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...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Arnav watched his namesake wife hug her brother, seeing more than what he expected. There was relief on her face, relief like he often felt when he went home after a long stretch of time to his mother's embrace, but there was also a little bit of dread. He could tell she put on a confident front, but her eyes kept darting to the darkened hallways, looking for someone.
"Papa is...?" she finally asked.
"Sleeping," Vihaan answered. "You know he doesn't stay up past ten."
It was almost midnight. Arnav had spent the whole day in the office, making sure all the papers were in order. His father was resuming work from the next day –after a four-month hiatus thanks to his disastrous stroke– so he went out of his way to make sure everything was perfect, which meant by the time he arrived at his penthouse, it was much too late.
"I know," Khushi said. "We were late because-"
"It's my fault," Arnav interrupted quietly. "I got caught up with work, I am sorry to keep you waiting."
Vihaan smiled. "Don't be silly, it's no problem at all! Come in, I will show you to your room."
Arnav felt Khushi's eyes dig into his back as he began walking with Vihaan. He knew she was surprised to see him so... civil. It was clear she wasn't expecting him to follow any of the rules she laid out the previous night.
She should have known better.
They finally arrived at what he assumed was Khushi's bedroom. It was big like the rest of the house, but also simple. A single king-sized bed occupied the room, while a few armchairs rested beside the window. There were no pictures, no handlooms. It was so bare of memoirs that he found it hard to believe this used to be her room.
"Well, good night then," Vihaan said. "I will see you both in the morning."
Arnav continued inspecting the room in silence, when he heard her speak.
"I will sleep on the floor... you can take the bed."
A line appeared on his forehead. "Why?" he asked. "The bed is big enough for both of us."
Surprise darted across Khushi's face.
What was with her and beds? Did she have some weird vendetta against them?, Arnav thought to himself. She had refused to sleep on the bed at the Raizada mansion the last time they were there, and she even refused to use the spare one at the penthouse, preferring to crawl up on the sofa every night.
"Umm... you are okay... sharing the bed?" she asked timidly.
Arnav didn't see what choice they had. They were supposed to happy, isn't that what she said herself? So, what would happen to their perfect charade if they were caught sleeping in two different rooms?
It suddenly dawned to him: She didn't trust him to put her needs before his own comfort.
"A deal is a deal," he said. "You kept my family happy, so now it's my turn."
