𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 [𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡]

ＣＨＡＰＴＥＲ 118

The sound of the gates closing was the last confirmation of the fact that Armaan had left.

Since she had nothing else to do, it was difficult to postpone what had to be done. So Alia found herself going towards her brother's room.

She knocked on the already opened the door, getting his attention away from the phone. Advik sat up and she could see the nervousness he felt because she felt the same too.

"Hi," she whispered out of sheer nervousness, "may I sit?"

"Oh, yeah." He moved on his spot, even though there was plenty of space beside him. The entire bed was empty, safe for the place he was sitting at.

She took the seat inches away from him, keeping a safe distance at the same time as well.

I have to start. She reminded herself. Someone had to start and that had to be her.

"I'm sorry for the way I talked about this morning. But, can we pay a little attention to me too?" She said and raised her hand to touch his forehead that now just had a small bandage on his wound. "As much as I love that you are accepting him as a brother-in-law, don't forget your sister, yeah?"

There, done. The rest has to be done by him, and she hoped that he would do it in a better way than she did. He was eight years younger than her, so Alia could not even hold it against him if he did not understand where she was coming from.

Advik was her only living family member by blood that she kept in contact with, felt something for, and cared for. He had already been through an accident that had scared her to the inch of death, if she lost him in any way possible, Alia would die.

"I did not know I was doing that.
Honestly, I had no clue." Advik moved away from her before lowering his head on her lap. "If I knew I was doing that and I was hurting you, I would never do it, Didi."

There it was. Her hand found its way on its own into his hair. As she softly played with them, she also released a huge sigh that was filled with relief.

I do not know if it is because he went out of the country because he has grown in age, but he is mature. Different than he was before. She did not know how she felt about that.

Her little brother, who was almost a decade younger to her, was mature. At the moment, he was living with her, in the same house, but there was going to be a time when he would have to move somewhere for his job and then settle with his family.

Now, he was just a loud shout away, but soon he would be someone she would have to schedule calls with because they would live away with different schedules.

"Hey," she cleared her throat, when she realised that she was about to cry, because of all of this, "do you want to go shopping? I think you need a few new things
"Ugh," he sat up quickly, "do we have to?"

"Yes. Guess what, I'll even buy you one or two things that you want and are going to be completely useless after two months."

Advik grinned. "Done." he smacked a loud kiss on her cheek before running into the bathroom.

Alia smiled behind him, before getting up and going to her room to get ready.

******

Shanna was laughing loudly, while telling her what the new electronic thing he had bought. It was something about something she had stopped, listening about the moment he started talking about it, but she attempted to act like she understood each and everything.

"Oh my, my," Laksha stood up from the sofa in the living room and came to them. "Please tell me you bought something for me."

"Of course. I did," Alia handed her a bag. I saw this and thought of you. I think you're going to love it."

It was traditional Punjabi footwear that had small pearls as design all over red. By the expression her mother-in-law had, it was obvious that Alia had succeeded.

"Lovely." Laksha admired them thoroughly. "I think I have an outfit ready for them tomorrow."

"Boring," Advik chimed in, "I am gonna go." Before any of them could say a word, he had already turned around and left.

Laksha turned to Alia. "why don't you give up and rest? Come to me after an hour and I'll teach you how to make kheer today. Okay?"

Kheer? Yum. Nodding eagerly in return, Alia went upstairs and put all the things she had shopped for in her brother's room, and then some that she had bought for herself on her own.

Precisely 40 minutes later, she moved downstairs, ready to make something so tasty that she was going to eat it all by herself tonight.