Silver Linings

Unease

AN - I am writing this story from multiple POV's to highlight what is happening on the day of the wedding. hope the jumps in timeline are clear and not confusing.

Enjoy :)

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Akash paced around the pool area, he was sent away from the hall because, according to his mom, it was bad luck to see the bride before the ceremony. He shook his head "abhi thodi der pehle tho sab Di ki kamre mei the, tab maa ko yeh yaad nahi aayi kya?" (Didn't this occur to mom when, just a few moments ago, we were all together in Di's room) he sighed, his mother can be so dramatic at times. He looked into the hall through the glass windows and observed the happenings... he could feel his anxiety rise again... he felt this way when he was in Di's room... something was just not sitting right with him.. the thought back to the happenings of the day...

First shock came when the family learnt about Anjali Di's brush with death, she had been in an accident on the way to the temple, from the way she described it, he was surprised but very thankful that she got away with just a slight head wound. "Sab baghwan ki kripa hai" (Its all the mercy of God) his Daadi had said, and they all agreed.

He had seen how Payal and her family got all worried, and even though she was dressed in her bridal attire, Payal didn't shy away from helping his Di, it warmed his heart. He had noticed that his Jeejaji was missing from the scene. Everyone else was there... well not everyone...

Bhai and Khushiji were missing as well... those two must be having their usual banter somewhere he guessed, he had noticed that his Bhai had started paying a little more attention to Khushiji, a little more and much different than he usually did during the days she worked for them... earlier it was down right rude and nasty, now it had become warm... friendly even... bordering on being flirty... wonder what that was about...

Daadi had asked him to call Arnav, and his calls went unanswered. Daadi had tried from her phone as well which went unanswered as well. She then asked Di to call "aap karengi tho Chote ignore naahi karenge" (If you call, Chote won't ignore) but again the calls went unanswered and Daadi started to worry, even he felt worried because Bhai never misses Di's calls... but Di seemed unfazed... she even had a slight smile on her face... as if she knew where he was?

The doctor had called, and Di wanted privacy to talk to her, so everyone excused themselves, and left the room, when he was about to climb up, he saw Khushiji dashing down the stairs, he almost called out to her to ask if she knew where Bhai was.. but she seemed to be in a hurry and almost unaware of anything happening around her, so he let it be. He climbed up three steps at a time and walked towards his room, he saw his Jeejaji descending down the stairs from the terrace... Akash stopped short of entering his room, there was a weird look in his Jeejaji's eyes.

The uneasy feeling had settled on him then... he couldn't understand why though... before he could delve into his feelings NK had come and literally pounced on him "Akaash... tum abhi tak tayyaar nahi hue... very bad! come on lets get you dressed up" (Akaash... you still haven't gotten dressed?? )Akash groaned and followed NK, his uneasiness forgotten for the time being. Bhai.. aap kahan gaye? mujhe iss NK se sirf aap hi bacha sakte hai, (Bhai.. where are you?? only you can save me from this NK fellow) with these thoughts, Akash tried calling Arnav again, this time his call was answered, before he could get a word in, he heard Arnav "Akash I am on my way" and the line went dead.

By the time he had dressed up, HP had come to the room to announce that Di had called everyone to her room, He and NK quickly made their way to Di's room. He saw Jeejaji seated next to Di, fussing over her like he usually did, but every few seconds, his face showed... anger? the uneasiness returned again.. but the room had started to fill up with everyone, his eyes fell on Payal and he slowly made his way to stand closer to her, his uneasiness forgotten once again.

"Ka hua Anjali Bitiya?" (What's the matter Anjali) he heard his mother ask... His Di smiled, she had an unusual glow in her eyes, "rukiye Maamiji, sab ko aane do" (Wait Maamiji... let everyone come) just as she finished her sentence, Buaji and Amma had entered, followed by Bhai and Khushiji on his heels. Khushiji had panicked as soon as her eyes fell on Di, she almost rushed to the bedside, but abruptly stopped. Akash was trying to understand what was happening, he heard his Bhai question Di and then Di had given her news, Akash felt elated, he heard his mother squeal with delight and he turned towards Payal with a wide smile on his face, this day couldn't get better, he was about to be married to the love of his life, and to get such good news right now...

Instead of happiness, he saw a look of absolute horror in his Payal's eyes, she had managed to quickly recover, but he could see, she was struggling to keep the smile on her face. She kept glancing towards her mother, who looked even more horrified. That was when he noticed, everyone in her family had a similar look of shock and horror. Babuji had been staring at his Jeejaji with an unreadable expression on his face.

If all that wasn't enough to raise his anxiety, the look on his Jeejaji's face just made everything worse. He didn't look happy at all. He had a smile, but it didn't reach his eyes... Even Bhai didn't look all that pleased, but he had quickly covered up by hugging Di. That was when he noticed his brother in law look towards Khushiji and she look absolutely uncomfortable.

He turned to Payal, but before he could find the right words to say, she walked forward and Khushiji joined her, the both of them hugged Di and conveyed their wishes. Their mouths said something but their eyes said a whole other story.

Soon they were all ushered out of Di's room and his mother made him come out to the poolside. Standing there he watched as Khushiji wheeled Babuji towards the guest room, he noticed Babuji starring daggers at Jeejaji, who was trying to avoid eye contact with anyone of the Gupta household, but he kept slyly glancing towards Khushiji.

Akash shuddered as the thought back to the look he saw on his Jeejaji's face when he looked towards Khushiji... it filled him with disgust. He also saw the blatant anger and hate towards his Jeejaji on Buaji's face. They were all definitely hiding something. He kept pacing around, trying to put pieces together, but there were so many unknown components.... 20 minutes had passed, his confusion and anxiety had only increased

"Akash" he heard Arnav behind him, he took quick breaths to calm himself down, if he even gave an inclination of the doubts he had regarding their Jeejaji, Bhai would errupt. This wasn't the right time, plus he didn't have anything solid. He needed to talk to Payal and get all the facts before he goes to Bhai. "Yes Bhai?" he turned towards Arnav with a put on smile. "Naani said it is time" his Bhai gave him a small smile that didn't reach his eyes as he put his arms around him and guided him out of the pool area and into the hall.

Right... its time for him to get married to the girl he loves, and instead of jumping with joy, he is feeling... dread!