A Loveless Arranged Marriage

Chapter 14. Happy Diwali

Previously, we saw that Shahina became pregnant, and both Arvind and Shahina visited the hospital. After work, Rishi visited Arvind and Shahina. During that visit, Arvind asked Rishi to keep him company while he had alcohol. Then came the 15th of September, which was Rishi's birthday. After work, Rishi was surprised by his friends and Deepa, who celebrated his birthday at an orphanage. Let's see what happened next.

It was October 21st, just a few days before Diwali, a festival celebrated across India with joy and love. Rishi was working in his office, with one hour left before the end of his workday. He received a call and said, "Hello, uncle... The train will arrive at Kalyan station? Okay, I'll come now. The coach number is B3, right, uncle?... Hmm, okay." After the call, he packed his things and, while leaving the office, told Arvind, "Hey Arvind, I'm heading out." Arvind asked, "Did they reach Thane station?" Rishi replied, "No, buddy, they've only reached Kalyan station." Arvind then asked, "Does Deepa know about their arrival?" Rishi answered, "Nope, it's a surprise for her." Arvind said, "Hmm, okay. Bye, buddy, take care." Rishi said goodbye to him and his colleagues before leaving for CST station. After 15 minutes, he reached CST station.

When he arrived, the train hadn't yet reached the station, delayed by 10 minutes. He went to the B3 coach position on platform no. 2 and waited. After 10 minutes, the train arrived, carrying Jayraj, Parvathi, and Ashwin. Rishi received them, and they all headed to the parking area where Rishi had parked his car. After they reached the car, they placed their luggage in the trunk and began driving toward Rishi's house.

While driving, Rishi asked Jayraj, "How was your trip, uncle?" Jayraj replied, "It was fine for me, son-in-law, but your mother-in-law didn't like the train journey because of the AC coach." Rishi then asked Ishwari, "Is that true, aunt?" Parvathi replied, "Yes, I felt like I was going to vomit, but I managed to control it." Rishi said, "Oh, that's normal, aunty. Don't worry. You can rest once we get home." Then he asked Ashwin, "How about you, Ashwin?" Ashwin responded, "It was fine." Jayraj then asked, "Son-in-law, I heard that Dadar station is closer to your place. Why didn't you ask us to get off there?"

Rishi then replied, "It's very simple, uncle. I could have asked you to get off at Dadar station, but there are two reasons I didn't. First, the schedule for the Dadar stop—Nagercoil Express stops there for only 3 minutes, and a large number of passengers get off at that station, so it might have been hard for you to unload your luggage. The second reason is that CST station is close to my office, which is why I asked you to arrive here. Don't worry, uncle; we'll reach home in 20 minutes." Jayraj then asked, "Hmm, does Deepa know about our arrival?" Rishi replied, "No, she doesn't know yet. I followed your plan exactly. But why did you want it to be a surprise, uncle?" Jayraj responded, "I didn't want to disturb my child while she's studying. Plus, I wanted to surprise her." Rishi acknowledged Jayraj's response with a smile and continued driving. After 17 minutes, they arrived at Rishi's residence.

When they got there, Hemant wasn't present because he had gone to his native place to celebrate Diwali with his family. Instead, Raghav, another watchman, helped them carry their luggage to Rishi's residence. He dropped the luggage in front of the door and left. Jayraj knocked at the door, and Deepa came to open it. She was surprised to see her family standing there.

In shock, she asked, "Dad, Mom! What a surprise! You didn't tell me you were coming!" Jayraj replied, "We wanted to surprise you, which is why we didn't tell you." Deepa welcomed them inside the house. As they entered, Rishi gestured to Deepa with eye signals, asking if she had placed her things in his room, and she signaled back that she had. They both then entered the house.

Inside, Rishi was putting their baggage in Deepa's room, with her helping. Meanwhile, in the living room, Deepa asked Ashwin, "Hey Ashwin, couldn't you at least have told me that you were all coming to Mumbai?" Ashwin replied, "I was the one who planned the surprise. How could I reveal it?" Deepa smiled and said, "Okay, but why this sudden surprise, Dad?" Jayraj answered, "Deepa, we came because we want to celebrate Diwali with both of you. This is your first Diwali as a married couple, so we wanted to celebrate with you as per custom." Deepa replied, "Dad, instead of coming here, you could have invited us to our native place. We could have celebrated there." Jayraj responded, "Deepa, I understand, but I didn't want to interrupt your studies. Plus, we had already planned to visit Mumbai one day as a trip."