Arnav
"But where is Khushi?"
Arnav slid his phone out of his pocket, his fingers scrolling quickly to her name. Worry unfurled within him when she didn't answer. He was half way through redialing when the realization struck him.
Shyam isn't around either.
"Mama-ji, where's Jija-ji?"
He made every effort to sound casual. Calm. But his voice still shook under the weight of his terror.
If they're together ...
"A phone-call came, and then he left ..." Mama trailed off.
And now his pulse hammered, dread and rage and panic all mingling in his blood. He made for the dressing rooms, eyes darting left and right as he searched for his wife.
Don't be with him. Be anywhere, Khushi, just don't be with him.
He muttered her name as he searched amongst the crowds of people busily packing up after the talent night.
"Have you seen Khushi Singh Raizada?" he asked the event manager as the man passed by.
Her voice echoed in his mind. "Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada".
"I think she and her husband—"
"—I'm her husband," Arnav interrupted with a growl.
"I'm sorry, you were dressed as Ranjha, so I didn't recognize you. Well ... I saw her leave with a man."
The sharp ache of betrayal made itself known in his chest. His blood cooled, pulse slowing, as he dismissed the man with a nod. His fingers curled into a fist.
No, whispered his heart, she's not with him.
He dialed another number.
"Aakash?"
"Yes, Bhai?"
"Do something for me. Take everyone outside and bring the car out, then I'll ..."
He trailed off.
Across the room, separated from him by a sea of people, stood his treacherous brother-in-law, smiling at someone. The crowd shifted, revealing a woman. Luscious form wrapped in a scarlet salwaar suit. A waterfall of black tresses. Arnav didn't need to see her face to know her as his wife.
His hand lowered, phone call forgotten, as his body became rigid. Bands tightened across his chest, making it impossible to breathe. A cocktail of pain and fury burned in his veins instead, blurring his vision. He watched Shyam smile and nod at Khushi, placing his hand on her arm as if to comfort her. Arnav tried to swallow the bile that rose at the back of his throat. He looked away.
Don't be weak, Arnav. Witness her betrayal. This is the woman you love. Poison wrapped in sweetness. Treachery shrouded in innocence.
His eyes found them again, honing in on Khushi's fingers as they caressed Shyam's. He took a shuddering breath as his anguish intensified. Then a man came to stand in his line of sight, and when he was able to see them again, Khushi had left. Shyam stared after her, mouth tilted in an amused smile as he shook his head fondly.
Arnav hurried in the direction Shyam's stare indicated. Tears – of wrath, of betrayal – formed. His mouth twisted as he dismissed them, channeling everything into anger.
It embraced him like an old lover.
It wasn't hard to find her. I didn't dance to your tune, but I did dance with you, he'd said after Aakash's Sangeet, but the truth was that his every cell was attuned to her. He could find her, unerringly, with his eyes closed.
His heart had learnt to beat in tandem with hers.
"Where were you?" he growled, barely aware of his sister's presence.
Khushi's smile disappeared. She trembled, a proverbial deer trapped in headlights, frozen as he tried to read her treachery in her eyes.
"She was right here," Di interjected, "She was looking for me backstage."
"Di, you must be tired," Khushi took advantage of the distraction, "Should we go home?"
Arnav watched the tableau unfold, forehead creased as his wife and his sister lied to him. Khushi smiled, seeming every bit the concerned sister-in-law, and for a moment, everything inside him ached for it to be true.
How can she smile at Di when she was with Shyam not two minutes ago?
The same way she can lie to you, Arnav.
Why is Di covering for her?
Trusting too much runs in our blood. Mamma. Di. Me.
He stood frozen, conflict and agony trapping him as effectively as adamantine chains, and Khushi escaped without meeting his eyes. Blood rushed in his ears. His hands shook.
Shyam.
He retraced his steps, intent on giving voice to the tumult inside him, on warning the snake away from his wife yet again, but halted when he saw that Aakash and the rest of their family had joined him.
"Jija-ji, where were you?" he heard Aakash ask.
"It's nothing, Saale-Sahib. I just had some work nearby so ..."
Arnav looked away, gritting his teeth as nausea rose in his throat.
He was adrift in a sea of treachery, and the life-line he'd chosen for himself was made of lead.