8

Khushi

I feel my body shaking as I scrub the kitchen floor.

I was brought to this new house about nine hours back. Everything was done in such a rush that no one gave me breakfast, too, as they usually did.

It has been more than sixteen hours since I last ate, and I am starving now, but I cannot do anything about it.

I was not allowed to the kitchen or anywhere outside my room in that mansion because Arnav restricted me from doing so, telling me no one there wanted to see my face.

When he allowed me to leave that room this morning so I could come here, I looked around, and no one was there. Not in the corridors, not in the living room, nowhere.

I felt a pinch in my heart then, realizing how much hatred and disgust each person in that mansion had for me. But somehow, I also felt some relief because I did not want to hear any taunts or allegations from anyone anymore.

When I entered this house, I kept my suitcase in the room that Arnav's bodyguards told me was mine. Then I came to the kitchen to eat something. I thought the kitchen must have already been stocked, but I was wrong.

The refrigerator was empty, and all the cupboards in the kitchen were bare except for some plates, glasses, and pans.

When I asked one of the bodyguards about the food, he told me he would need to call Arnav and ask. That bodyguard returned a while later and informed me about Arnav telling him to have someone deliver groceries here by noon.

'But it is about to be 6 pm now, and nothing has been delivered yet.'

I wonder if Arnav deliberately delayed the delivery of the groceries to punish me by keeping me hungry.

I know how much he hates me and how far he can go to punish me. The bruises and many aches on my body are testaments to it.

A lone tear slides down my cheek as I remember what he did last night. He was so brutal, so relentless. Hurting me, calling me such vile names, insulting me every moment as he defiled my body. It had been too much to take last night.

Every time he hurts me so much that I think he cannot do worse than that. But he proves me wrong the next time when he hurts me more than the previous time.

Blinking rapidly to stop myself from crying, I continue scrubbing the floor.

As no one has been living in this house and has not cleaned it for the last three months since Arnav bought it, it is really unkempt and dusty.

I started cleaning the house half an hour after arriving here, wanting to finish it before Arnav returned from the office.

I remember the angry gaze with which Arnav had looked at me while promising me a punishment if he found that cleaning was not per his standards.

As I scrub the floor, I hear my stomach growl.

Cleaning all the rooms, bathrooms, and now the kitchen has made my whole body ache, and I also feel weak due to hunger.

I take a deep breath to lessen the shiver I feel throughout my body.

Getting scared that Arnav might come home at any time, I continue scrubbing the kitchen floor, wanting to complete the cleaning as soon as possible.

After last night, my body is too weak to endure any punishment today.

The more I try to clean faster, the more I feel my movement getting slower.

Taking deep breaths, I will myself to go on for some more time as only the kitchen is left to be cleaned now.

But soon, my vision starts getting blurry. Shaking my head and blinking my eyes, I try to stand up from the floor to go to the sink and drink some water.

With much difficulty, I am able to stand up and walk toward the sink.

As I get there, I touch the tap, but suddenly, everything goes black.

***********

Arnav

"Do dead people really become stars?"

Khushi looked at me and smiled as she heard my question.

"I don't know, but I like to believe it. I like to think that even though my parents are not with me, I can still see them and talk with them," Khushi replied.

We were both standing on the poolside, outside my room and even though the night was breezy, I did not mind the chill of the night much. Maybe because I was enjoying being with someone who could understand me the way no one had been able to.

The world only saw me as a formidable man. No one saw how lonely I had been ever since my parents died. Being constantly vigilant and protecting my sister and family, I have always been there for everyone. But no one has been there for me. Yes, my family loves me, but they could never understand me.

But this girl, who I met only a week back, gets me. Well, she annoys me, too, with all the names she gives me.

'The recent one being an insufferable prick.' I smiled, remembering her angry face when she called me that after our recent argument.

I looked at Khushi, sitting on the chair beside me, gazing at the stars, probably looking for her parents.

Suddenly she turned toward me and gave me a small smile.

I felt my breath catch at how beautiful she looked at that moment—moonlight shining over her face, making it glow. I have never seen such beauty in my whole life.

'What is it about you, Khushi? What makes you so different from all the elegant models I have dated so far?' I wondered as I continued peering at her face.

And when she blinked, her perfect eyelashes framing her eyes before revealing those perfect hazel orbs, I found my answer.

'It is her eyes.' I decided.

