Author’s Note: Every one of my women with spunk stories are true stories, narrated to me by the women who went through these challenges in life, and overcame them with sheer grit and determination. Names have been changed to protect their privacy.

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It was a morning like any other as Bhoomija laid breakfast on the table. It was an unspoken rule that the daughter-in-law did not eat until the elders  of the house had their fill.

That morning, Ram’s mother did not turn up for breakfast. Bhoomija went and informed her a few times that breakfast was served, but her mother-in-law did not react to the summons.

Finally Ram asked Bhoomija to sit down and have breakfast as his mother seemed to be deep in prayer. No sooner had Bhoomija sat down to eat than her mother-in-law stormed out of the room, demanding to know how Bhoomija had dared to eat before she had.

This time, Ram was an eye witness to the sequence of events that happened before his mother had a chance to spin it in her favour. He stood up for Bhoomija and informed his mother that she was indeed requested to join them for breakfast multiple times.

At this, Ram’s mother accused Bhoomija of weaving a spell on her son, who was now hearing things out of thin air. Her tirade continued as it always had for the past few years.

At that moment, something within Bhoomija simply broke.

Every single slight, insult and taunt of the past few years ran through her mind like a silent movie in all its macabre glory. Parts of her could not believe she let someone treat her this way for the most part of a decade. Parts of her could not handle the overwhelming onslaught of emotions that threatened to drown her in their wake. Parts of her woke up from a decade long slumber and lashed back with superhuman strength.

The dining table was huge and seated sixteen people. In one swift movement, Bhoomija had upturned the entire table, breakfast contents included. She then proceeded to break several dining chairs as white hot rage coursed through her.

She then looked at Ram with fire in her eyes and said her piece:

For over a decade, you all have systematically broken my backbone
I am dependent on all of you and questioned on every rupee I spend
I am a slave in my own home
Ram, you need to take a stand right here and right now.  Either you choose your mother, or you choose your wife and son.
It is clear to me that her sole aim in life is to ruin ours.
Enough is enough. I am walking out right here, right now.

For the first time ever, Ram’s mother looked terrified instead of the other way round. She implored Bhoomija to calm down. But Bhoomija was beyond calming down. She silently walked out, Luv in tow.

Ram came a few hours later and asked her to give him some time to find a place of their own. Bhoomija continued to stay with her father for three more months until Ram could afford to rent a place of their own.

It was at this point that Ram went through a reality check of his own. He was working with his father in the same business. There was no regular monthly income, as it was “all in the family”. Consequently, Ram and Bhoomija had no savings to their name nor a steady stream of income. The rainy day that most people save for had arrived, but neither of them had a cent to their name. That realisation hit home more than anything did. It opened his eyes to the fact that he was no less under his parents’ thumb than Bhoomija had been. Between his financial dependence and dominating her life, his parents had total control over his family without him even realising it.

Until today.

It took a few months of demanding a salary and consciously saving up, but Ram was finally able to afford to rent a place of their own and the three of them attempted to join back the shattered pieces of their life.

Even though they had separated and finally begun a life without Ram’s parents controlling every aspect of it, his parents still continued to find ways to wield control. They tried their best to monopolise Ram’s time so that he would have very little time left to spend with Bhoomija and Luv.

Ram was more in tune with what was happening by this time and he refused to be blind any more. Differences and arguments escalated until his family asked him to step away from the business as well. They probably intended to cripple him financially to ensure his return to their house. But it had quite the reverse effect on Ram.

While both Ram and Bhoomija faced some challenging times without a steady income and a child to support, in the long run this was the best thing that could have happened to them. This last action of Ram’s family to oust him from the business spurred him into action like nothing else could. Within a few short months, he had his own business up and running and slowly but surely they began to experience true financial independence.

Her in-laws were by now mortally afraid of permanently losing their son. They kept attempting to influence him, and whisper in his ear. Ram was torn between his parents and his wife and son, desperately trying to keep both sets of people he deeply loved happy. In his heart of hearts, he knew it would eventually come down to a choice, but he wasn’t quite ready to take that step yet.

Meanwhile, Bhoomija could see how Ram’s parents still had their hold over their son and despair began to set in. Slowly, Bhoomija began to feel that their control and hold would be something that she would have to endure lifelong. And with this feeling, her depression took hold of her even more  strongly than before.

Bhoomija began to contemplate ending it all. Not by walking away, but by ending her own life.

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