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When Ayaansh came back from Rihaan's house, he found Ashi standing in the hall. He smiled and rushed to hug her from back.
"Bhabhi!"
Ashi instantly turned to him with a smile on her face. "Aa gya tu?"
"Bhabhi," Ayaansh's expressions changed when he saw the tear drop shining in the corner of Ashi's eyes. "Aap ro rhi ho?"
"Nhi, bachcha!" Ashi quickly wiped away her eyes and smiled. "Bas aise hi..."
"Kya hua, Bhabhi..." Ayaansh stopped when his gaze fell on what Ashi was staring at, the shrine like wall, their family wall, full of contagious smiles and faces radiating happiness.
The picture right in front of him was the answer to his question, the reason behind tears in Ashi's eyes. Atharva's smiling face was staring back at him.
His heart went numb for a moment. It was inexplicably strange how he could feel the pain of demise of someone whom he had hardly ever known. The unknown deceased stirred more emotions in his heart than his own parents'. The thought of his parents only carried emptiness alongside it for Ayaansh. He felt neither grief nor anything else about it. He just felt hollow whenever he thought about his parents. If not for his family, he would have lost himself in those unknown arrays of emptiness long back!
He looked back at his Bhabhi.
The love in her eyes that he could see for himself outshone her own pain and grief. In that moment, Ayaansh felt paralysed with love and respect for the woman in front of him.
How could she blink away her tears and smile for their sake—and the smile was never the one that was forced out of obligation, her smile was the one that filled their hearts with joy—how could she do that just like it was the most normal thing to do?
Looking back, before meeting Ashi, he had lost his mother. But in his heart, he had found a mother after meeting Ashi. Ashi had taken the place in his heart and his life that his mother could never take. She had made him feel something that no one else had. It hurt him to even refer to anyone else as his mother other than Ashi. She was the only one who deserved that honorific. He will always remember the words that his Bhaiya had told him once.
Khoon ke rishte apne hote honge, par dil aur dhadkan se jude rishte sachche hote hai!
Nothing could make him believe otherwise. Ashi had always known Aryan, probably even loved him like her own child. She didn't have to do the same for him, but she chose to! She showered him with every ounce of love and affection she had. And he could never repay her for that!
"Kahan kho gya, bachcha?" Ashi's soft voice broke his trail of thoughts and he looked back at Ashi, shaking his head. "Kuch nhi, Bhabhi."
Ashi smiled. "Tu fresh hoke aa ja. Mai dinner laga deti hoon!"
Ayaansh nodded with a smile as Ashi walked away from there. She was startled when Ayaansh came back and hugged her tightly. She hugged him back. "Ayu?"
"I love you, Bhabhi!" Ayaansh whispered softly against her hair, showered in the bliss of her motherly love. "I love you so much!"
"I love you too, bachcha!" Ashi cupped his face and kissed his forehead with a smile. Her heart warmed up every time he said those words to her just like it had for the first time.
"Yeh dinner ki plate kiske liye?"
"Aru aur Arnav ke liye."
"Niche nhi aayenge woh?"
"Aru pura din chidha hua tha akela tha toh, phir sham ko so gya. Tere Bhaiya gye hai usi ke paas. Ani aaya nhi ab tak toh maine socha room me bhej deti hoon dinner. Arnav khila denge toh uska mood thik ho jayega." She smiled at him.
Ayaansh nodded and then took the plate from her hands. "Mai le jata hoon."
Ashi smiled to herself as Ayaansh gave her a sound kiss on her cheeks and left. In a way, Ayaansh was just like Arnav, who only knew to spread love to others. The only difference was, something that she was and would always be grateful for, Ayaansh had gotten the chance of lowering his defenses and experience the beauty of being loved by life and Arnav had, instead, only strengthened his guards to protect his family, to protect the love they had, to become their saviour for life! She wished with her whole heart and knew for a fact that her child will not ever go through the same! She will make sure of it!
She gave another glance to her father's smiling face. She wished he was in peace, he was happy wherever he was. She wished he was proud of his little girl who used to pester him to decorate her doll house with her once. She wished he was proud of the woman she had become, who was decorating her own home with the flowers blooming under love and their togetherness!
