Her mother's words and the grease on her hand triggered a memory in Radhika she didn't wish to recall.
A part of her life she had left forgotten.
She was back in that apartment in Bangalore, the one she'd moved to after throwing away her relationship with her parents, thinking she was choosing love.
She remembered the way Sameer used to look at her, not with affection, but with the eyes of an owner.
From 10th grade until she finally ran, he had been her whole world. Even when the intimacy became a one-way street, even when he started 'correcting' her behavior, dictating what she wore , whom she spoke to and where she went, she'd stayed. She'd been too invested in the relationship to see the cage that was forming around her.
But after the fight with her parents, once she was isolated in a different city, the corrections had turned into something else.She remembered the bruising lessons and the way he'd mock her for thinking she could ever survive without him.
"Who else would want you, Radhika?" he'd whisper after the worst nights. "Your parents already think you're a lost cause. I'm the only one who didn't give up on you."
It took her an year to get away from Sameer and to put the past behind her. And now listening to her mother's words about not being herself she was reminding of the same suffocating chains he tried to wrap around her.
She didn't wish to swap one chain for another.
But at the same time she didn't want to embarrass her father. He had done so much for her and unlike her mother who was always strict and told her to not do this and that her dad has only ever expressed disappointment and sadness.
At that time she was too blinded by her love for Sameer that she didn't think about her parents and ran away from home and it was mistake she held herself accountable for.
All her dad wanted was for her to finish her studies but she trusted Sameer more and belived her family was trying to push her away from him.
And by the team she had any semblance of realisation it was too late. She was trapped in a relationship where escaping felt harder than she thought.
The night she finally broke, she'd called her dad at 4 AM, terrified. She expected him to scream or tell her 'I told you so' Instead, he'd just let out a long, shaky breath.
And it was the first time she heard her dad cry and it broke her heart.
After her call her Dad instantly came to get her and warned Sameer that if he dared to show his face around her he would personally bury him.
Sameer had tried mocking her father and tried to grab her before him but she would never forget the slap that her dad gave him . In that one moment, seeing Sameer stumble, she realized he wasn't the powerful man she believed to be. He was nothing.
Her Dad asked for nothing, not even an apology, he just seemed glad to just have her back.
He shielded her from the mockery and disdain of her relatives and community and it only made her love her father even more.
So it was hard for her to refuse something he gave his word for , but Radhika knew if she told her dad that she didn't want to then he wouldn't hold it against her.
'I can do this for him'
she thought, her shoulders slumping.
'It's just one date. It's not like I'm agreeing to marry the guy. It's just a coffe date.'
Radhika sighed as the fire in her died down as quickly as it came as she went into the kitchen to procure a rag so she could clean up the mess she created....
.....
Tuesday arrived and with it came the due date for the appointment with her supposed future fiance, not if she had any say in that.
Radhika wasn't one to mope for long, if she had to do this, she was going to do it with style.
She stood in front of her mirror, the Kasavu saree draped with a precision that would have made her mother weep with joy. The gold and white of the the Saree blending together perfectly.
Radhika stood in front of the mirror, finishing her hair. She'd pulled it back, but left those long, stray locks out in the front to frame her face, the kind that looked accidental but took ten minutes to get just right.
"It's such a curse ~" Radhika sighed dramatically as she was applying some final touch ups. "God just blesses some with a little bit too much ~ " she muttered, tilting her head to watch her earrings jingle as the caught the light.
She gave herself a quick, appreciative scan. Even if this date wasn't something she was looking forward to she couldn't help but feel a bit smug about the results.
"Gorgeous as always~" Radhika winked at herself, a dazzling smile breaking out on her reflection.
"Sorry, Kundan~" she chirped, grabbing her clutch and checking her phone. "You're about to have a very distracting Tuesday afternoon."
She felt light, almost giddy. The drama of the weekend felt miles away. She'd pay her debt to her dad, eat some overpriced snacks, and be back in her pajamas by 9:00 PM to finish her pending series. It was a solid plan.