A Loveless Arranged Marriage Chapter 18. A Visit To Native

   Previously, we saw that Deepa had passed her Mains exam, and after two months, she boarded the train to Delhi with her tutor and classmates, Vasundhara and Saad, for the UPSC interview. During that period, Rishi began to miss her. After the interview, all four of them boarded a train to Mumbai. While she was going to inform Rishi about their arrival, Vasundhara suggested that Deepa play a prank on Rishi by saying they had missed the train. After the call, Rishi became depressed, but the next day, Deepa surprised him.

  The moment Rishi saw Deepa, he froze for a moment. He felt butterflies in his stomach. In a soft tone, he asked, "De... Deepa, you told me you missed the train." Deepa, with an innocent smile, replied, "Hmm, see, that was a prank." Rishi gave her an angry look, but then he smiled and said, "Okay, come inside the house." They both went inside, and Deepa started sharing her experiences during the interview and her tour of Delhi. Rishi watched her like an innocent child, not replying to anything. Afterward, she went to the bathroom to freshen up, and Rishi thought of cooking something special for her. He pondered for a while and decided to make Hyderabadi chicken biryani. He went out to buy the necessary ingredients and then began cooking.

  While he was preparing the biryani, Deepa entered the kitchen. She asked, "What are you cooking, Rishi? I can smell something delicious." Gently pushing her out of the kitchen, Rishi replied, "It's a surprise. I'll reveal it later. Until then, your access to the kitchen is denied." Deepa, curious, said, "Okay, at least tell me what you're cooking." Rishi insisted, "I told you, it's a surprise." With a resigned sigh, Deepa said, "Okay, fine," and left for the living room.

  As she waited, her curiosity grew, but she resisted the temptation to sneak into the kitchen. Finally, they both sat in the dining room, and Deepa eagerly awaited Rishi’s revelation. He opened the lid of the aluminum vessel and said, "I made Hyderabadi biryani for you. It's a small treat for your UPSC interview." Overjoyed, Deepa replied, "Thank you, Rishi, but you could have told me earlier. I was so anxious!" Rishi smiled and said, "This treat was worth the anxiety. Try it." He served her the biryani, and after tasting it, Deepa said, "It's really good! Why aren't you eating?" Rishi replied, "I'll have some later." Deepa then said, "Whoever marries you will be the luckiest girl."

  Rishi felt a wave of happiness after hearing that. Deepa then asked, "Rishi, don’t you have any dreams like mine?" Rishi, confused, replied, "Like what?" Deepa explained, "I have a dream of becoming an IAS officer. What’s your dream?" Rishi replied, "My dream was to become a software developer, and I achieved that." Deepa continued, "What about dreams outside of your career?" Rishi said, "My only dream was to build a house for my mom and take care of her until her last breath, but that didn’t happen. After that, my goal has been to support you in your IAS journey." Deepa nodded and asked, "What are your plans now, Deepa?" She replied, "I gave my best in the interview. The rest is up to the selectors. If I pass, I’ll continue my IAS journey. If not, then..." Rishi interrupted, "Then what?"

  Deepa sighed, "Then I’ll give up my IAS journey and start looking for another job." Shocked, Rishi exclaimed, "Why quit? You can always try again!" Deepa replied, "Rishi, this was my fifth attempt, and it was my best one. I don't think I can give it another shot like this. I'm getting tired of the UPSC process. I could keep taking the exam until my last attempt, but time won’t wait for me. Every dream has to end eventually."

 Rishi then asked her, "Don't you feel upset about it?" Deepa replied, "Yes, I'm kind of upset, but still, we have to move on; that's life." Rishi then started having his dinner. After that, both finished their meal and were watching a movie together in the living room. However, Rishi wasn't really paying attention to the movie. He was watching Deepa, and at one point, she said, "Rishi, this movie is reminding me of home. I wish I could go back to my native place." Rishi simply smiled and didn't respond. After they finished watching the movie, they both went to their respective rooms to sleep.

  The next day, Deepa was watching a web series in the living room when Rishi returned home from work. "Hi, Deepa," Rishi said, to which she replied, "Hi." Rishi went to his room to change, and when he returned to the living room, he handed an envelope to Deepa.

