Serendipity

15

"Close the door, Anupama and come and sit. I have something important to discuss," Anuj said as soon as the landlord left the apartment.

Anupama sobered. 

When she'd read the newspaper this morning, her first reaction was fear. She was afraid of how she was going to get out of this new mess. She cursed the photographer who'd turned a perfectly candid moment into something romantic. She cursed the reporter who'd felt it was headline-worthy. And she'd cursed her fate, which had once again landed her in hot boiling soup.

It wasn't that she was worried about her image in society. Anupama was a divorcee. She was already an outcast. Things could hardly get worse. She worried about the status of her fledgling relationship with GK. After being denied love and acceptance for so long, she'd finally found a father figure in him. She was worried that this news would completely ruin that bond, that was yet to cement fully. As always, it would be her fault. It didn't matter that she absolutely had nothing to do with it.

A small part of her heart thought of Anuj. Would he be angry at her? He had only ever been kind to her and now because of her, he was going to have to deal with the awkward questions the world would ask - the sum and substance of each one being - what was Anuj Kapadia, India's self-made billionaire doing with a woman who looked like she was fit to mop floors in his house?

"Anupama," Vanraj screamed as she ran out of the kitchen, her hand coated in chickpea flour. "Where is my tie?"

"Tie??"

"Yes tie, Anupama. That thing you wear with your suit." He mimicked the item by drawing a line between his neck and waist.

"It should be in your cupboard."

"Of course," he murmured. Then in a louder voice, he asserted: "You think I'm blind, isn't it?"

The commotion invited her mother-in-law, who was waiting for an opportunity to taunt Anupama, by poking her nose into this rather mundane affair.

"What's the problem, Vanraj?" She looked with ire at her daughter-in-law. Anupama looked away. 

Vanraj recapped the entire incident, adding his own special spicy flavouring to the entire narration.

The look of ire turned into something more sinister. Turning forcefully away from Anupama, Leela remarked: "Come, I'll help you look for it. What do you expect from this illiterate, uneducated girl?"

A lone tear escaped Anupama's eye - one that she hastily brushed aside. Leela Shah was the one who'd prevented Anupama from studying further. And yet, now she used that excuse constantly to belittle her. 

She wanted to tell Leela how unfair her accusation was, and how much it hurt when Leela decided to taunt Anupama for every single little thing that went wrong in the Shah household. She wanted to somehow make everyone in the house - especially Leela and Vanraj - realize what her true worth was. She wanted to stop doing all the work for everyone and go away. She did nothing of that sort. Her years of conditioning prevented her from saying or doing anything at all. Oblivious to it all, Vanraj continued to glare at her. If looks could kill, Anupama would have died a thousand deaths.

Leela was back within a few moments with the proverbial tie. Vanraj thanked his mother for fetching it from his wardrobe, exactly where Anupama had indicated it would be.

"I don't know what I would have done without you. I have an important meeting today. I need to look my best."

"You're my handsome son, Vanraj, you always look the best."

Just as Anupama began to make her way back into the kitchen, Leela taunted yet again. "You and Anupama are such a mismatch. You're so handsome, and she... God alone knows what was going on in my head when I agreed to this alliance. You're a king. You deserve someone much better. You deserve a queen."

She had lived with Vanraj and her kids for 26 years, taking care of their smallest needs and wants. Still, they had found her an embarrassment. She'd hardly known GK and Anuj for a couple of weeks.

Unsure of how to deal with this debacle, she'd decided to buy herself some time. So she'd called in sick, switched off her phone, and locked herself in her house.

She needed to gather herself. The only person she owed an explanation to was Anuj Kapadia. But she doubted he'd want to have anything to do with her after reading the news.

She was pleasantly surprised to find out she'd been wrong. Anuj had come looking for her. And he'd defended her in front of her landlord. She trusted him to not push her into a ditch.