"You're home early!" Dadi, who ventured to check on Gauri was taken aback by Annika's presence in her room.
"Dadi! How have you been?" Annika greeted, closing the distance with a warm hug that wrapped around them like a cocoon.
"I'm good, beta! Did you have dinner?" Dadi inquired, a note of concern in her eyes.
"Yeah! I had asked it to be served in my room."
"Why?"
"Just like that... didn't feel like coming down."
Dadi scrutinized Annika's demeanor, sensing an unspoken tension lingering in the air. "Annika, are you angry with us?"
"No, Dadi, why would I be?" Annika replied, turning away, her gaze momentarily evading Dadi's perceptive eyes.
"You didn't want this marriage, right?"
Annika hesitated, a veil of silence draping over the room.
"Why are you silent, beta?"
"It's not like that, Dadi; it was all so rushed."
Dadi's concern deepened, and she placed a gentle hand on Annika's shoulder. "Do you want some more time, Annika? I can talk to Kalyani."
"No, Dadi! I'm fine," Annika reassured, attempting to dispel any concerns.
"Annika, are you hiding something from me?" Dadi questioned, her eyes searching for the truth behind Annika's composed facade.
Annika remained silent, her thoughts drifting back to the day she had last met Shivaay. Dadi studied her granddaughter, trying to decipher the unspoken turmoil within her. With a gentle squeeze of Annika's hands, Dadi sought to break through the walls she sensed around her.
"Dadi... I... I am just tired right now, can we talk later?" Annika requested, her voice carrying a subtle plea for understanding.
"Of course, Annika. Come, I will make your bed," Dadi said, leading the way to her bed. As she arranged the sheets, her observant eyes never left Annika's face.
Uncertainty lingered in the air, Dadi couldn't shake the intuition that Annika was concealing more than just exhaustion. The room held the weight of unspoken words, and as Dadi finished making the bed, she made a silent promise to revisit the conversation before the wedding.
***
"Annika, where are you going?" Maya inquired, observing her daughter heading towards the door.
"Ma, I'm meeting Mallika and others over lunch," Annika replied dismissively, not sparing her mother a glance.
"Did you meet the designer for the outfits for the wedding?" Maya pressed, her concern etched on her face.
"No, Ma."
"Why are you like this! Can't you just be serious for once in life?" Maya's frustration seeped into her words.
"Enough, Ma!" Annika shouted, startling Maya with the unexpected intensity in her voice.
"Maya, let her be," Dadi's calm voice intervened before Maya could say anything more.
"Ma, but she can't talk to me like that!" Maya retorted, her anger simmering beneath the surface.
"It's her wedding outfit; she will take care of it. Annika, go meet your friends and have a good time," Dadi asserted, diffusing the tension in the room.
"Bye, Dadi," Annika said, walking out anger and disappointment clearly visible on her face.
The weight of unresolved emotions seemed to have ruined her day already.
YOU ARE READING
|| THE PURPLE HEARTS ||
FanfictionAnnika Vardhan Trivedi and Shivaay Singh Oberoi find themselves engaged in a marriage of convenience orchestrated by their families at a very tender age. Shivaay had promised to Annika that he would not marry her without her consent. Years passed...