  Deepa asked, "What's this?" Rishi replied, "Open it and find out." Deepa opened the envelope and found flight tickets for both of them, from Mumbai to Thoothukudi, for a week later. Rishi said, "You mentioned wanting to visit your hometown, so I bought tickets for us." Deepa was overjoyed and said, "Thanks, Rishi!" He smiled and replied, "You're welcome."

  A week later, they were on a flight to Thoothukudi. During the flight, Rishi asked, "Hey Deepa, did you tell your parents we're coming?" Deepa smiled mischievously and said, "Nope, I want to surprise them." Rishi just nodded, "Hmm." A while later, they arrived at Thoothukudi airport. They took an Uber to Rishi's family home, arriving at 8:16 p.m. Rishi collected the house key from the neighbor and unlocked the door. As they entered the house, Rishi paused for a moment at the entrance, his head down, clearly feeling emotional. Deepa noticed and asked, "Rishi, what's wrong?" He quickly snapped out of it, smiled, and said, "Nothing, just some old memories." Deepa nodded, "Oh, okay," and they both freshened up.

  Afterward, they had dinner together before heading to their respective rooms to rest.

  The next day, while Deepa was checking her social media in the living room, she noticed Rishi heading out with a bag of flower garlands. Curious, she asked, "Where are you going, Rishi?" He replied, "I'm going to visit my parents' graves." Deepa quickly said, "Oh, wait, Rishi, I'll come with you." Rishi agreed, "Alright, I'll wait."

  Once Deepa was ready, they left together for the cemetery. When they arrived, Rishi placed garlands on his parents' tombs. As Deepa looked at his mother's grave, she thought to herself, “Aunty, I know that Rishi and I aren't meant to be together romantically, but I promise I'll always be there for him as a friend.” After spending some quiet time there, they left.

  Later, we see Rishi driving his car, with Deepa sitting beside him, gazing out the window. Suddenly, she spotted a familiar store and asked, "Hey Rishi, stop the car near that shop." Rishi asked, "Why, Deepa?" She smiled and said, "Just wait and see."

  Rishi stopped the car near the store, and as they entered, Deepa saw her brother, Ashwin, playing a game on his phone while eating a snack. One of the shop employees, Rakesh, noticed Deepa and was about to say something, but she motioned for him to stay quiet. She walked up to Ashwin and said, "Hey Ashwin, can you give me 1 kg of salt?" Hearing her voice, Ashwin immediately recognized it. He looked up, surprised to see his sister and Rishi. "Sis! Brother-in-law! When did you both get to Tirunelveli?" Ashwin exclaimed. Deepa laughed and said, "We arrived just yesterday. You haven't changed at all, Ashu-kutty!" Ashwin replied, "Nope, I haven't. But why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

  Deepa replied, "Just a surprise, that's it," and she asked Rakesh, "How are you, Rakesh, bro?" Rakesh replied, "I am fine; what about you?" Deepa then replied, "I am fine, bro." After that, Deepa said, "Ashwin, I am going home only. Are you coming with me?" Ashwin replied, "Yes," and he asked Rakesh to take care of the shop. After that, all of them started heading towards Deepa's house. While in the car, Ashwin asks Rishi, "Brother-in-law, you could have told me that you both were coming at least?" Rishi then replied, "Ashwin, she wants to surprise; why should I want to break that surprise by revealing?" After hearing that, Ashwin replied, "Like wife, like husband, super couple." After hearing it, Deepa got irritated by it, and on the other side, Rishi was embraced. After some time, they reached Deepa's home. When they reached there, Deepa's dad and mom were also surprised to see them. Deepa's dad asks her, "Deepa, what a surprise! Why didn't you inform us early?" Deepa replied, "We want to surprise you, that's why, dad." After that, all of them entered the house. When Deepa entered the house, she felt some kind of happiness. After that, we see all of them having conversations in the living room. After that time passed, we saw that during the night all of them were having dinner together. After that dinner, we see that Deepa was talking to her mom.

