Chapter 22: Guest list

                                    

                                          
" No no no. We definitely can not remove him from the list! He's a childhood friend!" his mind was numb. His head was spinning and his heart had already sunken down in his chest because he was about to make his life's biggest sacrifice in just a few days' time. Every time he agreed with his father over something, a part of his own essence had always fallen apart and died inside him and now, he was practically going to be a walking corpse at his own wedding. It was no way going to be the best day of his life and he just knew it. 
But, what was right was right. And his heart was wrong. His heart was wrong for loving someone whose status was way below his and his heart was cheating on one of the best women his father knew. Honestly, he didn't even know if it was cheating or self-preservation but, loving her in secret somewhere made him feel like, he mattered and his choices mattered. To, at least someone. Even if she was way below his stature. At least, she cared and she listened. 
" And I'm not going to ask my cousin to not come to my only daughter's wedding! Do you even know how much she has been through? First, that idiot friend of yours decides that he "can't deal with her" and then her daughter gets kidnapped?! No. Aditi is like her second daughter at this point. I'm not backing off this time," A fight was ensuing in his house, as he walked in a very wobbly state after having drunk a little in his office. He knew that he couldn't come home without drinking because if he was sober, he probably wouldn't even be able to see his father in the eyes. He felt guilty for being in love with someone his father hated. 
But his head was also hurting and spinning now that he heard two old men shout in the house. Wasn't able to keep his balance after he heard someone throw a few papers on the ground so, as he caught his head this time, he found himself colliding into a very costly vase kept in the hallway of his well furnished house. 
" Oh My God! Sohit?! Are you hurt!?"
" No. No," and when he heard his mother's overdramatic voice, he immediately looked away from the broken vase and at all the people sitting in the hall, just staring at him. There was his entire family and then, there was the family of the girl he was cheating on. In his mind, he still considered it cheating because he could never love her. Only make empty promises. And looking at her worried face made him completely sober up... 
" What. What's up?" and seeing their attention pointed at him didn't really help. So, he decided that a change of attention back to the topic on why his father was fighting with his future wife's father would be much better. And slowly, making his way out of the broken glasses, he somehow managed to reach an empty chair next to his brother and sat down. 
" Solanki wants me to cut off Harsh's name from the guest list!" his father roared the moment he managed to pull himself in a calm state and all he did was raise his eyebrows and put his hands over his head. He was tired of living and constantly working for others. He was tired of solving those nonsense battles between his father and different people and he had also drunk quite a lot. But that did not mean that he would be spared at all. Not even if he didn't know who his father was talking about. 
" What else?! My sister is way much more important and she will come!"
" Ok. Guys. Wait," and now that he knew that even his father-in-law was not ready to back down... He just knew that he needed to get to the core of it all to fix the matter 
" Who is Harsh?" he put forth his hands as he stared at the ground and for the longest moment, there was only silence before his father decided to clear his throat and explain why a stranger was coming to his marriage 
" He's from Bishops!"
" Your primary school?" he raised his eyebrows and stared right at his father in disbelief because he honestly couldn't believe that his father would even invite someone from so long back. His head was hurting and his heart was aching and honestly, he couldn't even think well at that point. But he knew one thing. If that conflict between those two old men wasn't fixed, he would not be able to sleep peacefully. His father wouldn't let him sleep. 
" Yeah so!? He went through so much! His daughter got kidnapped and we bonded a lot after that! He also called me to his second marriage!" 
" Which daughter?" 
" Arre. That Poorva someone! I remember. He used to come home every day and drink with your father every single day while you were at college! Every single day he used to cry! I remember so damn well. But what happened in the end?! No one found her!" his mother butt in and now, he felt almost completely sober
" Exactly! I toh don't understand only. She had these bright blue eyes! It should have been so easy to find her na. Bhabhi ji also spent all 3, 4 years trying to find her. How could they still not find her!?" 
" Bl-blue eyes?" he could feel his brain pointing in one direction as he felt his other hand pull out his phone from his pockets. Didn't know if he was hearing the right things but he could now see everyone's eyes pointed at him. Didn't know if his ears were just playing tricks over him or his future mother-in-law said that or not but as he began typing down "Poorva kidnapping case" in his phone, he had a hope. A hope that his love hadn't lied to him. A hope that maybe... Maybe he could trust her. A hope that maybe this would verify his love for her to be legitimate. 
" Yes. Ek dum Bright blue. Why?" 
And there it was. The proof. Her face on google searches. Sure. she didn't have that long hair or maybe that thin of a body back then. Sure, she had grown a lot and had a very different expression of understanding over her face now, but... She hadn't lied to him. 
He verified it that day. In a drunk state but the excitement in his heart to have known that there was someone genuine out there waiting for him... It didn't let him rest in peace and definitely did not let him keep his phone down and behave as if nothing ever happened. Because he began laughing as he stared at the photo of his beloved on Google. 
" What!? Why are you laughing!? SOHIT?!??"