Atul was beyond furious at his parents when Amaya pushed him off from her house and closed the doors of her heart for him. With tears brimming in his eyes, he gritted his teeth and sighed.

Angrily, he marched towards his parents when his father patted his shoulder and lamented, "Atul, I swear I didn't do anything."

"Just shut up", Atul hollered and the intensity of his anger shook his father hard. Manoj trembled in fear but he had no ounce of guilt for his deeds.

"Golu", his mother called and he glared menacingly at her. "Calm, down", she said as her hand rose up to rub his back with an idea of providing emotional support to him.

"Do you need me to drop you at the station or you will go directly from here?" Atul spoke brusquely to his parents. He was angry after all, he trusted his parents with his life and they ruined his chance of getting married to the love of his life.

Without sparing them a single glance, Atul sat inside his car and waited for his parents to get in. Igniting the engine, he began to drive once his parents were comfortably seated. He was drowned in sorrow as he felt culpable of Amaya's tears. He was ashamed of his parents and he knew Amaya did not deserve the tears she had shed.

Vandana pitied his son but she was sure that it was an ordeal for a few days as Riya would replace the memories of Amaya and make Atul happy once again. Manoj was quietly looking outside the window while his mind was clouded with myriads of thoughts. He was planning about convincing his son about his innocence and persuading him for a better alliance.

After a drive of half an hour amidst traffic, Atul parked the car in the parking area and walked towards his apartment without sparing a glance to his parents who followed him. Turning the key inside the keyhole, he opened the door and entered inside.

Before his parents could enter, he gestured them to stop and hissed, "Wait, I am getting your bags." His anger knew no bounds.

Manoj was ashamed for once after all, he had not expected Atul to give him cold shoulder. He entered the house while his wife stood at the door contemplating if she should follow her husband's suit or not. In a while, Atul came in the living room with two bags in his hands.

"Come on, let's go", he ordered glaring at his father who tried to stop him by calling his name.

"Do you think you have right to stand in my house after ruining my life?" Atul glowered, glaring at both of his parents.

Taking a deep breath, he hollered, "Get out right now before I drag you out, Papa", and closed his eyes in despair.

"Golu, she was not the right one for you", Vandana whimpered as tears trickled down her wrinkled face. She was mortified upon witnessing the rift between her husband and her son.

"Stop parroting what your husband says, mummy", Atul bellowed frowning at her. "And stop interfering in my life, for God's sake", he mumbled as he gestured his mother to get inside and sit beside his father. Dropping the luggage, he too slumped on the sofa.

Scowling at them, he glowered at his parents, "She is someone who accepted me for who I am. She helped me manage my hypertension instead of freaking out. I know she is the best for me and you have no right to speak in my matters."

"What?" his mother exclaimed. Her voice quavered as she lamented, "She knows". Her heart pained as she realized she had insulted the true love of a girl who was ready to stand by the side of her son forever. She was proud of her son's choice. She wanted to apologize from Amaya for once.

She glanced at Manoj and saw sheer disappointment on his face. She uttered meekly, "You also knew this, ji".

Manoj nodded in affirmation and her heart shattered. She wondered how could her husband be so cruel and blinded with greed. Mentally praying for Atul to get the love of his life and for Amaya to stay happily forever, Vandana sniffled as she felt culpable for the suffering of both Amaya and Atul.

"Atul, you need to meet Riya", Manoj announced as he saw the resolve of his wife getting weakened. He was blinded with greed and lust for money. Vandana wanted to howl at her husband was being greedy but she was helpless. Being born and brought up in the orthodox household where women were taught to follow their husband's decision and never question him; Vandana could not gather courage to speak for her son.

"I trusted you with my life and you decided to make a mockery of my feelings just for the sake of your greed", Atul shouted looking at his father as he walked inside his bedroom while his mother kept calling for him hysterically.

Atul was boiling in anger. He took out his cheque book frantically and signed a cheque. He walked out and threw the signed blank cheque on his father's face and bellowed brusquely, "Fill the amount and satisfy your greed but for God's sake, break all the connections with me".

