The Blazing Heiress

03|| The brothers & the memorial

"She's the flowers, but she's also the rain. She's the beauty of the day, but also the nights full of pain"

***

The sound of giggles and waves of laughter erupted as Ved entered his home. All forgotten was his tiredness and stress from work, magic after coming home to his family. His four-year-old ran towards him as he crouched down to her level, clasping her into a tight embrace, and just like that, everything that happened that day just melted away.

"I missed you, daddy!" she proclaimed in her tot voice while keeping her head on his shoulder, stirring heart-rendering emotions in him.

"And I missed you more!" he declared as he pulled away and pecked her rosy cheeks. She giggled, feeling ticklish as his stubble brushed her soft skin.

"No, I missed you more!" she stubbornly shook her head. He raised his hands in surrender. Ved picked her up and entered the living room, only to find his younger brother slumped on the couch, looking resigned. At the sound of his footsteps, he looked up and passed him a small smile.

"How did yesterday's meeting go?" Ved asked him as he made Nitara settle on his lap, who spent no time nestling against his chest. He missed his little princess and didn't plan on leaving her for the rest of the evening.

"It was good."

"What are you doing here anyway?" Ved raised his eyebrows at him.

"Hiding from our mom before she forcefully sends me off on a date with some girl!" Viransh tried to suppress his annoyance from her voice.

Ved let out a chuckle at his younger brother while asking, "And you think mom won't come here looking for you?"

"Last time, I heard she was not on talking term with you ever since you and your wife disclosed the reason behind your marriage."

Ved let out a sigh as he stroked his daughter's hair, "Don't remind me of that. Anyways, I am happy with how things turned out to be. Now, I am more than content with my life and the law firm."

Viransh just nodded his head in understanding. Sitting upright, he expressed his thoughts, "Sometimes, I think mom values her reputation more than her family."

"One day, I wouldn't be shocked if she disowned us!" Both the brothers looked at each other, bewildered.

"I don't know why this sounds so weird." They laughed, and the little girl stared between them, scrunching up her face in confusion.

Rhea entered the room holding a wailing toddler in her arms. The baby stopped crying and wiggled in his mother's arms as the boy's eyes caught his father sitting on the couch.

Ved smiled at the sight of his son, who raised his hands giddily at him. Not wasting any time, he took him in his arms while making a space for him on his lap for both of his children.

"Dadda!" the one-year-old toddler squealed while grabbing Ved's face in his stout hands and placing a sloppy kiss on his cheeks.

"And like always, he forgot his mother after seeing his father," Rhea pointed dramatically toward the father-son duo while her son glanced towards her with his big eyes.

"Now, don't look at me," Rhea flared her nose and turned her head away from her son, who started speaking something incoherently in his language while trying to grab her attention.

Viransh and Nitara laughed at the little boy's antics while Ved shook his head, an amused smile crept on his face. Secretly, he loved this dramatic side of his wife.