𝓐𝓲𝓽𝓫𝓪𝓪𝓻 𝓗𝓪𝓲❤️‍🔥

01

"Papa, she bullied me again!"

A little five-year-old boy tugged on Arnav's sleeve, sniffling, cheeks puffy and wet with tears and nose already beginning to redden similar to a baby tomato like a very familiar Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada.

Arnav, buried deep in his work files, blinked down at the voice, startled out of his focus. He glanced at the small boy, eyebrows lifting.

"What happened, champ? Why did she-what did she do?"

"She pinched me!" the boy exclaimed with wounded pride, stretching out his chubby hand. A faint red mark glared against his soft skin.

Before Arnav could say a word, the culprit arrived-his daughter. Hair tied in two tight ponytails, hands parked squarely on her tiny hips, she stood like a miniature warrior just like her mother, brows knitted like her father.

"Why aren't you telling Papa what you did?" she accused her brother, voice small but fierce.

Arnav looked between them-his teary-eyed son, who now suddenly looked a tad bit guilty, and his fiery little girl, unrepentant and bold.

"What did you do?" Arnav asked his son.

The boy looked down, dragging the toe of his shoe across the floor.

"Papa," the girl spoke up, folding her arms. "He called me by my name again. I told him so many times-I'm older than him. He should call me 'Di'!"

Sibling rivalry!

It felt too nostalgic to Arnav.

Interesting...

"But you're just one minute older!" the boy argued, his head snapping up.

"Exactly! Older!" she shot back, "One minute or one hour-it doesn't matter. I'm still older than you. You should call me 'Di'. Not by name. Even Papa calls his sister 'Di'."

Then she turned to Arnav, eyes sparkling with triumph, "Aren't I right, Papa?"

Arnav chuckled softly, raising both hands in surrender, "Sorry, champ. I have to agree with her."

The boy's face fell, "You always take her side," he whimpered. "You don't love me like you love her."

"See Papa, now he's accusing you of... of...of, yes, gender dis cri mi na tion", She spoke, trying to sound like an elder, pronouncing hard words.

"I can see that," Arnav narrowed his eyes at him.

"I didn't", the little one's voice cracked as he cried harder, nose now bright pink.

Arnav sighed, caught in the middle.

He loved them both equally.

Sure, she shouldn't have pinched him, but...

But, the boy had crossed a line too. He should've called her 'Di' as she told him to.

"Mamma.... Papa's bullying me again!" the boy wailed. "Mammaaaa!"

Right on cue, Khushi stormed in-furious yet,beautiful , a metal spoon in one hand and her nose red from flaring anger matching the little one, "Arnavji! What did you do this time? Are you a five year old too? Why are you picking on our son again?"

Arnav raised his hands helplessly, "Khushi, I swear on your Devi Maiya-I wasn't bullying him. He made a mistake. I was just-explaining it to him. Now he's turning me into the villain."

"He did the same to me, Mamma!" the girl jumped in. "I told him nicely to call me Di, but he said he'd tell on me to you. So I pinched him and said, 'Take that!' And now he's tattling to you, too."