As she turned toward the doorway again, her eyes immediately caught the sight of Mishti, who looked ethereal in a soft pink lehenga. Behind her, Karan walked like he owned the earth beneath his feet.
“Mishti!” Divya called out, rushing to her.
Mishti turned, her eyes filling instantly. In that single moment, every ounce of grace she tried to hold onto melted away. She ran forward and wrapped her arms around her Bhabhi. Tears slipped silently down her cheeks as she buried her face in Divya’s shoulder.
“Bhabhi…” she whispered.
Divya stroked her back gently before pulling back to look at her. “How are you?”
The question sounded simple, but Mishti knew what it really meant.How are you holding up? Is he treating you right? Are you happy?A hundred answers fought to spill out…how Karan barely looked at her, how they weren’t even living in the same room…but she stopped herself. ‘A wife must handle her marriage without turning it into a public spectacle,’her motherhad said to her once. It was a rule Mishti had been raised to live by.
“I’m fine,” she said again, forcing a small smile.
Divya’s brows drew together. “You sure? Because your eyes say something else.”
Before Mishti could respond, Karan approached.
“So, Mrs Goel thinks I’m not keeping my wife happy?” he asked in sarcasm.
Divya was startled, but she refused to look intimidated.
“It’s a woman’s thing, Karan,” Daksh, who reached them, responded with a laugh. “No matter how much you keep them happy, they still have to crib.”
Divya’s eyes flashed in irritation. “We don’t crib, Daksh. It’s called concern. Something you wouldn’t understand.”
Daksh smirked but wisely said nothing, sipping his drink instead.
“Let me introduce you to my circle, Karan. Please come,” Daksh gestured toward the main hall, and Karan walked away with him.
Once they were gone, Divya turned back to Mishti. “You don’t have to hide anything from me. Are you really happy with Karan?”
“Yes, Bhabhi. I’m happy.”
Divya didn’t believe her for a second. But she said nothing, brushing a stray tear from Mishti’s cheek.
“You look beautiful,” she whispered gently. “Come. The guests are waiting for you.”
Mishti nodded faintly, turning to Karan, who was across the room. He was already moving through the crowd, glass in hand, talking with acquaintances, completely at ease, completely in control. The same man who barely acknowledged her at home was now charming everyone effortlessly.
While she followed Divya, Karan typed a quick message to his friend Rajat, asking where he was and why he hadn’t arrived yet. Karan hated being bored, especially here, surrounded by the Goel circle, people he neither trusted nor particularly liked.
Before he could slip the phone back into his pocket, one of the guests approached.
“Mr Wadhwa… how come you’re hosting the reception here at the Goel house? We expected something grand at your mansion in your usual style.”
Karan glanced at the guest with a faint smirk. “If anything, my wife’s family deserved to host at least one event,” he said smoothly, deliberately stressingmy wife. “The least Daksh Goel could do… to appreciate that I didn’t ruin his company, ‘DG Group’, as I did with others,” he added.
Daksh’s eyes narrowed with a flicker of disdain.
“I thought… bringing you into the family fold, marrying my sister, would make some change,” Daksh taunted back.
“Marriage doesn’t change the way I work,” Karan replied coolly, gulping the rest of his drink before throwing a dangerous look at him. “I still destroy what stands in my way.”
With that, he excused himself with that same calm dominance and slipped back into the crowd, moving from guest to guest.
After some time, when Mishti tried to find her husband again, she saw Kanika standing beside Karan, her manicured hand brushing lightly against his arm as they talked about something she couldn’t hear.
That’s when even Karan turned slightly, looking straight at Mishti. For a heartbeat, she thought he read her discomfort, seeing him so close and comfortable with another woman. But then he looked away, raising his glass to Kanika instead, showing her that he didn’t care.
