Chapter 47: TRUTHS AND CONFRONTATIONS

"When we were in a relationship, it was important to you that your family gets along with me. And that made total sense !" Dmitri said to Audrey who was feeling the greatest heights of betrayal and shock.
"Yes ! It"s awesome when our partners can be involved in multiple areas of our lives and hang out with the other people we care about in our family. That is why I called you to meet them," Audrey replied.
"But what if that"s not the case ? What if your parents disapproved of me but couldn't say so in front of you ?" Dmitri said.
"You know, Dmitri, I"ve been trying to figure out what the issues were, what the solutions were to fixing those issues, and I can"t. I"ve been thinking about it all for the last three years," Audrey said as a tear fell down her cheek. "Then, after seeing you and our daughter it popped into my mind that what I've been told in these three years wasn't the truth but a veil of lies !" she spat out.
"Don"t try to get back at your parents or to act vengefully. You"re really hurting right now, and you want your parents to hurt the same, but don"t spread the pain," Dmitri reasoned out. "You don"t want to do anything you can"t reverse, and at the end of the day, you won"t feel better "getting back" at them."
"I'm ready to make big decisions based on discovering the truth of my parents" true character and I feel like I should go straight into fix-it mode," a hurt Audrey replied in agitation with her overwhelming emotions. "I have to accept what has happened, has happened. It's of no use to stay in denial about my parents cheating on me and also on you. They have deprived me of my child"s life and vice versa," she added. "Pushing the problem aside won"t change what happened, so confronting the problem with them head-on is the best way to go about it," Audrey said.
"But don't permit the conflict to escalate to the point of destroying your relationship with your parents. Consider the consequences of a long-term estrangement from your parents. Realize that holding grudges and anger can harm your own health and peace of mind as well," Dmitri cautioned.
"Don't worry about the repercussions of this call ! My parents just can't get away with the harm they intended to do to my unborn baby and the destruction they caused to my life without realizing my feelings for you," Audrey said as she dialed her dad's number.
Audrey briefed her parents about the current status and also about the secrets of their wrongdoings being unraveled to her.
"Why did you do that to your own daughter ?" Audrey asked.
"You were too young to marry at that time," Mr. Blaydes said, "and we just felt that you had not seen anything in life. We didn't want you to be burdened with the responsibilities of motherhood at such a young age !"
"I was capable enough to protect my interests in life without sacrificing the joys of motherhood. I wish I had sensed your intentions when I first announced the news of my pregnancy to you. By getting wise to your deceitful behavior early in my relationship, it would have helped me get out of your house early," Audrey replied.
"Don't forget that you reached the zenith of your career because we kept you away from the household chores of a family life which would have destroyed your ambitions," said Lucy Blaydes on the speaker of Mr. Blaydes" phone.
"I don't want to discuss my love life with you both any further who have still not understood me after seeing my plight for three years. You have only seen my rise in career but have you seen the deep valleys of grief I have traversed alone every day and night ?" Audrey vehemently replied.
"No matter what the situation was, you had a commitment to us, your parents and our family business ,so all we did was for your good," Mr. Blaydes adamantly said from the other side of the phone.
"But the question that doesn"t get asked often enough from parents is exactly what are they sacrificing to satisfy their ego, and is it worth it ?" Audrey questioned her parents.
"We took all decisions for the betterment of our daughter," Mrs. Lucy Blaydes snapped back.
"Are you sure that they were for my betterment and not for your selfish motives and false prestige ? What about my daughter ?" Audrey asked.
"A loving relationship is supposed to supplement individual identity, not damage it or replace it. And your love relationship was only damaging for your future prospects," Mr. Blaydes lashed out.
"I would have conquered the same heights but with a greater peace of mind if you wouldn't have destroyed my family life. I even assured you that when I got pregnant," Audrey asserted.
"Once the emotional high of the love would have worn off and reality set in, then you would have realized that you had been immature to idealize love as the solution to all of the problems," Mr. Blaydes said.
"There isn't anything wrong in idealizing love if we're in a committed relationship. Your corrupt interference wasn't required to snatch a mother from an infant," Audrey strongly worded her reply.
"Many of us idealize love. We see it as some lofty cure-all for all of life"s problems. As a result, our relationships and careers pay a price. We have saved you from that with our experience and not what you call corrupt interference," Mr. Blaydes shouted from the other end of the phone.
"I know that "love isn't enough. To grow, Dmitri and I had respect, space and knowledge between us. And the success of our relationship hinged on those deeper and more important values which I explained to you at that time also. But your ego has no limits," Audrey growled out.
"The problem with you still is that Dmitri's love has caused you to develop unrealistic expectations about what love actually is and what it can do for you. These unrealistic expectations then will sabotage the very career and future you hold dear in the first place," Mrs. Lucy Blaydes screamed.
"Just because you fall in love with someone doesn"t necessarily mean they"re a good partner for you to be with over the long term," Mr. Blaydes added. "Remember love is an emotional process. Compatibility is a logical process. And the two don"t bleed into one another very well !" he gruffly and obstinately said, although he had managed to tone down his voice.
"I just want you to know that I'm moving in with Dmitri irrespective of your acceptance of our relationship or not," Audrey said as she knew relationships were complicated, and the best relationship decisions were the ones that accounted for those complexities.
"You're being naive!" Mrs. Lucy Blaydes wanted to angrily shriek but at her sly husband"s behest opted to speak sweetly.
"Naive ? Maybe, but leave me alone in my naive place," Audrey firmly replied. "I prefer to believe that romance and the right relationship can stand the test of time and space. Life throws us some curveballs, whether we strike out or learn how to hit them out of the park is upto us and I'm quite capable of deciding that for myself !" she chuffed out, who was in no mood to come in the sweet talks of her parents.
"So for now either you leave me alone with my family here or you can come and meet your granddaughter and be a part of our family by apologizing to Dmitri. I leave the decision up to you and I'm sending you the address in case you chose the latter option," Audrey said as she hung up the phone call.