Author's POV:

Arpita was about to serve sweet pongal to Rishi when Sravya squealed, making everyone look at her.

"What happened, Sravya?" Sakshi asked her.

"Nothing, Atta. Vadina (sister-in-law) was about to serve sweet pongal to Mamayya. So, I was just going to stop her," said Sravya.

"But, what is the problem with that? He likes it, right? And he doesn't also have diabetes," said Sakshi.

"But, it was made by my chinna Vadina (younger sister-in-law). You guys only said, right? You don't want to eat anything served by her. So, I stopped her. I don't want you guys to blame her after eating that," Sravya said, looking at them innocently, but her eyes held different emotions.

"Sravya!" Jhansi (Sravya's mother) said sternly.

"What, Amma, did I say anything wrong?" Sravya said controlling her anger.

"Sravya and Chinnamma (pinni/masi/aunt), please stop it. And you three also sit and eat silently. We can serve ourselves," Avi said sternly.

Arpita, Maya, and Sravya also sat with them to have lunch after serving everyone. No one spoke a word. After lunch, everyone settled down in the living room when Rishi got a call. He excused himself and went to the lawn to attend the call.

He stormed in after answering the phone and yelled Maya's name. Listening to his shout, Maya stood up. Rishi stood in front of Maya and was about to slap her, but a hand (obviously our Avi's) stopped him.

"I didn't give anyone the right to their raise hands on my wife. Be it an outsider, my family, or her own parents," Avi said sternly, and his eyes were spitting fire.

"Avinav, lower your voice. Don't forget that he is older than you," Shekar scolded his son.

"Then tell him to behave like an elder one," Avi said, rolling his eyes.

"Do you know what she has done? Rishi asked Avi.

"What did she do, Mavayya?" Avi asked Rishi.

"She made Rajesh lose his jobs and also put a black mark on his professional career. He won't get a job anywhere now," said Rishi.

"She didn't do that. I did it. And why are you so concerned about them all of a sudden?" He said, angrily.

"But why? What did they do?" asked Sakshi.

"Are you seriously asking this stupid question, atta? Don't you know what they have done?" Avi said sarcastically.

"They did nothing, Avi. If you have to blame someone, it's your wife, and if you have to punish someone, then it's your wife," Sakshi said, raising her voice.

"Yes, she definitely needs a punishment," he said, looking at everyone. "She definitely needs a punishment for not thinking about her, for thinking about you guys before her, for fulfilling your every word by sacrificing her dreams, and for bearing your taunts silently without speaking a word. She thought that you guys would be hurt after knowing the truth, as we are just coming out of the pain of Adi Mama's death and Arjun's broken engagement, and tried to handle the matter herself." He took a pause and went and stood in front of Maya and asked her, "Tell me one thing, Maya, when they never cared whether you were alive or died on that day when you were admitted to the hospital, then why did you think about their happiness?"

"Avinav!" Sakshi shouted his name loudly. "What the hell are you speaking about? Why won't we care for her? She is our daughter."

"Ten years ago, one day, Adi Mama called you, saying that Maya's health was not good. Did you know that she was admitted to the hospital and was unconscious for two days? What were you guys doing then?" Avi asked them.

Jhansi had tears in her eyes, as she was the one who was there with her in the hospital at that time, along with Aditya (Anjali's husband).

"You were not there when she needed you the most. You were not there to say everything would be okay whenever she felt low. You were not there to take her in your arms whenever she had nightmares. You were not there to protect her from the cruel world. You were not there when she wanted to celebrate her achievements with you. What was the most ironical thing is you became one of the reasons for her miseries?"

Everyone looked at him proudly, but their eyes were filled with tears while listening to him while Maya stood there admiring him. Oh! How much does she love this man?

"We were having an important meeting on that day," Rishi said slowly.

Everyone looked at him in disbelief.

"Are you serious, Mavayya? An important meeting, seriously? Adi Mama left an important deal even after knowing that his company would face a loss. And Jhansi Chinnamma (pinni/aunt/masi) was there by her side, taking care of her, keeping all her work aside for a week. And here you were saying that both of you had important meetings. Don't they have work or important meetings? They put their child's well-being above their career. "I must say, you guys are just fantastic," Avi remarked sarcastically. 

