Arnav spent the next few days, wondering if the Gupta family was even real. Sure, they held much prestige in the society, sure they had generations of notable members, sure anyone would do anything to be associated with them, and yet, to Arnav they appeared barely functional.
Maybe it was because he saw the misery behind their smiles. And knew the reason for it.
Despite feeling awkward and intruding on his first day at the Gupta manor, Arnav quickly grew accustomed to the people that lived in it. His father sought out more and more excuses to keep him out of the office, probably on instructions from his mother, but Arnav accepted it all without a scene.
If staying with his in-laws for a few days convinced everyone that his marriage was working out, then he had no issues with it. And if in the meantime he understood why they never talked about Garima or her strange accident, then even better.
Arnav didn't know why his mother-in-law fascinated him so much.
He had spent so much time in the last two months believing in earnest that Khushi was just a pesky little addition to his life for the sake of the cameras, a pretense that he had to carry on for life, that he didn't pause, even for a second, to realize that she was more than just a face. He had been caught up in the haze of Myra's disappearance so deeply that he had lost sight of everything else.
But seeing Garima on the bed that day, it was as if he was rudely slapped awake. Her condition reminded him of how much it meant to breathe, even if wretchedly, and also just how much Khushi had been burying beneath her vacant expressions. And her icy response, when he genuinely felt sorry for her loss brought forth a lot of fresh questions.
The first (and obvious) one was, how come no one mentioned his mother-in-law's accident to him? When his father brought Khushi's alliance, he went into great detail explaining every member of the Gupta family, but said nothing about their mother. Khushi too never spoke about her, although it was another thing that he never bothered to talk to her or look into what she did when he wasn't at home.
Thus, Arnav found himself retracing his steps to Garima's room at least once a day. He would talk to the nurse, hoping maybe she would divulge some more details or just sit there, wondering how a person can be breathing but not alive. It was a very odd conundrum.
"Back again?"
Arnav smiled at the nurse. He was (once again) in Garima's room. "Gotta kill time somehow. How is she doing?"
"Same as every day."
Arnav nodded and pressed on. Today he came with questions. "Khushi said something about there being no brain activity in her, is that true?"
"Yes, the doctor could not detect any activity the last time he did a full check-up."
"And when was that?"
"Two months ago."
"Can I look at the reports? Or the MRI scans? That's what they are called right?"
The nurse stared at him, all of a sudden looking uncomfortable.
"What happened?"
"Erm... Mr. Gupta told me not to show the reports to anyone."
"But I am family." There was a tinge of guilt in his stomach, but Arnav simply ignored it.
"He said not even to his family, especially..." The nurse didn't finish.
Arnav frowned, understanding dawning. Why would Alok forbid his own children –for who else was a part of the family– from enquiring about Garima? It made no sense. However, sensing that the nurse would not relent, he bid her goodbye and left the room.
The mysteries of the Gupta family didn't end there.
As the wedding approached closer, Arnav saw both Vihaan and Khushi get busier and busier with tasks. He offered his help on multiple occasions, but both of them refused point blank. Tired of their refusal and bored of idleness, Arnav started helping with the sangeet stage decorations alongside the workers one day, when Vihaan walked by and froze.
"What are you doing?" he asked bewildered as Arnav stood atop a ladder, tying a string of lights to a pillar.
"I'm putting the lights up."
"I know that! But why? There are so many workers here!"
"Yeah, well I thought I would help."
Vihaan almost appeared scandalized. "No, that's not necessary. Come down, let's go have tea."
Arnav didn't understand what the big deal was. "No, it's fine. Let me finish this-"
"RAMESH!!" Vihaan called.
A butler hurried across the hall.
"Finish putting up the lights," Vihaan instructed. "And they should be done by today. No excuses."
That was the end of Arnav's patience.
"What the hell man?" he asked irritated, when they made their way to have afternoon tea. "What is wrong if I put up some lights? It's not like I am doing anything important!"
"Exactly," Vihaan answered. "You are Alok Raj Gupta's son-in-law, you are not supposed to be doing these unimportant things."
"That's stupid! There is a wedding going on and trust me, I know how stressful that can be. I didn't sleep for two weeks when Lavanya got married last year. So, what's wrong if I help out?"
"You don't need to help-"
"Cut the crap Vihaan and tell me what's really going on! You guys don't let me do anything; it's freaking annoying! Am I not up to your standards or something?"
Vihaan was confused. "What do you mean? You are the son-in-law Arnav, Khushi's husband. We are supposed to make sure you are comfortable, not give you work."
Arnav couldn't believe what he was hearing. And yet, seeing the look of absolute seriousness in Vihaan's eyes, he understood that the latter was not joking. He really did believe that Arnav deserved some royal treatment just because he was married to the daughter of the house. How orthodox could they get?
As the days stretched on, Arnav couldn't help but notice Khushi too. Maybe he was overthinking it, but for whatever reason, she appeared much more reserved than usual. True, they never had a proper conversation back at his apartment and he never stayed around her to know how she behaved normally, but he could swear that her stance at the Gupta manor was always guarded. It was like she was treading on thin ice.
And it got worse anytime her father was around.
Khushi barely said a word in front of Alok. At mealtimes, she would stand in the corner, waiting to serve the food even though there were plenty of butlers around, but never eating herself. At first Arnav thought she was angry at someone or something, but he eventually realized that it was the norm. She wasn't allowed to eat until he had.
At other times, Khushi would always leave the room as soon as her father would enter. She put such a wide berth of space between them that Arnav often had a hard time believing they were even related.
It was another thing that Alok didn't seem to notice anything amiss. He accepted Khushi's silence as though she was always this demure, which seeded another set of doubts in Arnav's mind. Sure, there may be problems between them, sure they may have disagreed on something, but how can something drive such a big wedge between a father and a daughter that they literally did not care about the other?
Arnav couldn't help but recollect all the disagreements he had with his own father. The fights had gotten so bad that he had even moved out of the Raizada mansion for a few days at one point. That was when his mother insisted on buying him a penthouse, in an effort to keep their relation from deteriorating any more. But when news of his father's stroke came, Arnav had rushed to his bedside just the same, because at the end of the day, it was his father.
That sentiment, however, seemed to be non-existent in the Gupta universe.
Arnav had watched in astonishment as Khushi spent one entire day arranging orchids around the house in preparation for Vihaan's haldi. Alok took one look at the stunning arrangements and declared coldly that the decor was not up to the "Gupta standards". The orchids were replaced by roses within an hour.
Another time, a top-notch designer visited the house to finalize everyone's outfits for the wedding. When she suggested colour coordinating between the family members, however, Alok did not hesitate even for a second to say that Khushi was no longer a part of the family since she was married to a Raizada. No one even bothered to object when the designer dejectedly gave everyone ivory coloured clothes and Khushi, lilac toned ones.
And the list went on. By the end of week, Arnav couldn't help but be perplexed by just how little value Khushi had in her own house. So needless to say, when the day of the reception finally arrived, he was utterly relieved.
The last event of the supposedly grand wedding of the Gupta's one and only son was being held at the manor itself, which was big enough to hold hundreds of high-profile guests, all making an appearance to congratulate the newlyweds. The butlers, dressed in their finest, were bustling around taking care of attendees while Vihaan stood on a dais, next to his glowing wife, smiling for the cameras.
Arnav took a sip from his glass of wine, tucking on this unusually tight collar. His own family had obviously graced the event, being honoured to now be a part of the Gupta façade. Unfortunately to his bad luck, Lavanya was out of the country on a business trip with Akash, so he had no company whatsoever. He had just picked up another glass of wine when he saw Vihaan beckoning him on stage.
Confused, he walked up to his brother-in-law, hiding from the press. He had no energy left to pretend to be happy.
"Do you know where Khushi is?" Vihaan murmured, when they were close enough.
"No. I thought she would be with you."
"I haven't seen her since the afternoon."
Strange, Arnav thought. He also hadn't seen her since the afternoon when she announced that she had to go pick up something very urgent.
"Do you think she is okay?" Vihaan asked, the worry unmistakeable in his eyes.
"Of course," Arnav lied. "I will go bring her."
Patting Vihaan reassuringly on the shoulder, he headed upstairs, thinking that Khushi had probably returned late from wherever she went and was busy getting ready. There was nothing in the world that could make her miss her own brother's reception.
