Treacherous Souls

XX. "Who is Rani Padmaja?"

"I-I didn't mean that. I am sorry." Aashika mumbled, trying to ignore the disapproving looks Aastha and Manasvi were sending her way.

"It's okay!" She cleared her throat, choosing to stay silent and wait for her husband to walk through the doors any minute now.

Just then, the door opened with a bang, revealing the insensitive faces of Rajput brothers.

"Why are you here?" Aashika scoffed, openly showing her displeasure at seeing her husband. While Manasvi was not so happy to see her husband either, she knew her boundaries and refrained from openly disrespecting him.

Whatever arguments and glares commenced between them, it all happened behind the closed doors of their room. This was an unspoken rule between them, and she supposed it would stay that way for the rest of their lives.

Aastha smiled at Manav, which was immediately reciprocated by him. Their relationship had progressed a lot these days. Aastha had gone from being afraid of him to openly express her desires without having the fear of being judged. While, Dhruv and Mishka had already passed the phase where they had a mutual understanding between them.

These couples had a complex relationship, and not to forget these brothers could not tolerate each other even if their lives depended on it. This family was indeed very complicated.

"It's my house." Arjun remarked, and Dhruv couldn't stop himself from interfering.

"Well, technically, it's my house. I am the rightful owner. You are just an extra son my parents accidentally got. Condom gone wrong case, you know?" Dhruv wasn't usually this talkative, but today he couldn't stop himself from blurting out the words swirling in his head.

"Shut up!" Arjun muttered, standing stiff in a state of shock at having a direct, cordial correspondence with his brother after so long.

Dhruv and Arjun were the closest of these brothers, simply because Dhruv was overly protective of his youngest sibling. He was protective of his other siblings too, but he was much more possessive of Arjun. And so, after that one incident, when Dhruv had stopped talking to him, Arjun had cried a lot.

"Well, your presence wasn't needed, but since you are here anyway. We will let you in on our plan." Manasvi said, keeping her tone as polite and sweet as she could.

"You are such a sweetheart, aren't you, honey?" Kabir's overly sweet voice made her roll her eyes in annoyance, but she chose to ignore his words.

"Well, we want to know the history of Rani Padmaja. And, since all this ruckus in your married life started because of her, I figured you know something and are trying to hide it for obvious reasons." Aastha elaborated.

Mishka remained quiet, observing her husband's expression, but it went in vain. Dhruv didn't express even a single emotion, keeping his stature calm and composed. It made Mishka wonder why Dhruv got so angry that day if that topic didn't bother him.

"Why do you want to know that? I told you to stay out of our family's business, didn't I?" He raised a brow, folding his arms against his chest. His stance served its purpose and managed to successfully intimidate everyone, except Mishka who imitated his actions and stepped forward.

If she had still cared about this relationship as much as she did in the initial years, she wouldn't have dared to go against her husband. But, she had nothing to lose now, so why not give this a try?