My Life is a Soap Opera

1. Please, Dyuti

"You have to marry him."

I stared at my aunt in shock. She couldn't be talking to me, could she?

Nah. No way.

"Please, Dyuti. Please." She grabbed my hands and held them in her own. "Please, you have to do this. You have to save our honour and dignity. If-if they find out that-" She sobbed.

I stood there awkwardly not knowing what the actual fuck my aunt was ranting about. Well, I knew some of it. I knew that my cousin ran away on the very day of her wedding but I had absolutely no fucking clue as to what that had to do with me.

"Please, if you don't take her place, we would be ruined. We would have no option but to hang ourselves to death."

I pulled back my hands as I felt thoroughly annoyed.

Where's my mom?

Surely, she wouldn't allow some bullshit like this. I began to move backwards as I frantically looked around for my mother.

"I searched everywhere. She-she's no where." My mother peaked through the door of the room and panted as she looked at her sister with dread.

My aunt looked at my mother and softly whispered, "Save me."

It was as if she telepathically said everything with just those two words. My mother's eyes widened and she stumbled a little. I turned to her and began to furiously shake my head while mouthing "No" over and over again. She looked between her sister and me.

"Save me." My aunt sobbed again. And I saw my mother's expression change.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuuck.

I took another step backwards and my back hit something solid but not quite a wall.

A door.

This room has two exits.

I turned and quickly pulled the door open as my mother seemed to suddenly care about her sister who, she complained, had been nothing but mean and manipulative to her for their entire lives.

"Dyuti."

No. Fuck no. This can't be happening right now.

"Surya?"

"I heard. My aunt told me."

"How did she find out?"

"She saw Riya get on the bike with someone."

"And she didn't stop them?"

I turned my head to look at my aunt who was seething. Through gritted teeth she continued, "Your aunt saw my dau-"

"My aunt saw it from the first floor window. She didn't scream so as to not draw attention to it. She didn't want to embarrass you all."

That shut my aunt up. Seeing Surya gave me an idea. "You have a bike too, right? Can we take that? When did your aunt see her, we could chase after her and-"

"There is no time for that. The wedding is in fifteen minutes. If we don't do anything right now, everyone will find out. Then we would be ruined. Absolutely ruined. There would be no other option for us but to hang ourselves." My aunt cut me off.

I felt a light burning sensation starting from my chest and steadily rising up my shoulders. I knew exactly what she was doing. I had seen enough soap operas, read enough stories and literally watched an actual marriage resulting from such manipulative tendencies to know that was her end goal. She didn't care about her daughter, or the man waiting for his bride and most definitely not about me. What she cared about was her own honour. I may not have been close to Riya Di, but it was clear as day to me that this was probably why she ran away. She was being forced into this against her will. But I wouldn't be my aunt's scapegoat.

"No."

My answer was clear and concise. "Dyuti, you have to do this, or... I-I.." she looked around and obviously found a bit of rope. Like that shit literally materialised out of nowhere.

What the fuck?

She grabbed it and began to tie it around her neck and everyone rushed to stop her. Her husband, her son, some random relatives that I had absolutely no idea about, and obviously my mother. I just stood there with a very disgusted expression on my face.

My aunt kept shouting about how she deserved to die and how terrible of a mother she was, which I guess was kinda true but I couldn't say that, and tried fighting everyone in an attempt to tighten the noose around her neck.

"Dyuti! Come here!" My mother screamed at me. I simply ignored her and continued standing there like a very disgusted emotionless brick. I was immune to weird manipulative tricks like that. The sheer volume of daily soap operas I watched, prepared me well. I always knew that if I was put in a situation like this, I was choosing myself, even if that meant someone actually offing themself. But I never thought it would actually happen. I was prepared just in case. It was then that I realised how fucking weird that was, but oh well.

Without removing my eyes from the situation completely, I slightly turned my head to the left and spoke to Surya. "Your bike's here, right? Just for this one time, get me out of here? I'll buy pizza."

"Dyuti."

A jolt of electricity ran through my body as Surya gripped my left hand. A feeling of dread filled my stomach but my brain focused on the goosebumps his touch gave me. Thankfully, he either didn't notice or didn't read too much into it.

"You have to help. Please. You know that the actual signing would be in front of the reporters. If my brother walks into that press conference without a bride..." He trailed off as if it made absolute perfect sense.

"Uh..then tell him not to walk into it?"

He stared at me like I was an idiot. That stung a little. I mean I know sometimes I'm stupid but couldn't he be a little less obvious about it?

"He has to. If he just ups and leaves then we're going to have reporters all over us. It will turn into a scandal."

"Yes. It will turn into a horrible scandal. Please, Dyuti." My aunt seemed to have been over her dramatics as she tried to take another angle.

The burning sensation had dulled for a while due to Surya's presence but his words brought them back. The sensation now rose up my neck and towards my mouth. I felt my lips quiver a little as I fixed my manipulative aunt with a glare.

"No."

I looked at my mother for support and to my horror, she nodded. "Please, Dyuti."