It had been two fortnights since fire & ice met, a month of their hatred, and only a few hell-like moments of their marriage. Yes. It's true. They were married. Mr & Mrs Arnav Singh Raizada. The angel & the devil.
The past night...
Khushi, dressed in red, adorned with sindoor; the red powder which was a sign of her hatred for Arnav, entered the candlelit bedroom; walked towards the bed, which had rose petals scattered all over it, alongside her sister-in-law and other giggling girls. She was made sit down, and the other girls were made leave, whilst Anjali remained in the room, which was no less than hell for Khushi. After a long gap of any talks or giggles, Anjali said, "Khushi'voh main janti hoon tumharey liye yeh sab' I mean, Arnav aur yeh sab'" Khushi knew that all that Anjali wanted was for her brother and his newly-wed wife to be happy, even though deep down it meant for their separation. Before Khushi could reply to this fragile girl;eyes numb, Nani walked in. For some reason, Nani was oblivious to the fact that no-one was actually happy, or even content with this'absurd' marriage, -or at least she wanted for it to seem that way. "Anjali, app yahan se gayee nahi, aai, appkey Mami ji aapka intezaar karath hai, aye." Despite her not wanting to leave, Anjali left, with Nani leaving Khushi.
Pulling his sehra off of his head, Arnav stormed into the room and flung it onto the couch. Khushi, feeling even more awkward than before, fidgeted with her gaghra, whilst she knew that he, Arnav, was glaring at her. "Tumhe yaha aneki ajaazat kisne di?"with no reply, his voice raised, and now was shouting the same question. Gaining the courage to speak up, she said, "Hum aapkey patni hai. Aur uss hak se hum..." "Oh just SHUT UP Miss. Khushi Kumari Gupta!" "Aur meri kamre se jaldi se nikhlo, tumharey paas sirf aur sirf mera naam hai. Aur uss haq se tum'." Before he could complete his taunt, Anjali came into room; still echoing of Arnav's husky voice. "Voh Chotte, tum please chup raho, Naani sun ley gi, tho phir'Dekho Chotte, yeh sab bas kuch dinho ki baat hai,'aur phir.." "Di please, maine yeh shaadi kar li hai naa, tho phir aap logh aur kya chahte hai? Aap sabh ko pata tha na, ke main iss se shaadi nahi karna chatha tha, tho phir meherbani karke aap logh mujhse koi umeed na rakhey. Aur aap isse kehdhe key yeh merey kamri se dafa ho jaa-" "Chotte!" Nani scolded, "Agir kisse ne is kamre se dafa hona hai, tho voh aap hain. Samje." "Naani aap iske aur meri shaadi karake khush nahi hai? Jho abh aap yeh fazool ke baath-" "Hum fazool ke baath na karath hai. Aur jinko aap 'iss' ko bhularahey hai, yeh aapkey patni hai." "Naani apko ache tharekhey se pata hai key eh shaadi sirf aur sirf-" "Hum kuch aur baath sonna nahi chahath hain. Anjali bitya, aap apne bhai ko samjhai, hum jahraheth hai. Aur aap Khushi bitya ko bhi samjha dena, ke inko darney ki koi zaroorat nahi hai. Hum apse subha milthath hai".
The silence afterwards was awkward. Very awkward. What would they do? What would he do is the question that ran around Khushi's mind. He stomped to the bed, placing himself vigorously onto it, back facing Khushi. She'd always dreamt of her marriage as those that most girls dream about, her being a bride, adorned with red jewels, matching the embroided with gold and flaked with the occasional gem; against the sparkly backdrop of a red ghagra. She wanted one where her husband actually loved her, where there was no pressure, no compulsion, she was marrying him- whoever he was going to be-, because she loved him, and he loved she. But, she was now married to him, Mr. Arnav Singh Raizada. He thought to himself, that why should he, Arnav Singh Raizada, have to share his bed, let alone his room, with her, a simple, penniless girl, of absolutely no stature. "Main yaha bed pe so raha hoon, tumne jaha marzey sona hai, tum va par sojana." "Aur agar main bisthar pe sona chahoon tho?" an unexpected reply exited Khushi's mouth after much thought."Tho phir tum so saktey ho." ASR, he was everything but an idiot. He knew that she wouldn't do that, she hated him just as much as he hated her, and whatever she was, she wasn't 'like that', -whatever 'that' actually was. He gave a smirk, the one you see the evil bozo give when he daftly thinks that he has won. "Kya?!?" she blurted out. "I mean, theek hai, likhn mujhe eik doosre chadhar chahiye, aur aik motha thankiya." He actually smiled, or he atleast stretched his lips away from that same old position. He didn't know why though, out of her childish-ness or something else, but he knew it wasn't out of'pleasure' that most assholes would feel. He was rather surprised actually, but he thought that after all, this was her motive; for him to get close to her, and then she'll be entitled to all that property, that money. But he wasn't an idiot either. "Okay." He replied, lost in a thought.
Arjun
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