chapter 87

YOU ARE THE RHYTHM OF MY HEART!GChapter 87 :Hearing her words, Aadhya stood dumbfounded, as reality hit her like a thunderclap. Gasping in astonishment, she took a step back. Her eyes brimmed with fear, agony, and confusion.Rushing to her father, she clutched his arm tightly and looked at Saagarika, her eyes blinking rapidly as the terror of leaving her father washed over her.“Krish... Krish will go with you. Why me? I’ll stay with my father. You take him back to your home. He can come and meet me daily”, Aadhya stammered, her voice trembling, not realizing the foolishness of her own words.Everyone stared at her as if she had lost her mind—until Yeshwanth suddenly burst into loud laughter.Walking toward her, Yeshwanth ruffled her hair affectionately and gently implored,“Aadhu! Nandu is your husband. You’re supposed to follow his footsteps—or he should follow yours. But there’s no world where you both are separated. Understand? Either you both stay here, or you go to your in-laws’ home. That’s our culture, sweetheart. A married girl becomes a part of her husband’s family”. He coaxed her, letting the truth slowly sink in.Aadhya widened her eyes at Yeshwanth and hurried to speak,“But I never imagined leaving my father! Everything happened so suddenly. How can I leave him alone?”.She almost shouted, then turned to Nandu and rebuked him, pointing her finger at him accusingly.“You married me so suddenly—before I could express my intentions. I never thought of leaving my father! I’m the only family he has. How could you expect me to leave him alone? I don’t want anything. If you want to be with your family, then go. I won’t stop you. We can meet whenever we want”, she cried out, her eyes streaming like a river—as if she were being permanently torn away from her father.Nandu stood still, watching her, hearing her words, feeling his heart ache as he saw her break down.“Aadhu…”, Parasuram tried to intervene, but Aadhya retreated, taking a step back and shouting,“Don’t try to persuade me! I’m not going to leave you alone. It’s final!”,She yelled, turning on her heels to run to her room.Before she could take a step, Nandu reached her, pulling her by the waist, causing her to stumble into his chest. Wrapping his arms tightly around her, he held her close.With one hand, he gently lifted her chin and asked,“Aadhu... do you really think I would separate you from him? Didn’t I tell you he’s not just my friend—he’s my family too. How could you even think I would leave him behind and take you away from him?”. His voice was calm and persuasive as he gently wiped her tears.“We’ll take him with us. And if he doesn’t want to come, we’ll stay back and live with him. Don’t let your heart break over things that can be solved by talking, love!”.Looking into his eyes, Aadhya asked, her voice filled with fragile hope,“Really? You won’t drag me to your house just because it’s tradition? Will you really let me decide?”. Her voice trembled with desperation and anticipation.Poking her forehead playfully with his finger, Nandu chuckled softly before remarking,“Do you really think I’d just drag you to my house for the sake of tradition?”. He smiled warmly, his voice laced with gentle humor.“Aadu! I love you. And I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you happy—even if it means sacrificing something dear to me. I’ll never let you be separated from your father. I’ll never make decisions without thinking about you. You are the woman of my life—and every decision will be yours”.Cupping her face tenderly, he asked,“Tell me… shall we stay back here with your father? Or should we all go back to my home together? Or maybe, we can find a new house for the three of us to live in—just the way you want. Your choice, Aadhu”. His voice was gentle, coaxing, filled with sincere love.-  *KRISH*