That day, the luxurious hotel in New Delhi was shining in all its glory. I—Rajesh Malhotra, a forty-year-old man—walked with my beautiful young bride, under admiring glances.
My wedding party was absolutely beautiful: fresh flowers everywhere, top-notch wine, a live orchestra playing sweet Indian love songs. I felt like I was at the peak of happiness and success.
But then, as I raised my glass to toast, my gaze suddenly stopped at the corner of the room. With a simple uniform, carefully tied hair, and a tray of drinks in her hands, was a familiar figure.
My heart stopped for a moment and then I laughed.
It was her—Anita, my ex-wife. The woman my ex-wife, who cooked me simple meals every day. And now, as I wore a designer suit, with my beautiful new wife by my side, he officiated at my wedding.
Friends around me whispered under their breath,
“Isn’t this Rajesh’s ex-wife?”
What a paradox! A successful man gets a new wife, and another woman ends up officiating.
I listened and just smiled, which was considered a sweet victory after a divorce.
Thirty minutes later—the truth came out.
When the party was at its peak, an elderly guest, with a serious demeanor, approached my table. It was Mr. Sharma, an important business partner I had long dreamed of working with. Smiling, he raised his glass in a toast:
“Congratulations on my newfound happiness.”
I happily replied,
“Thank you, it’s an honor to have you here today.
But suddenly his gaze fell on the corner of the room, where Anita was still busy cleaning. He suddenly put his glass down on the table and stood up firmly. His voice was loud,
“With everyone’s permission… I would like to say a few words.”
The chaos in the room immediately disappeared.
He said to Anita:
“Few people know this, but that woman… she was the benefactor who saved my life three years ago in a road accident in Jaipur. If she hadn’t gone into the cold water to pull me out, I wouldn’t be here today.”
The guests gasped in surprise. I was speechless.
Mr. Sharma, in an emotional voice, continued,
“Not only that, she was also a co-founder of the charitable fund I was promoting. After her divorce, she quietly left, gave all the luxuries to her ex-husband, and then started working physically to support her elderly mother and young son.
A devastating blow.
Her words fell like lightning. I looked at Anita. There she was, tears in her eyes, but she was still bowed and continued to work humbly as if nothing had happened.
The guests began to whisper,
“My God, I never thought she would be such a noble woman.
And did Rajesh dare to laugh at her?
My face heated up, sweat was pouring down. Pride instantly turned to shame. What I considered “success” after the divorce was nothing more than being petty and selfish.
The woman I had abandoned, despised, had become the savior of my most precious partner—and a respected person in society.
In those moments, it seemed as if all the music and laughter in the room had disappeared. My soul went cold as I realized: the happiness I now had did not honor me. My cruelty and my arrogance were the reason I was the least of the people in that glittering room.
I was about to approach Anita, wanting to apologize to her. But my feet were heavy. She just looked at me, with silence in her eyes, and then turned away from him.At that moment, I realized that I had lost something invaluable forever—not just a wife, but a kind woman whom I would never know again in my life.