The contractor who was working to repair the elevator at the AK Group was scared. He'd lost the spare access key to the 30th floor. He ought to have reported it. But he was afraid that if he did, he would lose his job. And he desperately needed the job.

The elevator software had been acting weird. Whenever someone pressed 3, the elevator took them to the 30th floor. But it wasn't always. Often the elevator went to the floor by itself.

An employee who'd accidentally landed on the 30th floor had informed the security and the contractor had been called to fix it. He remembered completing the job, and placing the key on the table near the big doors while he went to urgently relieve himself. When he came back, the key was missing.

Petrified of the consequences of having lost the key, he kept mum, promising that he would find it before the management discovered that the key was missing, worse, misused.

It had been one week, and he was yet to find the key. He sighed. Maybe it was time he told his supervisor. Better now than after a mishap.

*****

As Kavya changed into her nightclothes, what she witnessed between Anuj and Anupama kept flashing in front of her eyes. She looked around. Vanraj was lying on the bed, his forearms covering his eyes. She couldn't tell if he was asleep or awake. She didn't care.

She turned her attention to her mirror, dabbing her face with makeup remover and scooping her night cream with her index and middle finger before spreading it and gently massaging her face. 

More flashes of Anuj and Anupama in front of her eyes; Kavya flinched. Vanraj had misled her.

Anuj brought his hands to Anupama's waist, turning her around so her back faced him. He then lowered his head to kiss the nape of her neck. Anupama angled to give him more access to her neck and he pressed his open lips against her neck and sucked hard. She whimpered. And he smiled against her neck, licking the wound he'd just given her, much to Anupama's consternation.

"Anuj," she chastised, albeit the effect was completely lost because of her smile.

He raised his eyebrow. She looked away and blushed.

"Anu, look at me," he turned her face towards himself. "Never be ashamed of the things that give you joy."

When she looked at him questioningly, he explained: "You have a tendency to feel ashamed about things if they are not societally approved. Stop seeking others' approval for your actions. This is your life and as long as you don't harm anyone in any way, you're allowed to enjoy your life on your terms and conditions.

"Dance in the rain if you want to, leave your hair open, shout from the rooftops, do what gives you joy, do what makes you feel good. You have no memory of your previous life. You don't know what the future holds. This is all you have. So make sure you enjoy it to the fullest."

As he turned to go away, she held his hand and pulled him back. 

"Indian women," she began haltingly, "from a very young age are taught about the sacrifices they would have to make to ensure their marital union is a success. I too was told to do things the way my husband, Mr. Shah liked. 

"I was told to dress the way he liked, act the way he liked, be the way he liked, cook his favourite food, and learn to like it too, be there for him when he needed me, stay away when he didn't ...basically I was told that if I wanted a happily ever after my life should revolve around that of my husband. 

"And for this to happen, I would need to stop having any kind of a preference. My likes and my dislikes should be of no consequence, even to myself. Then, and only then would I have a happy married life.

"It was only after meeting you that I realized the importance of my preferences - my likes and dislikes. And so today, I want to tell you something. I never liked Mr. Shah, I never wanted to marry Mr. Shah. That decision was imposed on me."

"Despite that, you still stayed married for 26 years?"

"I had Paritosh within a year of my marriage. Plus divorce was never an option. If Mr. Shah hadn't fallen in love with Kavya..."

And then Anupama laughed. She laughed so hard that she started crying.

"I've often thought about what I feel for Kavya. On one hand, I feel betrayed. She befriended me and had an affair with my husband. On the other hand, I'm eternally grateful. It was only and only because of her that I was able to escape that degrading life."

"Was it that bad?"

Anupama didn't have to answer. The look on her face said everything.

Schooling his features to prevent them from reflecting the shock he'd felt at Anupama's words, he asked her why she was here. She pointed to the lunch box on the coffee table.

"Was this your brilliant idea or GK's?"

"Does it matter?"

He shook his head. "Thank you."

She pretended to not hear him and made her way to the sofa to sit down and begin unpacking the lunchbox.

"I've already had lunch."

"But I haven't."

Anuj looked at her, and the innocent stubbornness on her face melted his heart. He quietly made his way to her side. She tore a piece of the roti, dipped it in dal, and fed him. He mimicked her actions. And she smiled again.

"Thank you, Anuj. Thank you for waiting for me for 26 long years. If you hadn't I would've never known what true love was."

His eyes turned a stormy grey again and she shivered in anticipation. Bringing his face close to hers, he kissed her on her cheek, and then gently bit her earlobe. In his most seductive voice, he warned her: "You're welcome. But remember, there's no free lunch."

*****

Leela was watching her son with growing concern. It was evident that he hadn't had a good night's sleep. She didn't remember when he last did. 

His eyes were outlined with dark circles, he drank way too much coffee, was rather aloof, and had almost told his daughter, the apple of his eye, Pakhi off for something completely insignificant.

"Vanraj's Bapuji," Leela addressed her husband. "Why don't you talk to our son and find out what's wrong? I'm sure it has something to do with Kavya but he won't say."

Hasmukh pretended to read the newspaper.

"Vanraj's Bapuji," Leela raised her voice. "Did you hear what I just said?"

Hasmukh ignored Leela. 

"Vanraj's Bapuji," Leela snatched the newspaper from his hand. "I asked you to go and talk to Vanraj."

"About what?"

"About his deteriorating marriage."

"Why?"

"Because I can see he's unhappy."

"If you can see his unhappiness, then maybe you should go talk to him," Hasmukh snapped.

"What kind of a father are you?" Leela accused.

"The kind of father who's willingly allowed his son to commit suicide because his mother wished it."

"What do you mean?"

"He had a kind, caring, and understanding wife like Anupama, but his mother's ego ruined it and he ended up divorcing Anupama and marrying Kavya. Since you ruined his life, Leela, maybe you should be the one to fix it. Keep me out of it."

"But...But...he is your son," she cried, exasperated.

At that, Hasmukh laughed, hollow laughter filled with self-pity. 

"Whenever did you allow me to be his father. What's new today? Go do what you always do. Mollycoddle him and ruin his life." 

Before Leela had a chance to retort, worse insult Hasmukh, he made his way out to spend some time with his friends. The Shah house had never truly been his.