Chapter 20: chapter 20

"Mummy, do you know what a big issue this would have become?" Simrit said with her eyes dancing dramatically, "My in laws would never have let me live this down? Do you evenunderstand what that could have meant?" she sniffled as Roop tried to pacify her."You are taking this wrong Simrit" Roop said trying to console her daughter, 'everything happened so fast we sent invitations to everyone only last weekend when Mowri, returned from Delhi. Arnab, and his family said yes for Mowri, only three weeks ago and they had wanted an early wedding," she explained, "and biji had agreed. T had wanted some time too to get all the arrangements done but you know once biji says something it becomes law in this house" she said unhappily."But mummy you could have called me' Simrit protested, "at least I would have told everyone in the house and done some preparations, I would have arrived earlier and helped you too," she saidfeigning innocence knowing fully well her motherwould buy her act and she did."I know Simrit but after what happened the lasttime," Roop said upset that Simrit could havefaced problems with her in laws due to Mowri,and biji's attitude, "they did not want anythingelse to go wrong. You know how many proposalsMowri, has rejected before finally saying yes forthis one," she said with a sigh. "No one thinksbut I have another daughter too, if Mowri, hadn'tbeen getting married to Arnab, then there was apossibilityy that Preeti would never have gottenmarried either. You know how people talk andwith the eldest sister sitting unmarried whowould have accepted Preeti without a heftydowry' she said, "it is God's grace that we haveenough to give that kind of demand but still; shesaid."I know mummy" Simrit said, "l understand.Mowri, has always been selfish that way puttingherself before everyone," she said and put her arm across her mother's shoulder, "this is good that Rahul fell ill and we couldn't come earlier and so my in laws are pacified otherwise," shesaid shaking her head."What did Varun say?" Roop asked."He understands biji's reservations," Simrit saidcalculatedly, "he is very understanding mummy.And he respects everyone in this family a lot. Heeven stOod up beside me to explain things to hisparents" she said with a smile, "it is just that hehad wanted to help with the preparations and hecouldn't so it has saddened him a little, that is all," she said and looked away."Simi, Varun is a gem," Roop said with a smile, "I  am glad you two found each other. I don't know how this Arnab, will turn out. His family is decent and he seems respectful too but till you get to know a person it is very difficult to decide" shesaid on a sigh, "and with his kind of past." Simrit was alert. This was the first time she was coming to know that the man Mowri, was marrying tomorrow had some kind of past."What past?" she asked surprised."Shhh," Roop said, "'not so loud. There are so many relatives here and biji wants to keep this within the family. But you are part of this family sO now that you are here I will tell you. He is a divorcee" she said in a whisper.Simrit had been surprised to know that Arnab, had a past but now she was shocked to knowwhat it was. How come Mowri, said yes to adivorcee? Was she under pressure? It hadntlooked like that besides Mowri, was not the kindof person who would break under pressure.How did biji agree to a match like that? Forgeteveryone how did her mother?"I know what you are thinking" Roop said as if sensing her thoughts, "my unmarried daughter marrying a divorcee but biji had met his family somewhere and had liked him too. She is certain he is a perfect match for Mowri, and my protests went unheard' she said sadly.Nobody ever listened to her. Had it been Kulraj then Nimmi would have thrown a fit, all the drama added and she would never have said yes but this was her. And as always biji had taken advantage of her quiet meek nature."But papa should have said something" Simrit said, "and how come Mowri, agreed?" she asked."I have no clue. When she had first met him and they had talked separately for a while" Roop said, "| had asked her what they had talked about. Mowri, had closed the door on my face saying she knows what she is doing. Of course his family is very well educated, well settled, with good background but it is just this thing about his divorce. l even tried to ask biji of why did he get divorced" Roop said recalling her conversation with biji, "but all she said was it was fate. They weren't meant to be together. And I had to keep quiet," Roop said, "the next day she met Arnab, again and she said yes' Roop finished helplessly with tears in her eyes."That is it," Simrit said incredulously, "but Mowri, is your daughter mummy not biji's you had a right to have a say in this matter" she said irritatedwith her mother and her meekness.Because of her resigned attitude Mowri, had found such a good match when she didnt deserve it. Simrit had met her in laws too. And they had come across as a warm, loving and modern family. And Arnab,, he was so good looking and sophisticated. Not to mention rich too. He was ten times the man they had found for her last time. It was as if biji had decided for the very best or nothing for her sister. Mowri, didn't deserve this especially with her looks. She had always been the odd one in the family with her dusky color and tall broad structure while the other girls of the family were pretty, petite and delicately built. But she had looked amazing tonight and Simrit hadn't been able to stop but crib about how good her lehenga was while she had looked as if she had been out ofthe fashion circuit for a decade. There had been no time to do any shopping and in Solan as it is there were no good shops either she had to go to Chandigarh for it or come to Ambala. So she had worn a sequin embroidered suit that she had bought two years ago and hadn't worn ever. Though it was new it was so out of place she had hated herself tonight. Everyone had hadeyes for only Mowri, today. And she had hated it. But what could she have done even if she had had time to shop. Varun's business did not have a multi-million rupee turnover anyway. His parents had a lot of money but were very stingy. So to get what Simrit