Rishi and Sakshi looked down, not knowing what to say. Yes, deep down in their hearts, they knew they were wrong.

"Attayya, tell me one thing—that day some outsider came and told a story, and you believed them over your daughter and asked her to divorce me. But I want to ask you one thing. Would you do the same if someone said the same about me?" Avi asked them.

Maya's breath hitched, listening to it. She'd kill that person with her bare hands without hesitation.

Rishi and Sakshi lost themselves in their thoughts.

"You didn't even think once and were about to slap her after listening to their crap story, and now you were lost in your thoughts. And, Attayya, do you have a brain? Didn't you see what that girl did to our Arjun? Yet you again believed the person from the same family? They had almost one month to tell us everything before our marriage. Why didn't they tell the truth, then? He was literally torturing my wife mentally, and you believed that swine over her," Avi said angrily.

"She could have come and told us about her problems," said Rishi.

"You are really great, Mavayya (uncle/mama). Tell me, how many times has Anju Atta warned you guys to spend time with your children? Did you do that? Maya came to tell you guys, but you both were too busy with your work to spare a glance at your daughter and even taunted her for coming home by bunking her college. Tell me, didn't she tell you guys that she had something important to say?" Sravya asked, raising her eyebrows.

Sakshi and Rishi nodded their heads.

"For once, you could have asked her how everything was going on in her life. But you didn't. Did you guys ever think about why she was not comfortable around you? Because you never created that comfort zone between you and your children. He took a deep breath and continued, "Today she is married to me and is with me in my house. That day, my parents trusted her when her own parents did not. But what if she was married to someone outside of our family? How would they believe her when her parents didn't trust their daughter? Did you guys ever think about what would have happened to her? They would have thrown her out of their home, and society would have taken every opportunity to mock her. Will you let her stay at your house? No, right? What if she had committed something worse? And after that, you would come to know that she was the victim and was the one who bore all the pain. Then, could you undo all those things that you have done in the past?"

"In her 22 years of life, did you ever get any black marks on her? She tried her best to make you guys proud of her. Did you ever appreciate her hard work? No, instead, you used to point out some lame mistakes. You used to scold her for being curvy; oh no, I forgot she was fat, right? Do you know how many health issues she has? Isn't it the parents' responsibility to look after their children? She gave up on her dream for you guys, she gave up on her career for you. Even that day, she stood in front of you as the guilty one just because of you."

"Leave all that, I told you guys that she had fainted on the fourth day of our marriage. Did you guys ask her how she was feeling? No, right. Instead, Attayya, got angry that we didn't consummate our marriage. For Godsake, it's our personal issue. Yes, give suggestions as an elder person, we will heartily listen to them, but please try to understand the situation from our position too. Do you know that she has dyspnea?" Rishi and Sakshi looked at him in shock.

"Thank God, she has only mild symptoms. What would have happened if it was severe? Do you know she has been having nightmares for the past ten years? You guys lived in the same house, right? Don't you know about it? Did you guys ever wonder why Anitha Peddamma was coming to your house frequently? Shall I say? For treating Maya. On Arjun's birthday, she was admitted to the hospital, and I guess even you guys knew that. Don't you? They nodded their heads. So, did you ask her how she's doing? Yes, you guys have called her. But, shall I say, why have you guys called her? To warn her how to behave with guests. Isn't it?" Sakshi nodded her head, while Rishi looked at them confused. Avi told him what happened. "That girl is hitting on her husband, and do you expect her to sit silently? Tell me, Attayya, what would you do when, out of nowhere, a woman came and confessed her love to Mavayya? Would you sit silently and watch the scene?" Sakshi shook her head in denial. "So, do you expect my wife to sit and watch the show?" Sakshi shook her head. "Then why did you scold her? Doesn't she know how to behave with the guests? For once, think about it from her perspective too. Every story has two sides. But you are not seeing the other one. I'm not saying she is wrong, and you guys are right. Both of you are wrong. But you guys have made a huge mistake," he sighed.

To be continued....

Hello peeps!

Sorry for the late update.

I'm stuck with some personal stuff. It's just draining me physically and mentally.

Hope you guys understand. I know I'm saying one or the other reason every time. I definitely try to update regularly.

For now, enjoy the update.