Undeniably Yours

52

"What did you just say?" Rudra asked as he pulled away from the hug.

She gazed into his eyes with a sweet innocence.

"Thank you, bhaiya," she repeated. His expression turned serious as he continued to stare at her.

"Fifty push-ups right now, followed by twenty laps around the training ground," he declared, stepping back. She looked at him, her face a mix of shock and disbelief, shaking her head.

"Rud..."

Before she could finish, he grabbed her ear and twisted it, causing her to whimper. She rubbed her ear and pouted.

"BHAIYA!" she yelled for Abhi. He rushed back into the room with Srisha, glancing between Rudra and Aradhya. Aradhya quickly ran to him, wrapping her arms around him.

"He just twisted my ear!" she complained.

Abhi shot a glare at Rudra and gently rubbed her back.

"Rudra, training is over. She needs time to recover," Abhi said as he started to lead them out.

"I'm not training her anymore. I've got my own stuff to handle. Tell your dad or someone else," Rudra replied, leaving the room.

"Let’s head home now," Abhi murmured.

Once they got home, Abhi found his mom sitting in the living room, staring blankly at the TV.

"Shree, go get things ready. We’re making lunch for everyone today. And you, Aru, head to your room and get some rest," Abhi said, ruffling Aru's hair.

"I don’t want to be alone," she whispered softly.

"Then why not help us in the kitchen? At least freshen up first," Abhi suggested, and Aru nodded before heading to her room.

"You too, Shree. Go freshen up and come back quickly," he whispered, planting a kiss on her forehead.

"You too, Shree. Go freshen up and come back quickly," he whispered, planting a kiss on her forehead.

Once they left, Abhi walked over to his mom. He quietly sat next to Khushi, who was still unaware of his presence.

"Mom, what’s on your mind?" Abhi asked. Khushi responded without realizing who she was speaking to.

"Why are we so unfortunate, Rishabh? First me, then my daughter. I only agreed to let you all train her so she could learn to fight and avoid being helpless. I never sent her to the hostel because I was scared. I still remember that terrible day. Why can’t God let us be happy? Our Aru will never forget this," she sobbed. Abhi clutched the dupatta that was draped over the couch.

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he turned to see Srisha standing beside him. He looked at her with a sense of helplessness.

"Mom..."

"I wish I could turn back time," