Warrior - Chapter Thirty

When I awake the following morning, Arnav Singh Raizada is nowhere to be found. His makeshift bed on the floor is gone, everything folded and put away on the bed.

But the question is, where is he?

Getting out of bed, I quickly make it, then head to the closet. Amma had said that it was important for me to wear a sari on my first day, though prior experience from two years ago asks why? Like what really is the big deal to it? But whatever, I do as practiced, and after I've washed up and taken a shower, I wear the red sari Amma had bought for me to specifically wear today. 

When I'm done getting ready, I looked at myself in the mirror. I can't help but to stare at my mangalsutra, which is dangling down my neck, settled right beneath my breasts. The mangalsutra I had received from him was much shorter than this one, like any regular necklace - not to mention more standard with gold. This one, however, was covered with tiny diamonds. 

Your girl is dripping in diamonds, and while I am used to it - having earned and bought myself diamonds before - this is just totally different.

My eyes glazed over to the large diamond sitting on my finger, as well as its tiny diamond buddies. I've got a ginormous diamond with diamond buddies for an engagement ring, a wedding band encrusted with diamonds, as well as a numerous-diamond-studded mangalsutra.

Holy shit, I've made it!

But I've got other things to think about. So shoving the thoughts of diamonds out of my mind, I give myself one last look over then leave the room. The way to the stairs is easily memorable and when I reached downstairs, I spotted my new mother in-law in the dining room.

"Good morning, Khushi," Shalini Singh Raizada beams when she sees me.

"Good morning."

I make my way over to her, Shalini placing down a pot of tea on the table while the workers are placing food down.

"Sleep well," she asked.

I shrugged in return. "Can't complain."

"Good," she smiled, and then she looked over at the clock, it showing that it was half past twelve. "Well, it's like I said last night; I didn't expect many people to be awake at this time. Knowing Maira, she's most likely still asleep, even Firouz Bhai. Maybe Varsha will get up soon, as well as Madhav, but we'll see. As for the boys, I'd give them another half hour."

I just simply stood there quietly - I mean what am I even supposed to say?

Shalini lets out a chuckle and gestured for me to sit, so I pulled a chair out and so does she, opposite from me. We both sat down and workers placed our plates down before us, then they went back to the kitchen. There's a whole lot of food filling the table, no doubt ready and waiting for the rest of the clan. Shalini tells me to take food first, which I found slightly odd. The last time I did this two years ago, all of my in-laws were at the table and I was serving them. Now, not only is my new mother in-law telling me to take food for myself, but when she sees that I'm not moving, she serves me instead. She goes to put a third paratha on my plate but I quickly snap back to reality and stop her. She does and then she places some chicken curry for me, then fixes up her plate. Once she does, we both start to eat and I can't help but to feel a little odd.

This isn't how it's supposed to go... is it?

"You're confused."

My eyes dart up to Shalini's and she's smiling at me softly.

"I'm sure you're thinking that this is going differently than how your mother explained it to you... different than how it went in your first marriage."

I choose not to say anything and simply watch her. Shalini pinched her lips together with a smile, glancing down at her food.

"I know that traditionally the new bahu gets up early in the morning, prepares breakfast and tea for everyone, hopes that everyone likes it and so on... stuff like on the TV shows and movies. In this household... I don't know. Personally, I've never experienced it."

I bet.

"I mean I didn't come into this house until Chote was twelve years old."

Wait, what? Twelve years old?

"By then it was too late to call me a new bahu, even though my mother in-law tried. She tried to do those traditional customs, but given the circumstances... it was pointless. After that I... I just found it all pointless. I really thought about it all and I thought it was ridiculous. The girl has already married into the family, so what - you want to disown her just because her kheer wasn't sweet enough? What bullshit!"

Okay mama in-law, I see you, I feel you!