Tears glistened in her eyes—a constant reminder of what she had lost—but she wore an unwavering smile on her face, reminding herself of what she had, and will always have!
"Bhabhi?"
Ashi blinked her eyes and found Aniket looking at her with concern. She almost smiled but then remembered Aniket hadn't been home since last night. And then she glared at him.
"Kahan the tum raat bhar?" Ashi demanded.
"Thik ho aap?" Aniket ignored her glare and approached her.
She nodded.
Aniket was unconvinced. Ashi noticed his concerned look and sighed. She smiled slightly to assure him. "Mai thik hoon, Ani. Bas papa ki yaad aa gyi..."
There was a slight shake in her voice and she was immediately engulfed in warm hug. Aniket held her in his embrace securely. Ashi let herself take comfort for a while before she wiped away her tears and smiled looking at him.
"Mai thik hoon, Ani.."
"We all miss Chachu, Bhabhi. But we also know that he is always there with us, hai na?"
Ashi's eyes misted as she nodded with a smile. That was a promise she had made to her father on his 50th birthday. He wanted her to look at him with a smiling face always, even when she was looking at him through his frame. A frame adorned with garland! The words spoken were drenched in Ashi's tears but Atharva always knew his daughter never broke promises, with or without tears!
"Kuch khaya?" Ashi asked once she was pulled back from Aniket.
Aniket scratched the back of his head, thinking of coming up with a convincing answer, lost his own battle and chose to stay silent.
Ashi shot him a glare and walked towards the kitchen. Accepting defeat without a word, Aniket sat down on the chair. He was exhausted. He had been caught up in a case study whole night and was mentally drained out due to previous day's happenings.
"Freshen up, Ani. Kaafi thake hue lag rhe ho!"
"Haan, Bhabhi, just a little tired." Aniket looked at her with smile.
"Mr. Oberoi ko lekar pareshan ho?" Ashi asked.
Aniket sighed. "I don't trust that man, Bhabhi. Pata nhi Bhaiya ne kya kiya..."
"You don't trust him, okay." Ashi cut him off. "You trust Arnav, right?"
"Aap janti ho na Bhaiya aur unke beech kya baat hui?" Aniket probed.
Ashi chose not to answer.
Aniket sighed. She could be as stubborn as his Bhaiya when situation called for. He stood up and walked up to her.
"I trust Bhaiya with my life, Bhabhi. I just didn't want him to go to Mr. Oberoi because of me..."
"Kyun? Taaki unhe pata na chale Mr. Oberoi ki asli problem kya hai?" Ashi asked sharply.
Aniket lowered his gaze. He had a hunch they knew. He had not recieved any calls or texts from Arnav even after he hadn't returned home after last evening.
Mr. Oberoi had been concerned about Aniket not being a Singhania. According to him, he didn't want his daughter to marry someone who was a puppet in his elder brother's hands in his words. He had asked Aniket to move out of Singhania Mansion and live seperately if he wanted to marry Shivangi. Aniket had been too furious to even think about that meeting. He had never broached the topic again. Not even with Shivangi!
"Why didn't you tell Arnav, Ani?"
"There was nothing to tell, Bhabhi." Aniket straightened up.
Ashi sighed and gentled her voice. "Ani, I know you respect Arnav a lot. Par ek baar unse baat kar leta toh pehle hi..."
"There was nothing to talk, Bhabhi." Aniket repeated himself.
"Yeah, tell that to Arnav." Ashi replied drily.
Aniket squirmed back meekly. She always knew how to shut them up.
Ayaansh hurried towards the room but stilled at the door itself as he saw the beautiful sight in front of his eyes. Aryan was curled up on the bed with his head in Arnav's lap, and his arms circled around Arnav, his palms holding the hem of Arnav's kurta. He was telling Arnav something about his friends, without looking at Arnav.
It almost looked like Arnav had fallen asleep. Though he was still caressing Aryan's hair, his one arm wrapped around Aryan like a warm blanket of feather, his eyes were closed and a peaceful smile lingered on his face as he listened to Aryan's talks.
After admiring them for a minute from the doorstep itself, Ayaansh started feeling the urge to be a part of that beautiful and serene frame. On any other day, he would have hated to disturb his brothers' moment but the sudden desire was too strong to resist.
