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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"So... did you decide?"
It was, at last, the day of Arnav's discharge and instead of overseeing it in the hospital, Khushi was found having brunch with her brother. Her shift that day was due to begin at 12 o'clock in the afternoon, so she used the morning to finally answer Vihaan's growingly frantic texts, asking her about shifting to London with him.
Now that she made her decision, she didn't see what the point was of keeping it hidden.
"I did," Khushi answered calmly, adjusting her white chiffon blouse tucked neatly in khaki colored tapered pants that ended just above her ankles.
"And?" Vihaan pressed, anxious.
"I'm not coming with you."
Vihaan groaned, running his hands through his hair like how Arnav often did when he was stressed.
"Do you realize what you're saying?" Vihaan asked. "You want to stay here, married to Arnav–"
"Yes," she said, taking a sip of coffee. "Because things are different now Vihaan... Life with Arnav is finally good. How can I just leave all that behind and come to London?"
He looked at her, confused. "Is this because of Papa? You don't need to be scared of him–"
Khushi hid her smile behind her coffee cup. Alok was no longer a cause of fear anymore, Arnav made sure of that.
"Please, Papa is my last concern. Did I tell you he showed up at the hospital two days ago?"
Vihaan frowned. "No... you don't tell me anything these days Khush."
"Don't sulk. I have been busy, and you must be too... have you booked your tickets to London?"
"Yes. We're leaving in three weeks."
"So quickly?"
He shrugged. "Well, what do you expect me to do? Sit at home and irritate Papa some more?"
"What an inviting thought," she answered with a grin. "But I get it... you have a business to set up. Did you get an office yet?"
"Don't divert the topic... why did Papa come to the hospital?"
Khushi tried to recollect. Stunned by the realization of her feelings towards Arnav, she had never bothered to find out the actual reason behind her father's visit.
"I dunno know," she mumbled. "I never ended up speaking to him."
"He came to the hospital and left without telling you off?" Vihaan said, taken aback. "That's surprising."
"Well, I'm sure he would have, if he had the chance. But I was at an awards ceremony –I won best resident of the year by the way– and by the time it was done, Arnav had given him a piece of his mind about not letting me work."
