Chapter 73: chapter 73

Mowri wasn't sure what she had expected Nisha  to look like but she hadn't expected the woman who stood before her. Simrit will have to revise her opinion about her being beautiful. This person was the epitome of beauty. Her doll like heart shaped face, delicate eyebrows, nose and jaw, bow shaped lips, dramatic chocolate brown eyes, porcelain skin, shoulder length black hair and perfect figure, there wasn't a lady in the room who could hold a candle to her. If Mowri had to really find a physical flaw it was most probably going to be her height. She was all but five feet two. And Mowri stared. The confidence she had felt earlier slowly ebb away as she unconsciously tightened her hold on Arnab 's arm. This was the girl Arnab  had married? Had loved? But as she looked closely at Nisha  she realized that the expression she wore was cold. Very artificial. She was like a...Mowri struggled to come up with a correct word to describe her and she did, a mannequin. Yup, she was like a mannequin kept in the window of a shop draped in a beautiful onion pink sari with pearl work and slightly heavy jewelry. She looked like a girl ready to walk the ramp at the drop of the hat. There was no warmth in either her smile or her eyes. Even the way she had addressed Nihal  it looked more of a show than anything else. And suddenly Mowri felt better. The fog cleared in her head and she saw light again. Her confidence returned and she had to control the urge to laugh. She looked at Arnab  and saw the pain in his eyes but he kept his expression neutral. She squeezed his arm a little in assurance and as he gazed at her she smiled. Then she took her time to look at Jassi who wore an expression of utter disdain while Harpreet seemed solemn."Of course Nisha ," Nihal  said recovering quickly."Okay, I thought things looked a bit tense here," she said as she smiled then looked at Arnab  and then narrowed her gaze at where Mowri's arm was linked with Arnab 's then she rudely perused Mowri over and gave a snide smile.She had heard Arnab  had remarried. But she wasn't aware of how she looked. Though some of her old friends had assured her she wasn't a great looker and now that Nisha  was seeing her in person she released a breath of relief. And still there was an uneasiness she felt. The woman who stood next to Arnab  was tall and though not as beautiful she had her own charm. Her height definitely complemented Arnab 's tall structure and her dusky color suited her. She had big eyes and high cheekbones. Her lips were well shaped and the sari she wore accentuated her sultry beauty. But Nisha  found she was envious of two things. One the other girl's hair. It was so long, black and thick oh, she would have loved to have hair like that. And two her confidence. Her eyes shone with a radiance and she wore her confidence like a blanket. For a second Nisha  did feel a little disturbed at the way she was smiling."No, all is well," Nihal  replied feeling awkward. It was the most awkward moment of his life. "You must not have met Mowri Malhotra," he said as he introduced Nisha  to Mowri, "she is Major Arnab  Malhotra's wife," he told her, "and this is my wife Nisha ," he added.As their eyes met Mowri saw a strange light enter Nisha 's. What was that supposed to mean? But she didn't get enough time to ponder over. Mowri wasn't sure what the other woman was thinking frankly she couldn't care two hoots. The girl was annoying if anything. And from what she knew of her already Mowri disliked her immensely. "Nice to meet you," Nisha  said sweetly and linked her arm with Nihal 's.Mowri was amused. This was so much fun."As I was telling your husband," Mowri replied, "I would have said the same but I can't," she said cheekily and enjoyed the fruit her comment bore. Nisha 's eyes grew large in her face as if she couldn't believe what she had just heard and she raised her eyebrows in disbelief."What did you say?" she asked. It was more of a whisper than anything else. But it reflected her incredulity. "Do you know who I am?" she asked.Mowri was enjoying the irritation Nisha  was facing."I am not really interested," Mowri replied with a shrug, "and as for what I said earlier I gave the reason to your husband he will enlighten you later," she said with a smile on her face then turned towards Arnab , "I think I am done with the introductions for now my foot is killing me here, is it possible to sit for a while," she said turning Arnab 's attention from Nisha  towards her.Arnab  frowned as his mind registered the words Mowri said. He was concerned. In everything he had forgotten Mowri's foot was still healing. And she had been standing for over forty minutes now. He nodded then murmuring 'excuse us' he helped her towards a table. Mowri walked slowly and a little unsteadily as Arnab  assisted her."Is she alright?" Nihal  asked Harpreet."She has a sprained ankle," Harpreet replied crisply."Not that it is any concern of yours," Jassi said sharply.Harpreet placed a hand on her shoulder and Jassi fell quiet."Excuse us Mr. Raheja," Harpreet said and inclining his head towards