He stepped inside, kept the tray of food down and for a second, just stood there, contemplating what to do. Aryan's back was towards him so neither Arnav nor Aryan had seen him yet. He took a deep breath, and then smiling softly, very softly to himself, turned around to leave quietly.
"Ayu," Arnav called back at the same moment.
"Aap so nhi rhi the?" Ayaansh's eyes widened a bit as he asked the question more to himself than Arnav, a little embarassed.
Arnav shook his head as he freed himself from Aryan's grip and stood up. He hadn't been sleeping. He had come to wake Aru up but Aru had insisted him to sit with him for a few more minutes. He looked at Ayaansh who was scratching his neck.
He looked at Arnav and then looked away when he saw Arnav staring back at him. He looked so cute with those lost, flushed out expressions that Arnav couldn't help but spread out his arms for him.
"Aa ja!" Arnav offered with a warm smile, to his little brother, to his other child.
A heartful smile made its way to Ayaansh's lips as he hastened towards Arnav, and stumbled a little just before Arnav held him securely.
"Kya kar rha hai, Ayu! Aaram se nhi chal sakta?" Arnav scolded, glaring at him.
The glare was apparently wasted as Ayaansh only blinked his eyes at Arnav, and pressed himself to his chest.
"Abhi gir jata toh lag jati na?" Arnav chided again, his hands wrapping themselves around Ayaansh, making the scolding as futile as it could be.
There was no response from Ayaansh's side. Sighing, Arnav shrugged away the lecture and let Ayaansh stay for as long as he desired. With his siblings, he had learnt to be the last one to pull back from a hug.
There were nights when a starved Aniket would just come and bury himself in his embrace, not willing to come out, as if the embrace was going to make his stomach full. Arnav had never had the heart to refuse him the only comfort he could provide him with.
There were days when Aryan would come back from school, crying and fretting how someone had called him an orphan. He would cling to Arnav for his dear life till he was reassured that no one, absolutely no one or no darkness could even touch him within that protective heaven.
In a way, they healed their broken hearts and only dreamt dreams in his embrace. His embrace soothed their fears and filled them with profound hope. It was a daunting realisation for Arnav but over the years, he had learnt to how to share their pain, making it as his own.
Ayaansh was grateful. The way his Bhaiya was holding him made him feel secure. It stirred up the warm clouds inside his chest and made him feel the roots of tenderness Arnav's touch held. It gave him the assurance that these arms would always remain wide open to shelter him!
His eyes were tearing up involuntarily. He blinked off the tears with a smile. After all these years, he finally felt home. May be, home was nothing but two arms holding you tight and not letting go even when you're falling apart!
"Dinner Kiya?" Arnav asked after a while. He could feel the shift of emotions in Ayaansh.
Ayaansh pulled back and shook his head. "Bhabhi ne aapka aur Aru ka dinner bheja tha!"
"Finally! Kisi ko toh mera khayal aaya!"
Arnav looked back at Aryan who was now sitting up on the bed, with his both hands under his chin and looking at them with slight indignation. He looked like an adorable little child, whose patience had worn off.
"Correct. No one loves you, Aru!" Ayaansh teased.
"Haww, apne chhote masoom se Bhai ko aisi baatein kehte aapko sharam nhi aati?" Aryan demanded with a raised brow.
"Masoom kaun? Tere alawa aur koi chhota bhai hai mera?" Ayaansh asked in mock excitement.
Aryan's jaw dropped. He immediately turned to Arnav with offended glare. "Dekho, Bhaiya, sab mujhe pareshan karte hai."
"Haan, Bhaiya, aur kaam hi kya hai kisi ko. Pure din humlog isko pareshan karne ki planning hi toh karte hai, right?"
"Bhaiya..."
"Timeout, boys!" Arnav intervened before the fight broke out. Those two could weave a topic out of thin air to pick up a fight off late. Arnav was getting a fair idea of how next few years were going to keep them on their toes.
"Aap daanto Bhai ko!" Aryan demanded.
Ayaansh immediately looked at him with his innocent eyes.
"Khana hai ya mai chala jau?"
