The next morning Aditi found herself climbing the steps of a posh building in Rajpur. A shiny black board adorned the outside wall displayed the name of the owners in golden letters - 'Dawar & Dawar Legal Associates'.

She had never been to Uncle Dawar's office before. Her Dadaji preferred to conduct his legal business from home and the lawyer had always been happy to visit whenever her Dadaji needed. Today, on the second day of her marriage climbing the steps to his office felt weird. People were watching her curiously.

She straightened her back and put on her signature smile on her face. The receptionist rushed to welcome her and pointed to her employer's chamber.

"Aditi! What a surprise!" Dawar's face broke into a wide smile as he got up to greet her. A slight narrowing of his shrewd eyes told her he too was thinking the same as others - what on earth she was doing in a lawyer's office on the second day of her marriage.

She swallowed and put forth a parcel she had carried for him. "I have got some Jalebis and Samosas for your employees. Many of them could not attend yesterday, so I thought..."

"Aah! thank you so much!" the lawyer's eyes sparkled as he took the parcel and opened it. A heavenly aroma of spice mixed with sugar wafted out and he licked his lips.

"I must say I can never have enough of these. Meera often used to make these for me. She knew my love for snacks. Yesterday I wished she was at the wedding..." He stopped in time to realize his mistake and shook his head. "But what am I saying? You must have missed your mother more than anyone else."

Aditi stretched her lips in an obligatory smile as he rang a bell for a helper to send the food out. Her eyes were stinging again. Yes, she missed her mother but was actually relieved she wasn't there. It would have broken her heart to see her daughter married to a ruthless gold-digger.

"Actually uncle...I am here to talk about something," Her fists clenched tight to stop her hands from shaking. "I need your advice... about the marriage."

"About your marriage?" The lawyer's eyes narrowed.

She pursed her lips and looked away. "I was wondering if it could be... undone."

Dawar frowned. "Undone?"

"Yes."

"You mean divorce?"

"Yes. I want out."

The lawyer stared, then gave an exasperated sigh. "Now look here, young lady. I thought you are a sensible woman but apparently, I was wrong. No wonder Balwant thinks you impulsive. You got married yesterday. Yesterday, for god's sake. And today you are here asking for a divorce? I must say I am very disappointed Aditi. I didn't expect this from you."

"But uncle..."

"Don't uncle me, girl. And listen to me. This is no way to handle your life. You just need time to adjust. If it is about the physical part of the marriage you are unhappy with, you can get help. You are a doctor yourself. But this is no reason to..."

She wished the ground would open and swallow her whole. Her face burned with shame, anger, and frustration.

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"It's not that uncle. I have valid reasons..."

"And what are those reasons if I may ask?" The lawyer's voice was scathing.

She swallowed dryly.

"I think... Darsh only married me for money." Her face clouded in shame as if it was her fault. It must be if he thought it was the only reason to marry her.

To her horror, the lawyer relaxed visibility. He leaned back in his chair and gave her a pitiful look.

*****

An hour later when she came out of the office her heart was numb. Her face was frozen in an effort to stop the muscles from moving. Any slight give would let the tears out. And then her secret would be out. Her shame will be in front of the whole world to see and jeer.

"I am sorry to say this Aditi, but what did you expect?" Uncle Dawar had said as gently as he could. "Pardon me for being so blunt but any man who'd marry you would marry for money. There are hardly any who'd look beyond that, and those who do will only see your beauty."

She listened to him in humiliation, her skin crawling with a sticky, sickly shame that refused to budge. She hated those words, oh how she wished they were not true.

He'd looked sympathetic as he pushed her a glass of water.

"I know you kids nowadays set so much store by love. But take it from me, in marriage matters, practical considerations always take precedence. Love comes much later. Many times it doesn't come at all. And most of the time it does not matter in the end. All that matters is safety, stability, and a secure future. You might call me old-fashioned but money is important. And although I am not a fan of your husband, I respect him for getting his priorities straight."

He'd gone for ages while she had sat there looking out of the window. The sky was blue, the sun was shining. It was a beautiful, warm day. Yet her heart was frozen. His words slid on it without taking grip. She wondered if they spoke the same language; if those words had the same meaning that she once thought.

"Love is a nice to have. Money is a necessity."

"Your parents were an exception, not everyone is so lucky."

"Your husband has the guts to go for what he wants. Respect him and you'll learn to love him."

"Think of your Dadaji. Will he be able to take it?"

This last one had clicked somewhere and brought her out of her stupor. She wrenched her eyes away from the bright day back to the lawyer.

"You have to stay in this marriage Aditi," the desperation was now evident on his face. "It's not just your life, but your family's fate too depends on it."

"Meaning?" She was confused.

Uncle Dawar looked extremely uneasy. "Meaning there is no way you can get out of this Aditi. It's too late. I had warned Balwant, I had warned him not to rush but he wouldn't listen."

"What do you mean it's too late?" Her voice became weak with apprehension. The lawyer sighed.

"It's like this. Your grandfather has made a will. If he becomes bedridden and invalid, Darsh will get power of attorney. If anything worse happens, the entire property will go to trust and Darsh will be calling the shots. You'll still have your mother's property but Ravi and his children will be left at Darsh's mercy. If you are not there to control him... well you can imagine what could happen."

She stared at him speechless while her brain worked out the extent of the damage. Dawar shook his head.

"As I said, it's too late to do anything now. You can try to talk to Balwant if you are brave enough but that will only expedite the inevitable."

*****

The pleasant morning soon turned into a scorching afternoon. Aditi walked on the dusty road not knowing where her legs were taking her. The roads were busy, people honked at her and gave her strange looks as they went past her. Some who knew her were surprised. Others leered as if she was dog's meat, muttering suggestive remarks only she could hear.

She hardly noticed. It didn't matter where she was going as long as she was walking. It gave her at least some semblance of control, some fleeting sense of freedom that kept eluding her forever.

She entered a dilapidated roadside cafe and sat. A scrawny boy of unknown age brought her some water. She gulped it gratefully, her throat was parched from all the walking in the heat. Sometime later he returned with a cup of tea, then he came after every half an hour to replace the cup.

People came, ate, gawked at her, and left. She sat in silence staring into some void, drinking the cups of sweet tea. Her life had come to a standstill. She might as well enjoy the devastation in peace.

And that was how Darsh found her a few hours later. His face was thunderous as he paid the bill and dragged her out of there back to his world.

***** *****