Pyaar, Prema ..... Friendship?

🖤Chapter 16🖤

Ashwin is in the middle of greeting a few of his cousins and relatives when his phone buzzes in his hand. He lifts his arm up and sees 'Rowdy' on the screen, but since his around his relatives and cousins, he opts to ignore the call. The buzzing slowly stops before it buzzes again and again and again but Ashwin steadfastly ignores the call, going around and greeting everyone while his eyes search for Ahana. 'En pinnala thaane kile vantha, enge kaaname ponna?'he wonders as he shakes one of his father's business colleague's hand. The buzzing of his phone stops when it is replaced by continuous pings from his phone, texts messages, and all from the same sender 'Rowdy'. Groaning in annoyance he excuses himself from the person he was talking to and runs up the stairs, straight to his room and locks his door. He unlocks his phone and sees at least a dozen missed calls and double of that of messages.

Rowdy - Ashwineyy, yen call eh eduke matringge? I need to talk to you

Rowdy - Ashwin! Pick up my calls!

Rowdy - Pa, en pa en call eh eduke maatre, naa unkite oru mukiyumane visiyam pesenum

Sighing, he taps on her name and presses the call option, pacing back and forth as the call connects to her. It's after two rings that Sivaangi picks up the call and the first thing he hears is utter silence. "Ma? Irukiya?" he asks but doesn't get a reply so he tries again "Sivaangi ma, nee okay va?" he asks but she still doesn't answer him and that makes him tick "Sivaangi" he grits "Yethuku enna continuous ah call paane? I was busy-" "Oh, ipothan nengge busy ah? Ithu varaikum naa epo call panalum yeduthuruvingge, ipo maatum yennava-" 'Purinjikame pesathe ma, veetle family ellam irukange, I'd be disrespecting them if I go missing halfway out" "Naa purinjikame peserena? Did you see the gossip site?-" "Ei, naathan annike sonnle, don't believe anything the media says-" "Evidence ode photo irukku! I saw! Ahana akka kaluthule maanje thaali iruuku!-" "Siv-" "Enkite avalo romantic ah pesitu ipo Ahana akka kaluthule thaali irukku? Apo neenge unmailiye Aishu ode function ke than poirukingela ille-" "Sivaangi!" he snaps and then sighs, rubbing his hand across his face "Sivaangi ma, naa unmailiye Aishu ode function ke than ingge vanthen aana sila karanengel aala, I had to do it, you think it was easy for me? For Ahana? Avaluku than kovam, I ruined her future too!" he snaps at her and hears a soft sniffling on the other side "Sivaangi ma..." "Sorry Ashwineyy, naa anthe paala pone rumour eh paathutu kovam kalanthe sadness vanthuruchi so yosikame naa apdi pesiten" "Paravale ma, just....just trust me kayh? I'll fix this but athuvaraikum yethume nambathe, even if it's from your closest source, seriya?" "Kandippa Ashwineyy, I trust you and Ahana akka....uh, akka epdi irukaange?" she asks and Ashwin huffs before taking a seat on his bed.

"She's confused? She woke up this morning and then came back to her room with a string around her neck, nee avunge yedethule irunthuruntha koode unneku apdithan irukkum, but unneku at least naa kaatunune nu irukkum but avalukku? She has another person in US, trusting her and I went and-" he cuts himself off "Naa ipo sonna unneku puriyathu, naa naliki kalaile thiripiyum Chennai varuven, apo naa unkite mulu kaatheye solre, athuvaraikum, please don't believe anything from the media, just remember, I love you, athu yekarthukonde maarathe" he advises and hears her hum. The couple talk a little longer before they bid goodbyes and Ashwin hangs up his phone. He bends his head and let's out a big breath before he unlocks the door and comes face-to-face to his sister, looking at him curiously "Ingge yennada panikitu irukke?" "Ille kaa, oru important aana call vanthuruchi, athan yeduku ingge vanthe, yen kaa?" "Amma wants you and Ahana to bless Aishu, aana neeyum kaanum avalayum kaanum, mothe poitu unnode pondatti ye-" Ashwin grimaces when she says that "Yenda? Pondatti thaane sonne" "Ille ka, it's gonna take time for me to get used to that, athan" he lies and his sister rolls her eyes "Epdiyo, poitu Ahana ve theedi kutitu va, we cannot find her anywhere" his sister says before walking off calling for her husband.

