"What?"
"It's just dancing."
"Just dancing?"
Kabir pointed at his wife's face. "Do you know how many people have seen this?"
Kharisma shrugged. "So what?"
Kabir fell silent for a few seconds. He couldn't believe his wife's answer.
"Oh my God, Babe..." Kabir reached out his hand. "Give me your phone."
Kharisma immediately pulled her phone behind her back. "What for?"
"I want to see it."
"No!"
But Kabir had already grabbed the phone.
Kharisma tried to take it back. "Babe Kabir!"
"Be quiet for a second." Kabir entered the PIN he knew by heart.
Click.
Kabir continued staring at Sasti's phone screen, his brow furrowed. Something was wrong. "Wait."
Kabir turned to her. "Why did you change the PIN?"
Kharisma, who was standing beside the bed, only shrugged. "So what?"
"You usually use the date, month, and year of our wedding."
"Yeah. I just changed it." Sasti answered casually, as if there were nothing strange about it.
"Why did you change it?" Of course Kabir wanted to know the reason. Ever since they got married, both he and his wife had consistently used their wedding date, month, and year as their PIN.
"I wanted to use a different code."
Kabir stared at his wife for a few moments. Honestly, this was strange. "Why did you have to change it?"
"I was just bored," Karisma replied.
"Open it," Kabir ordered.
Kharisma frowned. "Open what?"
"Your phone." Kabir held out his hand. "And delete that video."
Kharisma immediately shook her head. "No, Babe."
Kabir's brow furrowed. "Why?"
"I just uploaded it."
"That's exactly why. Hurry up and delete it."
Kharisma hugged her phone to her chest. "No."
"Karis!"
"I said no!" Kharisma's voice began to rise.
Kabir let out a long breath, trying to hold back his temper.
"Delete it, Karis. You shouldn't be doing things like that."
Kharisma immediately glared at him. "I shouldn't?"
"That's right."
"What did I do?"
"You danced in public and let everyone see you."
"So?"
"Do you remember when I let you use social media?"
Kharisma fell silent.
"I told you what you could and couldn't do."
Kabir pointed at the phone in his wife's hand. "Don't use the freedom I gave you for things like this."
Kharisma slowly shook her head. "Babe, I'm an adult."
Kabir fell silent.
"I'm not the Kharisma I used to be." Her voice began to tremble with anger. "I know what I'm doing, so let me do as I please, Babe."
Kabir immediately sighed. "You're my wife." He looked at Kharisma seriously. "So everything concerning you is also my responsibility. One day, Allah will even hold me accountable for it."
"That doesn't mean you can control everything!"
"I'm not controlling you."
"Then what are you doing?"
"Protecting you."
"Protecting me?" Kharisma laughed bitterly. "You call all this protecting me?"
She pointed at her phone. "You questioned my phone's PIN. You ordered me to delete the video I made. What I'm allowed to wear, what I'm allowed to do—everything has to follow your rules."
Kharisma looked at Kabir with tears welling in her eyes. "I don't want to be controlled, Babe."
Kabir fell silent.
"I'm bored." Kharisma's voice grew softer. "All I hear from you every day is another lecture."
Kabir shook his head. "It doesn't work that way, Karis." He was still adamant. "You're my wife. Follow my rules."
Kharisma stared at him in disbelief. "See?" She gave a hollow laugh. "It's always like this."
"Like what?" Kabir cut in.
"When have you ever really supported me?"
Kabir sighed. "I have supported you."
"Supported me in what?"
"I let you create Ku-Tub and Tuk-Tuk. I never stopped you from using social media, either. I just think it's entertainment, so use it in moderation."
Kharisma fell silent.
Kabir continued. "I'm only asking for one thing. Don't use the opportunities I give you to do things I consider inappropriate."
"According to you." Kharisma emphasized the last two words. "It's always according to you." She then turned her face away. Kharisma didn't want to continue the argument, so she walked out of the bedroom.
"Karis!"
The woman didn't stop. The bedroom door slammed shut. Kabir remained standing where he was, staring at the door with an exhausted expression.