Chapter Thirty One
Thirty-One
As Priya turned to face her parents, Mumma wasted no time. “What did you say to Dinesh?”
Puppa set his cup of tea down and crossed his arms, his lips pressed into a thin line.
“Just so you know,” Priya began, “I didn’t do anything to send Dinesh packing. I just told him the truth. And it’s time you know it too.”
Mumma’s eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”
Priya took a deep breath, pulled up a photo on her phone, and held it out. Her parents leaned in, peering at the screen.
“Why are you showing us a photo of Mr. Ethan?” Puppa asked, confused.
“Look closer.”
Puppa’s expression clouded as the pieces clicked into place. Sensing the shift in his demeanor, Mumma grabbed the phone and studied the details more closely—the room, the quilt, the pillowcase.
Her voice was sharp, almost breathless. “Mr. Ethan was sleeping in your bed? Was there an issue at the coach house?”
Puppa let out a frustrated breath. “Think, Seema. Think.”
Mumma studied the image again, this time truly seeing it. The bare chest. The smoldering gaze. The unmistakable intimacy of the moment. And worst of all, the realization that Priya was the one who had taken the photo. She let out a sharp gasp, her hands flying to her mouth.
“Hai Ram,” her voice wavered as she sank into a chair, cradling her head. “Patigya. We are finished, Rakesh.”
The paparazzi photos had been easy to dismiss, a scandal manufactured for headlines.
Priya and Ethan had both denied involvement, and that had been enough for Priya’s parents to push aside any nagging unease.
But this? This crushed every excuse, every attempt to believe it was just a passing rumor.
It stripped Priya of any shield she might have had against their judgment.
“Is this how we raised you?” Puppa’s voice cut through the silence, low and sharp and shaking with something that almost sounded like heartbreak. “No wonder Dinesh bolted. Who will accept you now?”
Priya’s fingers curled into her palms, but she refused to give in to the sting of his words.
“What does it matter who accepts me when my own parents can’t?
” she said, forcing the words past the lump in her throat.
“And it’s not what you think. I love Ethan.
I’ve loved him since the first time I set eyes on him. ”
For a fraction of a second, Puppa looked thrown, as if he’d never considered a deeper connection. But just as quickly, disappointment settled in, heavier than before. “And what did that love get you?” he said. “A few nights in his bed?”
“In her bed,” Mumma cried, lifting her face from her hands. Her eyes darted around the apartment—the couch, the kitchen counter, the dining table—as if searching for evidence of where else her daughter had disgraced the family.
Puppa let out a humorless laugh, shaking his head. “I thought Mr. Ethan was a good man. I trusted him. I welcomed him into our home. And this is how he repays me? By taking advantage of my daughter?”
“Ethan didn’t take advantage of me,” Priya shot back, her cheeks burning. “This was my choice. I was the one who wanted a fling, and I was the one who ended it.”
Her parents stared at her, shock written all over their faces.
Priya took a shaky breath and went on. “At first, I tried to get him to leave.
I wanted you to take the Moksha offer so badly that I…
I made up a ghost story. I messed with the lights.
I faked hauntings. Anything to scare him away.
But the more time I spent with him, the harder it was to ignore how I felt.
“After you left, things changed between us. It wasn’t just casual anymore.
For either of us. Ethan wanted me to tell you the truth, and I was going to.
But then the press found out, and suddenly everyone was watching, judging, speculating.
The spotlight, the scrutiny…I couldn’t handle it, so I broke it off.
” She swallowed, her throat tightening. “But even then, he didn’t throw me under the bus.
He could have let the world rip me apart, but he didn’t.
He protected me. And he protected you by denying everything. ”
Her parents glanced at each other, their expressions faltering.
“I’ve been acting like everything’s fine, but the truth is I’m not fine.
” Priya’s voice cracked at the edges. “I feel like I’m failing at everything, including meeting your expectations.
But I’m doing my best.” She lifted her chin, even as emotion filled her voice.
“Look, I know you’re trying to help, but fixing me up with someone isn’t the solution.
