Page 143 of One Hellish Wedlock
“He hasn’t been the same. Aanya really shouldn’t have blamed us.”
Reyansh frowned slightly. “She spoke to him?”
“Yes. Two days before she left for California,” Kyle nodded. “She said some harsh things.”
Aanya had never mentioned this. Perhaps it had been too painful.
“She accused us of everything,” Kyle continued. “And Anand took it to heart. He’s barely been himself. Can’t focus on business. He blames me for all her grief.”
“Where is he now? May I see him?”
Kyle pointed toward the hallway. “He’s in the bedroom, but he won’t see anyone. He won’t even talk to his friends.”
“I’ll try,” Reyansh said quietly.
She led him to the room but didn’t enter, choosing to give them privacy.
From inside came Anand’s frustrated voice.
“Just go away, Kyle! I told you I want to be left alone.”
“It’s me, Mr. Malhotra.”
The voice startled Anand. He turned to see his son-in-law at the door.
“Reyansh... come in, please.”
They sat on the couch in silence before Reyansh spoke.
“You alright?”
“I’m fine,” Anand muttered.
“You couldn’t attend the Cape Town meeting.”
Anand sighed. “I wasn’t well.”
“I’ve shared all updates with your team. They’re on it.”
Anand waved it off. “Forget the business. How’s Aanya? Did she settle there?”
Reyansh noted the softness in his tone, the concern in his eyes. He updated Anand with basic details and sensed that the man, while not openly apologetic, had finally recognized his failures as a father. Aanya’s departure wasn’t just a shift in her own life; it had stirred a reckoning in her father’s too.
After the brief meeting, Reyansh returned to Chopra Mansion and drafted another email.
Aanya,
Met your father today. Physically, he’s fine, but emotionally, he’s not doing well.
I won’t overstep, but I think you should speak to him at least once.
He seems to have accepted his mistakes. It won’t change the past, nor will it rebuild what was lost. But I still believe closure is worth something.
It’s entirely your choice.
Reyansh
CHAPTER 26
