“Thank you.” Though there’s no guarantee we’ll be staying long enough to drink it.
I guide Nathan through the maze of halls, past the drawing room and to the sliding glass door that leads to the backyard.
My parents sit under the shaded area on a four-seater patio seating set. Dad has his reading glasses on and reading a newspaper, while my mother scrolls on the phone.
She senses us approaching first and looks up. Her shrewd eyes fly to Nathan, narrowing with intrigue. It doesn’t take her long to recognize who he is. My mother is the perfect socialite wife and keeps tabs on all the influential people and families.
We’re two steps away when she taps my father’s arm to garner his attention. He lowers the paper, mildly annoyed gaze flying in my direction. A blank mask falls over his middle-aged face when we halt.
“Hello, papa.” I rub my thumb on the inside of Nathan’s wrist, sensing the tension lacing his body. Peering at my mother, I greet, “Mama. How are you both?”
Neither of them gets up to give me a hug or even smile. They jump straight into an interrogation, dissolving the little hope I had that things will be different.
Isn’t distance supposed to make the heart grow fonder?
“Who have you brought?” my dad nonchalantly asks, staring hard at Nathan.
My mother dramatically says, “God! Please don’t be like your sister and announce you’re engaged or got hitched without our permission.”
“No, we haven’t,” answers Nathan. “But Arya will bemywife one day.”
Her jaw hits the floor.
My father speaks, forcing my focus on his stern and disappointed face. “Another boyfriend, Arya? Didn’t you learn your lesson from last time?”
I’ve learnt several, but I don’t think he’s talking about those. “I’m not sure what you mean, papa.”
“He means that an arranged marriage is more suitable for a girl like you rather than one for love,” my mother retorts.
I jerk back. “A girl like me?”
“Yes.” Her tone is taunting. “You fall for the wrong men, honey. Perhaps, it’s wise if you let your father and I pick a suitable husband for you this time.”
Wow. I am speechless.
She’s making me sound like a slut, as if I went through a harem of boyfriends.
Nathan goes rigid as a mountain beside me.
“Your mother is right,” agrees my father. “I granted your wish last time by approving Aryan. I will not be repeating the mistake.”
Yeah, this evening is heading for a shitshow.
“I should’ve clarified,” I utter with my head held high. “I am not here for your approval. I came to introduce you to the man I love and can’t wait to marry one day.”
My father’s face sets in stone and he glares at me.
In the past, it would’ve made me quake in my boots.
But not tonight.
“You sound just like your sister,” cries my mother with disgust.
I ignore her, holding my father’s stare. “You can either accept him or I’m out of your lives.”
“This cannot be happening again,” mumbles my mother, holding her head between her palms.
“Perhaps you should trust your daughter and respect her decision instead of controlling her,” taunts Nathan. “Learn a lesson fromyourpast mistake and not lose the only daughter you’ve got left.”