  Parvathi was saying to her, "Deepa, it's been more than 2 years since you both got married. You were busy with your UPSC dream; that's why I didn't say anything, but from now on, start thinking about having a baby in your life, you know...." While Parvathi was saying this, Deepa was simply thinking in her mind, "Some things will never change in my life." After that, she replied to her mom, "Ok, mom, I understand," and for that, Parvathi said, "I know about you; you were just listening for sake. Deepa, please understand our relatives and neighbours started asking about your fertility. Deepa then instantaneously replied, "Mom, please stop. I understood what you said to me, but please don't make me take a decision forcibly due to our neighbours and relatives advice. Also, please stop living by what others say." Parvathi understood Deepa was not ready to accept her advice, and after that, she replied, "Whatever, if you understood what I was saying, then I am fine with it." After saying this, Parvathi left that place, and from there, Deepa also left for her room. In that room where we see Rishi talking to someone, when Deepa enters the room, he ends the call. He casually asked her, "There is someone who had a long talk with mom today, I guess." For that, Deepa replied, "Don't talk rubbish, Rishi; I am thinking why I talked to her today." Rishi then replied, "What happened?" Deepa then started saying, "As usual only, my mom started talking about the baby and how to be a good wife and stuff. They don't know that we will be going to apply for divorce soon."

  After hearing it, Rishi got slightly upset, and at that, he asked her, "Deepa, can I ask you something?" Deepa replied, "What is that?" and Rishi replied, "After your ex-boyfriend, did you ever fall in love with someone?" Rishi was thinking in his mind that Deepa would reply because he wanted to know whether Deepa had feelings for him. For that question, Deepa replied, "No, after him, I didn't feel in love with someone." After hearing it, Rishi didn't reply to anything, and he was going to sleep on the floor. At that time, Deepa asked her, "Where are you going to sleep, Rishi?" and Rishi then replied, "I'm going to sleep on the floor." Deepa then replied, "Rishi, don't joke; just sleep on the bed." Rishi was going to say something, but he knew that she would conceive him somehow. So, he didn't reply to anything and started to sleep in bed, but Rishi couldn't sleep due to Deepa's answer. He was lying in the left-side sleeping position, while Deepa was sleeping on the opposite side of that same position. He was looking at her and was thinking in his mind, "Why am I getting scared about telling my feelings to you, Deepa? How could I tell her that I love her? I don't know whether you will accept it or not, but I want to share my life with you together." With this thought, he went to sleep, and after 2 days, we see them leaving for Rishi's native village.

  While on the way to Rishi's native village, Rishi played the Ennai Konjam Mathi song from the Kaakha Kaakha movie to hint at his feelings. Instead of understanding the hint, Deepa simply enjoyed that song. They arrived at the village after some time, and they were greeted by Rishi's uncle Thangaraj, aunt Annalaxmi, and cousin Dinesh. After that, we see all five of them talking inside the house. Thangaraj asked Deepa, "Deepa, you told me that you were giving the UPSC exam." Deepa replied, "Yes, uncle, only a few days ago I gave the interview for it." Thangaraj then replied, "See Dinesh; be like her. Try to apply for any government job," and for that, Dinesh replied, "Dad, I told you I like to work in media only." Thangaraj replied, "Whatever," and after that Annalaxmi asked Deepa, "Rishi, what made you both late today? You told me that you were both coming before 5 p.m." and for that Rishi replied, "It is like we left Deepa's village late only. Because of that, only we came here late." Thangaraj said, "Ok, fine, let's have dinner; it's already 8:30." After that, they had dinner together, and after that, they had a conversation and went to get some sleep.

