The Addiction of Love

I

"I am home!" Seher screamed in joy as she entered the Khan Villa. The three daughter-in-laws of the khandaan, Almaas, Fauzia and Shaheen were sitting in the living room and chatting.

Seher threw her bag on the floor and jumped on the couch. She rested her head on Almaas' lap and laid down.

"Seher, take your dirty shoes off the sofa." Shaheen, Seher's mother, scolded her.

"Mama, I just came home after finishing the last exam of my last year of graduation. Can you atleast not scold me today?" Seher whined, but nonetheless shrugged off her shoes and let it fall on the floor.

Almaas kissed Seher's forehead and started running her fingers in her hair. Seher sighed in satisfaction and closed her eyes.

"How was the exam, chanda?" Fauzia asked her niece while popping some roasted dry fruits in her mouth. Seher, being the youngest, was the most loved and pampered child.

"Fine." Seher shrugged.

"Just fine?" Shaheen narrowed her eyes at Seher.

"Mama, please!" Seher whined and hid her face in Almaas' tummy. "I'll pass, and that is fine enough for me."

"Given the fact that you spent your entire yesterday on your phone with your best friend, I highly doubt you will pass." Shahid commented on entering the villa. With him was his twin brother, Sahil.

"Hey!" Seher gasped. "Zeenat and I were discussing the important topics for the exams."

"Yeah, sure." Sahil chuckled and both the boys slumped on the couch as well.

"You all can banter later on. Get up now and freshen up. I'll have lunch served." Almaas said.

Lunch was a noisy affair since the troublemakers couldn't keep their mouths shut for a second. Seher, Sahil and Shahid were individually very naughty, but when together, they could raise a hurricane.

After they had their tummies full, Seher went back to her bedroom. The theme of the room was mauve and white. The balcony attached to her room had a white swing and one wall was turned into a bookshelf to hold all her favorite novels. The view from the balcony was of the beautiful lawn. It was safe to say that her room was one of the best in the entire villa.

She changed into a pair of black leggings and a navy blue sweatshirt. Putting her chocolate brown hair into a messy bun, she pulled out her sketchbook from the shelf. She sat on the floor, spread her sketching pencils, eraser and book in front of her. Sighing, she started working.

An hour and half later, she was half way through the beautiful portrait of Benedict Cumberbatch. She stretched her hands in the air tiredly.

The door of her room opened with a bang, and she hurriedly tried to hide her sketchbook. But when she saw it was her twin cousins, she heaved a sigh in relief.

"Can't you knock?" She snapped at them.

"Can't you lock?" Sahil retorted.

Shahid sat on the floor beside Seher and picked up the sketchbook. "It is beautiful, kiddo."

She glared at Shahid. "I am not a kid anymore."

Sahil chuckled. "Yes, you are. You will always be a kiddo to us."

"Why don't you agree to put your work in some exhibition?" Shahid asked yet again.

"I don't know." Seher fidgeted with her pencil.

"When will you realise your own potential?" Sahil sighed.

Seher was in her early teenage years when she started doodling. Eventually, it turned into sketching. But being a very self-conscious and under confident girl, she never thought she was good enough. No one in her family even knew that she sketches because she was too shy to show her work to anyone. A few years ago, the twins had barged in her room and caught her in action, and that was the reason they knew. Ever since they were trying to convince her to showcase her work, and she was slowly warming up to that idea.

"Leave it." Sahil said, "Let's go and get ice cream."

Seher smiled brightly. She picked up all her stuff and put it away before the three of them made their way towards the garage.

By the time they came, Ahad and Zafar, the eldest sons of the khandaan had come back from the office. Two years ago, all three fathers decided to retire from work and hand the position to their sons. Ahad was the CEO of the Khan Enterprises, while Zafar was the CFO. Their company was one of the most influential in not only Mumbai, but in the entire country.

"Dado," Seher ran to her grandmother, Benazir, and hugged her. "We got you ice cream."

"Really?" Benazir's grinned and asked a servant to get a bowl and spoon.

But Fauzia stopped her. "Ammi, first you need to have your dinner."

"But.." Benazir started.

"No ifs and buts." Fauzia said and held her hand and made her walk to the dining room.

Benazir sat at the head of the table and watched her three sons, daughter-in-laws and grandchildren settle down in their respective seats.

"Where is Ahad?" Shaheen asked.

"Bhai got an important phone call." Zafar replied.

They all filled their plates with the dishes that were laid on the table. Seher and the twins were discussing a pizza party for tomorrow when Ahad entered the room in all his glory. They immediately shut up.

At his towering height of 6'1, he was a well-built man. In his casual black pathani kurta pyjama, his sleeves rolled up, his hair messy, he was a sight for sore eyes. He took his seat and his mother, Almaas, served him dinner.

He took a bite and then looked at Seher. "How was your exam?" He asked in his deep, rough voice.

"Umm," She nervously cleared her throat, "It was good."

"Really?" He raised his eyebrow in a sexy manner, but it just looked scary to Seher.

She nodded lightly and looked at Shahid for help.

He understood and piped in. "Yes, Ahad bhai, she did well today. And now her graduation is over, so we were just planning a pizza party for her tomorrow."

Seher smiled politely and was about to take a bite of her food, but her hands stopped midway at Ahad's words. "What have you thought about your MBA?"

She looked at Ahad. "What?"

"Your graduation is over, now you have your Masters to complete. CAT is in a few months, you should start preparing from tomorrow. And if you want to do it from a foreign university, let me know." Ahad effortlessly said.

Seher looked at him in horror. She was so happy about finally finishing college, and here Ahad wanted her to start studying again. She didn't want to do an MBA.

She again looked at Shahid and Sahil for help.

Sahil cleared his throat. "Umm, bhai, she just finished college. How about she takes a gap year?"

But Ahad paid no attention to what he said and asked, "You both are also done with your MBA. When are you joining the office?"

It was Sahil and Shahid's turn to be shocked. "Bhai, umm, about that.."

"Join the office from next Monday." Ahad said with finality in his tone.

The rest of the dinner continued to be normal, except for those three, who had lost their appetite.

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Sooo, what do you all think?

Also, with this story, let's start a question/answer round. I've been connected to a lot of you through my stories for so long now, and I'd like to know you better (if you allow me).

So, favorite cuisine?

Mine is Italian and Chinese. Now don't ask me to pick one cause I really can't! Choosing between chilly garlic noodles and pasta should be a crime.