Zindagi Se Kayi Fasle Hain ✨

Chapter 31

The silence in the living room was almost eerie. For the first time in years, Sidharth found himself sitting stiffly across from his father, who was studying him with that familiar, piercing gaze. The kind that didn’t need words to make someone squirm. His mother, sitting beside him, looked curious but calm, letting the situation unfold.

Sidharth however couldn’t hold eye contact. He stared at the vase, the painting on the wall, the floor or anywhere but his father’s face.

She emerged from the kitchen carrying a tray with two glasses of water, her steps quiet but confident. Her heart was pounding in her chest yet her expression was composed. She could feel the tension in the air like a curtain someone forgot to pull back.

She bent slightly and placed the glasses in front of them, then stepped back politely, folding her hands in front of her.

"Mai dobara nahi puchne wala." Dad asked Mom after a long pause, his voice steady but laced with judgment.

"Beta, milwa hume!" Mom went closer to her son, nudging him to talk.

Sidharth knew the moment had come, he was just too surprised to speak. His throat dried up but he forced the words out.

"Yeh Shehnaaz hai." he said, motioning toward her gently.

"Namaste." Shehnaaz greeted, pressing her palms together with a small, warm smile.

She had expected a frosty reception especially from the father. But she also knew first impressions mattered and she would not let this one slip, no matter how awkward the circumstances.

"We like each other." she added, meeting their gaze without hesitation.

There was another pause.

"Acha?" his mother finally smiled, raising her eyebrows in surprise.

"Sidharth ne kabhi bataya hi nahi hume." She glanced at her son with a teasing annoyance before her eyes shifted back to Shehnaaz, subtly inspecting her.

A simple cotton top, loose fitted pants, no make up, hair slightly damp and lazily tied. Nothing fancy.

Shehnaaz offered a shy smile, silently cursing the fact that she'd slept over in her most boring clothes. Thankfully, the air conditioning had forced her out of her usual tiny shorts, one small win in an otherwise embarrassing situation.

"Idhar aao, baitho jao." Mom said softly, patting the space next to her.

"Hanji aunty." Shehnaaz replied and walked over, sitting down beside her.

"Aapke ghar pe pata hai ki aap Sidharth ke ghar ruki hai?" Out of nowhere, Dad asked.

The words hit the room like a cold gust of wind. Mom opened her mouth to say something but Sidharth jumped in before she could.

"Dad!" he said, frowning.

"Uske parents jaante hai mujhe. Jaisa aap soch rahe hai, vaisa kuch bhi nahi hai." He added quickly.

"Aur mai kya soch raha hu?" Dad shot back, tone still cold but with a hint of sarcasm.

Father and son locked eyes. There was a challenge in that stare tagged along with years of disagreement, of not seeing eye to eye and all of that boiling under the surface of this one moment.

Shehnaaz could feel it, the heavy history between them.

"I was planning to introduce Shehnaaz to you both, had been thinking about it for a while." Sidharth said, his voice low but firm.

"Thinking?" his mother scoffed.

"Agar maine phone nahi kiya hota toh humara milna bhi nahi hota Shehnaaz se." She chuckled trying to loosen the tension.