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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Arnav spent the next few days, wondering if the Gupta family was even real. Sure, they held much prestige in the society, sure they had generations of notable members, sure anyone would do anything to be associated with them, and yet, to Arnav they appeared barely functional.
Maybe it was because he saw the misery behind their smiles. And knew the reason for it.
Despite feeling awkward and intruding on his first day at the Gupta manor, Arnav quickly grew accustomed to the people that lived in it. His father sought out more and more excuses to keep him out of the office, probably on instructions from his mother, but Arnav accepted it all without a scene.
If staying with his in-laws for a few days convinced everyone that his marriage was working out, then he had no issues with it. And if in the meantime he understood why they never talked about Garima or her strange accident, then even better.
Arnav didn't know why his mother-in-law fascinated him so much.
He had spent so much time in the last two months believing in earnest that Khushi was just a pesky little addition to his life for the sake of the cameras, a pretense that he had to carry on for life, that he didn't pause, even for a second, to realize that she was more than just a face. He had been caught up in the haze of Myra's disappearance so deeply that he had lost sight of everything else.
But seeing Garima on the bed that day, it was as if he was rudely slapped awake. Her condition reminded him of how much it meant to breathe, even if wretchedly, and also just how much Khushi had been burying beneath her vacant expressions. And her icy response, when he genuinely felt sorry for her loss brought forth a lot of fresh questions.
The first (and obvious) one was, how come no one mentioned his mother-in-law's accident to him? When his father brought Khushi's alliance, he went into great detail explaining every member of the Gupta family, but said nothing about their mother. Khushi too never spoke about her, although it was another thing that he never bothered to talk to her or look into what she did when he wasn't at home.
Thus, Arnav found himself retracing his steps to Garima's room at least once a day. He would talk to the nurse, hoping maybe she would divulge some more details or just sit there, wondering how a person can be breathing but not alive. It was a very odd conundrum.
"Back again?"
Arnav smiled at the nurse. He was (once again) in Garima's room. "Gotta kill time somehow. How is she doing?"
"Same as every day."
Arnav nodded and pressed on. Today he came with questions. "Khushi said something about there being no brain activity in her, is that true?"
"Yes, the doctor could not detect any activity the last time he did a full check-up."
"And when was that?"
"Two months ago."
"Can I look at the reports? Or the MRI scans? That's what they are called right?"
