RISHTAA: An Arranged Love (IPKKND AU) **ON HIATUS**

Chapter 29: Payal

Payal blew into her cup of tea as she leaned against the window. Khushi and Arnav-ji had returned from their drive a few minutes ago, and Amma had delivered a fresh pot of tea to them on the verandah. She watched her sister smile shyly at Arnav-ji as she handed him a cup. He winked at Khushi as he sipped. Payal turned away.

Khushi finally called him.

Happiness blossomed within her, knowing that Khushi's smile would now return.

Now if only my smile ...

"Payalia, what are you doing near the window?" Bua-ji called from her perch on the settee, "It's bad enough that our Sanka Devi is sitting outside with Arnav-babua. Get away from there, you'll catch a cold."

Nodding, Payal returned to her seat next to Amma.

"Are they talking?" Amma leaned over to whisper.

"Yes," Payal smiled, "It looks like their fight is over."

"Thank Devi Maiyya. I was beginning to worry."

"Khushi is strong, but she can be very stubborn," Payal said fondly.

Would things be different if I was strong like Khushi? Would Abhishek-ji have loved me more?

She tried to smile at her parents, wishing she had Khushi's knack of coaxing smiles out of everyone. Her sister, if she were here, would make a joke or sing a song to banish the melancholy in the room.

"Garima-ji, you were worrying for nothing," Babu-ji interjected into the silence, "Our daughter is smart and capable. And Arnav-babua is a good man."

Meaning that Abhishek-ji was not.

Payal finished her tea in silence, turning her father's words over in her mind. Arnav-ji was a good man. His offer to pay the dowry, when he could've so easily distanced himself from everything, had awed her. But he was rich – so rich that he was in the newspapers and on the TV – and she sympathised with Khushi's confusion over Babu-ji's refusal to take the money. It was his family's kindness that touched Payal. 

His sister visited often, bringing small gifts and a ready smile. Anjali-ji seemed to know when she wanted to talk and when she needed silence, when she needed to eat and when she wanted to be left alone. 

Aakash-ji was a gentle presence on her morning visits to the temple. He accompanied Anjali-ji on most days, solid and dependable and quiet, and Payal had come to look forward to his company.

Arnav-ji's Nani had sent some embroidery patterns, and she and Anjali-ji were working hard to master them.

At least I'll be able to help Bua-ji with her embroidery business. Her pension is stuck again.

The front door opened, revealing Khushi and Arnav-ji. Khushi made for the kitchen, the tray of tea in her hands. 

Arnav-ji gave a small smile as he brought his hands together. "Namaste."

Amma offered him a seat as everyone greeted him. She ignored his protests about the late hour and harried him into a dining chair. Payal bit back a smile, watching as they all pretended that he and Khushi hadn't been fighting for three weeks.

Khushi returned to the room as Bua-ji asked after his family. He paused mid-sentence, his eyes flicking over to Khushi, who wrung her hands as she looked between him and the rest of the family.

She doesn't know where to sit, Payal realised.

A stab of jealousy surprised her as Arnav-ji offered his own chair before fetching a second dining chair, which he placed next to her. She guiltily tried to push the feeling aside but it persisted. They seemed to speak to each other with their eyes.

Khushi's found her rajkumar.

The despondent jealousy within her only added to her glum mood. The fact that Khushi was her cousin – Amma's sister's daughter – was rarely mentioned within their household. Khushi had been eight when she'd come to live with them and from that first night when she'd curled herself against Payal, sobbing as she asked after her parents, she'd been a true younger sister.

And what kind of a sister am I?

Payal leaned over and whispered an excuse to her mother before fleeing to the small bedroom she shared with Khushi. Her tears threatened to spill as she sat on the edge of their bed, ducking slightly to avoid the gold and silver stars that hung from the frame. Her eyes found the small statue of Devi Maiyya.

"I know you're Khushi's special friend," she began, feeling slightly absurd, "but you help us all when we need you. Don't you?"

She moved to sit at the desk.

"I need you," her voice broke, "I can't ... I don't want to watch my family like this. I'm trying to smile and I'm trying to eat but all I can think about is how I wasn't good enough. His family ... they are whatever they are ... but he didn't want to marry me. He didn't even want to speak to me."

An image of Abhishek-ji sitting on their small settee, sipping tea as he smiled at her, flashed into her vision. He'd been nice and polite and she'd liked him from the moment her eyes had found his.

Lies. All lies.

But her heart wouldn't listen. She still wished for the future she'd dreamt of, a life with his parents and his younger sisters.

"Jiji?"

Payal mopped up her tears with her dupatta, grateful that Khushi had knocked before opening the door.

"Your Arnav-ji is gone?"

"Yes," Khushi gave a small smile, "but he's asked us all to come to his offices on Saturday. He said there's something he wants us to see."

"Do you know what it is?"

Khushi broke into a grin, bouncing excitedly, "Yes! And Jiji, I just know that you'll love it!"

She bounded up to bestow a long hug before grabbing a towel and disappearing into the bathroom. Payal watched her go, relief spreading through her.

At least she's happy again.

She made ready for bed, fishing out a set of sleeping clothes and brushing her hair as she waited for her sister to finish in the bathroom. Khushi emerged, her hair wrapped in a towel, and made straight for her phone, back to her routine of texting her fiancé before bed. Payal gently smacked her sister on her head as she passed.

She brushed her teeth and changed, trying not to look at her puffy face in the mirror. Instead, her eyes found her left hand, and the space that'd once been occupied by a small diamond ring. They'd sold it to cover the lost income from the sweet shop.

Her tears threatened to return, so Payal splashed her face with cold water before returning to the bedroom. She sat behind her sister and began to braid her hair, as if Khushi was still eight years old and in need of comfort.

"I'm glad you called Arnav-ji."

"I'm glad too Jiji."

"When I saw you two sitting together today, I realised you'd found your rajkumar. He loves you very much."

"Does he?" Khushi's voice trembled.

"I'm sure he tells you every day when he texts you, Pagal," Payal smiled.

"That Laad Governor?" her sister snorted delicately, "He's never said it."

"Well, then," she said briskly, trying to cover her mistake, "he should tell you soon. Have you told him?"

As expected, the question diverted Khushi from her sadness.

"Me! Hai Devi Maiyya, are you listening to her? Me, tell Arnav-ji that I love him!"

"Don't you love him?"

"He's the man, he has to go first."

"Mmmm," Payal stifled a giggle as she tied off the plait, "Aren't you always saying you're a modern woman? Independent and strong? Do you think modern women can say it first?"

Her sister swung around, hiding her face in her hands. Her voice was muffled when she spoke, "Jiji, I can't ..."

"I'm sure you'll think of something," Payal smiled.