Khushi's Web

Chapter 4

'That's messed up. This Lavanya lady had to keep it in the family.' Kanaya quipped.

'There is nothing messy Kanaya. Lavanya was a pretend girlfriend of ASR to keep the media away. It got complicated when the family wanted him to marry. He had to bring her home but then Khushi happened.'

'Interesting. It's beginning to sound like a soap opera. What do you say Shweta?' Kanaya, the funny guy of the lot continued. He was really getting hooked to the case.

'If only it was romance but now it's more like a mystery and I don't like mysteries.'

'Farhan, tell us more,' Surbhi said.

'The man is a genius. ASR got scholarships throughout his studies and went straight to Harvard where he graduated his masters with summa cum laude. Got a loan from one of his rich lecturers who believed in him and that was the beginning of AR. Later he went on to possess his ancestral home and kicked the uncle out and there we have the entrance of our Heroine. Khushi Kumari Gupta.'

Neil took over, with Khushi's history he needed no written documents as he knew her story, maybe more than what Farhan had dug up.

'Khushi had gone to Sheesh Mahal on a whim. She was a rich girl who wanted to explore. As a young child she described herself as a rebellious child and a spoilt one too. Born and raised in Singapore, she ran away from home fooling her bodyguards. She wanted to see her motherland India. She just knew she was Indian  and her roots stemmed from Lucknow but had never been here. 

'She sneaked into Sheesh Mahal as the building fascinated her and she had read some history about it. Unfortunately, that was the day of ASR's fashion show and to add more spice the poor girl was carrying an expensive camera. As fate would have it, she was thrown onto the ramp, mistaken for a model because of the dress she was wearing, and she practically fell into ASR's arms.'

'It caused quite a stir. I was in Lucknow that time,' Bhavna said.

'Was it love at first sight?' The ever-romantic Surbhi asked.

'I don't know but their pics trended on social media and national television. That was the last time she was seen in Lucknow. Some say it was because of this embarrassment that she was exiled out of the city.'

'That exposé led to her family finding out where she was and of course the following day they were in Lucknow. She asked to stay in India and explore her life. They agreed on one condition that she would go to Delhi and with one of her bodyguards. She agreed and moved with Palak, but her shenanigans continued. Palak's duty was only to see that no danger was to befall her. She ended up working for ASR, challenging the man, and testing his ego. First in the office and later as a trainer for Lavanya.'

'Training her for what?'

'Being a good housewife. ASR's grandmother was against the woman, she was too modern. She didn't like her.'

'But how did Khusi know our Indian culture? She must have been worse than Lavanya?'

'She was a girl on a mission. She did what she did best and with Khushi's attitude towards life, she could attain anything if she puts her mind on it. Instead of ASR falling for the changed Lavanya, he fell for Khushi. According to him, he was mesmerized by the girl who had fallen into his arms. He calls her fallen angel sometimes.'

'How cute, that brute is romantic also?' Shweta said.

'But why did he marry her suddenly?' Surbhi asked.

'Love.' Neil said.

'Money?' Asked Farhan. 'Don't get me wrong KKG was loaded, I mean she still is. ASR is nothing compared to her.'