𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒊𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔

𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟮

2 years later

The house was a complete mess. Nehmat struggled to manage her business deal, dealing with her two-year-old twins fighting over a toy car. She was just as surprised as everyone else when she found out she was expecting another baby, but that wasn't the main issue. What really mattered was that Nehmat's head was ready to explode from all the noise. Vamika, who had come over for a vacation, was blasting Taylor Swift songs from the guest room. The noise was so unbearable that Nehmat was seriously reconsidering whether she should let Vamika stay.

"Nehmat, where is my kit?" shouted her 31-year-old husband, acting like a big child.

Nehmat clenched her fists, trying to control her bubbling anger. She covered her ears, wanting to shut out the noise that was giving her a throbbing headache. The pressure cooker in the kitchen was about to whistle, adding to the chaos. Every sound seemed to fuel her growing frustration.

The cooker let out a loud whistle. As if on cue, Nehmat shouted, "Silence!"

All the other noise stopped immediately. She opened her eyes and looked sternly at her twins, who were staring at her with wide eyes, halting their fighting. "You two, share and play nicely, or I will take your toys and put you both in timeout," she scolded. Karan and Kabir nodded and started playing with the car together without further fuss.

She then turned to her husband. "You are responsible for your things. If you can't find your kit, miss the practice. Maybe next time you'll learn to keep track of your stuff."

Finally, she looked towards the guest room. "And you, missy, calm down the Swiftie inside you."

Vamika, peeking from the room, rolled her eyes. "Take a chill pill, Nini. Listen to Taylor, and you'll calm down."

Nehmat closed her eyes for a moment, trying to regain her composure, while her three boys stood quietly, sensing the tension. "If you play that music loudly again, I will throw out your albums and send you back home."

Vamika looked shocked and placed her hand dramatically on her heart. "You did not just say that about my mother Taylor albums!"

Nehmat, with a challenging look, said, "I did, and if you do that again, I'll call your mom and you'll be on the first flight home."

Vamika huffed and gently shut the door. She couldn't slam it, or else she'd face a barrage of scoldings. Shubman and the twins breathed a sigh of relief as the potential war subsided. The twins copied their father, not entirely sure why but aware it was to avoid their mother's anger. Nehmat was lovely and the best person ever, but when you pushed her too far, she could be as scary as the sea.

The twins, feeling down from the shouting and anger, climbed on either side of Nehmat and kissed her cheeks.

"Love you, Mumma," they chorused. Nehmat instantly melted, pulling her little boys into an embrace and kissing their dimples, inherited from their parents.

"Mumma is sorry she shouted at you guys. She's just tired," she said, resting her chin on Karan's head.

"Mumma rest," Kabir patted her cheek, making her smile tiredly.

Nehmat felt her body pulled into a side hug, instantly relaxing as she felt her temples being kissed. "Tonight, we'll go out to dinner," Shubman said, massaging her head and making her close her eyes in bliss.

"I have to go to practice. Rest and don't exert yourself," he said, placing a kiss on her forehead. She nodded, smiling tiredly as she opened her eyes.

"Boys, behave and take care of Mumma," he said, kissing his boys' foreheads.