Ruhaaniyat

01 | Morning Mayhem

The smell of freshly brewed coffee hung in the air, mingling with the chaotic sounds of clattering dishes and half-finished conversations echoing through the kitchen. Kairavi stood by the counter, eyes skimming through the latest updates on her phone, her hair still damp from the shower. The screen was filled with back-to-back appointments for the day—she had three clients with anxiety disorders and one particularly tricky case involving childhood trauma. Her fingers twitched slightly, wanting to text Shivaansh and ask if he had any leads on the research project she'd been pouring herself into.

"Can someone please tell me why all my shirts are missing?" Aashana called from down the hall, poking her head out of her room, her perfectly curated curls in disarray. "I swear, I had a whole rack laid out last night!"

Kairavi smiled into her coffee cup, leaning back against the counter. "Check the laundry—again. It's probably hiding between Karn's security jackets."

"My jackets are not the reason the shirts are missing, Aashu," Karn muttered, walking into the kitchen with an air of distraction. He was already dressed in his usual black shirt and jacket, his phone glued to his ear as he barked orders about some firewall breach. His voice dropped suddenly, softer now as he paused, noticing Myra quietly eating breakfast. "Did you get enough sleep, Myra? You look exhausted."

She waved him off, nibbling on toast, eyes barely open as she flipped through her anatomy textbook. "Med school life, what do you think? If I can get through the day without collapsing on someone's surgery table, it'll be a win."

"Or without burning yourself out," Ved added, walking into the room with a quick glance in Myra's direction. "You need more than three hours of sleep, Myra. You can't keep running on caffeine and stubbornness."

"Says the guy who hasn't slept in two days," Myra shot back with a grin, looking up at him briefly. Ved was already seated next to Karn, the two of them lost in some conversation about a new cybersecurity project. Something about a high-profile client who needed extra protection—one Ved and Karn had both agreed to take on because, well, no one else could handle it.

"Where's Shivaansh?" Kairavi asked, half-distracted as she scrolled through her emails, her eyes flicking up to search for him.

"Running late," Aashana said, breezing past everyone with her usual effortless grace, now fully dressed in one of her own designs. "He's probably dealing with that new deal... or the other stuff he never talks about."

Kairavi knew exactly what Aashana meant by "the other stuff." The side of Shivaansh that wasn't the businessman, the side no one else saw. The one he kept hidden, but Kairavi knew better. The quiet phone calls late at night, the tension in his shoulders when he thought no one was watching—he was doing everything he could to protect them, and yet there was a part of him that was always at war with himself.

Just then, Shivaansh strolled in, his presence commanding without needing to say a word. His tie was undone, a rare sight, and he looked like he had been up for hours already. He gave Kairavi a quick, knowing glance before sitting at the head of the table, grabbing the coffee cup that she'd set aside for him without even asking.

"Any major crises this morning?" he asked, though his eyes lingered on Kairavi a little longer than necessary.

"Only Aashana's missing shirts, Ved's lack of sleep, and Myra's caffeine overdose," Kairavi teased, setting her phone down.

"Nothing we can't handle," Shivaansh murmured, leaning back in his chair, but there was a weight behind his words—something that hinted at the darker, more dangerous world he'd been navigating to keep this fragile balance in place.

Aashana appeared by Ved's side, playfully nudging him. "You know, you'd look good in one of my new designs. How about it?"

Ved laughed softly, shaking his head. "As long as you're not making me wear bright colors. Cybersecurity guys need to blend into the shadows, not light up like a neon sign."

Karn smirked, still on his phone. "Speaking of shadows, Ved, we need to check the new encryptions for today. I have a feeling someone's going to try to test us again."

Kairavi watched them all interact, the familiarity and ease in their banter a reminder of how far they'd come. From the terrified children running through tunnels, to this—this life they'd somehow managed to build together.

But beneath the surface, she knew they were all still carrying the weight of what had happened. The quiet glances between Karn and Myra, the way Aashana lingered a little too long near Ved, the unspoken understanding between her and Shivaansh—they all carried their own scars. Yet, they moved forward, bound by something deeper than love: survival, loyalty, and the unbreakable ties of family.

Kairavi caught Shivaansh's gaze once again, a silent conversation passing between them. She didn't need to ask if everything was alright. She knew the answer. But she also knew that as long as they were together, they'd handle whatever came next.

"Let's get through the day first," she whispered to herself, the chaos of the morning routine slowly calming as they all drifted into their own worlds, their shared future ever unfolding.