Arranged marriage was an age-old story that Khushi, the youngest of the infamous Gupta family, who revolutionized and dominated the trading market for generations, knew well.
For it was the only thing she heard growing up.
But that neither prepared...
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The beautiful thing about time was that it never stopped. Only to Khushi, that was not much condolence. Every day was the same. Wake up, eat, sleep. Repeat.
It wasn't until her brother, Vihaan, called two days ago that she realized a full month had passed since she was married. And in that month, she had seen her husband maybe four times. Despite not having uttered a single word to each other, an invisible pact had been made between them – and it was to avoid each other as best as possible.
Arnav made sure to leave for work before she woke up every morning and she made sure to fall asleep before he returned. She didn't have the faintest clue what he did during all those hours that he was gone, and she never bothered to find out either.
The trouble was figuring out what to do with her time.
In the beginning, she spent most of her days alone, trying her best to accept the strange new apartment as home. It was the first time in her whole twenty-five years of life that she had so many hours to spare, so in many ways she spoilt herself doing whatever she felt like.
Lata was of no help either. Being her only confidant, the woman went out of her way to make Khushi's life comfortable, whether it was cooking her favourite food or bringing DVDs of her favourite movies. It was all very touching.
Only, it didn't suffice for long. Bored out of her mind, Khushi slowly began to step out of the house, touring the quiet neighbourhood. Sometimes, she would sit in a nearby park and watch strangers bustle about with their daily lives. Other times she would just keep walking until her feet could no longer carry her. It wasn't normal, that she knew, but it was peaceful. So she accepted it without complaints.
On some lucky days, her brother would come to visit, bringing news of life at the Gupta manor post her wedding. Khushi often looked forward to these visits, although she had been at a complete loss of words in the last one.
"Is Arnav even trying to make this marriage work?" Vihaan had asked suddenly out of the blue.
"W-what makes you say that?" she stammered.
"Well he spends most of his time at the company doesn't he? Ever since the merger, I haven't seen him out of his office."
Khushi was mum. She couldn't lie to her brother, but she also couldn't burden him with the truth, especially since he already held himself responsible for her situation.
"Are you not telling me something?" Vihaan pressed. "Is Arnav mistreating-"
"No! Of course not. He isn't mistreating me at all."
"Then what is it?"
She wished she had an answer. She wished she could tell him something that wasn't upsetting. No matter how well aware of the troubles in her marriage he was, she was sure her brother would not be able to digest the fact that she still slept on the couch in the living room.
