All Strings Attached

Chapter Twenty

I know for a fact I've never smiled as wide as I did in that moment, as I nod, accepting the compromise.

Even my mother cannot help but smile, shaking her head as she accepts defeat.

Well, thank god Sita Cherukuri isn't a lawyer, my mother's career would not have survived this face or tact.

~.~.~.~.~

"I'll send food upstairs for both of you," Amma says, "go and sit in your room. You can socialise after you eat something."

Sita looks at Meera and Nitya, who nod, and then she looks at Dhruv and Dhriti, "will you guys join us as well? Dhriti and I have never had the chance to get to know each other."

Dhriti nods with a smile. "Of course," she agrees, "I've been asking Dhruv to organise something for us to go out together, but we've all been so busy in the last two weeks."

"Now is as good a time as any," my mother encourages, "go on upstairs, all of you. I will send someone up with your food."

I thought I was going to have a moment alone with my wife, but I guess not.

I force a smile at Dhriti, and follow the three girls upstairs to our room, along with Dhruv.

"Dhushyanth Bava, how come you guys didn't make it to lunch the other day?" Nitya asks. "I was really looking forward to it."

"Something came up last minute, Nitya," I answer her. "We'll come some other day."

"Aren't you going back to Kurnool some time soon?" She asks. "The nominations are coming up."

"I have to," I confirm, wondering how I would bring it up with Sita. Everything has seemed so busy for the past few days. Maybe it would be better for her to go to Kurnool with me rather than stay in Hyderabad by herself.

Would she agree to come, though?

Maybe I could push for it?

I wouldn't want to make her uncomfortable, though.

"Akka, what are you going to do when Bava is in Kurnool?" Nitya asks her sister. "Are you going to go with him?"

Sita turns to look at Nitya, and then at me, but she shrugs, noncommittally. There simply isn't an answer.

Maybe she would consider it if I asked her.

"Are you going with dad?" Sita asks Nitya, in turn.

Nitya nods. "I'm helping manage the campaign this time," she shares, excitedly, "but he obviously doesn't trust me enough to do it like you did, so I'm working with two others to coordinate everything."

Sita managed Madhav Mama's campaign?

"You manage your dad's campaigns?" The element of surprise is certainly not missed as Nitya and Meera turn to look at me with amused, proud smiles.

"She was the reason Madhav uncle won last time," Meera states, "she worked tirelessly for months."

"She did," Nitya agrees, "so much research and work went into it. The constituency had the highest number of voters, ever."

"Did you update the data from last time?" Sita asks her sister, deflecting the compliments. "You said you would."

"We're still getting it back," Nitya answers her sister, making Sita shake her head.

"Awh, come on," the younger Cherukuri complains, "I asked for it, and I keep pestering them to do it as soon as possible, they just won't."

"You should've started ages ago," Sita tells her, "if you tell dad, he'll find out if there's any other data you can add, or use instead of waiting on this."