Simple is Sexy! Love story of an Indian Girl.

His new Bride

Rahul convinced her parents since Krish had to travel to US next week. It would be best if they got married asap. No one raised an eyebrow since the urgency was due to the Boy's flourishing career. They left home together. Krish went to US and Radhika came back to her apartment in Hyderabad. They managed to pretend that they were both honeymooning in USA. No one would want to disturb a young couple who recently had a love marriage. Radhika's family was too naïve and ecstatic about her marriage to a guy from a well reputed (read wealthy) family. Krish s family was too pissed off about his new connections. Well, the truth was that they hadn't even spent a single day together after their wedding. He was alone in Boston in peak winter and she was alone in Hyderabad. To avoid an unnecessary scandal, she worked from home instead of going to office.

Krish returned to India after two months. His flight was from Boston to Hyderabad. Radhika had texted her address to him he reached Friday evening. Her house was in a decent locality. It was a small 1 BHK. He knew she wouldn't splurge on an apartment, so what if she was now married to a wealthy boy. It was a cute house. She directed him to the room. It was a small queen-size bed and a little wardrobe. There was a study table and chair. The bathroom for small but tidy. She had emptied the room so he could settle his stuff there. After he took a shower she served food on a tiny 4 seater dining table. It was a simple veg meal. Roti Sabzi Daal Chaval. Wait.. it was not daal it was kadhi. Krish didn't like daal. He was impressed with how she took care of everything and how she was taking care of herself all alone. He ate his meal early and went to bed and only woke up in the noon the next day. They had a flight to Allahabad that very night. He had already texted her from USA on what is expected out of her in his house. She was expected to mostly wear sarees and mandatorily wear the Mangal sutra. It was a simple black beaded necklace with an auspicious charm. This was handpicked by Krish the day of their wedding.

She was wearing her saree in the living room as it couldn't have been worn in the bathroom. Krish came out of his room and caught her off-guard. Radhika turned around and finished her pleats. She was having a hard time adjusting the pleats as she was not suppose to bend down. After she finished she held her tummy for a few seconds. This was the only way she could calm herself these days. She hung a bag on her shoulder and was trying to pull her suitcase when Krish barged in and angrily grabbed the suitcase from her hand. He said "the cab is waiting, hurry up". These were the only words they spoke to each other during his stay in Hyderabad. They reached Allahabad early morning. He saw his brother wave at them at the airport. She tried to bend to touch her new brother-in-law's feet but he stopped her mid way. He raised his foot to assist her to complete the custom. She found this gesture endearing and gave him a genuine smile.

They reach home. The family is not very excited to meet their daughter in law. Someone from the crowd comments how she had put on a little weight after her last visit. There are questions and giggles and gossips about how they fell in love in the wedding. Radhika keeps a constant fake smile. She has never been comfortable around such a crowd. She was the least tolerant person towards fake events such as this. Her mother-in-law barely spoke two words to her. She tried to take an initiative to talk to her but was shut out. Radhika was convinced she hated her and didn't know how she would be able to stay here for more than a week. They finally retired in their room. This was Krish's room when he was growing up. It had a lot of expensive fancy stuff, semi nude posters of famous pop stars, even a wall mount television. Rahul's wife Sudha was a perfect daughter-in-law. She was nice to Radhika.

The next few days were filled with awkward encounters for Radhika. She had made some connections within the family but was still far from fitting in. Nothing Radhika had was matching up to their standard. Her clothes, jewelry and all her skills.. none of them were good enough. Within a few days she realized why Krish had dumped her. What she was unable to appreciate about herself was how she had made connections with everyone except for her mother-in-law. All the kids already loved her. The maids were more than eager to help her out. Her brother-in-law adored her and took extra special care of her secretly. Her co-sister was nice to her. Would help her out in choosing her outfits. What puzzled her was that none of the women in the family wore a mangal sutra.