My Tormentor

5.

"Nainu, we are so sorry that we didn't believe you. Akhila talked to us and knocked some sense in to us." Akhila is Ishaan's mother. "We should've known that our daughter would never do the things Arjun's mother accused you of. We raised you better."

"I missed you guys so much," I pull Ma into a hug with Papa.

I really did miss them even though I was angry with them for believing a stranger's words instead of mine.

"I missed you too," Ma kisses me on the forehead. "Now, why don't you do and pick out your engagement dress?"

A frown emerges on my face. Should I tell them that I didn't want to get married to Ishaan?

They are so happy that I am getting married to Ishaan and I didn't want to ruin their happiness.

And Amma? She was ecstatic that I am going to be to be her future daughter-in-law.

But this is my life. I'm the one that has to spend the rest of her life with the one person that I hate the most.

I couldn't bring myself to tell them how unhappy I was with this marriage. They are so happy now. Before, they were so stressed and depressed all the time. I couldn't ruin their state of mind again.

"What's wrong Nainu?" Papa questions.

I shake my head in denial. "Nothing Papa. Just tired," I lie to him.

"Oh." Papa frowns. "Why don't I make you my special coffee? It'll wake you right up."

"I'm fine, Papa," I deny.

"Raj, go make her some coffee," Ma orders her husband. She turns, facing me. "You're going to need as much energy as you can get. You'll at the end of the day after all of that engagement dress shopping."

"Do I have to go today?" I complain to them.

"Yes!" Ma exclaims. "The wedding is on the 12th of February. We only have a month left for the wedding which means your engagement should be only a week from now."

"But Ma-," I protest.

"No excuses, Nainu!" Ma says, sternly. "Call Ananya and Priya over. I'll call Akhila. We'll all go to some shops for your engagement dress."

• • • • •

"What about this one?" Ananya holds up a gold dress with a lot of embroidery on it.

I scrunch up my nose in disgust. "There's no way I'm wearing that!"

"Arey! Why not?!" Ma takes the dress into her hands. "It's such a beautiful dress. It's perfect for your engagement."

"Ma, this is way too grand. I want something on the simpler side. This is just my engagement."

"What do you mean it's JUST your engagement?! This is my only child's engagement. This has to be grand," Ma says, over-dramatically. I know she's trying to guilt trip me to doing everything she wants.

"Well Ma, you should've had more children then," I roll my eyes at her.

Ma was going to say something but Amma stops her. "Geetha, Nainu does have a point. This is just her engagement. The wedding has to be grander."

"But-," Ma starts.

"Let her choose her engagement dress, you can choose her wedding dress," Amma suggests, winking at me.

I smile at her. I know that we are going to get along just fine. She was such a chill mother-in-law.

"Fine," Ma sighs.

"Look at this." Priya holds a velvet dress to herself. "This would be amazing on you!"

Priya is right. The dress is amazing. The dress is red and has gold embroidery over it. It is grand yet not too over the top. It is perfect.

"I love it!" I gush taking the dress into my hands.

"Go try it on." Amma pushes me into the dressing room.

I quickly put on the dress and stare at myself in the mirror. The dress looked really good on me. It brought out my light skin.

"Are you done in there?" Ma questions as she knocks on the door.

"Coming." I turn around and open the door to show Ma, Amma, Ananya, and Priya the dress.

"You look so beautiful!" Priya gushes.

Ananya nods in agreement. "You have to get this. This is THE dress."

Ma caresses my cheeks. "My daughter," she says, with tears in her eyes. "You look so pretty."

I blush at their compliments. "I don't know."

"What do you mean 'I don't know'," Amma scoffs. "You are getting the dress and there is no argument."

"It's really expensive and it's only the engagement." I bite my lip in doubt.

"Do you like this dress?" Ma questions.

"Yeah, but-."

"No buts. This is going to be your only wedding. Your Papa and I don't mind spending the money to get you the wedding of your dreams."

"Thanks, Ma." I give her a hug.

Ma gives me a kiss on the forehead. "Now, get out of the dress so we can go buy it."

I'm so so so sorry that I've taken so long to update this book. I've been really busy with college applications. Expect more regular updates.