  The next day, we see Rishi and Deepa coming outside from Rishi's family deity temple. After that, they visited some of the relatives houses in the village and were returning to the Thangaraj house. At that time, Rishi saw someone, and he asked Deepa, "Deepa, go to Thanagraj's uncle's house. I will return in just 5 minutes." Deepa asks him, "Where are you going, Rishi?" and Rishi then replied, "I have met someone. You go, I will return in 5 minutes." Deepa replied, "Fine," and he left that place. Rishi then visited that person; it was Arvind's dad, Thirumaran. Rishi first greeted him by saying, "Hello uncle, how are you?" But Arvind's dad didn't reply anything, and Rishi then said, "Ok, I think you don't want to reply anything, but you know one thing, Arvind is missing you. It's been more than 3 years; are you still angry with him? He is your son's uncle. How many days will you maintain that anger? Please forgive him and accept him, uncle. Uncle Caste is just for name sake, nothing more than that." Arvind's dad then replied in anger, "Why should I accept him as a son? He just left our whole family for that girl. That day he had given more priority to her, and he had forgotten about us." Rishi then replied, "Uncle, Arvind is not like that. That day, if you had accepted both of them, this problem would not have arrived." Thirumaran then replied furiously, "Rishi, I understand you just came here to visit your family. Visit them and leave the village, don't interfere in other's problems."

  After that, Thirumaran started leaving that place, and Rishi shouted at him, "There he is missing you all, and here you are simply disowning him. Super family," and at that same time Madan heard him shouting and came near and asked him, "Rishi bro, why are you shouting at him?" Rishi replied, "Madan, you don't know..." and Madan interrupted and said, "Ok, we will talk in detail at Thangaraj's uncle's house. Let's just leave this place." After that, both of them returned to Thangaraj's house, where Rishi and Madan revealed what happened. Thangaraj’ uncle then said, "Rishi, did you come here to strive for some problem here?" Annalaxmi then said, "Why are you interfering in others' problems?" Rishi then replied, "Uncle, you don't know one thing. Here you may see that Arvind's family disowned him easily in Mumbai. You have to see Arvind and Shahina. They both were missing their family." Thangaraj replied, "Rishi, you know what happened previously here; Arvind and some of the family members may not have this caste pride, but the rest of them still take it as a pride. Until you are here, please remain silent. Deepa understands him." After Thangaraj, Annalaxmi, and Madan left that place, Deepa came near him and was going to say something, but Rishi interrupted her and replied, "Deepa, you also didn't understand me." Deepa then replied, "I understood what you said, but Rishi, please remain silent; that's only what Thangaraj said." For that, Rishi replied, "How can you expect me to remain silent? You didn't see how Arvind was feeling. I was also thinking of going to Shahina's house." Deepa then replied, "Ok, fine, you did what you could do? Now leave the rest." Rishi replied, "Hmm," and Deepa then asked him, "Ok, Rishi, can I know how much distance it is from here to Shahina's house?" Rishi replied, "It is just 3 villages away from here," and Deepa then replied, "Ok, while we leave from here, we will head to Shahina's family, which is also fine." Rishi replied, "Fine," and Deepa then replied, "Now come inside the house." After that, they both enter the house.

  On the other side, we see Arvind's native house. Thirumaran was sitting in bed and thinking about something. Also, we see Arvind's sister Jyothi and Arvind's mother Laksmi standing beside him. Arvind's mom asked him, "Dear, please tell me what happened. You came inside the house furiously, and after that, you didn't say anything. What happened?" Thirumaran then replied, "You know that Rishi came here yesterday." Arvind's mom replied, "Hmm, what happened?" and Thirumaran then replied, "He came and spoke with me, saying that Arvind was missing all of us and he was asking us to forgive him. After hearing his talk, I was getting angry about why I should forgive my son, and at the same time I was getting emotional that my son was missing us." Jyothi then asked Thirumaran, "Dad, can I say something?" I don't know why you still kept your anger on him, dad. Arvind's brother made only one mistake as well. Also, he brought his lover to our house because her family was getting her to marry nothing more than." Thirumaran then asked in anger, "Are you saying that I was wrong?" Jyothi replied in anger, "Yes, dad, due to you only he left this village. You put your caste pride in front of him." Thriumaran then replied, "How dare you be talking to me like this?" and Arvind's mom replied, "Jyothi, remain silent." Jyothi replied in anger, "Mom, I need to talk about it. Dad, that day or before that, if you listened to Arvind only one time at that time, you may not face this problem. Dad thinks from Arvind's side also, that a girl he loved was going to get married on one side, and on the other side, our family was brainwashing him. What will he do then, and are you so cruel that you put your caste thing above your child? Please tell me, dad." Thirumaran then replied in an emotional state, "I am not that cruel, Jyothi. I cared about that caste stuff earlier, but that doesn't mean I never put that thing above my family and children. I am still angry at him because he didn't come here to meet me. When he came to Tirunelveli two years ago, I was expecting him to meet me and ask me to forgive him. I was ready to forgive him those days, but he didn't come to meet me. My caste mentality was already gone that day when my son left me due to that stuff."