That shut them up effectively. None of them left a chance to get pampered by their Bhaiya. Arnav smiled and sat down with them. He looked up at the door in anticipation.
"Bhaiyu ghar nhi aaye hai Bhabhi ne kaha." Ayaansh answered his unasked question, as he followed his gaze.
"Bhaiyu bhi na! Do din me do ghante ghar par rehte hai aajkal." Aryan complained.
Ayaansh echoed that but didn't voice out.
"Achchhe se daant lagana aap Bhaiyu ko. He needs to rest, Bhaiya." Aryan said, with a mixture of glee and annoyance.
"Tere Bhaiyu ko daantne jaunga toh sabse pehle tu hi aayega use bachane!" Arnav put a morsel in his mouth to shut him up. "Chup chap kha!"
Aryan and Ayaansh shared a knowing smile. Their Bhaiya was well versed with their every antic.
"Mai niche ja kar kha lunga, Bhaiya!" Ayaansh said, when Arnav offered him a morsel.
"There is enough for two people, Ayu. Kha le!" Arnav fed him without giving a chance to protest.
After they were done with their dinner, Arnav got up but Ayaansh held his hands. "Aapne toh khaya hi nhi, Bhaiya. Aapka dinner la du yaha?"
"Nhi, bachcha, mai khud le lunga." Arnav smiled and ruffled their hairs before walking out.
Arnav came to the kitchen to ask Ashi about her dinner when he saw her laughing with Aniket. He sighed in relief. He made a mental note to give his brother a good lecture on the thesis of work life balance.
"Ashi?"
Both of them turned to him. Arnav ignored Aniket's apologetic look and looked at Ashi. "Dinner Kiya tumne?"
Ashi nodded. She very well knew they didn't need one more starved person in their house.
"Aapne kiya?" Aniket asked as he took the plate from Arnav's hands to keep them in the sink.
Arnav fixated his gaze pointedly on Aniket.
"Chalo saath me karte hai." Aniket said quickly. Anything to avoid the lecture!
Ashi shook her head at them and walked out, leaving the brothers on their own. The brothers sat down on the dining table and started serving themselves the dinner. They ate in comfortable silence. No one spoke anything untill they had completed their dinner.
Once they were done, Arnav got up. Aniket stopped him by holding his wrist. "Bhaiya!"
Arnav looked at him.
Aniket got up and hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Bhaiya!" His voice became heavy with the weight of emotions.
Even against his own wishes, Arnav's anger melted away in the blink of an eyes. He patted Aniket's back gently. Every single time Aniket held onto him like he was doing then, Arnav was reminded of the fifteen year old Aniket. The one who just didn't know how to stay away from him. Things had changed after Aryan came in their lives.
On some days like these, Arnav missed the Aniket who demanded his undivided attention. Aniket still made sure to have his share of love but he had made it his second nature to share that love.
"Mr. Oberoi ne aapse kuch..." Aniket began.
"We decided not to talk about it, Aniket." Arnav cut him off. "Jo baat honi thi ho gyi. Woh iss rishte ke liye raazi hai, that's enough for us. Let's not drag the matter."
Aniket sighed in defeat.
"Kal raat ghar kyun nhi aaya tha tu?" Arnav asked with a glare.
"Case..."
"You were fighting a case at midnight?" Arnav folded his arms across his chest.
"Bhaiya, kaam tha yaar aap.."
"Kaam aap mujhe mat sikhaiye, Aniket Ji. Aisa konsa kaam hai Jo ghar aa kar nhi ho sakta? Aadhi raat ko court me case toh chal nhi raha hoga?"
"Office..."
"You still work under me at office, Aniket. Whom are you fooling?" Arnav reprimanded. "You'll come back home every night from today. I don't want to discuss this again, clear?"
Aniket gulped. "crystal."
"Chal jake rest kar le." Arnav smiled seeing his expressions.
Aniket nodded but hugged Arnav again on impulse. He didn't know why he was feeling so agitated. He wanted to be at peace and Arnav's embrace never failed to calm his restless heart.
Arnav ran a chaste hand through his hair. "Tu khush hai na, bachcha?"
Aniket only deepened the hug.
That was all the answer Arnav needed from him brother!
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A/n
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Love,
Muskan