Pihu's POV:
I look at Dev speechlessly.
Parents? I knew I would meet Dev's parents one day but this was definitely not what I expected.
Trying to break the awkward tension, I begin to introduce myself. "Oh, welcome I am-" Before I can finish, Dev grabs his Dad by the forearm and drags him inside. His mom worryingly follows and so do I.
I don't know if I should be interfering in this but I am about to be Dev's wife and my fiance's business is MY business.
"Ap yaha kya kar rahe ho?" Dev questions his parents. (What are you doing here?)
"Beta..." Dev's father tries to answer looking at his wife. (Son..)
"Dev, hum tumhare sagai mein aye hai." Ms. Kapoor finishes for her husband. ( We are here for your engagement)
Dev turns a shade of red I've never seen. I don't know what has made him so angry but I am sure it's valid.
I go over next to him and put my hand on his arm.
"Meri... sagai? Aap hote koun hai meri sagai mein ane wale?" Dev confronts his parents. (My engagement? Who are you to come to my engagement?)
Both parents exchange glances at each other. I look at Dev in confusion.
Ms. Kapoor smiles and walks up to Dev. "Beta, yeh baate baad mein karte hai, bahu ke samne nahi." She strokes his chest. (Son, let's talk later. Not in front of her.)
Dev backs away from his mother and scoffs. He takes my hand in his and holds it up. " Woh meri fiance hai, use saab jaane ka haq hai. Aap logo ka yaha koi kaam nahi." (She is my fiance, she has the right to know everything. You have no business being here)
I look on at the conversation in shock. I can't believe Dev is talking to his parents in such a way. In order to not escalate the argument, I try to intervene. "Dev, it's okay..." I'm unsure what else to say.
Dev turns his gaze to me and behind all the anger I see hurt and pain. It makes my heart tear and I grip onto his hand tighter.
"Dekha beta, woh hume aapne bete ki sagai se dur nahi karegi." Mr. Kapoor breaks Dev's graze. (See son, she won't keep us away from our son's engagement.)
"Please, konse bete ki baat kar rahe ho aap?" Dev asks. (What son are you talking about?)
"Dev..tumahri...beta" Ms. Kapoor tries to explain. (Son, you.)
"Mein?" Dev scoffs. "Oh please! Aapne toh kaha tha na ke aapka koi beta nahi." Tears form in his eyes. (You said you have no son.)
I look at Ms. and Mr. Kapoor in confusion, hoping they would explain themselves but both look down instead.
"You know Pihu, when I got my first paycheck I went back home and wanted to show them. But you know what they did? They refused to open the door, saying they have no son." Dev chokes on the words as they leave his mouth. "I tried for years to go back home but they never opened the door and treated me like dogshit. Just because I followed my dreams." The tears Dev has probably held onto for years start spilling out.
I reach over to wipe them off and Dev lets me. I have this feeling in me, I want to somehow take away all of Dev's pain.
The parents stand in their place in silence. Dev lets go of my hands and walks up to them as if today he finally has the strength to tell them the things he has wanted to say for years.
"What did I do wrong? Why did I get treated that way? All I wanted was for you to support my passion. I loved acting, was it that hard for you to support me? You wanted me to kill my dreams and become a teacher like you and I couldn't. So I ran away. Was that my mistake? Just because I gave myself a chance after 19 years of agreeing to you and trying to convince you." Dev points his finger at his parents. I look on at Dev, whose tears flow nonstop and is up in his parents' face.
I think back to the time when Dev comforted me about my parent's worrying about me but I would have never thought that he also went through the same if not worse.
I look up at Dev's so-called 'parents' hoping one of them apologizes and comforts their son but neither makes an effort.
"Toh ab 10 saal baad kiss liye aye ho yaha pe?" Dev asks his parents one more time. (Why are you here 10 years later?)
"Aapne bete ke liye." Ms. Kapoor answers trying to hold Dev's hand. (For our son)
Dev swats her hand away. "Ab? Tab kaha the jab aapka beta Mumbai akele aya tha? Taab kaha the jab woh ek kumre mein 7 logo ke saath rehta tha? Jab woh bhooka sota tha? Jab uska pass award lene par koi aapna nahi tha sukriya kehne ke liye." (Now? Where were you when your son came to Mumbai alone? When he had to rent a room and share it with 7 other people? When he used to sleep hungry? When he didn't have anybody to thank when he won an award?)
After a pause, Mr. Kapoor looks up and clears his throat. "Jaante hai hum baad mein aye hai, lekin tumne jo kiya uska baad toh haar maa-baap gussa honge." He says. (We know we are late, but every parent would get mad if their kid would do what you did.)
Dev falters a few steps back and I gasp in shock. I look on at the audacity of the parents to blame their son even after he poured his heart out to them.
"Ji nahi." I hear a voice call out from behind me. (No)
I turn around and see my father standing with a disapproving look.
"Koi maa-baap aisa nahi karta hai. Mana ke aap apne bete ke kabilyat per saaq karte ho lekin koi apne bete ko ghar ane par tukrata nahi hai," My dad says, walking over to us. (No parent would do that. I agree you may doubt your child's success but no parent would oust their kid from their home.)
"Aap kese jante ho. Dev ne humare sapne par pani phera" Ms. Kapoor questions my father. (How would you know? Dev broke our dreams)
"Mein jaanta hu. Mein jaanta hu ke Dev kitna acha hai. Humare bache humare tarrah ho esa sahi nahi. Mein ek office worker tha, aur dekho Pihu kitni achi bussniess woman hai. Vese hi, Dev acha actor bhi hai aur usse aur acha insan." My dad says grabbing both mine and Dev's hands. (I know. I know how good Dev is. It's not valid for our kids to be like us. I was an employee and Pihu is an amazing businesswoman. Likewise, Dev is a great actor and an even better person.)
Both me and Dev look up at my dad with tears in our eyes. I know Dev has just heard the praise he wishes his parents would say. I on the other hand am so proud of my dad for accepting how proud he is of me.
I break my chain of thought and look up at Dev's parents. "Look, I know you want to be there for Dev on his special day but have you thought about all the days you've missed? You can't just walk over and expect to be a family once again." I explain to them.
"Then what do we do?" Dev's mom looks up at me.
"Apologizing would be a good start," My dad hollers from behind me.
I smile. "How about you enjoy this party as a guest and make small efforts." I lead them out to the guest section. "Oh, and for sure apologize when you actually mean it," I say as I leave.
On my way back, I see my dad has rejoined my mom who is talking to some friends. I pick up my pace and run back inside.
Dev is standing in the same place I left him.
I run up to him and wrap him in the tightest hug I ever could. "I'm so proud of you Dev," I say running my hand on his back.
He says nothing but doesn't let go.
"Do you want to talk? I'm here for you," I reassure him.
He clears his throat and breaks up our hug. "Nope, I'm ready to celebrate my engagement with this angel of a woman."
I smile as a place a kiss on his forehead and we move to the dance floor.
We dance the whole night away with our friends and family. I savor each moment because I genuinely am thankful to have such wonderful people in my life.
People who believe in me.
People who cherish me.
People who love me.
Precap: Wedding prep!!
Hey guys! I know this was a very long chapter but we had to get this parent stuff sorted out!
I think I am going to end this series in the next couple of chapters and start a sequel. Who do you guys want to see in the sequel? Vyom and Nidha or Shraddha and DJ? 👀
As always, I hope you enjoyed and please don't forget to save, comment and share!
-💙