would have liked to wear was out of the question but still she could have bought something. Coming back to that Arnab, being divorced brought a certain amount of satisfaction to her. Though it was a minor glitch that could be easily ignored with all the other things going for him. So Mowri,'s husband was not perfect after all. This was a piece of information that should be used at the right time."So how did you get all the preparations done in such a short time?" Simrit asked."Well Mowri, was very adamant that she did not want a huge trousseau' Roop said, "and she was particular about what she wanted. So she asked us to not buy things for her because ourtastes didn't match hers," she said a bit sourly,"whatever that means. Her mother in law was in Delhi during the last few weeks and they went shopping together. In all Mowri, has bought seven saris and three suits witha few casual kurtas and this that here and there. Biji, and your papa sent her the required money" she said, "in fact the total bill including the engagement dress and the wedding suit tomorrow is not more than three lakhs that is twelve lakhs less than what we had bought for her the previous time," Roop said. "Biji, has been going gaga over it ever since. And then the jewelry also Mowri, only went to select. This time she took biji with her. And they have bought two diamond sets, one gold, two pair of diamond ear rings, some gold and diamond bangles and that is it. I had wanted to give her so much more but she flatly refused," Roop said in a wobbly voice.It had hurt. Mowri,'s attitude. She was her mother and she had wanted to do so much more, give her so much more or at least be there when she selected things for herself but Mowri, had refused. Roop didn't understand why her daughter behaved like this. She couldnt come up with one reason why Mowri, had drifted away from her?"How did Mowri, select the dresses if you were not there?" Simrit asked."She went with Sarla ji," Roop said, "today's dress was selected by both of them and then the sari for the reception is from the groom's side while the wedding dress was selected by Mowri, alone," Roop said, "'she did look beautiful today didn't she?" Roop said with a smile.Simrit knew what her mother was asking. She was asking for reassurance and yes, Mowri, looked beautiful in that attire. The workmanship,the color, the style had suited her. She had looked so much better than the last time she had been engaged. And both Mowri, and Arnab, had made a handsome couple too isn't that why Simrit was irritated? For the first time she had stolen the show away from her. There was not one person in the party tonight who hadn't spoken of it. She also knew it must have been Mowri,'s idea to stall invitations to them. Simrit had lied to her mother when she had said Varun had stood by her because he hadn't. He was a spineless man when it came to standing for her and up to his parents. God knows under what circumstances she had thought he was the best thing on earth. Maybe it had been his looks then. Five years ago he had been good looking and very charming. He still was, charming, when the mood or the purpose suited him. But otherwisehe wasa typical male with his oWn set of ego and attitude. Simrit had always believed in appearances and so she had always portrayed this side to her family where she had shown Varun asa very loving and caring person when he was quite the opposite but one thing that was common between the two was their penchant for appearances. From her side it had been mostly for Mowri,'s benefit. To prove to her that brains wasn't everything it was all about beauty. That she had her husband wrapped around her finger and that was the kind of success that counted not the amount of degrees on the wall. And she had no idea why Varun did that but it had worked well for both of them."Mummy of course Mowri, looked nice" Simrit said with a false smile, "but is it worth it if her own mother was sidelined during her wedding?"she asked. Roop kept quiet. It was a raw nerve. And Simrit's question did hurt. But she decided to be happy for her daughter's sake after all it was her wedding tomorrow and she will leave this house and move to another. She wished Mowri, stayed happy and maybe over time she will get over her anger towards her. She just smiled."l am just happy that two of my daughters are now settled Simi' Roop said, " have one more responsibility that is Preeti but whatever I couldn't do in both the weddings I will do in hers. But she still has some time," she said positively."Mummy, you are so simpleminded' Simrit said a bit irritated, "you should have asserted your right as a mother. You should have hada say in every decision biji and Mowri, took. You should have stood up," she said, "now who knows whether that man Arnab, is really a nice guy or not after all we don't know whose fault it was that he got divorced. And knowing biji she must have wanted Mowri, to say yes one way or another how do you know she is telling the truth?" Simrit said and then watched her mother frown. Simrit smiled. She knew the doubt she had cast in Roop's mind was going to soon take root and grow into a big tree. How could she watch Mowri, be happy when she herself was leading a miserable life? If only her mother could do something before the wedding happened, but the chances were very slim. Mowri, was a changed person, she would not take another high voltage drama quietly this time. Most probably her mother would give in but there was no harm in trying. She smiled maliciously.Roop knew Simrit was right in a way. Why the hurry for the wedding? What were the Malhotra's afraid of? Did biji even know all about them? But wasn't it too late to think about these things?Mowri, was getting married in less than twelve hours. She didn't now what she could do to remove the doubt in her mind, What if Simrit's words rang true tomorrow? What if Arnab, wasn't what he seemed? Should she talk to biji? Should she talk to her husband? Maybe. But he was very impressed with Arnab, and his family. Roop bit her lip with worry. Only time would tell.She couldn't do anything now. Another broken wedding would completely destroy Mowri, and she couldn't take a chance like that. Or could she?************