To his disappointment, she wasn't there. Neither was she in the prayer room –which to be honest, he already knew since she did not seem to be a big God-believer– nor in the study. Starting to get a little worried, he made his way to Garima's room as a last-ditch effort.
"What are you doing here?"
Arnav stopped a foot from his mother-in-law's room, alarmed. The voice was of Alok's, coming from inside. Cautiously hiding behind the door, he peeked through to see Khushi sitting on the bed beside her unconscious mother while Alok stood facing her, his back to the door.
"I wanted to see Maa," Khushi replied, just as cold as her father.
"But she is dead no? Just because I have the money to afford life support and a full-time nurse doesn't mean we have the right to call her alive, isn't it?"
Khushi took a deep breath and stood up. "Your son is celebrating his marriage downstairs. I am sure you have better things to do than to pick an argument with me."
"You still haven't learned anything have you? Arrogance and a smart mouth will get you nowhere Khushi."
She snorted. "Yes, well arrogance and all the money in the world will also not get you anywhere Papa."
"You can be ninety years old and you would still not have earned the right to talk back to me, so watch your tone with me! I thought I made it clear that you are not to come to this room ever again?"
Khushi gritted her teeth. "She is my mother."
"Mother? Since when? She is a just a corpse, isn't she?"
"Enough Papa. I don't need you reminding me what I said. My memory is perfectly well, and I stand by everything I have said, whether you like it or not. She is dead. But that doesn't mean I am not allowed to remember her. There are still somethings left in my life that you cannot control."
"You are heavily mistaken if you think I have any interest whatsoever in controlling your misfit life."
"That's a joke, right? Because that's all you have been doing since the day we were born. But you know what, I don't care anymore. Go ahead and rip apart whatever little I have got left. I got married to a man who cannot scream anymore loudly how much he hates me just on your insistence, so I am sure whatever you have got planned next cannot make me feel any worse than I already do."
"It's not my problem if you can't even get your husband to love you. As I have told you multiple times by now, you can't even hope to get a better match than Arnav with your history of disobedience."
Khushi laughed without humor. "Right, how can I forget, I am the biggest disgrace this family has seen in the last ten generations. Glad to know that nothing has changed since I left. But please Papa, don't kick Vihaan out of your life too just because he believes in something you don't. If by any chance something happened to you, he is the only one left to support you."
"Oh, so you think I am dependent on the both of you to take care of me in my old age?"
"Of course you don't need us, just like how you didn't need Maa when she was alive. All you need is a stamp of approval that you didn't let your father or forefathers down in any way whatsoever. But you know what, you are around now to take care of Maa... maybe it's time you start thinking about what happens if you end up on a bed and someone needs to take care of you. And just to be clear, it won't be your father or forefathers."
With that Khushi began to walk out of the room when Alok spoke again in a low voice:
"Maybe you have forgotten our deal-"
She paused. "I haven't."
"So then fix whatever it is you have going on with Arnav. It won't be long before everyone starts questioning why you haven't given the Raizadas an heir."
Khushi glared at her father. "I know how to make my marriage work. When are you going to hold up your end of the bargain?"
Without waiting for an answer, she stormed out of the room, not noticing the silent figure of Arnav perched beside the door. It took him a good minute to collect himself and start walking back to the party, his head spinning with the new information.
Over the last few days, he had spent a great deal of time trying to understand the dynamics of the Guptas. And although he had not missed the animosity between Khushi and her father, it was still a shock nevertheless to see that they downright hated each other.
And no matter how much Arnav racked his brain, he could not understand why. Their differences over what is best for Garima only seemed to be a reflection of their beliefs, but why were their beliefs so different to begin with? And more importantly, why were they so unsympathetic to the other's point of view?
Perhaps more pressing than all of that was Khushi's opinion about him. Did she really believe he hated the sight of her? True he hadn't really been the most cordial with her, and he might have lost his temper a couple of times in front of her, but what made her think he downright loathed her?
As guilt pooled deep in the pit of his stomach, Arnav couldn't help but recollect his conversation with Lavanya from not too long ago. He had blamed Khushi for orchestrating this alliance, for compelling him to give up his life, but was she really to blame? Wasn't this marriage forced upon her as much as him?
___________________________________________
A/N: So Arnav finally figures out Khushi is not that happy with the marriage as well... what do you think he is going to do?
Please vote & comment!!