"So I decided from early on that I wasn't going to do that with my bahu. You are a member of this family and that's that. There's nothing for you to be tested on, especially when we elder bahus ourselves barely spend that much time in the kitchen. Of course, it's a skill one should know - which we do, but we don't utilize it often since we have workers. Of course, whenever we do feel like cooking for everyone, we do. And should you ever feel like it, you're more than welcome to."

Huh... well it's not like Amma always cooks either, so I understand.

"So there's that out of the way. Is there anything else going through your mind?"

Sure. "Why did it take twelve years for you guys to enter this house?"

"Because my father is a dick."

Both Shalini and I looked up at the sound of the voice to see Aryan enter the dining room, fixing his watch as he walked over. He settled himself down at the head of the table, both of us ladies at his sides.

"Aryan, language," Shalini scolded.

Aryan only shrugged. "It's not like you can disagree with me on that."

Shalini only scowled at him, making him chuckle.

"See," he says to me with a wink.

I definitely do see.

"Enough scolding me, our bahu asked a question," Aryan said innocently.

"A question you started answering," Shalini points out.

"True; I guess I'll answer this one then," and he turns to me. "Like I was saying Khushi, my father was a dick."

"Aryan!"

"The old man has always been like that, even before I was born," Aryan continued, avoiding Shalini's scolding eyes. "I honestly don't now how my mother tolerated him and managed to make two other children with him after me. That being said, I'm sure you can understand the man's character."

Well I have heard stuff of the old Raizada man, and given his son's words, it further proves my thoughts on the old one - an asshole.

"When my father continued to fail on making me look low, as well as fail on making me leaving my jaaneman, he had no other choice but to give into the pressures of society and take me back in, as well as my wife and son."

"So it wasn't from the heart," I noted.

"Bingo. Though I don't think the man had one to begin with."

"The man is dead, Aryan," Shalini frowned.

"Did he ever let us live in peace?"

"No."

"That's what I thought."

I think his words over for a moment and then looked my new father in-law up and down. "He mistreated you, and now here you are in his seat."

"What once was his seat, yes," Aryan nodded. "But the old fool has been dead for quite some time now, and these past several years have been very peaceful," he sighed, gripping onto the armrests and resting his head back, eyes closed.

"Aryan," Shalini scolds once more.

I wonder.... "Your father wouldn't have approved of me, either, I bet."

Both Aryan and Shalini look at me, and I already have my answer.

"No," Aryan said, even though I already knew that would be the answer. "But then again, his opinions don't matter."

"Clearly," I said confidently.

There's no point in denying it.

"Clearly," Aryan grinned back, and he gets comfy in his chair once more. "I knew we made the right choice in picking you as our bahu."

Oh? "Oh?"

Aryan chuckled and looked at his wife. "Job perfectly done, jaaneman."

Shalini winked at him and smiled at me. "I know a firecracker when I see one. I know a real woman when I see one."

Is that so? "Do you also know a damaged person when you see one?"

Neither say anything for a moment and I just wait.

Hey, Shalini Singh Raizada knew what she was getting the moment she first saw me and chose me to marry her son. What, did you think that I was going change? 

Fuck no.

"I see one in the mirror every day," Shalini said. "So yeah, I can spot one when I see one."

Aryan reached out and took hold of his wife's hand, giving it a squeeze. She squeezed his in return and both turn their eyes on me.

"We don't like the term damaged, however," Aryan said. "At least, I don't for sure; Shalini has her moments. I prefer the term misunderstood."

I see....

"And who better to understand the misunderstood than those who are the most misunderstood," Shalini smiled softly.

"Touché," I said, picking up my water. I take a quick sip then set it back down. "So how does your son fall into this category?"

"You don't think he does," Aryan asked.

I only shrugged in return.

"Well, think about it," Shalini said. "You have young man of 28 who is the CEO of one of the largest companies out there. Everyone has some perception of him, and yet, none have a clue of who he truly is. Only those close to him - that are around him, know him for who he really is. Understand him for who he really is."

Point taken; everyone thinks of him as some hotshot CEO that's bagged lots of chicks. Meanwhile, he claims to have never dated anyone and is allegedly a virgin.

