Page 144 of One Hellish Wedlock
Day 18 - California
Aanya sat on the edge of her bed. Her fingers hovered over her phone as her mind wrestled with itself. She didn’t know if she should be doing this, but the thought of her father being unwell gnawed at her insides. No matter how neglectful he had been through her childhood and even now, he was still her father. Forgiving him might not come easy, or at all, but abandoning him in a time like this was not something she could bring herself to do. She remembered Reyansh’s advice. Maybe it was time to listen.
With a deep breath, she dialled Anand Malhotra’s number.
He didn’t answer.
Of course he wouldn’t. He likely hadn’t recognized her international number. Just as she set the phone down, it rang back. Her heart thudded. He had called back?
“Aanya?” Anand’s voice came through, frail yet brimming with emotion.
“Dad,” she whispered. “How are you?”
“I… I’m so glad you called,” he stammered. “You have no idea how much I’ve been thinking about you lately.”
Aanya swallowed the sudden knot of emotion in her throat.
“Reyansh told me you weren’t well,” she said. “I hope you’re taking your medicines. And tell Kyle I won’t forgive her if she’s neglecting your health.”
Anand’s eyes welled up.
“You worry for me… you always have,” he murmured. “You remind me so much of your mother. Even if I so much as sneezed, she’d panic.”
Aanya’s eyes stung with tears. Her father hadn’t spoken about her mother in years, not since he married Kyle.
“You still remember her?” she asked, blinking furiously. “I thought you’d forgotten. Just like you forgot me.”
“Oh, Aanya,” Anand’s voice broke. “I’m sorry, baby. I can’t even imagine the pain I’ve caused you. I was blind. I thought money and comfort could replace what you truly needed—me.”
Tears streamed down Aanya’s cheeks.
“I needed you,” she cried. “After Maa died, I only needed you. But I never got that.”
Anand gripped the phone tightly, his voice cracking with guilt.
“If I could go back and change it all, I would,” he swore. “I’d give you the world. Every ounce of love I failed to give back then. Punish me, Aanya. However, you want. Just punish me hard enough that fathers like me might learn from my mistakes.”
“Dad, please don’t say that,” she whispered through her sobs.
“Why not?” he snapped, anguished. “I’m guilty. I don’t want anything anymore… except my daughter. But you’re gone. And I don’t know what to do.”
“Calm down!” she shouted. “Your blood pressure will shoot up again.”
Anand took a deep breath and tried to calm himself.
“You haven’t lost me forever,” she said gently. “I’ll come back someday. And when I do, we’ll make up for all those years. Together.”
“You will?” he asked, like a child clinging to hope. “We’ll go skiing. And hiking!”
A laugh burst from Aanya’s throat, wet with tears. The memories were vivid. Her father taking her on treks, their laughter echoing through the hills.
“But Dad, you can’t hike now,” she teased. “You’re not in shape. Reyansh said you’re weak.”
“He lied,” Anand chuckled. “Don’t listen to him. I’m fine. And now that you’ve called, I’ll be better in no time.”
“That’s the spirit,” she smiled. “I want you strong and healthy when I return. Then we’ll plan our outing. Just the two of us.”
“We will,” Anand said firmly. “And I promise you’ll never feel unwanted again.”
