Khusi eyes widened in glee at the sight of two adorable little eyes and the tiny snout. Pushing Abhay away she jumped down to take the little guy in her arms cooing at its cuteness, turning the anxious Abhay, panicked.
"Oh my god ! Look Abhay. How adorable is he. Look at these tiny pink paws," she cooed, talking in baby voices making the pup groan delightfully as Khusi rubbed his toe beans.
"Isn't he cute, Khusi Ma? He needs a shelter, he is dying out there," Yuti reasoned, looking up at her father with puppy eyes who was already glaring at her, his lip pressed in a thin line.
"Really? Oh my god? Where is his mother, Yuti?" Khusi panicked and ambled away with the little pup on her shoulders , looking for the mother dog.
"He isn't coming home with us, Yuti. I have already told you a hundred times. No pets are allowed." Abhay's stern set voice didn't make Yuti waves for a single second. That cop tone might work on others, but not on her. He was a softie for her Khusi Ma and God be damned if she didn't use this opportunity to finally adopt a pet.
"Papa, we should learn to become more generous. He deserves a real proper home not to live on the streets. How will he even survive, don't be so heartless, please?" Yuti pleaded, trying to be as coercive as possible, but Abhay wasn't ready to listen.
Over the course of years, as Yuti grew up, Abhay had noticed a similar behaviour she shared with her biological father, Kaushik. Coercion. She was an expert in it, and knew how to be sly when the situation demanded.
"Absolutely no Yuti! Pets are a huge responsibility, something you aren't ready to take yet. "
"But you don't know that Papa! How will I become responsible if you don't let me!" Yuti stomped her feet reminding Abhay how he couldn't afford to lose his cool with her, or else Khusi would make him sleep on the couch, again.
"No ! We will talk about it later." Abhay insisted, shaking his head.
"But look how much Khusi Ma has grown attached to him." Yuti pointed at Khusi who was strolling towards them, giggling like a teenager while the little guy licked her face. Abhay's fist curled in annoyance at the pup's audacity. How dare he !
"No Yuti ! End of discussion," Abhay snapped when Khusi lightly pecked the puppy's snout, making Yuti smirk mischievously. His tone had caught Khusi's attention.
"What is going on here?" she enquired, making Yuti wiggle her eyebrows, which in turn irked Abhay more.
"Don't you think Khusi Ma, that the little guy deserves a forever home?" Yuti asked, giving her puppy dog eyes to Khusi, making her smile.
"Yes, he definitely does. I couldn't find the mother dog."
"Then we should take him with us back home. He will die out here alone."
"You're absolutely right Yuti," Khusi nodded and looked up at Abhay whose pissed off face had diminished but he still had a stern look.
"No. I ain't allowing that. Yuti is not going to look after him, and things will turn disastrous at home," Abhay argued, narrowing his eyes, his arms crossed at his chest.
"Oh c'mon Papa! You're being impossible. I already said I am going to take care of him."
Khusi glanced at the duo , who were throwing daggers at each other with their burning gazes, making her sigh out loud. She knew she needed to intervene.
"Abhay,?" she whispered, standing in between the father daughter, handing the pup to Yuti, who was happy to oblige.
"No, Khusi." Refusal was at the Abhay tongue.
YOU ARE READING
Not Her
Romance"I don't want to become a mother." This line is a taboo for women in some parts of the world, and so was for Khusi Mukherjee. At the age of 25, independent and single, she wanted to live her life according to her rules. But everything changed when...
Epilogue
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