Anirudh has never been so confused. He didn't know what to do. Questioning his mother was useless as he knew she would say she did it for Amar. She would make it sound as if it was no fault of hers. Shruthi requested him not to tell Amar. "He is dreaming of a blissful life with her. Please don't ruin it for him. Telling him won't solve the problem. It will only bring him pain. Don't worry. Akka will just need some time to adjust." 

"Let me talk to my father at least." said Anirudh. 

"Nanna, we need to talk." He grabbed his father's arm and took him into the garden where no one could hear them. "I know the truth. I saw it in amma's laptop." He showed Bharat the document he copied to his phone from the laptop.

"Anirudh, I can explain" said Bharat.

"This document was supposed to be a business deal. You two have converted it into some sort of prenuptial agreement by adding this clause. You have mixed up business and Amar anna's life." Anirudh yelled at his father.

"It was your mother. She added this clause. She threatened the Dhanunjayas. She--"

"And you let her do that? You were there, weren't you? Why didn't you stop her? Do you even know how unhappy Vennela vadina is? And what if Amar anna knows? Why didn't you talk some sense into amma? You are a spineless coward." said Anirudh. 

Bharat was shocked. Anirudh has never spoken to him like that. "I know I should have stopped her. But you know how adamant your mother can be. She never listens to anyone" he muttered.

"Then make her listen to you this time. I know amma is planning to stay with them for a few months. I want you to convince her to leave for London with us soon after the reception is over. Don't let her stay with them. They both deserve a peaceful life. Especially vadina. I don't know how you would do this. You just have to." said Anirudh sternly.

"I'll try to convince her. I promise you. I'll not let her stay with them." Bharat promised Anirudh who nodded and left without another word.

He locked himself in his room. He was still unable to believe how ruthless his mother could be. He didn't come out for a few hours. Amar called him on his phone. "Where are you? I need you here."

He went to Amar who was combing his hair. He couldn't bring himself to tell him the truth. "What happened? I haven't seen you for five hours. Where have you been? Is everything alright?" asked Amar.

"Why do you have to share the room with vadina?" Anirudh asked him.

"Because she's my wife" said Amar grinning. "Husband and wife are supposed stay together. That's the whole point of getting married. You share everything with your wife."

"But what's the hurry? You hardly know each other. Don't you think it's too early for all this?" Anirudh was concerned for Vennela.

"Rudy! Do you think I'm that greedy? I won't start it on day one itself. I just want to talk to her, spend some time with her, tell her how I feel about her and make her feel special. That's it." said Amar. 

Anirudh was relieved. "Be polite and talk nicely. All the best."

"Thank you little bro. Now tell me. How do I look?..."

A few rooms away Vennela was sitting in front of the mirror. Shambhavi was helping her get ready.

"I have raised Amar like a son since he was seventeen. That makes me his mother and your mother-in-law. It's my duty to make you feel comfortable. I know you may not like what I have done. It had to be done to protect the family's honour but I'm not oblivious to your feelings. I will do everything in my command to make you feel happy." Shambhavi spoke gently.

Vennela wasn't interested in listening to her promises which, she knew, would be broken sooner or later. She just smiled and nodded. "Come. Let me take you to his room." said Shambhavi. Vennela followed.

To say that she was nervous was an understatement. She closed her eyes and recollected few effective Karate moves to be used if things went out of hand. 

Amar's room was lavishly decorated with beautiful flowers and candles. He was sitting on the bed. He stood up as she entered and smiled. She was so mesmerized by his dazzling smile that she stood still for a while. She shook her head to break the charm.

"Come in Vennela garu. Please sit down" he said pointing at the bed. He sat beside her maintaining a gap of one foot. She lowered her head and clenched her fists, ready to hit him if he touched her. 

Unaware of what she was thinking Amar began speaking. "I know this is hard for you. You were here to attend your cousin's wedding and ended up marrying her fiance. But please don't think of yourself as a replacement of someone else in my life. You are my wife. No one can take your place. You are unique." 

To his horror, Vennela started weeping bitterly. Amar was shocked. He didn't know how to respond. "What happened? Did I say something wrong? I'm sorry if I did. I didn't mean to hurt you. I shouldn't have brought this up. Please forgive me."

"I can't pretend anymore" said Vennela, still weeping.

"Pretend?" Amar couldn't understand.

"I can't pretend to be happy with this marriage when I'm not. I can't pretend to smile when I'm crying inside. I can't pretend to like you when I don't even know you properly." She was still crying hard.

Amar was shattered. He didn't speak for a long time. "Why did you ag- agree t- to marry me if you didn't like me?" He finally found his voice.

"I was forced by my aunt and uncle. Your aunt threatened us. She blackmailed us with some clause in the business deal." She told him everything amid tears and hiccups. He was angered. He stood up and walked till the door.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"To confront my aunt." He answered.

"No. Please don't. I don't want more drama and misery. I can't take it anymore. I need some peace of mind." Though she knew he was right, she didn't have the strength to stay up all night and witness the argument between the aunt and the nephew. She was still recovering from illness.

"You can't expect me to do nothing. I need to know why she has done this. I want answers." His rage was uncontrollable.

He almost opened the door when she held his hand to stop him. "Please don't go, Amar sir." Her touch calmed him down. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath.

"Okay. I won't go. Please sit down." He made her sit and offered her a glass of water. He watched as she drank it. 

After making sure that she was alright he spoke again. "I understand that you don't like me. I don't blame you." Every word he spoke was giving him pain. Yet he continued. "If you are unhappy with this marriage then you should get out of this. We will get the marriage annulled. As per the law, if the consent to a marriage is based on force then it is voidable. I will take care of everything. I'll set things right."

"Annulment?" She asked in an innocent tone. "You mean breaking the marriage?"

"Yes. An annulled marriage is considered never to have existed. That way your marital status will remain single." He expected her to be happy with this decision.

But she didn't seem to like it. "If you want this, then so be it." She said in a strange voice.

It then occurred to him that he hasn't listened to what she has got to say. "I'm sorry. I was just suggesting a solution. I don't want to get separated from you. I'm just trying to say that it can be done if you like it. Please tell me what you want without any hesitation."

"I jus- just want my life to be full of happiness. I don't want money or riches. I just want a family that loves me." She paused and looked at him. 

"It's true that I was unhappy with the way I got married to you. But, I want to give this relationship a chance. To try and see if it would work out. I most definitely don't want to nullify our marriage." She voiced her opinion.

He sighed in relief. All was not lost yet. The fact that she wanted to give him a chance cheered him. "If you are willing to stay in this marriage then I promise you complete support and co-operation from my side. Like you said, we will try to make this work."

"We'll be friends until we start liking each other" said Vennela.

"You are right again. We'll be friends. We'll wait till we like each other. If we are not lucky enough to experience true love, we will at least have the satisfaction of sharing a warm friendship." He smiled sadly.

"It's 10.30. You have to sleep. We'll go back to Hyderabad tomorrow." He said trying not to show his grief on his face. "You sleep on the bed. I'll sleep on the couch." He never thought there would come a day in his life when he would say this.

He sat on the couch looking at his wife who was now sleeping. He wondered why this happened to him when everything was going on perfectly. All he wanted was to wrap his arms around her and speak a few sweet words telling her what she meant to him. But he was denied that brutally. 'Let me sleep. If the Gods are merciful she would let me embrace her at least in my dreams.'

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