Page 21

Story: Tainted Bride

"Papa is upset with me.”

"Papa must be angry with you because you said the wrong thing.”

"So what should I do so that Papa does not get upset with me?”

"Just do this; accept whatever Papa is saying; it is not a big deal.”

“But Papa will take me home... away from Avu, so I am feeling sad.”

Suddenly, Avishka has tears in her eyes after hearing this, but she immediately wipes them away. Prakram, who can see all this clearly, immediately kisses Aashi's forehead, attempting to smile and convey her.

"Still, Aashi should only obey her father because he loves her the most in the world... Every girl is a little angel for her father, for whom he dreams a lot, and daughters are very precious to every father.”

In this sentence, Prakram can feel her hidden pain very well. He comes inside with slow steps, due to which Aviksha sits quietly, keeping her scarf on her forehead and properly coveringher face. Aashi also turns her gaze towards her father, who is observing her closely. She looks towards Avishka, who does not say anything to her. She immediately spreads her arms so that her father can catch her on his lap. Prakram also takes Aashi into his lap without any delay, and without exchanging a single word, he immediately turns and starts taking Aashi away from there. He realizes very well that Aashi is waving his little hand and taking leave from Avishka.

PAST INCIDENTS END

Prakram smiles and kisses his daughter's forehead, and he is forced to think about Avishka's words while remembering them for a long time, finally drifting into slumber.

.

.

.

Prakram is sitting in front, observing the proceedings. Aashi is not ready to get her hair combed by anyone because whenever someone starts combing her hair, they pull them too much, which causes a lot of pain to her, due to which she doesn't even like getting her hair combed. He is closely observing each nanny, but they are unable to convince her to consent to having her hair combed by them. Aashi is running quickly here and there, and all three nannies are running behind her, which in turn makes Prakram laugh. However, he likes his daughter's mischievousness so much that he doesn't want to keep her out of his sight for even a moment.

When Aashi starts getting tired, she immediately runs to her father, clings to his arms, and hides herself well from her three nannies. Because no one can catch her, Prakram starts staringat all three. Unable to get her hair combed, he looks lovingly at his daughter, who starts looking at him with small tears in her eyes because she can already feel the pain that pulling her hair is going to cause her.

“Okay… No one will comb your hair; there is no need for you to cry at all.”

When she hears this, Aashi immediately starts smiling. Prakram never takes this task in his own hands because he himself is afraid of causing pain to his daughter, but he knows very well that Aashi's hair is very thick, long, and curly, and it is very important to comb it carefully because Aashi likes long hair much more than now.

"But what to do with your hair now?"

"Avu takes care of my hair very lovingly; I will tell her she will do everything; we are going there, right?”

This is the fourth time that Aashi asks him after completing her afternoon sleep, and the truth is that he is neither able to answer nor understand her completely; now he is completely tired and defeated. He puts a condition on hold quickly.

"Okay, let us go to the hospital, and as you say, your hair will be combed by your Avu, but I want to tell you that we will not stay in the hospital tonight under any circumstances.”

“Then we will be back from the hospital quite late.”

"Why are you always so stubborn?”

"Because I am very confident that you will agree with me."

"You know you're becoming too stubborn.”

"Grandma was also telling me the same thing; I have become very stubborn, just like my stubborn father.”

When he hears this, Prakram laughs very loudly. He shakes his head and takes her to her room, keeps some of her few essential things in a small bag, carries her again in his lap, and comes back and gives orders to the staff.

"If you send mom's dinner, send our food there too.”

"For Avu, too."

Prakram immediately starts looking at her. It is not that he has a problem with feeding someone, but the way Aashi is taking care of Avishka's small needs all the time is making him think about it a lot again and again. He turns to the staff and tells them again.