Chapter 226 - No need to go anywhere...

|Eshan|

Arjun had gone crazy. In which context he would take things, and what he would say was unexpected, totally unexpected. 

I was being sarcastic when I said about getting married and having children. My meaning was his future kids, and the stupid man took it in a s.e.x.u.a.l context. 

Ah! My life! Where did I find a friend like him?

Innaya seemed ignorant about Arjun's words. Perhaps, she did not listen to him. It was a good thing.

Innaya had her head lowered as she gently cooed and played with Fortune. My wife surely has changed. There was no fear of dogs on her face. 

That smile on her pale face, made her look radiant. I was reminded of her brave action of protecting Fortune. I had not foreseen her to ignore her safety and emerge out of nowhere. She had done that so quickly that I had no chance of reacting, eventually that had caused her to get hurt. But, now there were no traces of that event on her face. From the past month, this was the first time I had seen her smiling genuinely. 

I did not want that smile to get wiped from her face. 

Holding Arjun's collar, I dragged him out of our bedroom. I could not let Innaya hear his crude words. He would corrupt my innocent wife if I let him be around her. No, I would not take that chance.

"Hey, get off."

"Back off, Eshan."

"I would fight if you don't leave my collar this moment."

"I've warned you."

"Shut up!" I left his collar as I finally managed to drag him out of the room amidst his childish protests.

"You fool. You ruined my shirt." He straightened out his collar while adjusting his shirt. 

This time, I made sure to guard the door, blocking him from entering inside again and trying to sprout his nonsense. We did not have time for his nonsense. 

"Shh… stop corrupting my wife," I whispered.

"Ohhhhhh!" He drawled out cheekily like one of those fangirls. 

I cringed at his cheekiness. Glaring him, I folded my arms across my chest.

Arjun turned serious as well. It seemed as if he finally had enough of playing around.

"Don't hurt her. She has already gone through so much," he said in a low tone, being mindful of Innaya's presence.

All my anger went away at his noisy interference. In the end, he was looking out for his sister, I could not fault him for trying to ease up Innaya's mood.

I nodded, glancing at the woman sitting on the bed inside. I knew how much she had gone through. Somewhere, I had been the reason behind her misery. 

"I know."

"Do you want me to take uncle and aunty at my place?" Arjun asked as he leaned on the wall beside the door. "Until you two sort out your issues."

I heard some voices coming from the living room before I could reply to him. Walking to the railing, I took a look at the living room. At times like this, having an open living room helped a lot.

"Prerna, cook something healthy for our daughter-in-law," Dad said while handing paper bags to her. The green leaves were peeking out from the bag. He must have gone out for the vegetable shopping. "She looks so skinny. It seems like, your son did not feed her well."

Mom stayed silent for a moment. "Did you not notice your son? He looks so thin," she replied sighing.

"Yeah, yeah. You can only think about your son. I'll dote on my daughter-in-law. Today I'll cook for her," Dad announced. He then stood up and took the bags to the kitchen. Then both had made themselves at home when we were at the hospital.

Dad's words warmed my heart. I learned cooking from him. Dad inherited his culinary skills from his father. The men in the Sighaniya family all had exceptional cooking skills. This was because we all loved our wives. This tradition of learning to cook for our better halves was set by my great-grandpa.

"You are your wife's only support in her new home. She steps in her new life only trusting her husband because her every relation in her new home starts from her husband. Though they say, food is the best way of reaching the man's heart. It is no different for women. All these years, I have taught you cooking for nothing. Don't embarrass me before your wife. Make sure that you're looking after her well, and feed her well. A healthy body and a healthy mind would result in a healthy relationship."

Arjun nudged my shoulders. "What are you thinking about?"

I blinked my eyes, getting out of the trance. Dad had said those words to me after my engagement. I was very nervous once the date of our marriage was approaching. As everything had happened in a rush, Innaya and I had barely gotten some time to even talk. 

I had turned to my father for help, for some advice, and some encouragement. He had said those words to me, reminding me, again, and again to not mess up and cherish my wife.

"Where are you lost again?" Arjun poked my forehead.

"Nothing." I removed his finger from my face. 

"You stay with them. No need to go anywhere," I replied, making my decision. Perhaps keeping my parents around would help Innaya. She had not received fatherly love in her life. Maybe, dad could fill out that hole in her heart. For the fact, I knew that my father would side with Innaya every time for he had longed for the daughter all along whom he could spoil rotten. 

He had been busy with our family business, and he missed spoiling Priyanka. Priyanka preferred to stick to mom. I, mom, and Priyu would make a team, teasing and irritating him. He had then often said that he would take my wife in his team.