The proposal

The debate did not stop. For the next two days, it consumed every second of their lives.

On the second day, Arjun was in the laundry room. The air was warm from the dryer. He was wearing a simple yellow cotton saree today, with a green border. His deep low-cut blouse was dark green, tightly hugging his large bust padding. The heavy gold mangalsutra hung perfectly down his cleavage. His face was still fully made up with kohl, eyeliner, and red lipstick. His red bindi and sindoor were perfectly in place.

He was folding Priya's old work towels, placing them in neat piles. The physical work usually calmed his anxious mind. He loved taking care of Priya. But today, every time his glass bangles clinked, it sounded like a ticking clock. Vikram was returning tomorrow morning.

Priya came into the laundry room and leaned against the doorframe. She watched his block heels tapping lightly as he moved between the dryer and the folding table.

"He is coming back tomorrow at 10 AM, Arjun," she said quietly.

Arjun didn't stop folding. "I know."

"Have you thought about his terrible conditions?" she asked. The words hung in the warm air, heavy and brutal.

Arjun dropped the towel he was holding. His hands started to shake. He grabbed the edge of the table. "Why are you doing this to me? Why are you pushing me into his arms?"

"Because I am trying to save your soul!" Priya shouted, finally losing her temper, her fiercely protective nature flaring up. "You think I want to hand you over to him? You think I want to sleep in a guest bedroom while my beautiful wife is treated like a prisoner by a man who stalked her? It makes me sick!"

She walked up to him and grabbed his shoulders, forcing him to look into her eyes. "But it is just a sick game to him, Arjun! It is just physical control. Your heart, your soul, your true devotion—that belongs to me. It will always belong to me. Even if he controls what you do, you will know in your mind that you did this for us. You did this to save our family."

Arjun looked into her desperate, terrified eyes. He saw how much she loved him, and how much she feared losing everything. She was a powerful woman, a provider, and now she had nothing to provide.

"Priya," Arjun whispered, tears flowing down over his thick mascara. "If I accept his conditions... if I become his lover... I will have to serve him. I will have to be his obedient pet. I don't know how to do that for a man."

"You just close your eyes and survive," Priya said, pulling his heavily padded chest against her, hugging him tightly. Her voice was muffled against his thick hair. "You keep your sarees. You keep your bangles. You keep your makeup. You live in a beautiful house. And I will be there. I will be working in the city, making millions again, and when I come home, I will look at you across the dinner table. We will not be allowed to touch, but I will know you are safe. Please, Arjun. Say yes."

Arjun buried his hairless face in her shoulder. His silver anklets chimed softly as he trembled. He was starting to break. The logic was too heavy. The fear of putting on male clothes was too strong. Slowly, painfully, he realized she was right. To save his feminine identity, he had to sell his body to Vikram.

"Okay," Arjun whispered into her shoulder, feeling his heart shatter into pieces. "Okay. Tomorrow morning. I will tell him yes."

Priya let out a massive, shaking breath of relief. She held him tighter, crying with him in the warm laundry room.