Aadhira- His heart beat

Chapter 23

Aadhira's pov

"Bacha, how are you?" He asked, stroking my hair, making me sob.

"Bhai," I cried, burying my face in his chest. We didn't say anything for a while, I kept crying, and he kept patting my back. When my sobs finally turned into hiccups, he gently pulled me away from his secure embrace and wiped my tears with his thumbs.

"How is my bacha doing here?" he asked softly.

"I'm fine, Bhai. What about you? How are our parents?" I asked, wiping my tears.

"How can we all be good when our life here is living a hard life, hmm?" he asked, caressing my cheek. I shook my head.

"No, Bhai. I’m doing well here. You know? Dadi Sa takes good care of me, and I have a friend named Ruhi. She looks after me too. I'm fine here. Please, you guys don’t worry about me," I pleaded, looking at his tired face.

"Mmm... I heard you had a fever. Did it go down?" he asked, placing the back of his hand on my forehead to check.

"I took medicine, so I don't have a fever now. But tell me, why are you here? When did you arrive?" I asked. He removed his hand and tucked it back into his pocket.

"You didn't answer any of our calls. And the last time we spoke, we discussed you joining a college in London. I was worried he might have done something to you because of that, so I caught a flight last night and came here," he said, staring emptily at the white wall. I remained silent, unsure of what to say, and gulped when he looked at me with blank eyes.

"What did he do to you that made you fall sick?" he asked, his tone cold and jaw clenched.

I can't tell him what really happened, or it will only make things worse...

"No, bhai. He didn't do anything. I got drenched in the rain while I was in the garden. That's how I fell sick," I lied smoothly. He narrowed his eyes at me, clearly not believing my words.

"Wait here. I'll ask Ruhi to bring us breakfast," I said, dodging his questions. I called Ruhi inside, and she came in with her face covered by her veil.

"Rani Sa, do you need something?" she asked politely, making me smile.

"Bhai, meet my friend Ruhi. And Ruhi, this is my bhai, the guest you mentioned," I introduced them.

"Ghamma ghani, sir," she greeted him.

"Thank you so much for taking care of my sister, Ruhi. Please continue to take good care of her," he said.

"Ji, sir," she replied softly.

"Ruhi, please bring our breakfast here," I requested. She nodded and left the room. I looked at Bhai, who was staring at the carpet

"What happened, Bhai?" I asked hesitantly. He lifted his gaze to look at me.

"Since when did you start wearing sarees?" he asked, making me uncomfortable.

"I usually wear salwar suits. But today, Dadi Sa gave this saree to Ruhi for me to wear to greet the guest. I didn't know the so-called mysterious guest was you. No one mentioned your arrival. They kept it a secret to surprise me," I said with a chuckle, leading him to the couch to sit.