Healing The Void (The Roys, #2) ✔

Chapter 13 - Risk It

1st October

"You like OneRepublic?" Shreya asked as Gyan turned on the music system and played Counting Stars.

"Die-hard fan!" He said placing a hand over his heart. Dev clapped at the song and got back on painting. Shreya recently taught him how to draw an apple and he didn't seem to stop drawing it since then.

"I like them too." She confessed with an eager smile.

"Really?" He plopped down on the couch and threw his head back looking at the ceiling. "See... we're alike. I knew it."

As a response, she only smiled.

"What's your favorite song of them?" He asked quietly.

"Apologize."

"Ah- a melancholic masterpiece. Do you relate?"

Well... she wasn't particularly expecting that question, but answered anyway. "Yes."

"Guessed so." He was off today for some reason. The whole morning, he spent inside his room on the first floor, didn't even show up during lunch. Dona sent his food to his room. Turned out he hadn't finished the food when she brought the tray back. Ritu went to her college as they had selected two of her designs for the runway. Before puja vacation, today was her last day of college. Abhimanyu left for office after having breakfast at the table which was a new habit, he had picked up recently and didn't come home for lunch today as well.

One question that was bothering her lately, Isha mansion didn't have any framed photographs of any of the family members. Such a big house but without any memories. It was odd but she never brought up the matter because she didn't have any favorable time.

"Why isn't there any photos in the house?" She quietly asked.

He lifted up his head and looked at her way intensely. "Maa doesn't prefer memories. According to her, memories always hurt."

Oh! Shreya was taken aback with his response. She blinked and averted her gaze on Dev. A small pause later, Gyan asked, "Who do you want to see?"

She shifted her eyes on him again. He was definitely not his usual self today. He looked and acted way more serious than usual.

"Uhm- I mean, I... haven't met your parents, and they aren't even here. So I thought..." She trailed off when she saw him pulling out his phone from his sweatpants' pocket and tapped on the screen a few times.

"Here." He extended his phone towards her. "You can go through the family collection in my gallery. The first one is Maa."

Shreya took his phone and looked at the screen and immediately got impressed. She might be in her early fifties but she looked elegant in a violet and white saree with a pearl neckless adorning her neck. Her hair was down and over one shoulder. A beautiful smile paying on her face while she posed for the camera. Shreya noticed her eyes, hazel doe eyes. Gyan and Ritu got their mother's eyes.

"She's beautiful." Shreya gasped.

"I never doubted that." Gyan softly murmured.

Shreya smiled and swiped the photo aside. The next photo was a family groupie. She saw Gyan (from left, as he was taking the selfie), his mother- Mrs. Roy, Mr. Roy (who had his hand wrapped around her. He was indeed handsome. Now she understood who did Abhimanyu resemble between his parents. He got his father's eyes and appearance. Even in his fifties, Mr. Roy held a prowess no one dare disregard.) Then there was Ritu(whose hands were wrapped around their father's waist), then there was an old lady, Dev, Tiyasha, and another old couple. She acknowledged the fact that Abhimanyu wasn't in the photo. Despite that fact, everyone else looked happy as all of them had a smile on their faces. By their clothes it was evident, it was some kind of occasion.