Her dad was furious at her. He slapped her hard. This
changed the colour of her face from pink to rosy red.
“ This is how you gift us after we have
invested so much in you. I believed you and given you complete freedom. I
thought you would treasure it. Instead you broke our trust! And you didn't
think about us when doing this sin.”, he ridiculed her.
She wept like a small child in front of her parents. She knew
she had broken their trust. But what could she do? No one ever won against
tricks of heart. Love doesn't knock your door and say ‘could you open the
door?’ It happens. It is like an uninvited visitor who wouldn't mind barging
into your life. Her dad wouldn't understand that.
“ Has Raghu spoken to his family about you?”,her mother
asked softly. “Mala!” her dad raised his voice. “No.. he hasn't. He wanted to
prove his worth to you people.” , she said meekly. She was scared to fight for
her love against the people who taught her how to love. Her body shivered and
her voice had become feeble. “ Raghu… that liar’son! He is lying to you. His
parents are using him as bait to catch rich girls. Why would he want you? You
are a poor guy’s daughter. He was only flirting with you.”, he coaxed her to
believing love was a mirage.
“ Dad! Stop it! Your words hurt! He’s not like anyone else.
He’s my love who has been sacrificing everything that he has for me… to able to
look after me just like you.” , she argued. “ Enough! You will get married to
one I choose. This is all because of letting you free. From tomorrow onwards,
you will not go to office. You will stay here until I get you married.”, he
said firmly. She ran up to her room and
closed it shut. She cried the whole night.
It was 12 am. Raghu was sound asleep and was already weaving
the dreams of Anisha and him. Suddenly his phone rang, disrupting his sleep. He
picked the receiver with sleepiness. “ Hello…”he said in drowsy voice.
“…(sniff) They are getting me married! Please come back soon…. They know about
us. Please do something… (sniff)” she cried. “ Anisha…. Nothing will happen to
us. I will take the first flight to India and speak to my parents.”, he
consoled her. “ I don’t think that will work…. My dad won’t speak to you… He
might even tear you apart if he sees you.”, she said.
It was her wedding day. Everyone was happy except her.
Brides glowed during this day. However Anisha was not glowing. She had become
poker face. Both Raghu and she tried to convince their parents. Nothing worked.
They didn’t want to run away. But with their parents staying dead against their
relationship, they had nothing else to do. They had to accept their destiny.
( To be continued)
Nice story
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