Not My Little Sister

Chapter 26 - Marking her

Vinaya felt everything happen in slow motion. Her brother's almost animalistic yell, his fist reaching for the man she loved. The blood. So much blood. Vinaya hurled herself forward, placing herself between Nithin and her brother as he raised his fist once more. Her eyes widened as she saw the fury in her brother's eyes - something she had never seen before.

"Chetta!" She called out, but he didn't look at her. "Mohan Etta!" She called out again, her head leaning against Nithin's chest.

Her mind was ridden with fear. Her heart was racing. Would her brother hurt Nithin more?

"What the fuck? My sister?" Mohan spat. His eyes shone with hurt, anger and betrayal.

"It isn't like that," Nithin began, his voice now sounding nasal and unlike his own. "I love her."

"You fucking what?" Mohan growled.

"Etta please!" Vinaya raised her voice over them both. "What is wrong with you? Just hear us out!" She glared at him and he stepped back. She made her way to the kitchen to grab some ice cubes and paper towels, her eyes not leaving her brother.

She wrapped the ice in the towel and made her way over to Nithin, who had his hand over his nose, pinching it to stop the bleeding.

"Sit on the couch, let me see if anything is broken," Vinaya told Nithin softly. Nithin looked at Mohan quickly before moving to the couch.

Mohan had his hands in his pocket and was shifting from one foot to the other.

Vinaya ran her fingers along the bridge of Nithin's nose and then the sides, their gazes fixed on one another.

Vinaya's chest heaved with every deep breath she took. She tried to convey her emotions with her eyes. She loved him. She would fight for them. "It doesn't seem to be broken but I can't say for sure without an X-ray. Even if it was broken, it doesn't seem displaced, so there isn't anything to do but to ice it." She concluded.

Nithin held the ice up to his nose on cue. The bleeding had stopped but his shirt and Vinaya's blouse were stained with his blood.

"I want to marry her, Mohan. I'm not fooling around with her. I plan to make her my wife one day," Nithin told his friend, his voice carrying sincerity and determination.

"Right," Mohan said sarcastically through gritted teeth. "You will not go against your parents. You'll string her along and dump her when they say no," his voice full of hate.

"I'll make it happen. I'll talk to them. I'll convince them," Nithin told his best friend.

As their gazes locked, a torrent of memories flooded between them, an unspoken dialogue echoing through their silent exchange—a plea for comprehension, a lament of betrayal. The wordless communion between the two men held more weight and gravity than any heated argument or explosive outburst.

Nithin understood Mohan's apprehensions. Mohan had witnessed the turmoil that had ensued when his sister had eloped. Mohan, more than anyone else, understood the scars it had left on their family. He had been there when Nithin had vowed never to let a woman disrupt his bond with his parents, when he had prioritized their happiness above all else.

Mohan had witnessed Nithin's sacrifice when he had parted ways with Indira at his parents' behest. He comprehended the implications, the doubts, but Nithin didn't know how to convince him that it was different with Vinaya. He couldn't articulate how he would reconcile it all, only that he would find a way.

"And if they agree to let you marry her, then?" Mohan asked menacingly after several minutes of silence. "She is only 22. She can't practice here without doing her residency. Did you consider her future?"