Titaliya

Chapter 34

The evening was chilly. Veda pulled her cashmere shawl tighter around herself as she waited for her guest. She stood inside a gazebo overlooking the river. The small table at the center was set for dinner. Candles burned at the center, and the food was covered with metal domes.

The man she was waiting for was escorted up the stairs by one of the waiters. He was wearing fresh clothes courtesy of the resort's small boutique. The clothes were put on her tab, and he seemed elated by both their quality and their cost.

"Good evening," she said, taking her seat.

"Vedaji!" he said. Veda tried to stop herself from flinching away from his voice, just as sickeningly sweet as she remembered. "I knew you would remember me! We loved each other–"

"Please. Take a seat."

He was deluded if he thought she would believe his lies so blindly. But that was what they needed. For Shyam to be deluded to believe everything she told him. Veda cleared her throat, ignoring the bile that threatened to rise up her throat at Shyam's simpering smile.

"I don't remember you, but I heard from Payal that you hid your marital status. That we got engaged without Payal's parents or me knowing you were married to Mr. Raizada's sister."

"That–"

"Is understandable," she finished for him. Veda unfolded the cloth napkin on her table and smoothed it over her lap, using it as an excuse to avoid eye contact with the lizard in front of her. "I know what the Raizadas are like. Once they want something, they will do anything to get it. I'm assuming Anjali is no different from her brother. And you seem a man from a middle-class family. I'm assuming you had little choice in the matter."

Shyam nodded emphatically. "It's true, Khush– I mean, Vedaji! I was just a poor law student. I couldn't say no to a big family like theirs. I tried to, but Arnav wouldn't let me."

"Of course not. I imagine there aren't many people willing to enter such a family. Even if they are wealthy. I don't support you lying to Payal's parents and aunt and trying to marry me, but I'm not angry at you. I think I can see your point of view."

"Thank you!" Shyam cried out. He thought his chance was gone, but the Khushi in front of him was so much better than the one he had lost. The Khushi in front of him saw the Raizadas as what they were, and better, she saw them as worse than they were. There was no chance for Arnav anymore. If he played his cards right, he had a chance of marrying her. The Bharadwaj fortune was massive. Khushi was young, and her grandmother old. They would readily hand the power and money over to him if he became their son-in-law.

"You do not know how difficult it is, Vedaji," Shyam continued. "She's a cripple and a child. She always whines and cries for me, and her brother threatens me to stay with her. My work suffers because of her neediness, and I do not love her."

"But you pretend to," Veda blurted out, disgusted at his lies. Seeing the stunned expression on her face, she realized she hadn't masked her anger. "I mean, you have to pretend to, otherwise I'm sure Mr. Raizada threatens consequences."

"Exactly, Vedaji. I understand wanting your sister to get married. But who would want to marry a cripple?"

Veda's palms curled into fists in her napkin. Anjali was too kind, naive, and trusting for her own good. But despite her flaws, she was a fundamentally good woman. She was an excellent wife, and would make an exceptional mother. The biggest problem she had was not within herself, but her brother. Shyam went on, ranting about Anjali's excessive piousness, her endless fasting and prayers, and the way she was obsessed with her baby. To hear Anjali belittled and slandered in such a way was difficult for Veda to hear.