I changed my clothes before I called Arnav to come pick me up. This time I selected another suit. I wore an A-line suit of red and purple. The leggings were the same rich purple as the dupatta, and the kurta was a rich, sensual red. I strapped on my favorite heels, the purple ones with the brocade straps and silver clasp. I did a quick swipe of just basic make up—a little day cream, thin lining of black kohl in my eyes and a thin coat of lip gloss. I let my dark brown, wavy hair flow loose as I usually did. I looked at myself in the mirror trying to flaunt my curves, which were tightly embraced by the dress, showing off my flat belly. I hoped Arnav would notice my body often. But he had never seemed to appreciate me in the physical sense. I stared at myself and found that red made me look good. The golden undertones of my fair skin actually glowed in it.  It had been less than half an hour since Arnav called. When Arnav reached the house gate to collect me, it had

I was skeptical about eating that heavily loaded paratha Chhaya Didi had just served me. It was too oily, and I was in no mood to spoil my curves. I stared at the ghee dripping from it and decided to dab at it with a tissue. As I was about to grab the tissue, Maa stopped me, “Beta, this one paratha won’t mess up your body. Stop worrying so much, just eat properly.”Everyone laughed at me and Arnav winked at my feebleness. These people did not like me slim. Abhishek Bhaiya then asked, “so, how’s the Indore thing going?”“It's almost ready, but I don't think we should waste time with a grand opening party for it. I think a formal opening targeting the customers will work just fine,” said Arnav.“Yes, I believe you’re right. We should narrow our focus and really try to connect with the customer

POV: Arnav The dining table was cleared up, Kriti hadn’t joined us for dinner that evening and almost everyone was suspicious that we’d had a fight. I had to cover up by saying that it was just a headache and I’d given her a painkiller. I had talked to Maa and she was disappointed that I would be moving to Indore alone. I could see that in her face. She had been really quiet after I broke the news to her. But, I knew she would understand. My mind was aimlessly trailing in different directions as I rested on the sofa, when Chhaya Didi interrupted, “Arnav Bhaiya, should I take Kriti Bhabhi’s food to her room?” I was skeptical if she would be alright by now. I covered again, “no, don’t worry. I’m going up now, I’ll take that with me.”Abhishek Bhaiya looked at me with suspicion, “Bha

I drenched my throat with the water, as a morning habit. I’ve read that it was good for one’s skin. We were both up but he was busy sifting through some files his head down in concentration. I wanted to talk to him but wasn’t sure what I should say.Before I could decide what to do, his phone rang. Sometimes, it felt like he’d married his work and not me! It was probably something about Indore. I went from all chirpy to dishearten when he stated, “I’ll be there on Tuesday, you’ll have to manage everything until then.”I checked the day on my phone, it was Friday, there wasn’t much time left. I decided not to say anything. He turned toward me, “Kriti…I’m going to the hall, come down when you’re ready.”“Alright…I’ll hurry,” I slurred and stood up from the bed. “You’ll be leaving on Monday?”He gave me a sad kind of smile. “Y

POV: Kriti It was 7:00 pm when Arnav finally came back home. I heard him call for coffee and listened as he stomped up the steps and into our bedroom. We shared a glance but I fell straight back into the interesting book in my hands. I wanted to block his way and confront him right there, but I waited. I could at least let the poor soul freshen up before I attacked him. I sat, curled up on the bed with my book waiting for the right moment to talk to my husband. I stole a few covert glances over the top of my book at him as he moved around the room, changing out of his work clothes. Just like a pickpocket watches his victim for a perfect opportunity to steal a wallet and run away, I noticed every move he made.“Kriti, what are you doing? Do you need something?” Apparently, I hadn’t been as covert as I’d thought.“No,” I immediately replied.“Then, are you aiming to jump me like some c