Fear creeps up in him as he thinks about her safety, not that she doesn't know the very layout of this house but some of his relatives she's barely seen or known could have talked to her and spooked her off. He races down the stairs and sees a bunch of kids playing near the entrance of the kitchen, thinking his decision through, he walks over to them and bends down to one of the small child "Ma, ingge pink color saree kaatikutu oru akka ve paatheya?" he asks her but another voice answers him "Yaaru mama, mudi konjum maroon highlight irukume? Avungula?" Ashwin nods as he looks up at the boy who answered him "Avunge ipdi than mama, avasarema nadanthu ponagge, anthe hut le than irupangge nu neneikiren mama" the boy answers him and he thanks him with a hair ruffle before he goes to the hut, following exactly the path Ahana must have taken. As he is nearing the hut he sees Ahana there, staring at the paddy field beyond the hut, her half clipped hair gently swaying in the afternoon breeze. "Ahana?" he calls her gently and she hums, without startling "Amma kupdrange-" 'Yethuku?" "Poi Aishu ve bless-" Poi nambe husband and wife ah nadikinum, thaane?" she snarks and Ashwin reels back a little "Ei, yenna achi?" "Yenna aacha?" she asks back at him sarcastically with a bitter huff "Yenna nadakele, yellame than nadakuthu, nee nadakere, naa nadakere-" "Ahana, don't joke, what's going on-" "Yethe solle solre Ashwin?!" she bursts turning around and that's when he realises that her eyes are red and her whole face is blotchy "Yethe solle solre?! Convincing my boyfriend that the rumours he heard is nothing and at the same time act like nothing has happened between us and that we are happily married?! Yethe sollenum?!" she shouts and Ashwin was already mood out with his almost fight with Sivaangi that her words grates his nerves.

"Naa matum yenna santhosama irukkena?! Yenneku epdi irukkum? Ipothan yetho oru ponnu paathu, pudichi, yetho love panren athukule ithu nadanthuruche-" 'Huh?! Nadathurucha?! Nee yosichena this wouldn't have happened in the first place! If you just opened your goddamn mouth to your mom that you love Sivaangi-" "Enna paithiyam maare pesre, she's still young and we've just confessed-" "And that makes me the scapegoat?! Why cause you know me longer?! That I'd just shake my head to everything that you said?!" she shouts at him and Ashwin's patience snaps "Podi! Everytime you do this! You make it as if I planned everything that happened today morning! It happened! Why can't you understand that?! Enna avalothan nee purinjivechirukiya?! Everytime your insecurities or anxiety pops back about this you make it about me! But you have to know I'm stuck on the same mud as you! Unnale evelo ki evalo enneye blame paaname paane mudiyumo nee panikitu irukke! You console me and then when things screw up on your end you blame me!" he screams at her,  while she gapes at him "Naa unne maare ille, love kadachone poi social media le show off panittu then after a month or so break up panruthuku, I'll take my time" he says without thinking and then he snaps up to look at her, instantly regretting what he said "Ahan-" he tries but Ahana huffs, bitter and broken.

"Of all the people I know and I would sense that they would betray me, never in my wildest dream I would have thought you'd be in the list. You just mocked the one thing that would make me hate a person, you made me feel cheap. Ipothaane theriyuthu, enne epdi paakure nu-" "Ahana-" "Pothum Ashwin, enough is enough, I've gone through enough betrayal to know that I can't trust you anymore, inthe function mudinji drop me at the airport, I'm going back to US" she says as she wipes her eyes and looks at him, her gaze blank, Ashwin staggers as she's never looked at him like that, like he doesn't mean anything to her, and she walks past him before she stops and lightly turns her head to his direction "Naa ponnoneye, I'll ask Tony to discuss with his lawyers and see how we can cut this tie, or more conveniently, divorce. Papers will be sent to your apartment. And don't worry, amma kum appa kum ithu paathi teriyathu" she says and walks away, Ashwin staring at her sadly as she goes inside the house. Ashwin leans against the pole and sighs, his tears flowing freely down his cheeks. This is what he wanted, hell what the both of them wanted, a divorce from this forced marriage, but to know that this is also ultimately gonna end their six years worth of friendship, just because of his damned mouth, breaks his heart even more. He wipes his eyes again and then takes a deep breath before he walks down the same path as Ahana took, and walks right back into his house, this time with a heavy heart.

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And that's Chapter 16....

P.S - It's normal to let out words when we are angry, uncaring of whether it will hurt the other person and that's what happened to our Ashwineyy, but will Ahana's heart  heal after what he said...? Well it's all up to her 🤷🏼‍♀️

Till then, Sayonara 👋🏽👋🏽

Love, Angel 🖤