"Explain" Amar sat down, facing Prakash.
"Amar, I, er, you see--"
"I'm seeing." Amar's voice was calm. But everyone in the Dhanunjaya household felt invisible rays of fury emanating from him.
"What's going on?" Gayatri asked looking from Prakash to Amar.
"He will explain." Amar pointed at Prakash.
"I don't know what Anirudh has told you. He must have made it look like everything is my fault and he is right."
"If that is what you think, let me inform you. My brother has just told me that he will be leaving for San Francisco next week. It was Shruthi, who told me that he had this little chat with you and left angrily. He has blocked her number. So, it was something you said. I need to know what happened before solving the problem." Amar tried not to be emotional.
"Your brother is the problem. I don't want him anywhere near my daughter." Prakash replied angrily.
"May I know the reason?" asked Amar.
"Your aunt. I can't send my daughter into a family which is headed by a woman who threatened to send me to prison. I am her father. I am worried for my daughter." Prakash explained.
"You may be right. Let me ask you. Is your worry limited to your daughter? Or is it extended to your niece too?" Amar looked at Vennela.
"What kind of a question is that? Let me tell you, you are not Shambhavi's son. But sadly, Anirudh is. She has more control over him than you. And Shruthi will have to be under her control once she marries him. I will never let this happen."
Amar sighed."Control? This is twenty first century. People cannot control their children like they used to. This is ridiculous."
"But I have a right to decide who my daughter should marry" said Prakash.
"I am not here to discuss your rights as a father. I just want to know what you told my brother. He is ready to leave. Why is he leaving? Tell me why." Amar demanded.
"I asked him to break up with Shruthi. I told him to stay away from her until I send her away for post graduation. It is easy to forget and move on if they never meet again. I made him promise." Prakash told him everything.
"That's fair. It's also fair to point out that you didn't just separate him from Shruthi. You separated him from me. Do you even know how much he respects me? To him, I am the most important person in the world. And you have denied him the right of attending his brother's wedding. By all means take your daughter away. But free him from the stupid promise of going away." Amar requested him.
"I can't. He has to stay away until Shruthi completes engineering." Prakash didn't change his decision.
"Let me rephrase that. I can't marry Vennela in the absence of my brother. If he leaves, the wedding will be postponed indefinitely." Amar announced.
"Do you even hear yourself? You are abandoning your wife--"
"Excuse me!" Amar raised his voice for the first time. "Me abandoning my wife? That's never going to happen. We are inseparable. I just want my brother to drop this stupid idea of leaving and be with me when I marry Vennela again. And it can happen only if you tell him to."
"But--"
"I agree with Amar." Vennela spoke for the first time. "Anirudh must stay."
Amar looked at Vennela with increased admiration. "Now that I have made myself clear, I take your leave."
Amar touched his heart and then pointed at Vennela assuring her that she will stay in his heart forever. He left before anyone could speak.
The elders, including Nanditha, started scolding Prakash for his stupidity. Now that he thought about it again, Amar's demand seemed reasonable. But his ego didn't let him admit that.
YOU ARE READING
The Friendzoned Husband
Romance"Are you trying to tell me that she may never accept you as her husband?" asked a furious Anirudh. Amar chuckled at his cousin's anger and answered "It's not her fault. Your mother, my beloved aunt, forced her into marrying me. Remember?" "Forced we...