What I really need is some time and space to fix myself.
To heal, to work, to rest, to recover. So I’ve decided it’s time for me to move out. ”
Mumma’s head snapped up, but before she could say anything, Puppa cut in. “Move out?” he scoffed. “To where? Do you know what rent costs around here these days? How are you even going to afford a place of your own?”
Priya retrieved the envelope Manoj had dropped off, pulled out the check inside, and laid it on the table, nudging it in her parents’ direction.
Puppa picked it up and stared at the amount as if trying to make sense of it. “Where did this come from?”
“It’s what I was owed from the business,” Priya said. “Manoj finally made good on it. I’m not just jumping without a plan. I’ve got it covered.”
“So that’s it, huh?” Mumma crossed her arms tight across her chest. “You get a little money and suddenly you’re out the door?” She shook her head. “Are we so unbearable to live with? What’s wrong with staying here?”
“Nothing is wrong, Mumma. I just—”
“No, there is something wrong,” Mumma interrupted, her voice rising. “Because suddenly, my daughter, who I carried, who I raised, who I have given everything to, thinks she’s too good to live with her parents?”
“That’s not fair, Mumma,” Priya said hotly.
“No? Then tell me, Priya. Why do you want to leave? Is our love suffocating you? Is having a mother who cooks for you and a father who worries about you such a terrible burden?”
Priya threw up her hands in exasperation. “It’s not like I’m cutting off ties with you. I’m just moving to my own apartment, right here in the same city.”
“Today, it’s the same city. Tomorrow, it’s another country.”
Puppa cleared his throat. “Seema—”
But Mumma wasn’t done. “Do you know how hard it was for me after your divorce? Knowing my daughter was living alone in Calgary? Ask your father. I used to—”
The sharp smack of paper hitting the table cut her off mid-sentence.
Mumma blinked as Puppa slammed the check down in front of her.
Her gaze dropped to the paper, confusion furrowing her brow.
At first, she barely registered the numbers, her mind still caught up in her argument.
But then, as the full amount sank in, her eyes widened.
“This…” She looked at Priya in disbelief. “This is yours?”
“I know you think I’m just sitting in my room typing away on the keyboard,” Priya said. “But my job is real, even if I’m not leaving the house every morning. I work hard. And I need a quiet space to do it. I can’t focus here with constant interruptions. That’s why I need my own place.”
Her parents glanced at each other, and in that moment, Priya could feel the weight of what they were processing. Their daughter wasn’t just capable of standing on her own. She had been doing so for a while now. Without a husband to lean on. Or parents to hold her hand.
Puppa tapped the check, his expression unreadable. “I have a better solution.” His glance shifted from Mumma to Priya. “Why give your money to a stranger when you can just move into the coach house? You can pay us instead and still have your own space.”
Priya blinked, caught off guard. She hadn’t expected her father to come up with a compromise, let alone such a clever one.
Now that she had the means to live wherever she pleased, he wasn’t willing to risk her slipping too far away.
Allowing her to move into the coach house meant he could keep her close and keep the money in the family.
She looked at Mumma, who was still tight and closed off, but not as fired up as before—not exactly on board, not totally against it either.
Priya gave a slow nod. “It might be the best middle ground. We can sort out the details later, but can I start moving my things into the coach house?”
Puppa extended his hand, giving Priya a nod as they shook on it. Mumma, however, turned her face away.
Priya lowered herself beside her mother, wrapping an arm around her in a half hug. “I know you’re upset, but I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be staying right here in your backyard.”
“Go then.” Mumma brushed her arm away. “You didn’t ask for permission when you were fooling around with Mr. Ethan, so why do you need my permission now?”
Priya rose slowly, telling herself that her mother would come around with time.
This compromise wasn’t easy for her either.
Her father was finally handing over the keys to the coach house, but the space came with its own challenges—it was truly haunted now.
With memories of Ethan. The bed, the couch, the spaces where he once stood, laughed, pulled her into his arms.
Priya had fought for her own place and won. Now she just had to learn to live with the ghosts that came with it.