Dhadkan (Book 1 - Singhania Brothers)

Prologue

Arnav looked around in daze. His brothers were standing there emotionless doing whatever was asked of them. Arnav knew they had come for him. That didn't make him feel any better. All of them were standing there out of duty.

Only if things could have been different!

Arnav sighed. He wished he could walk away but he knew he couldn't. His heart wouldn't let him!

"Aakhri tarpan kon dega, beta?" The priest called out.

The brothers looked at each other. It was the boy's right.

Arnav looked at the boy who had hardly uttered anything since the moment they entered. He looked so crestfallen that all Arnav wanted was to embrace the boy but something held him back.

"Ayaansh" Arnav called out and boy looked up. "Come here."

Ayaansh walked up to Arnav with hesitant steps.

"Jaisa panditji kehte hai vaisa Karo." Arnav said and the boy slowly nodded his head.

Arnav felt a pang in his heart when he saw the dull and lifeless eyes of the boy. He must have cried himself to sleep the night before. Arnav closed his eyes. The kid was hardly fourteen. He didn't deserve it. Arnav wanted to reach out but there was hardly anything that could ease out the pain of losing your parents.

Ashok Singhania and Smriti Singhania had died in a car accident the night before. The family had reunited to pay their last respects. Aniket and Aryan shared no relationship with them but Smriti Singhania was Arnav's mother. And Arnav wasn't a person to run away from his responsibilities when time called for. He might have to many complaints from his mother but he couldn't hold himself back when he got the call regarding her death. She was his mother. His family.

Family!

Arnav wondered if he could still call the person who had given him birth, his family.

She might have given him birth but she couldn't really become a mother. Arnav was hardly ten when he had been...

Arnav's thought was broken as he felt the tug at his kurta. He blinked off his eyes. Some memories were too painful to be relieved. He looked at the boy.

The tears disturbed Arnav. The boy tugged at his heartstrings. His eyes held a wealth of emotions that troubled Arnav. The boy was too young to be going through all of this.

Ayaansh tugged at his kurta again. "Mujhe mere ghar ke andar kyu nhi jane de rhe?"

Arnav sighed. That was another problem he had to look into. Ashok Singhania was living a life built on debts and now that he was no longer alive, all his property including the house had been sealed by the authorities.

Arnav looked at the boy. How could he tell him that he no longer had a home?

Arnav composed himself and spoke to the boy. "Tum Jake pehle kuch kha lo. We'll talk later."

Ayaansh nodded his head and walked away. He knew his parents weren't coming back but he didn't know why weren't they letting him enter his own home. He was exhausted. All he wanted was to go to his room and shut the door to the outer world but even that was a luxury.

He looked back the people who had suddenly shown up at the doorstep after his parents were. He didn't know who they were neither did he have any interest to know. He looked at Arnav who was feeding Aryan. Ayaansh could hear what they were talking.

"Aru, thoda kha le, bacha." Arnav coaxed.

Aryan shook his head. "Yeh acha nhi hai, Bhaiya. Mujhe nhi khana."

Arnav sighed. "Acha, Ghar Jake Tera favourite pav bhaji bana dunga. Kha le, please."

That made Aryan smile. "Pakka?"

Arnav nodded and continued to feed Aryan.

Ayaansh's eyes filled up. It was a loving family. Something that he never had. Something that he could never have!

He walked away before he could hurt himself more by looking at them.

Aniket looked at his brother. He knew what his Bhaiya must be going through. Life had never been easy for Arnav Singhania.

"Kya socha hai aapne, Bhaiya?"

Arnav looked up. "We can't leave him alone, Ani. He has no one."

Aniket nodded. "Humare saath le chalte hai use, Bhaiya."

Arnav looked troubled.

Aniket walked closer and held his hands. "Jyada mat socho, Bhaiya. We can deal with everything once we're home."

Arnav nodded. His brother was right. He already had a lot on his plate. He couldn't dwell on unnecessary things at the moment.

"Ayaansh"

Ayaansh looked up to see Arnav standing in front of him. He hadn't realised when Arnav walked up to him.

"Ayaansh, I know this is going to be difficult but," Arnav gentled his voice. "You need to come with us to Mumbai."

Ayaansh was startled. He stood up agitated. "Kyu? Mera ghar toh yaha hai. Kon ho aap? Kyu le Jana chahte ho mujhe apne saath?"

"Kyuki tumhari Mumma meri bhi kuch lagti thi. I can't leave you here all alone, Ayaansh. Koi relative bhi nhi hai jiske saath tum reh sako. That leaves us with the only option."

Ayaansh wasn't surprised to heart that. He had guessed Arnav's relationship with his mother. He looked at Arnav. Arnav told him that his mother meant something to him but he didn't know if he meant anything to Arnav.

"Mai aapka kuch lagta hoon?"

Arnav was taken aback by the question. He wasn't expecting that so soon. He had no answer.

He held Ayaansh's hand. "Chalo. Ani aur Aru humara intezaar kar rhe hai."

Ayaansh let himself be guided away by Arnav but he was disheartened how Arnav didn't give him an answer. He blinked off the tears that rushed to his eyes. He would become a burden on someone. Again!

There was nothing that he could do about it. Ayaansh had no idea what his life was heading to. He could only wait and watch. The only thing he knew was his heart was beating but his heartbeats had died down long back.

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A/n

So, how was it?

I hope you guys like it.

Special mention to SwatiSandeep and Aarushiswa You guys have been inspiration. I started reading your stories when my sister literally forced me to and once I started I couldn't stop. I read from my sister's account but I finally decided to publish this on my own account. Thank you so much for bringing such amazing stories to us!

@mishti2011 for you!

My very first try at writing something. I really hope I haven't messed up.

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