[Nsme]

Days moved fast. Vicky and Sandhya had blended into their new life in Hyderabad very beautifully.

After the lessons learned from their Bangalore life, Vicky and Sandhya began giving high priority to their physical health and fitness. There was a modern gym right inside the massive apartment complex where they had moved in.

Going to the gym together as husband and wife every morning to work out became a regular habit for them. Encouraged by Sandhya, Vicky now worked out daily and had begun transforming his body into a toned physique.

Moreover, since Vicky's new office was located very close to their apartment, his workload and stress had reduced significantly without any traffic jams or exhausting commutes. With the gym in the morning, work during the day, and a marital life brimming with love and lust at night, their lives settled into a beautiful routine.

However, Divya's situation in Chennai was the exact opposite of this.

Day by day, Ganesh's behavior was causing Divya immense mental distress and frustration. Earlier, the lack of a sexual relationship between them was the only flaw; but nowadays, Ganesh lost his temper over everything. Arguing with Divya over the smallest things and snapping at her for no reason at all had become his daily habit. Not only that, at Ganesh's insistence, they had suddenly vacated the house they were living in and moved to another house in a slightly secluded area of Chennai.

For Divya, who was suffering in loneliness due to her husband's unreasonable anger, the only comfort at that time was Sandhya! In the afternoons, after Ganesh left for the office and the kids went to college, Divya would frequently call Sandhya in Hyderabad and talk. Sandhya, too, comforted her and kept her frustration in check.

While talking like that one afternoon, Sandhya asked, "Akka, how is the new house you've moved into in Chennai now?"

To that, Divya replied, "The house is quite comfortable, Sandhya. Most importantly, the house owner doesn't live nearby; they live out of town. In Chennai, it's very difficult to get an independent house like this without the owner living right next door. The kids' college is also conveniently close by. However, for your Mama, his office is a bit further away now than it used to be. Commuting back and forth every day is very tiring for him. Otherwise, it's okay."

With a sigh, Sandhya said, "Whatever it is, nothing compares to having your own house, Akka. But buying a house of our own in the city is very tough. Even when we were in Bangalore, Vicky suggested taking a home loan and buying a flat. I was the one who stopped him and said no."

"Why, Sandhya? You could have bought one, right?" Divya asked.

"No, Akka, a home loan is a huge trap. Everyone says, 'Instead of paying rent, you can just pay the EMI with that money.' But indirectly, an insane amount of money goes toward the interest alone. Instead of that, I told him we can save up money bit by bit and buy one later. Let's just pretend the money we pay for rent isn't even part of our salary... meaning, I clearly told Vicky let's assume that whatever comes to our hand after deducting the rent is our actual salary," Sandhya said.

In a slightly sad voice, Divya said, "What you say makes sense too, Sandhya... but your Mama doesn't have much in the name of savings at all. I don't even know when we will ever save up money and buy a house of our own... Anyway, leave it. When are you and Vicky coming here? Why don't the two of you come visit Chennai for a week? It would be a bit comforting for me," she invited her wistfully.

To that, Sandhya reassured her, "We will definitely come, Akka. Vicky has just joined his new company here. It wouldn't look good if he takes leave right away. Let a couple of months pass, and we will definitely come to Chennai."