The Voice Or The Echo? (COMPLETE)

Chapter 22

Kayla won't apologise and Paarth had known this, but one could always try!

"Insufferable narcissists both of them, a match made in hell" he snapped in anger and earned a slap from Sneha. They sat in front of the laptop, talking to Parul via video call.

Paarth had just updated the situation to his aunt and wife. "Dad is not going to apologise either, the man is so stuck up and we all know it. Bua are you sure he was not adopted? He doesn't seem to fit into the family equation in any way."

Parul took a sip from her coffee placing back the cup on the table.

"On the contrary to the popular belief, the arse is exactly like my father"

Parul dropped a grenade that had been itching to blow up inside her. Glancing at the shocked faces of her nephew and his wife, she huffed.

"Oh! Shut that piehole of yours, you two! The Jagannath that you saw Paarth was the sobered up version. Why else do you think I'm cross with them all the time? He was such a hypocrite and a staunch patriarch. Every time I wanted something I had to rebel and take extreme measures to get things done for myself. He was gutted after what Surya did, it made him think. Discovering your father's philandering ways was another knock on his pride." Parul sat miles away revealing a side of his grandfather he never knew existed.

"Hey, Paarth!" Sneha tapped his thighs to break his reverie.

"son don't let my experiences colour your image of him! As I said, he repented for his mistakes and truly changed for the sake of your mother, you and Appu. I saw his guilt and repentance. He has done an amazing job in your case."

Paarth and Sneha were equally startled. Paul sighed.

"This is exactly the reason I'm not very fond of your father. I thought that asshole was done with his indulgence after Aparna was born when I had confronted him."

She spared them the rest of the painful details. The smug expression on her face that spelt trouble, drew a chuckle from the young couple.

"Have you seen your Dad without his beard? A clean-shaven asswipe that he is?" She deadpanned.

Paarth chuckled while Sneha felt guilty laughing at the cost of her father in law.

"As long as I remember he has been sporting a beard. Why?" Paarth tried to recollect.

"Something happened before Aparna was born and that's when I was informed of his vagaries. Well, let's say that the talk I wanted to have with my elder brother did not end well, and I landed up injuring him and his freaking ego. And to hide that scar on his cheek he began growing a beard." She summed up with a pang of guilt filling her insides.

Paarth scrunched up his face and remarked playfully, "Ouch!...remind me to never piss you off. Bua, while you were at it, you could have cracked some of his bones. What stopped you?" Even though he joked about it, deep inside there was hurt clawing at his heart at the thought 'dad was a habitual offender'!

Parul pursed her lips in annoyance, "Sati Savitri! Your honourable mother!" Paarth rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Trust me if I would have lived in Delhi, my eyeballs would have been permanently stuck to the back of my head. So many precious moments she gave me..." her sparkling eyes suddenly wore a look of melancholy. It was a well-known fact that Parul considered Padmini as a sibling rather than Chandrakanth.

"I should have been there Paarth," her lips quivered and eyes glistened with tears threatening to spill.
"I should have taken her with me to the pilgrimage. I told her to come with me. She wouldn't listen. I don't know what happened to her." Parul broke down, leaving Paarth and Sneha crying too. "Sorry" she composed herself quickly considering Sneha's health.