Tanya's POV:

I was almost ready when dad barged inside the room.

"She is ready. We will come down in few seconds", Mom said, thinking that my tardiness was the reason behind his anger.

Dad rolled his eyes in frustration, before speaking, "We need to stop the ruckus first. Your friend and her family is here. I just hope that Mr. Pratyush(Groom) and his relatives don't get the wind of it. Hurry and stop them".

"Ye...yeah".

I ran outside, cursing the situation in my mind. Dammit! How the hell did Trisha find out about this?

There they were, in the almost empty corridor between the wedding hall and the rooms. Trisha, Samar, Nikhil and the twins were here, looking like they were ready for the war. And it seemed like they were running towards my room, to search for me.

I came in front of them, causing them to stop abruptly. As they all lost their balance, I saw something that wasn't visible before. One look at the figure hiding behind Trisha was enough to let me know the answer behind this mess.

"Sia, what did you do?" I asked in a resigned tone.

"Don't blame her. She did the right thing by informing me. What were you thinking while taking this absurd step?" Trisha bursted out in anger while standing protectively before Sia.

"Trisha please. You don't know how bad our situation is. This is the only possible solution. So please stop making a scene", I answered, eyeing the few guests who were eavesdropping on us.

Noticing my glance, Rishi and Nikhil took upon themselves to get rid of the lingering guests. They did it in a way that didn't look impolite yet the message was send across.

Trisha kept quiet until the area was cleared. She had just opened her mouth to speak when her Uncle and Aunt came inside, looking a little out of breath.

"Mom?! Dad?!" Raghav and Rishi exclaimed in shock.

"We kept getting bad thoughts and couldn't stay still. So, we followed you all here", Trisha's Aunt answered sheepishly.

"Why did you choose this method? You just had to say a word and we would have helped you in a heartbeat. We weren't aware that your problems had increased or else we would have helped you long ago", Trisha's Uncle spoke, looking disheartened.

"Yes, I agree you would have helped us. But there's a limit to helping friends. Plus, the situation we are in, I won't be able to repay you anytime soon. That's why, I came up with this solution. Repayment wouldn't be a problem within a family. Please understand and let this marriage happen peacefully", Dad replied, joining his hands.

"Even though I don't agree with this, I can understand the reasoning. But why this man. He is of our age. Please wait and marry Tanya with a suitable guy. Until then, we will help you", Trisha's aunt suggested.

To be honest, I was hoping that dad would agree to this. Even if I had agreed to this marriage for my family, a huge part of me still wanted to run away from all this.

"No young man is ready to marry her now. She is already 27 years old. Once she ages more, we wouldn't be able to get someone like Pratyush for her, either. So please, I beg you to not interfere. You are already here, so please enjoy the wedding", Dad replied and turned away to leave.

"If––", Trisha's aunt spoke out loudly, causing dad to stop in his tracks.

"If someone else is ready to marry Tanya and provide the financial support, will you stop this wedding?" She asked hurriedly.

I looked at Trisha, hoping she knew what her aunt was speaking about but she looked as confused as me.

"Do you know have someone in your mind? If there is someone better for my daughter then why wouldn't I agree", Dad replied looking interested.

"Are you sure that the person you are speaking about would readily take our burden?" Dad asked with raised eyebrows.

At first, it broke my heart when I thought that he considered me as a burden but then he must have been probably talking about our debt situation. Yeah, that was more likely to happen.

"Give me five minutes and I will give you my answer", she requested and before waiting for my Dad's answer, she gestured her children and husband to go with her.

Sia quietly came towards me and held my hand tightly as we waited for them with bated breath.