Manoj was humiliated and his eyes watered because of the insults Atul was throwing at him. Atul, on the other hand, continued, "My only condition for getting married was you will not ask dowry. Why did you demand anything from Amaya's father?"

Vandana had tears in her eyes as guilt seeped in. She regretted supporting her husband after knowing that Amaya was ready to accept her son for who he was. She felt ashamed of ruining her son's life after all, she had many chances to warn Atul about Manoj's plans and prevent the situation her son was in.

"I wish you had a daughter, Papa, only then you would have understood the emotions of that father who is bound to save his hard-earned money for the sake of dowry just because of people like you." Atul lamented.

Glaring at Manoj, he bellowed, "I am no beggar, Papa. I earn really well. We have a perfect life and we can afford luxuries of our life. Why are you greedy, Papa?"

Furiously, Atul howled, "Papa, you cannot understand the pain of getting rejected every time. Why did you cheat me? Why did you demand dowry from the Aggarwals?"

"Atul", Vandana cried with whirlpool of emotions inside her. She was overwhelmed with grief, guilt and helplessness.

Atul gestured her to stop talking while he announced, "Go away from my life".

"I am sorry, Golu", Manoj mumbled longing for his son while he gestured Vandana to get ready for the journey to their home. He had decided to leave because he was ashamed to face his son after all, he was the reason of miseries of Atul. He regretted his deeds for once but unfortunately the things were ruined. He knew he could never undo his deeds but he decided not to do more mistakes anymore.

Manoj had never demanded dowry because Atul was strongly against this practice. Despite Manoj wanted a hefty dowry so that he could flaunt in his friends and relatives but he had always respected his son's choice except for today. He cursed his neighbour, Mr. Sushil Goyal who had lured him in the trap of money because of which he turned down Amaya. He was regretting for ruining his son's life.

Manoj lusted for money and all the luxuries in life but no materialistic joy was greater than his son. His heart was shattered in a million pieces when his son had asked him to go away from his life. He decided to close Riya's chapter for once and all. He regretted his demand of dowry after all, it was the reason for Atul's sadness.

Vandana nodded and walked towards the washroom while Manoj left the house along with luggage without sparing a glance to his son. Vandana was relaxed to see Atul alone. She was relieved Manoj had left.

Stuttering and hiccupping, Vandana confessed, "Atul, I swear I did not know about Amaya's true love for you. I am sorry to have not warned you in advance. I failed as a mother, son. If you ever have to go against your father, remember my blessings are with you." Vandana wept as she caressed Atul's face.

Atul, on the other hand, was slumped on the sofa with his eyes closed. He was extremely disappointed at the turn of events but listening to the words of his mother, his stance softened. He knew his father was a dominating man and his mother had orthodox thoughts. He was aware of the fact that his mother was anything but, greedy. He knew she had already had her share of sorrows and humiliation in her life, so he got up and hugged his mother.

Crying his heart out, he mumbled, "Amaya is a gem, mummy, and I lost her".

"I am sorry, my child. Talk with her and I will pray for you. I am sorry." Vandana lamented.

Atul's heart pained looking at the helplessness of his mother. He realized his father would create a havoc if his mother did not go down soon. "Take care and stay in touch, ma", he mumbled as he gestured her to leave.

Vandana left with heavy heart while Atul kept his eyes glued at the crumpled blank cheque lying in his room. With tears in his eyes, he wondered why his father had to ruin everything.

Gathering the much-needed courage, Atul decided to call Amaya.

♥️♥️♥️

Hi everyone

I pity for the poor soul, Atul! 😔

I am really glad that Manoj realized his mistake and so did Vandana but deeds once done, cannot be easily undone! 😑

Atul and Amaya are in deep mess! 🙁

And now the question is, Will Amaya talk to Atul? 🤔

I will be back soon till then, don't forget to VOTE, COMMENT AND SHARE this story 😘

Take care 🙂

Love you all
💜