Shape of the Sun

No rest at ease

Choti fisted her hands as she walked up the staircase. She was angry, she was sad, and so the tears streaming down her face were appropriate for this situation. It was enough to convince Dadda of the pain she was going through.

But whether that pain was genuine or not, she didn't dare to ask. She didn't want to know what it meant. All she was to do for now was to tell Dadda and wait for him to act. However, a trip to his room discovered it was empty, as was mumma's. Where could they be at this time?

As the mansion was large enough, it took Choti a minute to walk to the wing where Rajkumar's room was and the small gathering in front of his door made her heart drop to her stomach.

Was everything alright with Raj?

She quickened her steps and arrived there, the staff giving way for her. As soon as Nirali saw her, it was like she had grasped a lifeline.

"Choti, thank goodness you are here."

Choti carelessly patted her hand as a means of comfort even though her own mind was chaotic, and she turned to her father who was listlessly pacing in front of the door.

"Dadda, can you tell me what in the world is going on?"

Nirali scoffed at her question.

"He was the one that caused your brother to lose consciousness. If only he wasn't talking about his bastard outside!"

In an agitated state of mind, Nirali spilled her frustration, despite some staff being there. The staff were pretending to be deaf and dumb to what they heard. Their bosses' personal matters were not something they dared to meddle in. However, their diligence didn't pay well. It was Choti's turn to be shocked.

"What?! Brother fell unconscious?!" she turned to Bhairav, "Wow, Dadda. Just wow. You are just full of so many surprises."

Bhairav took one look at his daughter and didn't scold her. But even though he appeared calm, his heart was chaotic, and he needed to vent his regret somewhere else. When he spoke up, his voice was cool, piercing the silence that developed after Choti's lashing out at him.

"I called you all here to ask why you all went deaf today. How many times did I yell for a doctor or for someone to arrive?"

Birjesh answered. "Five times, sir."

Choti was furious now as she turned to the staff.

"What, five times?! Have you all gone crazy?!"

"Choti..."

"No, dadda." she brushed his hand off, "It's not okay. If my brother had died today, none of you should even think of leaving this house alive! All of you are a bunch of useless things!" she grabbed the nearest man by the collar, "I won't spare any of you!"

Nirali pulled her back at this point.

"Choti, calm down. It's not worth wasting your time here when Raj is still in there, okay?" she said, hugging her daughter who was now sobbing.

Bhairav, on seeing that she had backed down, motioned to a guard.

"Drag all these trash out of my house and don't let them take anything away with them. They are all fired." he then turned to Ritesh, "Ritesh."

"Sir."

"I am giving you one last chance because your father had been my first steward before he died. There will not be a second time."

"Yes, sir. Thank you sir."

"Go out tomorrow and find a new batch of workers to hire. For tonight and tomorrow morning, personally man the kitchen, especially Raju's meals."

"Yes, sir."

The rest unlucky ones pleaded but it all fell on deaf ears as they were dragged out of the mansion. They would forever regret losing the Reddy's monthly salaries, which were much higher than their peers working in other homes.

At this time, the doctor came out of the room, and the three Reddy members rushed to him. Bhairav asked first.

"How is Raju?"

"Master Rajkumar is alright. He has regained consciousness. But he needs some food. Something light."

Nirali signaled to Ritesh to go and get some food according to the doctor's specifications and then turned to ask the doctor.

"Can we go in and see him?"

"No, I don't advise that. He needs adequate rest."

Bhairav thanked him,

"Thank you so much, doctor. Ritesh?" he looked around for the steward.

"I had sent him to bring Rajkumar some food." Nirali motioned to the doctor, "I will send him out myself since I even need to inquire more about what he should and shouldn't eat till he fully recovers."

Choti waited until her mother and the doctor had gone down the staircase before scolding her father.

"Dadda, don't think I don't blame you for this. It seems your bastard means more than I and Raj to you!"

"Choti." Raj's tired voice came from inside the room, "Stop that and come in."

Bhairav tried to open the door, excited to hear his son's voice but Choti blocked the handle with her body.

"Dadda, Raj doesn't need to see you right now. Who knows if you will trigger my dear brother again?"

"Choti."

But she still decided to get the last word in despite Raj trying to intervene.

"We legitimate children are so pitiful, dadda. Your son is getting bullied by your bastard, and me," she wiped her tears, "just had to see my husband cheat on me. How darn sad."

At her latter comment, Bhairav's calm expression changed into one of a mix of surprise and anger, but before he could ask any more from her, Choti stepped into Rajkumar's room and closed the door behind her.

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Two children watched all that happened from afar. One was crying miserably, and the other was petting her, even though, his hands were shaking.

Mahesh felt like his world was falling apart when his sister ran into the room they shared in the Reddy mansion, wailing bitterly. It took a lot of coaxing to get what was bothering her out. Immediately, he had stumbled on his feet, his sister in tow, to their uncle Raj's room. If there was anyone that could help them talk to mom, it was him.

But it seemed that Uncle Raj was sick, from what he and Shruti heard from the adults, hidden behind a pillar where they wouldn't be caught. The unease in Mahesh's chest grew. He was upset because he knew Mommy was upset.

Even though he and Shruti were just children, they had a basic understanding of some things. When daddy was still with their mom, they shared a room. And when their new mommy came, they also shared a room. So why was daddy now sharing a room with another woman? With the little he knew, there was only one answer he could come up with.

But it was Shruti that voiced it for him as she sobbed.

"D-daddy is bad. I-I don't want a new mommy. I-I like this mommy. Boohoo!" she cried even more at the end.

Mahesh felt the same way too. They liked their stepmother better than their real one because she loved them better than theirs did. Ever since she came when he was three, dad didn't scold him anymore and he and Shruti never had to go hungry like they did when their real mom was around. So why did daddy want to bring a new mommy? Didn't he care for them? Didn't he care about their younger sister, Kevina?

He didn't know when he started to sob alongside his sister. They tried stifling it to avoid others hearing them. In the end, they were still just heartbroken children.