling boyfriend. In fact, the girls from her all-girls karate class were her true friends and they were the only ones she remained in touch with. While the men liked her forceful nature at first, and willingly submitted to her they very soon ran away from her screaming and this frequently left her servant-less. She decided the only solution was to get married and communicated it to her parents. She informed that her only condition for the marriage was that the boy should not work after marriage and come and live with her on a dependent Visa.
Such an arrangement was not unheard of. But it usually worked in reverse. A US-based guy would marry girls with the same condition. Now, when the parents heard of her request - no, her condition- for such a reversed role, they were shocked. Her mother said that it would not be possible. Her dad, however, immediately agreed to it for two reasons. The first one was that he wanted to get back in his daughter's good books. The second one was that, through an incredible coincidence, he knew a guy who wanted exactly that.
Karthick was a 6-foot-tall 27 year-old who was also looking to marry. He too, was a software engineer. However, unlike Anitha, he hated it even though he was beyond exceptional at it. He always wanted to become a cricket player, but owing to his dad's penury, he had to forgo all those dreams to study. Once he was in a job, he filed three patents on digital security in his first year. He then sold those patents to his own company. He used the money he received to clear off all his dad's debts in a single go. Now, his parents were in a situation where they could live off his dad's pension. He was also going to receive royalties from his patents to boot, which he also ensured went to his parents. As a result, he made a decision that would seal his fate and lead him down into a dark and horrifying path called Anitha. While his parents repeatedly tried to change his mind, he was adamant that he would no longer work. He hated software jobs. He had actually found a part-time hobby as a game caster. He liked it, and, he reasoned, if he married a girl working in US, he could continue that hobby and make a career out of it. Of course, this would mean that the girl would be the provider and he would be a house-husband. But, Karthik had been very helpful to his mom from a young age and was very good at the household chores. He had no shame in admitting that this was what he wanted.
Anitha's dad approached Karthik's dad (yes, that is how it worked) and Karthik jumped at the opportunity. He stood up to both his parents and said, "I am agreeing to this. Yes, it is uncommon. But, it was also uncommon to file three patents at the age of 23 and give you buttloads of money. When you accepted that, you should accept this as well." So saying, he called Anitha's dad and gave them his consent.
Anitha was flabbergasted when she heard that her dad had found someone so quickly. She was thinking it would take months to find a guy like that, because, even in 2019, majority of Indian boys expected girls - even girls who were equally earning/educated - to be the ones working in the house. She looked at his photo and had to admit that he was cute. However, she was not just content with the husband working around the house. He had to be her slave. Completely. She wanted her husband to be naked, leashed and doing all the work with a chastity belt. She had figured her parents would need to wait for at least a year to find someone who accepted to be a house husband. Her plan had been to then bring him out here on a dependent visa, lock up his passport/visa documents, and then slowly turn him into her slave. Now, she had to move up all her plans and she was nervous. However, she decided not to look at a gift Horse in the mouth and agreed to at least meet him when she went down to India next week.
Once she reached Bangalore airport, she went outside to hail a cab. She had told her parents she would come on her own. Suddenly, a black Innova came to a stop next to her and two arms pulled her in. She was shocked and was ready to kick and fight when she saw it was her Karate friends. They loaded all her luggage, sent them to her house in a following Sedan driven by a driver and took her to their favourite park. Anitha, despite the jet lag did not complain.
Due to another bizarre coincidence - well, it started out bizarre for Karthik and ended up being disastrous - he was in the same park. He was shocked to see Anitha with her friends. He checked his phone more than once to confirm it was her and wanted to talk to her. However, he was woefully shy in front of women and the sight of so many women made him nervous. Against his better judgment, he followed them. When they sat a Gazebo to catch up, Karthik did something. He could not explain the logic behind his action 10 minutes later. IN fact, even ten years later, he would not be able to explain the logic behind his next action. He hid behind a tree and listened to them talking.
The topic quickly came to Anitha's marriage where she informed her friends about her wishes.
"I need the man I marry to be my naked slave. He will be naked around the house all the time and do all the chores while I kick back and relax. I don't know why, but it gives me great pleasure."
Whaaaaaat? What kind of a wish was that? And, why was he getting hard hearing this? Karthik had no idea why he was getting an erection but he decided in a second he was not going through with this. Unfortunately, for him, he did not have that option.
"It gives you great pleasure. As in, you have had such an arrangement already," Lakshmi, one of her friends and the shrewdest one in the group, asked. In fact, even though she was the same age as Anitha, she was already one level above her in terms of job position and would be promoted again in another two months. Lakshmi was that efficient.
Anitha smiled. Nothing went past Lakshmi. "Yes. Most of my relationships have been like that. I want my husband to be like that, too. In any case, this clown does not want to work. So, there is no reason for him to reject it. But, do you think he will accept?"
Lakshmi's reply shocked Anitha and sent a blood-curdling chill through Karthik.
"Well, he is hiding behind that tree, peeping on us. So, why don't we ask him?"
Karthik was rooted to the spot. He was not peeping on them. He was just listening. The distinction was huge. However, the distinction did not seem to be important to them.
"Come on out, Rat." Lakshmi called out. "Did you seriously think I did not see you? I saw you as you started following us - staring at our asses all along - and confirmed that you are the groom. I was giving you an opportunity for the last 20 minutes to do the gentleman thing which is to either leave or come and talk to us. Now, come out before I get there and drag you out."
Karthik did come out. Rat? Karthik should have been outraged, but he felt only fear. He could see from the girls' builds that they were karate fighters while he neither knew any fighting technique nor did he have any upper body strength. It took all his will power not to come out with his hands up. He was that scared.
As soon as he got within reach, Lakshmi kneed his groin. Karthik fell down shrieking.
Karthik started grumbling. "Please, Anitha. I was not peeping. I was just listening to you people."
Lakshmi kicked his butt. It was so painful and also humiliating that Karthik started sobbing.
"You address her - in fact, all of us - as madam or ma'am."
