Unreachable Destiny- The Curse Of Your Love

Chapter-38: Part Of This Family.

"We are dealing with it, Dad. Don't worry about it."

"I hope you do it, Akshay. If not, I won't be able to convince the board of your competence when you can't even manage a minor branch. I have great expectations for you."

"Yes, Dad." The call ends and Akshay hunches over his table, his mind already feeling too heavy for the day. He opens his laptop and looks at the wallpaper that shows Aditya, Maya and himself as children rolling in the grass outside Maya's house. Abhir uncle pulled out his camera and came over to stand beside them to take the photo from the top as they laughed over a joke one of them had cracked. A smile blooms on his face as he looks at the innocence of his younger self, unbothered by the adult issues. Maya's smile was so pure at the time it made him wonder why he couldn't make her smile that way again.

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An awkward silence fell upon the Sharma's dining table as each of them silently ate their food. After meeting Abhinav, Abhira greeted Ranav in a monotone and Ranav nodded back. That was the only interaction they had so far. Akshara signs to herself, unable to take the tension in the environment anymore as she takes her plate, leaves the dining table and walks into the kitchen. Abhinav who had been long done with his meal also rises from the dining table and follows Akshara.

"Akshara, what is happening, ji?" Abhinav asks in confusion. Since the moment Ranav came, he had been nothing but cheery until Abhira arrived and the purpose of the change in the air is oblivious to Abhinav.

"What else? Our children are being childish." Akshara then looks at Abhinav to see if he is comfortable hearing the word children. Abhinav had no idea about Abhira, and he only met her a few hours ago, so Akshara was worried that Abhinav might not be able to accept Abhira. Abhinav nods nonchalantly not even registering the inclusion of Abhira as their child. Akshara smiles at how easy Abhinav finds it to embrace new people into his small beautiful family. It also reminds her of how, despite being in this marriage for 25 years, she barely spent any time as wife and husband with Abhinav.

"Did they argue or something?" Abhinav frowns with worry and Akshara can't help the smile that forms on her face as she finds the worried Abhinav cute. She puts her hands on his shoulders, turning him towards her and placing her fingers over his forehead to smooth the lines over.

"Nothing for you to worry about, Abhinav. It's been a while since they were like this. They will sort it out on their own."

"Arey, how can they sort it on their own? We should help them talk to each other, don't you think?" Akshara rolled her eyes at how over-possessive he was being about it, but Akshara knew that they wouldn't be able to be so indifferent for long.

"Believe me, they will patch things up soon enough. We'll do one thing. Let us both find a quiet place in the garden and leave them alone with their silent war so they get fed up with their silence and talk, okay?" Abhinav nods, reluctant to end this conversation but drawn to the idea of spending some alone time with Akshara.

At the dining table, Ranav finally completes his dinner and looks at Abhira, who is still picking at her food. How will you take care of your health alone if you're so picky with food? Ranav can't help but wonder how she managed to be by herself for so long with such a bad ability to take care of her body. He shakes his head at her behaviour.

"It's disrespectful to play with food." Ranav points out. Abhira flinches in response which makes Ranav frown and wonder why she is so wary of him.

Abhira never would've believed that one day she would be sitting at their dining table with her brother once again. What surprises her even more is that he would ever utter a word to her again. She knows how rude she had been to him when she found out about her past. She slammed her door in his face and screamed at him that he would never know the loss of a parent until he actually lost one. She knew how much it must've hurt him as a kid when his step-father laid on a bed in a coma and his biological father was considered responsible for his state. She regretted it so much over the years, the words she said to him. She thought it was understandable if he chose to hate her for the rest of his life. It's understandable, She tells herself. But when he spoke to her again after so many years, her body reacted by its own accord as she jerked back in surprise. Her heart almost leapt into her throat as she held on to the salt cellar with all her strength. Ranav looked at her with a frown and it both frightened her and gave her hope that maybe, they could have a relationship even with the foundation of his anger, that just like how she considers him a brother despite the differences, he would also view her as a part of this family despite her past actions. A sliver of hope made its way to Abhira's heart, lighting up a path of contentment that she had not experienced for a long time. A hope to truly be Abhira Sharma, daughter of Abhinav and Akshara Sharma, sister of Ranav Sharma. A hope to be truly a part of this family.

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