To Love or Not To Love

Chapter 3

Broad daylight had her eyes squinting and her skin soaking up the sunlight. She had been locked in a room for two days. She didn't know why. Not that she hadn't tried to find out, but all her efforts had been in vain. The security personnel didn't seem to know anything and the person behind this forced imprisonment didn't want to talk to her. The only thing she knew was the name of the man who had put her through all this - Arnav Singh Raizada.

She walked out of Sheesh Mahal in dirty crumpled festive clothes. She felt she had let down her family. And along with that thought, another crossed her mind.  She didn't know what had happened to her sister. Did her Jiji get married? Did the groom's side agree to the wedding despite the lack of dowry? She rushed home in her disheveled state, not caring for the awkward looks passerby's on the road gave her.

****

Khushi Gupta was the adopted daughter of Shashi and Garima Gupta. She was eight years old when Shashi had brought her into their lives and given her a family and home. Shashi, Garima and their ten-year-old daughter Payal had accepted Khushi with open arms. Overnight Khushi had a family - a father, a mother, and an older sister. Shashi owned and ran a local sweetmeat shop in the bustling city of Lucknow and Garima was a stay at home mom. Their unconditional love and acceptance gave Khushi the much-needed security to flourish. She wholeheartedly accepted them, after all, Shashi was her dad's older brother. But she still missed her parents. She still wondered what life would have been like if she hadn't lost them to that car crash. She also believed that people who died turned into stars. And so she hung stars from her ceiling, right above her bed and talked to her parents whenever she felt lonely. 

It wasn't that often, but Khushi did feel lonely. She truly loved her family with all her heart, but a part of her had never let go of wishing for a life that was never to be. She missed her Baba and Amma. They were special. No one could take their place. And so she called Shashi Babuji and Garima Ma. They deserved her unconditional love and respect, which she gave them. But they would never be Rishi and Hema. 

*****

When she reached home, she was greeted with worried faces. The wedding had fallen apart and Khushi had been missing for the last two days. Her parents didn't know what to make of it. They had gone to the police for help only to be told they had to wait for 72 hours before the police could officially launch a formal investigation. In the meanwhile, the inspector assured them that if they received any information, they would let them know. And so the Guptas had waited. With every passing minute, their fear increased. 

When they saw Khushi at their doorstep, in a state one could barely call presentable, they didn't know whether to thank God that their daughter was alive or worry as to why she was in that condition in the first place.

But before they could voice any concerns, Khushi spoke. "Where is Jiji?"

"She has gone to the temple."

"Did she get married?"

Khushi dreaded the answer she might get.

"She didn't. The baraat went back because we couldn't afford the dowry."

Khushi mentally cursed herself for Shashi Gupta's loss of money and reputation. The Guptas belonged to a middle-class family. And in their societal circles, everything was always the girl's fault. The marriage not having taken place would tarnish Payal's future prospects of getting married. Every relative, neighbor, and friend will make it a point to rub the wound. The Guptas would now have to deal with pitiful looks, unsolicited advice and marriage proposals from men twice Payal's age, only because the groom was greedy. 

Everyone knew it was illegal to ask for dowry. But it was socially accepted. And so no one was going to say or do anything about it. Khushi could just imagine the things that would have been said to her parents and her sister. When her family needed her the most, she wasn't there. Even if her reasons were justified, she couldn't absolve herself of her guilt. 

She walked through the door, intending to go to the room she shared with her older sister when Shashi interrupted. "Where have you been for the last two days?"

"Babuji, I had gone to Sheesh Mahal to reason with Mayank about the entire exorbitant dowry situation. But somehow I got directed to the wrong room and ended up walking and slipping down a ramp in a fashion show. Apparently, they felt that I was sent by some spy to ruin the image of that company and so they kept me enclosed in a small dingy room for two days hoping to find out something. When they realized that I was not part of any of their rival organizations, they let me go."

Khushi was glad she had gotten everything off her chest. She felt lighter. Her mother gave her worried looks and asked her to go take a hot water shower. As soon as Khushi was out of sight, Shashi Gupta's dam of patience broke. "How dare they treat my daughter like that", he roared. I want to know who those filthy human beings are who are capable of torturing a 24-year-old girl. If they didn't believe what she said, they could have investigated. But trying to scare her into a confession. Hasn't my Khushi already suffered enough in life for this to happen to her?"

Garima tried to placate her husband. But Shashi was beyond trying to see reason.

Unknown to them, a black Mercedes had followed Khushi all the way home and now Arnav Singh Raizada knew that for the first time in life, he had been wrong in judging someone. The girl had indeed told the truth. He rolled the windows of his car up and made his way back to Sheesh Mahal, his temporary headquarters in Lucknow. Even though the fashion show was a debacle, AR was still launching its fall collection in Lucknow. He had plenty of work to do.

He never thought about apologizing to Khushi and her parents. It was tough luck. ASR never felt guilty about any of the decisions he took.