Vrishali was popularly known as the life of the party. She had a natural ability to make friends with anyone she met. Everyone adored her, and she had yet to find her perfect match amidst all the chaos of her college parties. However, she was not in...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Padmanabh massaged his forehead as he waited outside his grandfather's study. He is waiting for his grandfather to finish meeting with his board members. He loosened the tie around his neck and looked at the painting before him.
Numerous renovations have occurred outside the palace. The paint on the walls is beginning to fade, and he is uncertain whether they will also work on the paintings. The murals are being restored, but the seasonal doors that were once open to tourists are now closed because visitors have been damaging the paint and behaving inappropriately with the doors.
While he waited in the drawing room, the nearby guard brought him tea. He stood up and paced around, admiring the oldest paintings. Vividly, he recalled entering this room as a teenager alongside his father. In this very office, his grandfather taught him lessons and where he frequently spun the most elaborate lies.
The door opened, and Mr Kamat— Who had been Bhawani Singh's assistant for fifty years, stepped out. Padmanabh gave a respectable nod. "Kamma Gani, Kamat Dada. How are you?" Kamat smiled and stepped forward to hug Padmanabh. "I'm good. . . I'm good. . . How are you? I haven't seen you in a while. Is marriage life keeping you on your toes around your wife?" Kamat joked, patting Padmanabh's back. Padmanabh chuckled and shook his head. "Just busy with work, dada."
Kamat snorted and brushed off the invisible dust on Padmanabh's shoulder. "You should take it slow and concentrate on present moments. This phase in marriage will not come again, and you two will not have the same energy later."
Padmanabh gave an awkward smile while Kamat went on about how he needed to spend the honeymoon phase with his wife, not in the office. "Oh— Where is my mind! Your dadaji is wating for you. Heads up, he is slightly cranky about the meeting that went on from the morning. If it's about the business, I will ask you to discuss it later. He is not in a good mood, and your dadima is also here."
Padmanabh sighed and knew his dadima was going to hell. His grandfather understood if things didn't go as he planned. Kamat patted once more before allowing Padmanabh to enter the office. Kamat left to give the trio privacy. Falguni Singh turned around and found Padmanabh. "Pacho. . . What are you doing here? Is everything okay?" Bhawani Singh frowned his brows when he saw a tense Padmanabh.
*
Bhawani Singh shook his head. "I don't know if it is going to work out. Vrishali— Vrishali seems happy being here with her family. Give her some time to adjust and stop making assumptions on your own." Falguni Singh placed her hand on Bhawani Singh's, stopping him from saying something that might hurt Padmanabh.
Padmanabh nodded. It might look like she's getting used to the new surroundings, but underneath, she's feeling a bit sad, and it's tough for me to see her unhappy. Although she enjoys spending time with her cousins, this isn't quite what she had envisioned. We have a nice age gap; I've had the chance to experience what I wanted to during my prime years. I had dreams of attending my dream college, and I fulfilled that aspiration. I enjoyed living there, but when it was time to leave, I returned alone, reflecting on my journey."