Nisha  he caught the elbow of his wife in his hand and firmly pulled her towards the table where Mowri now sat."She is still so spiteful," Nisha  muttered."Not her fault if she feels that way towards us," Nihal  said quietly. Nisha  just looked at him and then turned and left. .Nihal  stood there alone watching Arnab  take care of Mowri. He could see genuine affection as Arnab  spoke to Mowri. There was no doubt in his mind that his friend had finally found peace. And Mowri. She was quite someone. Initially he had seen her shock at coming face to face with Nisha  and her confidence leaving. But God knew what had happened in the next few seconds and he had seen her come back in her element. It was as if he had misread her expressions. And then the way she had answered Nisha . It had reminded him of how she had spoken to him a little earlier. The girl had spirit. He smiled. Arnab  sure had his hands full where she was concerned but from what he had seen Arnab  probably didn't mind Mowri being the way she was, probably that was the pull. She was absolutely opposite to how Nisha  was. In looks, personality, the way she conducted herself everything. And man was she sharp. He watched as Jassi interacted with her. They were friends. Arnab  left with Harpreet a little while later and Nihal  wondered if he could find Arnab  alone at some point where he could talk to him. How he missed the camaraderie they had shared. He sighed as he heard his name being called and he turned around to meet some of the others.Nisha  was seething on the inside even as shepresented a cool calm façade to others. How dare Mowri talk to her the way she did? Who the hell did she think she was? And Arnab ? How could he listen to what his new wife had said? She hadn't wanted to come here in the first place. The day she had left Srinagar she had cut all ties with Arnab . Filing for divorce and then getting it was only a formality. To tell the truth she had never really loved Arnab . She had been fascinated by him, yes. By his adoration for her. By his undying love for her. She had always wanted to be the only one in the life of the person she married. And though in the beginning Arnab  had made her feel like that but then he had changed. His duty, his work, his other friends, his family had taken precedence over her and Nisha  hadn't been able to tolerate it. She couldn't have the lifestyle she was used to, there were several restrictions posed on her because of the kind of place they were living in, her high profile friends and other people had grown distanced from her, she had been miserable. And then to top it all the loneliness, the stress, the boredom had killed her. She had asked Arnab  to take a transfer to a better place several times and he had always ignored her requests. Finally she had had enough and so she had decided to end things with him. What was the point of living with someone when you couldn't be happy? Her father had agreed with her. Then she had met Nihal  a few times and realized that he loved her. And he was ready to do everything she asked of him. He had confessed, then proposed and though Nisha  had felt it was early she had gone ahead and married him and so far he hadn't given her a chance to regret her decision. It wasn't as if they didn't argue or fight but in the end Nihal  always gave in. She lived in Delhi with him, enjoyed her friend circle to the hilt, he even supported her in the little modelling stints she did. In all, her life was going great and then came the transfer letter. Of course Nihal  had already applied to stop his transfer but it would take some time. She had to be present here tonight and so she was. She hadn't expected to meet Arnab  though. She had hoped he would stay away. And seeing him after such a long time she realized how she hadn't forgotten him. Somewhere in the deep recesses of her mind he still held a corner. And she realized she hadn't expected him to get remarried ever. Who could hold a candle to her? Where would he ever find perfection like her again? He was a loser to have thrown a life with her away like that. And she had expected him to live his entire life in repentance of what he had lost. Instead he had married this girl who was so different from her Nisha  couldn't find one similarity. And it cheesed her off to no end the way she had responded to her person. Everyone who met her was always in awe of her. If not for her beauty then to her fame, her demeanor, the way she conducted herself but that girl looked as if she couldn't care two hoots about who Nisha  was and this was the first time someone had behaved in this fashion. It had first surprised and then infuriated her. Oh she wouldn't let Mowri Malhotra have the last word tonight. She will make sure Mowri knew how bad Nisha  could be when people rubbed her the wrong way.Only Nisha  didn't know how much worse Mowri could be when someone rubbed her the wrong way. After all it was always easy to defeat a known enemy than an unknown one. In this case Mowri was the unknown enemy and Nisha  was soon going to realize how bitter her own medicine tasted.*****