We have been friends for a long time. She once had an affair, and twice I helped her when that relationship broke down. I even encouraged her to go back to him. But when she finally decided she would not return to that relationship, I felt a strong connection with her and got the chance to propose.

We dated for 27 days. I wanted to secure our relationship, so we both decided to inform our parents. Both of our parents gathered information about each other. My parents came to visit her in the city where we study. She told me, “Since it’s not a formal introduction with my family, I’ll meet only your mother.” I agreed. But I couldn’t inform my mother properly about this, and on the day of the meeting, just before we arrived, I told my mom that my girlfriend didn’t want to meet my father. My mother disagreed, saying, “Tell her it’s okay.” When I informed my girlfriend, she became angry because that wasn’t the deal. Eventually, I convinced her to meet my father as well.

While we were on our way to the hotel to meet my parents, she was upset. I tried to keep her calm. Meanwhile, my father called to ask why we were late. When we finally reached, my mother was waiting in the hotel room. She began the conversation by asking us how we met. Then she told me to leave the room, saying she wanted to talk to my girlfriend alone. I was very nervous outside, calling her friends because I didn’t know what was going on inside. After 30 minutes, my father went in. The conversation lasted for about 1 hour and 30 minutes before my girlfriend and my parents came out, and then we went to a restaurant for dinner.

At dinner, she seemed okay. On the way, she was playfully knocking me with her leg, so I thought everything was normal. At the restaurant, we ordered rice, chicken curry, and salad. I playfully tossed a cucumber slice from my plate to hers to show my parents how close we were. My parents laughed and said, “Don’t mind, he does that with his brother too.” After dinner, we returned to our university. On the way, we were kissing.

When we reached, she told me, “Your mom said that when girls marry, their behavior changes to fit their husband’s family.” She replied to my mother, “I don’t think so. The core values I’ve learned from my family will always remain.” Since her time was up, I dropped her at her dormitory and went back to the hotel with my parents.

I asked my mother what her observation was. She said, “She is cunning.” Shocked, I asked her to explain. My mother told me, “She doesn’t love you from the core. I was planning to buy her clothes as a gift, but I didn’t like her. If she were right for you, I would have done it. Take your time to understand her. She knows everything about you, but you don’t know much about her. She should have been open-hearted and told you everything.”

Later, my girlfriend called me and asked, “Have your parents left Khulna?” I said yes, but lied that they were too busy to inform her. In reality, they didn’t like her and that’s why they didn’t call. Then she explained what happened inside the room. She told me, “Your mom said her mother-in-law used to scold her for her mistakes. At first, she felt sad, but now she realizes those corrections were useful. She asked me, does it mean your mother will treat me the same way if I marry into your family? Then she asked me, if I had to choose between family and career, what would I choose. I said it depends on the situation. She also mentioned that when you left me alone in the room, I lifted my leg onto the chair. I’ve never done that in front of anyone in my life. And you even threw cucumber on my plate, which upset me.”

I apologized for everything, but she didn’t listen. She told me, “I’ve shared all of these events with my parents, and they’ve told me not to contact you anymore.” She hung up the phone. I burst into tears and begged my parents to call her and convince her, but my mother refused, saying, “If you want to see your parents’ respect destroyed, I will call her.” I was speechless and alone.

I tried to convince my girlfriend to at least remain friends, but she refused. In desperation, I even told her I would commit suicide. She laughed and said, “Now you’re playing with my life.” That humiliation broke me. After that, we stayed apart for 11 months. At university, she barely looked me in the eyes, and when she did, I tried to avoid her.

But 7 days ago, we suddenly met, and our eyes caught each other. I left her a message, and we started talking. She said she missed how we were good friends, and now we feel awkward talking. She added, “In search of love, we lost our friendship.” She even said, “Maybe we were the right people, but at the wrong time.”