Ishq hua (Duet 1)

Chapter 44: His accusations

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The Agnihotris stayed through the afternoon, the tension in the house slowly easing into something resembling normalcy. Aira's mother sat with her mother-in-law, engaging in polite conversation. Armaan had found himself in an awkward but civil discussion with Vyom and Tara who looked repulsed at the thought of having to converse with him. They were probably doing it out of respect for Aira who sat there looking happier than they had seen her ever since she came into their life.

But Aira's father kept watching his daughter with an expression that held too much pain, too much concern.

He finally abandoned his seating space and approached Aira.

"Beta," he said softly. "I'd like to have a private conversation with you, if that's okay."

Aira looked up from where she had been sitting beside her mother, her hand lying in her lap.

"Of course, Papa." She looked expectantly at her mother-in-law who gave her a soft nod and Aira stood, leading her father out of the living room.

They walked through the corridor toward the open area to the pool, a quieter space overlooking the gardens outside through the French windows.

For a long moment, they just stood there, father and daughter, looking out at the manicured lawns.

"Papa," Aira started, her voice small. "What Arsh said today..."

"We had nothing to do with it, beta." Her father turned to face her, his hands coming up to grip her shoulders gently. "Nothing. I need you to believe that. Your mother and I, Armaan... we had no hand in what happened to this family."

Aira's eyes searched his face, looking for any hint of deception, any crack in his sincerity. She found none.

"I believe you," she whispered. "Papa, I believe you. I know you. I know you could never..."

"I am sorry." His voice broke slightly, and Aira felt her heart crack at the sound. She had never heard her father sound like this, broken, guilty, and desperate. "I am so sorry, Aira. For everything."

"Papa, you didn't do anything. You just said..."

"Not for that. For this." He gestured around them, encompassing the house, the situation, everything. "For believing you chose him because you wanted to. For not fighting harder against this marriage. For letting you stay here."

"Papa, I made you believe I chose him out of my will. It's not your..."

"No, bachha." He shook his head, his eyes glistening. "I should have known better. You are my daughter. I have known you ever since you blessed me with your existence. I should have seen through it, should have realized you were trying to protect us by saying you wanted this."

Aira felt tears sliding down her cheeks. "It wasn't your fault, Papa."

"It was. I was not mad at you, Aira. Never at you. I let you be here because I thought you were safer here." He cupped her face in his hands, his thumbs wiping away her tears. "You know how the rest of our family is. The Agnihotris, they are... complicated. Dangerous in their own ways. I thought it would be better for you to be here, for as long as I couldn't figure a way out of this mess, because everyone seemed to be treating you nicely."

"Papa..."

"I was mistaken. I thought he genuinely cared about you when I saw him all worked up over your disappearance that day." He paused as if reminiscing Arsh's outburst from that day. "He may love you, Aira, but his obsession for revenge on the Agnihotris will ruin you. It's already dragging you into the middle of all of this, making you choose between us and him. And I can't let that happen to you. You don't deserve that. You don't deserve to suffer because of someone else's crimes."