Love arranged by a Marriage...

Religion & Other Problems...

"Peter Ferandez. He was the guy Trisha wanted to spend the rest of her life with."
Mahesh lets out, looking like it hurt to even talk.

In return, Arnav just gapes back at him. He had never considered the possibility that the reason his wife did not want to marry him was... well, that.
He had just thought... Okay, so he never really did think about it.

His father-in-law continues on.
"They were friends for as long as I can remember and Peter was almost like a son to me, so I had no problem.
But that was not the case with his mother. Even though she was very fond of her, she was strictly against them getting married because Trisha was a Hindu and her late husband's beliefs-"

"Wait. Isn't it mostly the other way around? Hindus refusing matrimonial relationships with other religions..."
Arnav interrupts then.

"Well, India is a democratic country now."
Mahesh answers with a smile, whilst thinking about the irony of the situation he is narrating.

"Right."
His son-in-law whispers, embarrassed.

"Now, where was I? Oh yeah,
Peter's mother refused to bless their marriage. And her son, being the good man he was, decided that it would be a sin to go against the woman who had single-handedly raised him since the day he lost his father when he was a baby. Actually okay with that, Trisha fully supported his decision. Just knowing that he loved her as much as she loved him made it alright. A few months later Peter got a big job opportunity in the US and, after consulting Trisha, took the offer. Everything was going great but then, all of a sudden he cut off all contact with her. Blaming it on his busy schedule she decided to wait it out. Days went by without anything from his side. Frustrated now, and a little worried, she finally decided to call up a colleague of his. According to him Peter had not been coming to the office for quite some time now. Trisha requested him to keep her updated on any new developments. Not knowing what else to do after that, she decided to pay him a visit. That night, as she packed her things, Peter's colleague called back with the news.
Apparently his mother was forcing marital offers on him. And even though he loved his her a lot, he loved Trisha too. So he kept deflecting her emotional torments. But the fact that his mother was sad because of him and be could not do anything about it killed him. Literally.
Peter had committed suicide around the same time Trisha lost contact with him."

As Mahesh pauses to take a breath, Arnav sneaks a glance at his wife.
Is this the same girl who tormented him for the last few days? He finds it hard to believe.

His father-in-law proceeds with the story.
"Trisha suffered from her very first set of fits that day. They soon become a regular phenomena. It got so bad that she had to see a psychiatrist. The visits helped a lot. She stopped blaming herself for his death. The seizures too became almost nonsexist.
But as time went by, Trisha got older; and knowing that the society won't let her last alone after I died, I decided to get her married. However, she didn't want to. In her mind she was already Peter's bride. And the idea of a wedding to someone who wasn't him, disgusted her.
But she wasn't looking at the bigger picture. The world we live in would have never allowed her to exist in peace. All that worry led to a fake heart attack and-"

"Did you just say 'fake heart attack'?"
Arnav asks then.

Mahesh looks like deer caught in headlights. He stutters about how his son-in-law must have misheard him. But after seeing that it's not going to work, Trisha's dad turns to look at his daughter and murmurs softly.
"I had to. For her sake."

That day Arnav realises what it's like to be truly loved by a parent.
He also finally discerns why Trisha hated him and this marriage so much. Both reminded her of her supposed betrayal to Peter. And it hurt.
To think that she was one of the reasons he died. To be the wife of a man who wasn't him. And to have to face the fact that he was dead, every single time she looked at her husband.

We have a lot to work on; Arnav thinks, now understanding Trisha's side of the story.