All Strings Attached

Chapter Twenty Seven

A VERY HAPPY DIWALI, LOVELIES! Sorry to keep you waiting so long, but I hope this chapter is worth the wait! Please do leave votes and comments to let me know what you think! It would help loads! 

Dhushyanth

I hold Sita's hand as we walk up the stairs to our bedroom, my wife chatting to me about her day, when my father calls out to me.

For the first time in months.

"Dhushyanth," I hear him call out, and turn instantly, surprised by his attention.

"Nanna?"

My father beckons me to where he's seated, in the living room, nursing a glass of scotch; his favourite.

Sita taps my hand, asking to let go, silently. I look back at her, and she smiles encouragingly. "I will wait for you upstairs."

"Don't go to bed, I want to hear more about your day."

Her face instantly turns pink as she chuckles. "First velli raa, Reddy," she tells me, pulling away. "I'll wait upstairs."

"Okay," I agree, letting her go, before walking over to my father.

"Sit down," he urges, pointing at the couch opposite him, and I do. "Will you have a drink?"

I shake my head. I want to talk to Sita while I'm sober and able to process and respond to what she says. "Ledu Nanna, thank you."

"How marriage has changed you," he chuckles, "Sita's done you a whole lot of good, hasn't she?"

I try not to be surprised at how my father brings up conversation as if he didn't refuse to acknowledge me for the last few months. "She has," I agree, nonetheless, "she's been very supportive."

"She's also very strong-minded," he adds. "The spat with the reporter yesterday—"

"He called out to her until she responded," I come to her defence, "and she didn't say anything out of line. The PR team didn't flag anything—"

"It's going to blow up tomorrow," Nanna says, a smirk lifting one corner of his lips. "Vishwanath will lose all credibility."

"What do you mean?" I find myself questioning my father. "Did you do something?"

My dad simply shrugs. "He has the guts to drag my family's name through dirt? He had it coming from a mile away. Sita simply triggered it."

"We can't have Sita's name on TV like that."

"And we won't," he assures me. "She's a part of this family as much as you are. Her name won't be anywhere."

"Did you call me here for this?" I find myself getting annoyed at my father for using Sita to run his agenda against Vishwanath.

Nanna puts his drink down, and clasps his hands together. "She spoke to me," he says, "about you."

My frown deepens. What about me is something she'd rather talk to my father about?

"Said I shouldn't hold you in the wrong for someone else intruding on your privacy, or make it seem like it was entirely your mistake when she is also responsible for it."

I have to consciously clench my jaw to ensure it doesn't drop.

"She did what?"

"You are grown up enough to make your own decisions, Dhushyanth," he agrees, "and I do understand Sita, I understand you are a part of a different generation. But. Just know that I need you to respect your wife, regardless. Love might not withstand some days, but you can always choose to hold her with respect, every moment of every day."