Illustration/ Sameer Pawar

Dear Diana,

I wrote to you quite a while back expressing my wish to marry a call girl. Problem is, I haven't met her for two months now. We only keep in touch through a common friend. Now my mom has agreed to me wanting to marry this girl.

Her only demand is that she wants to see this girl first. I tell my friend and he tells her this. She says she doesn't believe it. I told him to tell her to talk to me on the phone once.

He didn't. After that, he told me she sent her photo instead. I asked for it. He said he had just been joking around. I don't understand: is my friend fooling around? Or is she? I really love her and want to marry her.

Confused Lover

Dear Confused lover,

In matters as tricky as these, never involve a third party. In this case, a common friend. One, you never have adequate control over the message being relayed and two, you're always going to wonder about the accuracy of the message and in the future, the character of the receiver of that message and of the deliverer as well.
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Believe me, that isn't a place you want to be. There's obviously something he's concealing from you, though it isn't immediately clear what that is.

Or if he has feelings for or ulterior motives against this girl. And also, while your mother seems sincere, I hope you haven't concealed the truth from her. About the nature of her to-be daughter-in-law's profession. Also, why is it so difficult for you to tell this girl what you want to, yourself?

But dad doesn't like him...

Dear Diana,

I'm 18 now. My marriage was fixed to a cousin (we're allowed to marry cousins in our caste). But now, my dad doesn't like the guy anymore and has broken the promise he made to the boy's family.

My mom likes him, though. Trouble is, this guy and I have loved each other since we were kids. He is very good to me and loves me very much. But I can't go against my dad. What should I do now?