  Jyothi then replied, "Then why are you waiting, dad? Put your anger aside and speak to him. He is still your lovely son." At that time, one of Arvind's cousins, Vignesh, came to the house, and he asked in anger, "Uncle, I heard that Arvind's friend shouted at you. Just give me a hint; I will slice him now only." Thirumaran replied, "Be calm and sit beside him," but Vignesh replied, "I am not in a state of calm now; just give me a hint now, uncle. You know that I left Arvind because of you alone. If you were not there, I would have killed Arvind, Rishi, and Arvind's lover also." Thirumaran slapped him in anger and said, catching his ear, "Just picking a machete and using it—are you thinking yourself a rowdy or what? Just bury your thoughts about killing others today; go and study. Vignesh, if I see you ever speaking about caste and this rowdy stuff, I will seriously beat you, understand? Now go, try to become a good human being in your life." Vignesh replied in a low voice, "Ok, uncle," and he left that place. After that, Thriumaran asked Jyothi, "Jyothi ma, dial a call to your brother right now. I have to talk to him right now." Jyothi then replied, "Ok, dad," and after that, Jyothi called his brother and handed over her phone to his dad.

  We see Arvind was working in his office, and he attended the call. He replied, "Hello Jyothi." After hearing Arvind's voice, Thirumaran's eyes started watering, and he replied, "Arvind, it is me." After hearing Thirumaran's voice, Arvind understood that was his dad's voice; he couldn't say anything. Then his dad asked him, "Are you there, Arvind?" and Arvind replied, "Yes, dad." Then his dad asked him, "How are you, Arvind?" Arvind replied, "I am fine, dad. How are you, dad?" His dad replied, "I am fine," and after that, there was silence for a minute between them. After that, his dad asked him, "Arvind, are you angry with me?" After hearing it, Arvind replied, "No, dad," and his dad replied, "If you even say that, forgive me, Arvind. I shouldn't have done that to you. I was simply mad at that time; I should have forgiven you earlier." Arvind then replied, "Dad, please forgive my mistake also," and his dad replied, "No, Arvind, you did what was right at that time. How are my daughter-in-law and grandchild?" Arvind replied, "They are both fine, dad." After that, his dad replied, "Ok, your mom wants to talk with you. I am handing over the phone to her." After that, Arvind talked with his mom and sister. After that, his mom asked him to visit the village during vacation, and while ending the call, Arvind replied to Jyothi, "Jyothi, thanks for convincing dad." Jyothi replied, "Brother, it was Rishi, bro, who started this thing. I just made a little effort to convince dad."

  After hearing it, Arvind replied, "Hmm, bye, Jyothi," and after saying it, he ended the call. He then called Rishi and asked him, "Hey Rishi, did you fight with my dad?" Rishi then replied, "Hey Arvind, it is like that..." but Arvind interrupted him and replied, "So you fought." Rishi then replied, "Sorry, Arvind," and Arvind then replied, "Thanks, Rishi, because only today my dad talked with me. I don't know how to express how happy I am feeling right now." Rishi then asked in shock, "Did your dad really talk with you?" Arvind replied, "Yes," and Rishi then replied, "After 3 years, your dad talked to you; that's great." Arvind then replied, "I am so thankful to you, Rishi," and Rishi then replied, "There are no thanks and sorrys between friends." Arvind then replied, "Ok, take care, Rishi, and also enjoy your vacation." Rishi replied, "Ok, fine, bye, Arvind." After that, they ended the call, and for the next three days, Rishi and Deepa enjoyed their vacation in Rishi's village. They even visited Shahina's family and convinced them. After that, they both spent some days at Rishi's house and also completed their vacation.

  With this, the chapter came to an end. Let's see what happens next in the upcoming chapter, Until then, stay tuned.