Speaking of which....

"Your son said he's a virgin," I said bluntly.

Normal people would recoil to a certain extent - react physically or even vocally.

Not Aryan and Shalini Singh Raizada. In fact, the two remained completely normal.

Well I'll be....

"Chote has the right to how he wishes to lead his life," Shalini said.

"So you expect me to believe that the badass tattooed CEO of a multi-billionaire company is a virgin."

"No."

I arched my brow at her.

"We don't expect anything," Aryan said, bringing my attention to him.

No?

"We hope that you will trust him just as we hope that he will trust in you," Aryan continued. "And knowing our son as well as we do, we believe he will."

I just looked at them for a moment. "So your son is a virgin."

Shalini smiled, a small scoff escaping from her. "I understand Khushi that - especially in these days and times - people don't necessarily care to wait till marriage for sex. Heck, some people don't even care for relationships and go around casually - to each their own."

"That's true," Aryan nodded. "I mean just take us for example - we started as friends, grew close, fell madly in love, and got pregnant before marriage. We easily fall in the category of what is now normal."

"And maybe for that very reason, our son has decided to not to."

I thought of all of the words Arnav had said on this topic. "Arnav once told me that everyone constantly kept eyes on him. They were ready to judge him on everything. It sounded as if even if the guy breathed wrong he would be judged."

Aryan let out a scoff. "Given my asshole of a father? You bet."

Funny, Shalini doesn't scold him this time - not that I care.

But back to the topic at hand. "So you're telling me... that just because you guys faced a lot of scrutiny - as did he for nothing... he really didn't date anyone and decided to be abstinent."

It wasn't a question, more of an understanding.

"He really does remind you of Amma, doesn't he," Aryan asked his wife.

"He does," Shalini smiled softly.

Huh?

Shalini sees the confusion on my face so she elaborates. "My mother in-law was like that. She couldn't stand seeing her loved ones being scrutinized. Unlike my father in-law, who was hard and cold, my mother in-law was much more mellow. Plainly put, she was the opposite of her husband."

Ah, the whole opposites attract thing.

"Amma was always supportive of her family - protective of her family. She couldn't tolerate all of the bad words, but she stayed strong for each and every one of us. Chote is the same. He saw and heard the insults people hurled at us - what his own grandfather would throw at us, and he stayed strong for us. He put his family first before himself."

"So to put his family first, he held onto his virginity?"

"Yes and no," Shalini chuckled. "He put honor and love before his pleasures."

Honor, huh? Now there's a damn rarity.

"It's easy to give into pleasures, Khushi," Shalini continued. "We're the perfect example for it. Except, while many just crash and burn in such situations, we kept it together. Chote didn't even want to take a risk, nor give chance to anyone to say anymore insults than they already had. That's why he made his choice - that's why he chose to be abstinent."

"Okay... but he could've still dated," I shrugged.

"He could have," Aryan said. "He just chose not to, because again, he put his family's honor and his love for his family first, instead of himself and his own pleasures."

Before I can even say anything, we hear the front door open and the voices of Arnav, Akash, and NK fill up the hall. The three come walking into the dining hall, each of them holding duffel bags.

They were at the gym all this time?

"Good morning boys," Shalini smiled.

"Good morning," the boys replied, and they all went around to Shalini and kissed her cheek.

"Good morning bhabi," Akash and NK smiled at me.

"Good morning," I smiled back.

"Good morning, Khushi," Arnav said softly, smiling that small, polite smile of his.

"Good morning," I replied back, matching his tone.

"So boys, how did basketball go this morning," Aryan asked.

Wait, basketball? Not the gym?

The boys start to go into detail of their morning, setting their bags down, which the workers take away. They all settle in, Arnav taking the seat beside me while the other two sit next to Shalini. As I listen to them all, not only do I take in the wonderful family dynamic between all of them, but I digest the words my new in-laws have said about my new husband.

I guess there's a lot for me to learn about Arnav Singh Raizada.