Arranged marriage was an age-old story that Khushi, the youngest of the infamous Gupta family, who revolutionized and dominated the trading market for generations, knew well.
For it was the only thing she heard growing up.
But that neither prepared...
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(Scroll down for the Raizada family tree if you need a refresher!) ________________________
"Sona, can you please give these files to Dr. Durga? And tell her to message me when the patient in room 112 wakes up."
"Yes yes Dr. Gupta, now go and enjoy Holi! You are not supposed to be working today."
Khushi snorted. "Holi can wait."
The nurse simply shook her head in exasperation.
It was indeed Holi today and instead of preparing for it in the Raizada Mansion along with the rest of her in-laws, Khushi had snuck into the hospital at the break of dawn, determined to put in some hours before the celebrations began. She had already lost a week of working –thanks to her stupid Influenza infection– there was no way she could afford to miss any more days.
The hospital, of course, was bustling with activity as per usual. In fact, they were expecting a higher than usual amount of cases that day. They called it the "Holi madness". If it wasn't for her mother-in-law's annual Holi party, Khushi might have been working too. It was no secret that she thrived in emergencies.
Not that she was complaining though. Holi under her father's regime had been utterly boring, involving nothing but a prayer and perhaps a cocktail party where colours were completely absent (they weren't classy enough for the Gupta family). And so, Khushi had grown up not really understanding what the hype was around this festival.
However, this year, it was different. She knew by now that Arnav's family did nothing normal as per her father's traditions, so it was given that their Holi celebrations would be fun. And maybe, just maybe, she will understand why everyone went a little crazy on this one day.
"Khushi? I didn't know you were working today!"
Khushi let out a sigh, having no trouble recognizing the excited voice. So much for getting in and out of the hospital undetected, she thought drily, turning around to meet Ved – incidentally for the first time after their Nainital trip.
"Woah," Ved said, catching sight of her face.
Khushi instinctively touched her cheeks; was her makeup by accident? "What's wrong?"
"You look... beautiful."
Khushi beamed.
Being grounded at home for the past week had given her ample amount of time to figure out what to wear for the party. So instead of throwing on the first item she found in her closet as per habit, this time she did her research (and also a little online shopping), settling for an a-line ivory maxi skirt paired with a denim crop top embellished with pearls. It was so different from her usual outfits –mainly formal kurtis at the hospital or embroidered palazzo suits with her in-laws– that she had hesitated for the tiniest of seconds while getting ready that morning.
