Silver Linings

Misfortune

Shyam Manohar Jha sat at a coffee shop, somewhere just outside Delhi, thinking about the day his life had suddenly taken a complete U-turn - the day he got to know the meaning of 'blood running cold' , literally. He knew his brother in law had a little thing for Khushi - who could blame him - but Shyam didn't realise how serious it was, until he saw the rage in Arnav's eyes while he spoke about the man that betrayed Khushi. He knew, in that moment, if Arnav ever got to know who it really was - he was as good as dead. He had been absconding from Shantivan ever since that day, because he was scared that  he would somehow give himself away.. there had been couple of times during that family meeting where he had almost done so due to his nervousness.

He looked at his ring finger and twirled his wedding band with his thumb, He could never leave Anjali.. not that he loved her or anything.. but being her husband had many many advantages. The most important one was the sheer luxury of the house he lived in.. He had heard people call him all sorts of demeaning names due to the fact that he lived in his wife's maternal home, and if he had any self respect, it would have hurt him. But he just didn't give a damn.. those people could speak all they want, he was living a life they could never imagine even in their dreams. 

When he had first set his eyes on her, he thought she would be easy pickings, given that she had a handicap and the fact that her wedding had been called off. But he was wrong.. she had not given in so easily. He had spent so much money trying to woo her... but it had all gone in vain. After months of wasting money, he finally made a cunning plan.. he caused an incident and saved her.. and that had been his in. After that all he had to do was relate some sob stories about his life struggles, and she was hooked. He had been welcomed into the family with open arms, and they treated him like a king since he was the man that made the Raizada princess happy. 

He had a number of flings, but neither he nor the girls had wanted anything more than a roll in the hay - so to speak. He never wanted to get himself in a sticky situation - where the girl, who warmed his bed, would potentially become a permanent add on to his life - that was until Khushi Kumari Gupta caught his fancy.

She was beautiful, no doubt - She had flawless skin, she had the perfect facial features.. and a dainty little body structure - but there was something just so alluring about those innocent eyes that just captivated him from the time he had seen her walk the ramp at Arnav's fashion show. His face contorted with lust as he remembered how stunning she had looked in that parrot green dress, in a sea of red. He clasped his hand behind his head and thought back to how he had weaselled his way into Khushi's life.

He had made up a work excuse and lied to his wife and brother in law that he was going back to Delhi, when in reality, he had stayed back.. wanting to get his hands on this girl. He followed her home after Arnav had let her go.. she lived in very humble circumstances.. he had thought that maybe he could use the family's poverty to his advantage and get her for himself.. She could be his mistress.. but she didn't have to know that is what she was.. She lived here, in Lucknow, so far away from Delhi - Where Anjali lived, He could easily lead a double life.

For two days he had been raking his brain trying to find ways to stumble upon her or someone in the family, but he had no such luck. He had followed her to the dargah, but he had to hide himself when he saw Arnav there. He saw the two of them have a small altercation, he didn't know that little scuffle would be the opening that he desperately had been waiting for. Arnav's ego had been hurt leading him to release the video of Khushi falling into his arms.. and in the small town where Khushi lived, it had created a total ruckus.

In the market people had been looking at the family strangely, and some whispers were heard.. but none of that was going to help him.. so just as he did with Anjali - he created a situation where he could swoop in and help the damsel in distress - It had had worked like a charm. He had to be back in Delhi the next day, so he couldn't get any time to actually work his way in, but a door had been opened, he knew he just had to walk through.