Arnav- Khushi SS: Vivaah- An Arranged Marriage

Chapter 4- Closer

Khushi stared at her reflection in the wall size mirror, sitting in front of it on the ebony dresser after the Mukh-Dikhai ceremony. She looked regal and elegant in the exquisite bridal collection that Anjali had picked up for her from her said husband's office.

She had no idea where his place of work was or what it looked like, a fashion house as her sister-in-law had stated. But she could tell that whoever was designing the dresses, him or anyone else, had great taste in clothes. Like the one she was wearing was a pink-yellow gota-patti lehenga and with a backless golden blouse and an embroided dupatta to match the ensemble. The ends of the dupatta were intricately weaved with bells, just the way she had liked designing her dresses with the local tailor, in times when she had been happy.

Happy? Was she happy now? She wondered if this marriage has given her any happiness? To her parents, yes. But to her, maybe not. But it wasn't because of the circumstances in which she had gotten married, or the man she had married. It was more to do with the happiness within.

And for someone who was empty inside-out, happiness was just a misnomer, especially when there was no sight of it in near future, in her life. Happiness was a mirage, she had now come to believe that. Maybe, in some other place, with someone else, she would have found her happiness in a marriage, but not here.

To be honest, she knew that she was just a plain-Jane with respect to her husband, who was a fashion mogul and a well-known businessman, but somehow being draped in a classy piece like this with prim and proper make-up, had made her look beautiful today, but the differences in their social standing was jarring.

At one time she hadn't felt inferior about who she was and where had she been married, in front of some old friends of her husband's grandmother who mostly hailed from her city, Lucknow. But Mamiji and her friends had passed on some rude comments during the ceremony, but Anjali had sat down beside her and told her that while Mamiji had a sharp tongue, she was a nice person at heart much like Arnav.

And she had tried not to smile at that piece of information, because she didn't know why Anjali kept on highlighting the fact that her brother was a good man, when clearly he lacked basic courtesy. Maybe, she loved him too much to see the issues with him or she was just delusional and lived in her own bubble. But whatever it was, she understood that Anjali was a well meaning woman who only wanted to make sure that she was happy and content in this house.

Khushi sighed and pulled the clutch out of her hair, allowing it to flow down her back before bunching it on her shoulder. She frowned and recollected that there had been no news or mention of Arnav during the entire day. Looked like he had really been caught up with work as Shyam Jijaji had mentioned. Not that she had been waiting for him, but considering that this was their first day as a married couple, she had assumed that he would come back by the end of the ceremony to join the family for dinner, as his grandmother had told her.

Also, there had been a recurring mention of a certain Lavanya Kashyap since morning, apparently her husband's colleague and ex-girlfriend, even when Anjali and Naniji had been arguing about Arnav's absence tonight. Perhaps, he was busy spending time with that girl under the pretense of work.

She shrugged and removed her earrings at that thought wondering how life would have panned out if he had got a chance to marry the woman he loved. Maybe, she would have been a less possible target of his hate and anger. Or maybe, she would have been married to someone else, someone who would have understood and loved her.

The thought caused her throat to choke with emotions. She had her chance and it was gone now. So no matter who she would have married, her fate would have been the same.

The thought paralyzed her for a moment. Sometime ago marrying any man had felt like caging herself for the society at large. She had married the man she loved, at least in her heart. And the thought of any other man was like betraying her beloved.