The Last Person I Loved - 14

The First Warning

After meeting my family, she became even more attached to me.
Now she openly talked about our future.
Marriage. House. Career. Kids. Even stupid things like what color curtains we would keep in our future home.
And honestly… I used to enjoy every second of those conversations.
Not because I was some hopeless romantic.
But because when someone genuinely includes you in their future… it feels different.
It feels safe.
A few weeks later, she asked me something unexpectedly.
“One day… will you meet my mother?”
The moment she asked that question, my confidence dropped slightly.
Meeting your girlfriend’s mother sounds simple in movies.
In real life? Your soul starts leaving your body slowly.
Still, I acted confident.
“Obviously.”
Inside my head: “Bhagwan please save me.”
We decided a place to meet.
That entire day I was nervous.
I reached almost half an hour early. Kept checking my hair in my scooter mirror. Adjusted my shirt at least fifteen times.
And then finally…
I saw her coming with her mother.
The moment I saw them walking toward me, my heartbeat became uncontrollable.
Her mother greeted me politely.
“Hi.”
I replied softly, “Hello aunty.”
Then came the dangerous thing in Indian meetings:
Silence.
That awkward silence where everyone pretends to be calm while internally analyzing each other completely.
After a few moments, her mother finally spoke.
“So… you want to marry her?”
Straight attack.
No warm-up. No small talk. Direct final question.
I gathered whatever confidence I had and replied:
“Yes.”
She looked at me for a few seconds and then said something that gave me both happiness and fear together.
“I personally don’t have any issue… but her father and brother won’t agree easily.”
I didn’t know whether to feel relieved or stressed.
At least her mother wasn’t completely against me.
But at the same time… that sentence carried a warning too.
For the first time, reality entered our love story properly.
Till now, we were happily living inside our own small world.
Now suddenly family, society, expectations and future started becoming real.
After the meeting, when her mother left, she stayed back with me for some time.
I immediately asked, “So… what happened? What do you think?”
She smiled slightly.
“Mom likes you.”
I felt relieved instantly.
But then she added carefully,
“She just has some concerns.”
I already knew what was coming.
Still, I asked, “What concerns?”
She looked at me for two seconds and then finally said:
“Your height… and your complexion.”
For a second I just stared at her silently.
Then I almost laughed internally.
Because honestly… their family complexion was almost similar to mine.
And height-wise also, I was slightly taller than her.
But I understood something important that day.
When parents think about marriage… they don’t think emotionally like us.
They think practically.
Salary. Looks. Future stability. Society. Security.
And frankly speaking… at that time I wasn’t some highly successful guy either.
I was earning around fifteen thousand per month.
From a family’s perspective, why would they immediately agree to give their daughter to someone like me?
That realization hurt slightly.
But strangely… it also motivated me.
That day while returning home, only one thought kept running in my mind:
“I need to become better.”
Not to prove myself to society.
Not to compete with anyone.
But because I genuinely wanted a future with her.
A few days later, her brother called me for the first time.
Before the call, she gave me full instructions like some interview trainer.
“Talk confidently.” “Speak properly.” “And yes… use English.”
I started laughing.
“I’m already giving job interviews in English. Now I need English for marriage interviews too?”
She laughed loudly.
Still, I was nervous.
When the call finally came, we spoke for around ten minutes.
Honestly, the conversation genuinely felt like a job interview.
He asked:
“So where do you see yourself in the next five years?”
I almost laughed again.
But somehow controlled myself and replied:
“Hopefully with a better salary… maybe my own business… and definitely with your sister.”
There was silence for two seconds.
Then suddenly he said:
“I’ll support you guys.”
That one sentence made me unbelievably happy.
After the call ended, I immediately messaged her:
“Your brother likes me.”
She replied proudly:
“Obviously.”
And honestly… that night I slept peacefully.
Because now I truly believed things would work out somehow.
I thought love was enough.
I thought patience was enough.
I thought if two people genuinely loved each other… the world would eventually adjust.
I was wrong.
Very wrong.