The groom’s face turned pale: the bride hit the mother-in-law with the cake amid the screams of the guests

The groom’s face turned pale: the bride hit the mother-in-law with a cake amid the screams of the guests

Ananya knew that planning a wedding in India is never easy. He had read articles, listened to friends. But no one ever told her that the biggest problem would not be the banquet hall expenses or the appointment of a photographer, but her would-be mother-in-law, Sharda Devi. The woman seemed intent on turning every day of preparation into a battlefield.

When Ananya showed pictures of the bridal couple, Sharda Devi said, “This lehenga doesn’t suit you.” It’s very flamboyant. In our family, brides dress more modestly. ”

Ananya held her phone tightly in her hand, her jaw tightened. The kilt was very traditional – full-sleeved, long to the ground. But he didn’t argue.

“All right, Auntie. I’ll think about it. ”

“And this menu of yours…” Sharda Devi said while flipping the printout of the restaurant. “Who’s going to eat this Italian salad?” People expect real Indian food — paneer, biryani, gulab jamun. Everyone understands this. ”

Ananya’s fiancé Rohit was sitting quietly nearby. Sometimes he would gesture to his mother by nodding her head, sometimes he would comfort her by caressing Ananya’s hand. When Sarada Devi went to the kitchen to make tea, he whispered:

“Don’t pay attention to them. Mom just wants everything to be perfect. ”

“Rohit, your mother is critical of every decision we make,” Ananya replied softly. “Dress, menu, flowers, music. There are only guests left, and I’m sure she’ll find some loopholes there too. ”

“Oh, leave it. Their intentions are good. ”

Their intentions are good. Ananya had heard these words countless times. When Sarada Devi turned down the fresh flowers in the bouquet—her intentions are good. When he asked to call his neighbours, whom Ananya did not even know, his intentions were good. Clearly, in Sarada Devi’s mind, “doing good” meant making someone else’s marriage to your liking.

Next was the Battlefield guests list. Ananya had prepared it with a lot of thought – relatives, friends, colleagues. About forty people, as planned. But Sharda Devi had her own style. “And where are my cousin Kamala and my neighbour Uncle Verma? They have lived next door to us for thirty years,” the mother-in-law asked.

“Sharda ji, we had agreed on a small marriage,” Ananya explained. “The hall can only accommodate so many people. ”

“Then remove someone from your side. My relatives should not be insulted. ”

Rohit was silent again. Eventually, two of Ananya’s close friends had to be removed to make room for distant relatives whom she had barely seen twice in her life.

A day before the wedding, when Ananya felt that everything was settled, Sharda Devi called with new demands…..

“Okay,” Ananya gives up. “We will change it. ”

“It’s better. Everything should be fine. ”

On the morning of the wedding, Ananya woke up at 6:30 am to her phone ringing. It was Sharda Devi’s phone.

“Sorry for calling early, but it’s important. Rohith should thank me in his speech. And she should also say that without the blessings of the mother, the family will not be happy. ”

“Sharda ji, Rohit has already written his speech. We have rehearsed it. ”

“Rehearsals don’t matter! Write down what he has to say. ”

And so, three times that morning Sharda Devi called to “correct” the groom’s speech.

At the registry office, the ceremony was gorgeous. Ananya reads her vows looking into Rohit’s eyes. For a moment, she forgot everything. But when it was her turn to speak, Sarada Devi sighed loudly. Not only did he sigh, but in a way that everyone could hear. The bride faltered for a moment, but still continued her talk. Rohit pretends not to pay attention.

At the reception, things worsened.

“The salad is very salty,” Sarada Devi declared. “And this sauce—very spicy. Who ordered it?”

The guests looked at him with strange eyes. Rohit smiled nervously.

Later, during the toast, Sharda Devi stood up with a glass in her hand.

“My son Rohit is my golden boy—intelligent, hardworking, kind. And now he has a wife. Ananya. ”

His tone became shrill.

“I hope with age she will learn to cook. A woman can’t just sit in the office all day. The family needs care, not a career. ”

There was silence in the hall. The bride’s parents looked down. Ananya’s friends clenched their jaws. Rohit remained silent.

“Nowadays girls only think about jobs. But a true wife cooks, cleans, and raises children. Don’t worry, I will teach Ananya how to be a good wife. Rohit, you have to be strict with him. ”

Ananya’s hands were shaking, but her face was calm. She got up quietly and walked towards the table where the three-story wedding cake was kept. The guests were keeping an eye on his every move.

Sarada Devi, who was still in her nature, raised her glass:

“To the newlyweds! To family traditions!”

At the same moment, Ananya picked up the top of the cake and hit it directly on her mother-in-law’s face.

The cream was smeared on Sharda Devi’s cheeks, nose and forehead. Pieces of sponge got stuck in his hair. She squealed in shock and staggered back to her chair. Rohit’s face turned pale. There was silence in the hall.

Then there was applause. The bride’s friends cheered, some whistled.

“Wow!” someone shouted.

“It’s time!” said another.

Sharda Devi sat stunned, wiping the face cream with the pallu of her silk saree.

“Ananya! What are you doing?” shouted Rohit at last.

The bride calmly placed the cake back on the table, raised her cloak slightly and walked outside. Turning once at the door, he said.

“Sorry for the interruption. Please keep celebrating. ”

She walked into the evening air, feeling a strange sense of relief.

A few minutes later, Rohit angrily ran after them.

“Are you crazy? How can you humiliate my mother like this?”

“If you don’t protect me, Rohit, I will protect myself. ”

“But she’s my mom! He had no ill intentions!”

“Didn’t you intend to do bad?” They called me incompetent and stupid in front of everyone. And you kept quiet. ”

Rohit was making excuses while stammering, but Ananya had heard a lot. She called a taxi and went home. That night, when her husband was alone to welcome guests, Ananya changed her lehenga, made her own tea and started filling out an online form: an application for divorce.

The wedding continued in the hall without a bride. Meanwhile, Ananya sat peacefully in her house, finally free from her maternal uncle’s husband and his domineering mother.