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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"You paged me Sona?"
"Someone is here to see you, but they don't have an appointment."
A line appeared on Khushi's forehead. "Who is it?"
"Anjali Singh Raizada. I told her to wait in the lobby."
Khushi was stumped. A week had passed since she successfully completed her intern exam and was hired as a resident doctor in Abhaya Hospital. Although workwise this promotion didn't do much, on a personal note, Khushi was quite relieved and at peace. News of her repeating her internship had finally spread to the rest of her class, but just like how Ved had promised, no one alienated her. She was accepted just the same, and now, there were fewer complaints about her getting the best cases to work on.
That was the best she could hope for.
Other than that particular detail, things were pretty much the same... with one great exception. However, that was something she resolved not to get involved in. She was still yet to digest Arnav's words before he left for London, there was no way she was going to put herself on the path to many more such confrontations.
So, gathering her resolve, Khushi made her way to the hospital's lobby, where sure enough, her eldest sister-in-law was seated, her face grave. Something had to be very wrong for Anjali to make a trip all the way down to the hospital, for unlike Lavanya, she was neither whimsical nor chatty. In these past few months, she had respectfully kept her distance, speaking to Khushi only when the occasion called for it.
"Er hi Anjali," Khushi greeted awkwardly, stopping in front of her. Then on second thought, she added: "Didi."
Anjali stood up at once. "Don't be so formal, you can call me just Anjali."
"Uh okay... how can I help you?"
"I need to talk to you. Is there some place private we can go?"
Khushi dreaded speaking to her alone, but not having much choice, she simply nodded her head and began to lead the way through the hospital.
"They still haven't found me an office," she explained. "We can chat in the cafeteria, it's usually empty around this time."
Anjali simply nodded, not attempting to smile. Unsettled, Khushi cut to the chase as soon as they were seated at a table.
"So what happened?"
Anjali took a deep breath. "I wanted to talk to you about Chote."
Oh no.
"Something is wrong with him," Anjali continued, her eyes drenched in worry. "He is not going to the office or attending any client meetings... He is refusing to pick up any calls and wouldn't even let me into the apartment when I went to see him this morning!"
"Lata should be home to open the door-"
"He dismissed her," Anjali replied hastily, as though there was no time to talk about details. "Which was why I went to see him! I knocked for an hour, but he wouldn't respond. I am so, so worried Khushi! It's so unlike him to just ignore everyone..."