Those clear hazel orbs, reflecting only innocence, without any lingering malice and hardness, make her unique. Her purity attracts me to her.

My thoughts come to a halt as I stop the car in front of my house where Khushi has been brought.

I had been such a fool to believe she was an innocent soul.

In fact, she is the most dangerous person I have met to date. With that innocent-looking face, no one can imagine how black her heart really is.

I look around as I enter the house and am satisfied that she has cleaned it properly.

I could have easily hired cleaners for the job, but Khushi must learn her place in this house. She needs to know I will only see her as a maid of this house, never a lady.

There was a time when I thought about giving her the position of my equal, someone I would love and treasure forever.

We would have been so happy together. If only she were what she portrayed, not cunning as she really is.

"If only she were not such a slut," I mutter, slumping on the couch in the living room.

"Khushi, get me a glass of water," I call out as I loosen my tie.

After waiting a few minutes, I frown when Khushi does not come.

"This girl and her stubbornness. She will learn to obey once I am done with her tonight." Deciding that, I walk to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

When I enter the kitchen, my eyes widen in alarm as I see Khushi lying on the floor. With only a skimpy nightdress covering her body, she looked too frail, almost lifeless.

I freeze in shock momentarily when I see her that way, but I shake myself out of it and run to her.

"Khushi, wake up. What happened to you? Khushi?" Keeping her head on my lap, I pat her cheek, but there is no response.

As I pat and hold her cheeks, I realize she is burning with a fever. Not wasting any time, I pick her up and take her to the bedroom.

Laying her on the bed, I immediately call our family doctor.

***********

"Dr. Sinha was busy, so he requested me to do this home visit. Did he inform you?" Dr. Awasthi asks me as he enters the house.

"Yes, Sinha uncle told me when I called him. Thank you for coming on such short notice."

"That's alright. Sinha is an old friend. I could not refuse him." The older man gives me a warm smile.

After entering the bedroom, Dr. Awasthi sits on the chair beside the bed and starts examining Khushi.

I look on nervously as he continues the examination.

I have already changed Khushi's clothes and made her wear my clothes. All buttoned up. I do not want any outsider to see my wife's bruises. That would only create more headaches and messes.

"She has low blood pressure, Mr. Rathore. I think she has not been eating well. She also has a high fever, so I have injected her with an antipyretic. You can also try to lower her temperature by keeping a wet cloth on her forehead and wiping her face and hands with wet clothes. It will help."

I nod as I hear Dr. Awasthi. "Thank you, doctor. There is nothing to worry about, right?"

"Absolutely nothing to worry about. But make sure she eats properly and eats on time from now on," Dr. Awasthi replies, and I nod again.

"This is quite a surprise, actually. I did not know Khushi had gotten married. She is a lovely young girl. I must say you chose wisely, making her your wife," he tells me, and I am surprised.

"You know Khushi?"

"Yes, I know her. I visited her university in Mumbai once as a guest lecturer there. And that day, I was impressed with this girl's bravery. The dignified way she handled everything did leave an impression. That is why I recognized her as soon as I saw her."

I feel surprised and confused as I hear Dr. Awasthi. "What do you mean, doctor?"

"There had been an incident in the university the day I visited there. Apparently, one of the teachers had made an indecent proposal to Khushi, citing that he loved her. She had complained against him after that and had gotten him fired.

"He retaliated and tried to defame her by telling everyone that she had been trying to seduce him and complained against him when he said no. It was good that some of Khushi's friends had seen that man talk with her in a lewd way a few times before. And when it was proven that he was the one behind Khushi, he got thrown out of the university," Dr. Awasthi finishes speaking.

"What was that teacher's name?" I hold my breath, my whole body shaking with a doubt that Khushi might have been innocent in this all.

'If she is innocent, then what I did to her--' I could not even complete that thought.

"Didn't Khushi tell you about this? She is your wife."

"What was that teacher's name, Dr. Awasthi?" I ask again.

"Niranjan Shah," he replies to me, and with that, everything Khushi told everyone that night starts flashing in front of my eyes. She had shouted and cried that she was innocent and Niranjan was the culprit, but no one believed her.

I close my eyes in despair. My heart clenches painfully as the guilt of what I have done to Khushi overwhelms me. Every pain I made her suffer, each hurtful name I spat at her, she did not deserve anything.

She is a pure, innocent soul, and I am the monster who ruined her.