Locke and Key

12

"Arjun ?"

Arjun froze at hearing the familiar voice behind him. He stood up from adjusting Aryan in his stroller and turned to find himself face-to-face with Shrashti Pawar, his ex-girlfriend, and all-around viper.

"Hello, Shrashti," he greeted her coolly.

She glanced down at the four-month-old baby. "So, this is your life now, huh? Married with a baby? Things certainly have changed."

"Perhaps," he shrugged, "but unlike the man I was when you knew me, I'm happy."

Before she could respond, Shruti joined them. "Sunny, is he sleeping yet?"

"He is," Arjun confirmed. "Fell asleep just now while we were looking at pasta."

"Oh, good," she breathed, looking at Shrashti. "Hello."

"By the way, Arjun how come I never got to call you by your pet name? You used to say u hated someone calling you by your pet name" asked Shrashti

"Well, you know that my nickname is reserved just for family" " So, you are telling me she was family when Arohi and Neil were getting married?"

"She was included in my family that day and still holds her position. You see I was investing my time and energy in the wrong person until she came along. I recognized her as family therefore she has the right to call me by my pet name in front of the whole world"

"Shruti, this is Shrashti Pawar," Arjun introduced. "Shrashti, this is Shruti Punj, my wife."

Recognizing the name, Shruti instinctively leaned into Arjun. "It's nice to meet you."

"Mm-hmm," Shrashti smirked. "Your son is beautiful."

"Thank you," Shruti beamed. "I don't mean to be rude, but Sunny, Shanaya, and Rishabh are expecting us soon. We should get going."

"Of course," he agreed. "Shrashti," he nodded curtly before pushing Aryan's stroller down the grocery aisle and towards the checkout.

"So, that was her, huh?" Shruti mused as he placed their items onto the conveyor. "Pretty much exactly what I pictured."

"What's that?" he wondered. "Poison in a leather skirt?"

"No," she denied. "Calculating and cold. She thought she was better than us."

"She isn't," Arjun assured her. "She might think she leads a magnificent life, but deep down, she's miserable. We've been apart for more than nine years and I can still see that."

"I love you," she smiled.

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I love you, too."

Twenty minutes later, they made their way into Shanaya and Rishabh's backyard for the barbecue they were hosting to celebrate Shanaya's twenty-sixth birthday. Everyone else had already arrived, but because of the baby, Shruti and Arjun were often given leeway on punctuality.

"Sorry we're late," Shruti apologized to Shanaya. "We got caught up in the market. I met Shrashti."

Shanaya gasped. "What?!"

"She was there," Shruti explained. "Arjun and Aryan were looking at pasta while I went in search of a good wine, and when I found them, she was standing next to him, eyeing my baby like he was a bug on her shoe."

"Still a bitch then," Shanaya murmured. "I didn't much like Arohi when she first started seeing Neil, but that was just me being the bratty younger sister then. I hated Shrashti because she was garbage and treated Arjun like dirt. It was infuriating to see. He was still kind of a mess when you first started."