The Heart Never Forgets

Chapter-17

CHAPTER-17

Lucas: "Go tell Aunt and Uncle that you agree to this marriage. Otherwise, surely you wouldn't want any harm to come to Ethan, would you?"

Della: "No, I don't want that. Just leave Ethan alone."

While Della was announcing into the microphone that she was fully willing to marry Lucas, Ethan was sitting fuming in his room, upset because Ella hadn't spoken much to him all day. But when Ella's voice, amplified through the microphone, reached his ears, he was utterly dumbfounded! Had Ella lost her mind? Ethan rushed downstairs like a madman.

Upon arriving, he snatched the microphone from Ella's hand.

Ethan: "Della!" (With trembling hands, Ella let the microphone fall to the floor.)

"What on earth are you saying?!"

Everyone present was astonished by Ethan's outburst. No one had imagined that Ethan would show up and say anything regarding this matter. Ethan pulled Ella forward. "You haven't said a single word at the party today. And when you finally did speak, was that what you said? Would you mind telling me exactly what is going on here?"

Most of the party guests had already gone home. The only people remaining were the decorators; they were in the process of packing up their equipment to leave, but upon seeing Ethan shouting and making such a scene, they, too, paused for a moment, frozen in place.

Adam had been observing the entire situation, so he quickly settled their dues and ushered them out. Meanwhile, hearing Ethan's words, Della began to weep.

Ethan: "Della, tell everyone right now that you love me—that I love you!"

Della: "No, I don't love you! I have accepted Lucas as my partner. Didn't you hear me?!"

Tina: "Oh, come on!" Melissa, what is your son saying? He claims he’s in love with Della. When did this happen?

Melissa: Well, actually, I can't really say anything about this matter. Adam remained silent throughout this. What is there left to say? Our two families arranged this marriage a long time ago. Della has agreed to it as well. The entire neighborhood knows about it. What else can be done at this point?

Ethan kept shouting incessantly; he simply could not accept the situation. Adam stepped in and pulled Ethan away from Della.

Adam: Ethan, Della is now Lucas’s future wife. You can no longer be in love with her.

Ethan: No, Dad—you don't understand! Della loves me. There must be something going on here that we don't know about.

Lucy: No, there is nothing else to it. If my daughter has agreed to the marriage, what else could be involved?

Ethan: No, I just can't comprehend how all of this happened!

Lucas and Billy had been watching everything from a distance. Ethan walked up to Lucas and demanded to know...

"What did you do to make Della want to marry you? You asked to meet with Della earlier today, and she’s been a completely different person ever since. Tell me—what happened?"

Lucas: Ethan, calm down. This is a family decision. It would be best if you stayed away from Della from now on. You heard what Della said to you yourself.

It was as if Ethan hadn't heard a word Lucas said; he walked back over to Della.

Ethan: Della, just tell me—what happened this morning? If you open up and tell me everything, I can fix things and make everything go back to how it used to be.

Della: Nothing happened here that needs you to fix it.

Ethan: Della, how could you change so much? If you don't say something today, we’ll both end up regretting it later. Is that really what you want?

Billy: Ethan, stop acting crazy! Ethan gave Billy a light shove. Tina stepped forward.

Tina: Oh, come on! "Ethan, if we had known that you wanted Della, we never would have arranged your marriage to her back in our childhood." Melissa could no longer hold back; she approached Tina and said:

Melissa: "Are you making a mockery of my son's feelings, Tina? Does that really befit you?"

Tina: "And your son—behaving like a stubborn, relentless pest right here—does that look very befitting?" Melissa: How can you speak like that?

Adam tries to calm Melissa down.

Ethan: Aunt Lucy, at least say something! How can you remain silent like this? What happened to Della? Why are you keeping quiet?

Lucy offered no response to any of Ethan’s words; she simply kept her head bowed. Then Tina approached Lucy and Della and said:

Tina: Come on, Lucy, let’s head home now.

Lucy: Mm-hmm.

Ethan: Della, wait! Talk to me—just once! Don’t leave like this! Ethan broke down completely; he sank to the ground. It seemed as though Della wanted to go to Ethan, but Tina and Lucas subtly held her back.

Weeping bitterly, Della left with them. Adam came over and sat beside Ethan. Placing a reassuring hand on his son’s shoulder, he pulled him into a tight embrace.

Adam: Get up, Ethan. It’s all over here. Ethan burst into heart-wrenching sobs. Witnessing Ethan’s anguish, Melissa slumped heavily into a garden chair. She felt utterly drained of strength—unable to even go to Ethan to offer him comfort. To herself, she simply whispered...

Melissa: Oh! Della... you have completely shattered my son! Oh... my boy... my Ethan!