Parivara: Story of a Family

4 : The Arrival

The next morning, Maa went around the palace to make sure each princess was getting ready. Her son-in-law would be arriving that day, and since he was a powerful king, she wanted to make a good impression. It reminded the girls of the first time this king had visited. Everyone had been bustling around the castle, preparing for days. Their parents had wanted the perfect food, the perfect service, everything perfect for this new king. Little had they known, it was all to impress him enough to take Divya as a bride.

The girls were dressed in some of their best and rushed out to make their way to the front entrance. As they all walked over, Rakesh joined them. Divya felt her back stiffen when he followed her strides, every inch of her skin buzzing.

"Good morning," she managed to whisper out so her sisters couldn't hear, glancing at him under her lashes.

"Morning," Rakesh replied curtly, staring straight ahead and not looking at her once.

"How are you?" Divya asked awkwardly, unsure what to say.

"Please, Divya, don't talk to me." Rakesh whispered, his voice laced with pain even though his face was expressionless. "Not when I'm escorting you to meet your husband. Again."

Divya bowed her head as they continued their stroll, his words sending shivers through her. Her heart dropped in her chest, but she knew he was right. Only, he didn't know how painful it was for her too.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they reached the entrance as an entourage was making its way through the gates. The girls went to stand by their parents, Rakesh taking his place behind their father. Divya didn't dare look at him anymore, even though every cell in her body urged her to. After three years of not seeing him, she couldn't help but want to stare at him every moment. The entourage finally assembled through the front entrance, and Divya's husband hopped off of the horse he trotted in on.

King Abhay was tall and handsome, with a straight, angular face and perfectly tousled hair. But Divya found his beauty cold and stern; she had never been able to love him for the three years they'd been married. A rose might look beautiful, but if it were covered in thorns no one could truly love it.

"Welcome, welcome!" Papa greeted, his arms spread open. "I hope your journey was nice?"

"Yes, thank you." Abhay told them, his voice as emotionless as his manner. He greeted Papa and Maa as he should, not even a smile cracking his lips though his words were kind.

"Hello, wife." Abhay hovered his hands over Divya's shoulders as if to place them lovingly on her, and kissed the top of her head.

"Hello," she responded. She could feel Rakesh's eyes burning into them, and it stoked her pain even more.

"You remember our youngest, Aditi?" Maa gestured toward the youngest princess who greeted Abhay with a sweet smile. Abhay reciprocated the greeting, allowing the tiniest of grins on his face. "And Payal, our second, was here, but she seems to have run off. You can meet her later, however, when we have our little party for you tonight."

"Thank you, you're much too kind." Abhay told them sincerely. "I'll just go and change into more comfortable clothing now, and meet you all for chai?"

"Sounds marvelous," Papa told him, giving a happy clap with his hands. Everyone dispersed, Abhay to his room, Aditi running off somewhere, and the parents going to oversee the chai set up in the pavilion. Soon, it was only Divya and Rakesh left.

"I'm sorry," Divya whispered, but she knew he heard.

"Divya, I told you not to do this. Please-"

"Do you think it's easy for me?" Divya interrupted. "It hurts me as much as it hurts you! I'm the one who is married to him! Do you know for three years, while you were here busy with my father's work, I've been alone? Yes, your heart ached, but you had distractions. Maybe at night, you would curl up in bed and drown in your sorrows, but I was drowning every second of every day. I had no distractions, nothing to do. My job was simply to look pretty for his people. While I sat there, days after day, dressed in all my finery, my insides were on fire. I had nothing to think about, so all I ever thought about was you. I was haunted day and night, for three years. And when I came here and saw you again, all of those feelings ran through me again. It hit me, and still I can't think of anything else."