Arnav chugged another glass of scotch as the clock behind him chimed midnight. He had been sitting in his office for over three hours now, as usual making calls that were pointless and drowning his pain in alcohol.
He knew he had to leave soon and trudge his way back through the city to his penthouse. Once upon a time that apartment, bought on the insistence of his mother to keep peace between him and his father, was his solace; but now, it was just another of the many things he avoided.
If truth be told, Arnav had lost the will to do anything. His life, believe it or not, was hung up on one phone call.
He had just poured himself another glass of scotch, when his door was thrown open and his sister walked in, her face as cold as ice. All the drowsiness vanished without sight, as Arnav stood up immediately, wondering what on earth happened now.
"Di," he said, clearing his throat. "What's wrong? Why are you here so late?"
Anjali stopped in front of his desk. "Oh wow, you know it's late," she replied sarcastically. "Should I be proud that you still haven't lost your sense of time?"
He looked guiltily at the floor.
"I must say Chote," she continued. "You have grown up to be quite the man, haven't you? Too busy to come home, too important to answer phone calls, too stressed to drink anything but alcohol."
"I-I just lost track of time Di... it's not a big deal."
Anjali was livid. "So you would rather sit here and drink yourself sick than come home to a wife who spent the whole day starving for your long life?!"
Arnav didn't follow. "Starving?"
"It's karva chauth today! Were you too busy to remember that too?"
He vaguely recalled reading Khushi's post-it that morning. "I am human Di," he mumbled. "I can't keep track of everything..."
"So Khushi's first karva chauth is nothing but another business meeting that you can't keep track of, is it?!"
"I... I forgot."
"You forgot?! Did you also forget to see Shyam's message-"
"What mess-"
"Or pick up your phone?!" she continued furiously. "Do you even know how many times Maa and I called you this evening? What could possibly have been more important than your family Chote?!"
"You called me?" he muttered stupidly, before searching his pockets and pulling out his phone. Sure enough, there were some twenty odd missed calls, although he couldn't remember hearing even one of them. And what was this message his brother-in-law left him? The last Arnav could remember was seeing the top floor of the company, where all the executives were housed, empty when he returned from his meeting with some local competitors.
Of course, it was highly possible that in his haze of despair, he hadn't registered Shyam's note just like how he hadn't registered Khushi's post-it from that morning. It wasn't the first time that happened.
In the last one month, Arnav could barely recall anything. Just that morning, for instance, he spent two whole hours with the financial advisors, who yet again were very clear on how poor the company was doing, only to come out and realize that he did not retain a word they had said. He had to call his secretary and ask for the meeting notes.
It was quite alarming, no doubt, but in a small corner of his heart, Arnav felt comforted that his physical state was simply his body rejecting the situation he was so cruelly thrown into.
His thoughts were interrupted by an enraged Anjali.
"You don't pick up the phone," she rebuked. "You don't come home, you don't go to meetings, you don't talk to anyone, all you do it stay locked up in this office, not caring that your life is not just yours anymore! For god sake, you have someone else dependent on your decisions now!"
Arnav took a deep breath. "I don't know what Jeejaji told you, but-"
"Leave Shyam out of this!" she fumed. "Look at me and tell me that you have said at least one word to Khushi since we left her in your apartment?"
He averted his eyes, all his arguments stuck in his throat. It seemed his sister was on the same bandwagon as his mother.
Anjali glared at him, her chest heaving. "Do you have any idea what Khushi must be feeling right now? How embarrassed she must be feeling that every single husband bothered to show up and actually care about their wife except for hers?!"
Arnav pursued his lips and didn't answer, infuriating his sister even more.
"She doesn't deserve this Chote! No woman does! She left her entire family to live with you and you don't even want to see her face? When have you become so insensitive?!"
"I'm not insensitive Di... I just... she clearly doesn't want to stay with me either... so stop worrying-"
"Of course she doesn't want to stay with a man who ignores her every second of the day! You haven't exactly made it easy for her!"
Arnav groaned in frustration and gulped another glass of scotch in answer. He knew where the conversation was being led to and he wasn't wrong.
"Is this about Myra?" Anjali finally asked, watching him closely.
"No," he lied unconvincingly.
She looked at him, incredulous. "When and how has Myra become so important for you?! She left you Chote-"
"Of course she didn't! It was just a misunderstanding-"
"Do you even hear yourself?!" Anjali asked, glaring at him.
Arnav took a deep breath, trying not to withdraw back into his mind, back to where the happy memories were still fresh and new. His mother's anger, he got – after all, she was concerned about his father's health more than anything. He knew she wanted this so-called "marriage" to work just to ease off the stress on Shankar.
But his sister? He didn't see her wrath coming. Because Anjali was his supporter since day one.
Whether it was convincing his parents to send him on bachelor trips with his buddies or standing up to their father when he insisted on Arnav joining the company after he finished college, or simply being there when he needed a shoulder to lean on. She was always present.
Until today.
"What do you want Chote?" Anjali finally said shaking her head. "What answer are you looking for?"
His reply was instant. "I am not looking for anything."
"Of course you are!" she snapped. "This insane notion you have about love-"
"Di, please-"
She didn't let him finish. "Love happens with time Chote! If I was stupid like you, then I would have lost a man like Shyam years ago. If you think Khushi is going to sit around waiting for you, then think again."
"Then so be it," he muttered, running his hands through his hair. "If it's not meant to be, then so be it... Not every single marriage works out Di."
Silence followed his statement.
Anjali stared at him, first shocked at his words and then appalled that he was even considering the possibility of separation. She sunk into the chair in front of his, all fury apparently drained out of her.
"I fought for you Chote," she whispered after an endless few minutes. Her voice reeked of disappointment, which in many ways was worse than her anger. "When Papa came with Khushi's proposal, I fought with everyone to not let this marriage happen. You were not ready, I knew that... I told you over and over again to wait, to not take a rash decision."
Arnav closed his eyes, guilt pooling in his stomach.
"But you didn't listen to me. You just gave in and said yes without stopping to think even for once if it was the right thing to do."
"You know I didn't have a choice-"
"You had a choice," she interrupted. "You could have said no, you could have walked away. But you didn't."
He was silent. He remembered the day in question very well. It was not his finest moment, and as his sister simply put, he was so caught up with the situation around him that he didn't stop to think about the consequences of his decision like any other sane person would.
In fact, even now, he was still so wrapped up in his past that he hadn't even realized that the result of his choice was staring directly at him in the face.
"And now, you lost the right to walk away from this," Anjali said. "You chose her Chote, so own up to that responsibility. I did not raise my brother to be a coward... stop hiding in this office, giving everyone stupid excuses and face the reality. Khushi is your wife. Whether you like it or not, you will be spending the rest of your life with her."
Arnav wasn't convinced. "But-"
Anjali stood up gravely. "You have gone too far this time... I supported all of your decisions until today, knowing that you were given too much to handle much too young. But this?! This I am not going to forgive Chote... So you will go home and you will make this right with Khushi. Do you understand?"
He didn't answer. No matter how much Arnav aged, for some reason he could never outgrow his sister or the command she yielded.
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A/N: I think Anjali pretty much covered what all of you were thinking 😅 But I will still say, not everything is as it appears. Arnav has his reasons (might not be fully justified) for the way he is acting. Please vote & comment!!