Village meets city love

Chapter 20- Bitter Rejection

News of Aarti's pregnancy and her running away with Arun spread quickly. Her parents, Geetha and Muthu, were facing harsh gossip and judgment from their community. They dreaded leaving their house because of the whispers and mean looks from their neighbors.

Arun's family decided to visit Aarti's home tomorrow to try and fix things. Meena, Raghavan, Lavanya, and Varun were determined to support Arun and Aarti. They hoped to make peace with Aarti's family, but they knew it would be tough.

As they approached Aarti's house, the tension was high. Neighbors watched from their windows and doorsteps, their eyes filled with curiosity and disdain. Geetha opened the door, her face full of anger.

"Who are you?" she asked, sounding tired.

""We're Arun's family," Raghavan said. "We want to talk about Arun and Aarti. Can we come in?"

"What do you want?" Geetha demanded, angry and disapproval shown in her eyes

"We're here to talk, to find a solution," Raghavan continued. "We want to support Arun and Aarti."

Geetha's eyes were full of fury tears . "Support? Your son and that girl ruined our lives! Do you know what we've been through since they ran away? The shame and insults?
I still I can't believe our daughter eloped! What has she done? How could she gone against our decision and the societal norms?
Do you have any idea how anxious we felt about our daughter's safety and well-being,
We were so worried when she disappeared, especially when we unaware of her whereabouts and the circumstances of her elopement. and we didn't know what to do. We were so relieved when her friends told us where she was."

Muthu, standing beside his wife, nodded. "Our lives are a nightmare now. People talk, they judge. We can't step out without feeling humiliated."

Lavanya spoke gently. "We're sorry for what happened. We want to help fix things."

Meena tried to reason with them. "We understand how hard this is, but we need to come together. Aarti is part of our family now. We want to help them and more then anything both are victims here , you also aware it . Since they are kids we must forgive them and think about the next step"

Geetha laughed bitterly wasn't willing to listen . "Make things right? How? By pretending everything is fine? By ignoring the fact that our daughter's future is destroyed?"

The words hurt. Arun, standing with his head down, felt ashamed to lead both the family in this situation.

Varun, unable to stay silent any longer, spoke up. "We're not here to pretend everything is fine. We're here to take responsibility and find a way forward. We can't change what happened, but we can support Arun and Aarti in the future."

Geetha's voice was cold. "Future? What future? You think this will just go away? That people will forget? Our daughter's reputation is ruined, and so is our family's name.
We can't live with the shame that our daughter has plastered on their faces. We feel like here after aren't able to show our faces to anyone anymore. And how will Arun take care of Aarti when he depends on his family for everything?"

Raghavan tried one last time. "We need to work together. For the sake of the baby, for Arun and Aarti. They need us to be strong, to find a way to support them."

Muthu shook his head. "You should leave. This isn't your problem anymore. We'll handle it ourselves."

And added bitterly, "Aarti is no longer our daughter. She made her choice. She's not part of this family anymore, we are sever ties with her". He has only son now, no younger daughter. He disowned her. Said let her live her fate.

"When she doesn't want us , then we too don't need her".

But, her mother became a complete wreck with worry, tension, fear about her daughter's safty

Raghavan's heart sank as he realized the depth of resentment in Aarti's parents. Despite their efforts to mend the situation, Geetha and Muthu's wounds ran too deep. Their refusal to listen left Arun's family feeling helpless and defeated.

With heavy hearts, Arun's family left the house. The walk back to their car felt like a walk of shame, with the neighbors' eyes following them, whispering and judging.

In the car, Meena wiped her tears. "We tried our best, but they're too angry to listen."

Raghavan sighed deeply. "Let's leave it to fate. We can't abandon Arun and Aarti. We must find a way to support them."

As they drove away, the weight of the situation pressed down on them. They knew the road ahead would be long and difficult.