Dried Lilies, Withered Hearts And A Lonely Path

•Chapter-1• Mrs worthless ugly Raizada.

Khushi didn't know how it started. There was an inside joke somewhere. She overreacted. He defended her. There were others around - concerned family, prying friends, meddlesome guests- but they stood back, wary and enjoying the free fire show. It began as usual- a melody of insults and accusations hiding an underlying pain, a wave of simmering anger, jealousy and apprehension and discomfort riding on the steady beat of tension, counting away measures of words that meant everything yet nothing at all. Things got ugly then. Khushi yelled and swore and She yelled and swore, Khushi shoved her lightly.

Sheetal swayed on her spot. The wine glass on her hand fell on the floor, splattering wine all over Khushi's feet.

Khushi gasped startled and horrified watching the red wine droplets ruin her pristine silver saree. The wedding anniversary gift by her husband and then by the sudden movement beside her.

Sheetal could be a professional scammer the way she fell on the floor. Well, not exactly on the floor but on the shattered pieces of the wine glass on the floor. A piece embedded itself in her palm, causing her palm to bleed.

"Sheetal!!!!"

Khushi heard her husband yell as he quickly came to Sheetal's rescue. She watched still too stunned to react as her husband wrapped his arms around Sheetal and helped her up. Mindful of the wound on her palm.

"You okay," he asked Sheetal softly.

Khushi watched as Sheetal's lips trembled eyes teared and she nodded pitifully in his direction.

Khushi stood there with no emotion on her face to shock to react on the scene that just happened before her. She couldn't make her brain unfreeze and then her heart froze when her husband looked at her, there was a coldness in his eyes.

He also blamed her. He didn't want to hear her side. He didn't trust her. Khushi realized with a shudder.

"Khushi it was just a joke...Why did you push me?" Sheetal sobbed.

"I...I didn't" Khushi began finding words to explain how she didn't mean this to happen. She didn't shove with enough force. Sheetal falls on her own. She didn't mean to but she didn't get to finish her statement for her husband looked at her with anger and was that disgust in his eyes?

He never looked at her with disgust? It can't be disgust can it be? He can't be disgusted by her. He loves her. Doesn't he?

"Enough. Do you think we are blind?" He demanded angrily from her.

"But..."

"Keep your excuses to yourself, Khushi. If you feel shame apologize now, " He said.

That was his final conclusion. His decision. He won't hear anything but her apology. He won't hear her side of the story. He won't hear she didn't do this. She wasn't totally at fault here. He won't hear the source of jealousy. He won't hear what he was doing to her. He doesn't care what she is going through. For it's decided in his mind. She is the culprit. Still, she tried.

"But, "

He walked away from there with his arms wrapped around Sheetal. His fingers interlaced with Sheetal's as they went to the farthest corner from Khushi.

Khushi watched unblinking as he carefully poured costly alcohol on her wound, gently blowing air on her palm every time she hissed and at the end tied his handkerchief around Sheetal's palm to stop the bleeding.

Khushi could feel her heart bleeding. And like the scene in front of her wasn't enough to make her heart drown on its own blood. The crowd around her had to open their mouths.

"No wonder ASR doesn't bring his wife out to gatherings. She is really ugly, "

"Yeah, definitely an ugly heart"