The Last Promise

The days after the initial marriage meeting were a whirlwind. Vasudha's impatient father had insisted on skipping an engagement ceremony and conducting the wedding within two weeks. Dev had lied to them that he had consulted an astrologer. He told them that the astrologer had predicted that if the marriage did not happen within the said period, the bride and the groom would have bad luck which might even lead to death of one of them. In reality, Dev did not want to give the Raos any time to change their minds. As soon as the wedding happened, Govind Rao and Dev Balakrishnan were set to sign a deal that would allow Dev to manufacture products in Govind's factory for a paltry amount. This would bring him profits in millions.

To Vasudha's surprise, the Raos had accepted the condition. According to her father, they had said they too were eager to welcome their daughter-in-law as soon as possible.

The wedding preparations were in full swing. No one was happier than Dev that this marriage was happening. The wedding hall was booked and the guests were invited in a hurry. The house was decorated with lights and flowers. In all her years spent in this house, she had never seen so many lights, colors, smells and joy. Even Priya was happy. Vasudha often caught her mother beaming at her as she toiled at making sure that everything was perfect for the upcoming wedding.

Vasudha's father had pulled out all the stops when it came to expenses. "All this is just a paltry investment when compared to the money I would make," Dev had remarked, looking at the jewelry, clothes, and other finery that had to be purchased for the wedding. "Once Vasudha is their only son's wife, they will never be able to cancel the business deals we make." He rubbed his hands greedily.

Vasudha knew that she would never be able to talk to her father about what Anil had told her during their meeting. She did not even have enough time to somehow contact Anil and talk to him about what made him change his mind. With her phone and computer confiscated, Vasudha was out of ideas.

Her grandmother had been tasked to follow Vasudha everywhere and keep an eye on anyone she contacted. Ever since she had rejected Anil, Dev was wary of Vasudha. He was not leaving anything to chance. He had decided that the next time Vasudha spoke to Anil would be after they had gotten married. Her grandmother would not even let her sleep alone in her room. She had insisted on sleeping with Vasudha, saying that her dear granddaughter would soon go away to her husband's home and she wanted to spend every minute with her until then.

Vasudha could not even speak with her mother in private with her busy in the wedding preparations and her grandmother always hovering nearby. It was the day before the wedding that Vasudha finally managed to get hold of her mother.

"Amma, it was Anil who asked me to reject him. I don't know why they accepted the proposal," Vasudha said, trying to somehow convince her mother that this wedding shouldn't happen.

"Vasudha, if that was the case, he would have allowed you some time to tell us that you didn't want to marry him," Priya smiled. "Did you see how eager they were to accept the proposal? It was hardly 15 minutes before they called."

"I don't know why that happened, Amma. I have a bad feeling about this."

"It must have been Anil's way of teasing you, darling. That is all," Priya hugged her daughter. Vasudha was unconvinced and still worried.

Priya looked at her daughter's pensive face. "You are lucky. I know your father is insisting on this marriage for his business gains. But Vasudha, this proposal is a boon for you. Did you see how kind his parents were? Even Anil seems to be funny and good-natured," she said. "He didn't want you to reject him. That is the only reason they called back so soon, before their son's joke got taken seriously."

"But Amma, the way he spoke… He was serious about what he said. Either he is a very good actor or he was telling the truth. He seemed desperate to get away from this marriage," Vasudha insisted.

"For a second, let's say he didn't want to get married. It is probably a case of cold feet or something. If not, his parents have convinced him for the marriage," Priya argued. "Your father and I saw him yesterday when we went to his house with wedding gifts. He seemed very happy."

No matter what her mother said, Vasudha's mind could not be put to rest.

"Amma, you know how I can feel confident about this wedding… Please, please let me meet Anil once or at least let me talk to him on the phone," Vasudha begged with tears in her eyes knowing well what her mother's answer would be.

"Vasudha…" Her mother sighed. "No matter how many times you ask me, the answer will remain the same. Your father will not allow this. Besides, our traditions require that the groom and the bride do not meet each other after their wedding is fixed till the wedding day."

"It is my life we are talking about!" Vasudha cried out.

"Hush," Priya looked around to check if the guests who had started trickling in had heard Vasudha's outburst. "You are getting married tomorrow. I promise you that everything is fine. These doubts and wedding jitters that you have are completely normal."

Vasudha could not believe her mother could dismiss her worries so casually.

"Do you want me to end up in a marriage like you? Loveless, abused, unheard…" Vasudha whispered accusingly.

Priya's eyes welled up.

"No, my dear child. I would not wish a marriage like mine on my worst enemy. But I stayed in this marriage for you, Vasudha… for your well-being," Priya said, holding back tears. "You will have a good life, I promise."

"What is going on here?" roared Dev on catching Priya and Vasudha together. "Priya, don't you have work to do? The wedding is tomorrow!"

"Accha, please let me talk to Anil once. I need to make sure that he is happy getting married to me," Vasudha pleaded to Dev one last time.

Dev's face darkened. "Listen to me, girl, and listen to me well. I don't care if he wants to get married or not. I don't care if you want to get married or not. It will happen nevertheless," his voice low and guttural.

"Your mother gave me a daughter instead of a son who I could have raised to help me build my empire. And a daughter as plain and worthless as you!" Dev threw a look of disgust at Priya. "All these days I tolerated you both. I had only hoped to find a wedding proposal for you where I could trade you for the most profitable opportunity. But by some miracle the only son of the Siddhi Group of Industries is ready to marry you!"

"If you do anything that spoils my plans, I warn you that I will throw your good-for-nothing mother out along with you," Dev muttered. "You know I can and will do it. If you get married quietly, your mother will have a roof over her head in my house till she lives."

With that, Dev stormed away.

Vasudha felt the blood drain from her body. She knew her father meant what he said. She looked at her mother. She looked like she would collapse… horrified, helpless. The sight of her mother gave her a new strength.

"Come with me, Amma." Vasudha reached out and held her mother's hand. "Let's walk out of this home and his life before he can throw us out."

"I can work. I can take care of both of us, Amma," she said expectantly.

"No!" Priya sobbed. "I cannot leave him."

"But he beats you, abuses you. You suffered through all of this just for me. Now, I am calling you. Come with me," Vasudha pressed on.

"No, Vasudha!" Priya pulled away. "You don't understand. If I come with you now, I would not just be walking away from my married life, I would be taking you away from yours. For all we know, Anil is happily getting ready to be married tomorrow. I will not spoil the wonderful life that you would have with him."

"Amma, you know Accha is getting me married only for his profits. Even if Anil is happy with this marriage, I would feel like a gold digger, ending up using him for my father's benefit. Come with me, we will make our own fortune. And maybe one day, I will find someone who I love and who truly loves me in return," Vasudha reasoned.

"Stop your nonsense, Vasudha." Priya folded her hands before Vasudha. "I have a comfortable home now and please, don't take it away from me."

Vasudha couldn't believe her ears. Her mother preferred this golden cage over freedom.

"Come, your make-up artist is waiting to do your mehndi," Priya said as if to indicate that the conversation was over.

"Okay, Amma. I will get the mehndi done. I will get married tomorrow. But I promise you this, once I step out of this house, you will never hear from me again… the moment I get married, I will never let someone else dictate my life again."

With this Vasudha walked away leaving Priya ruminating in her words.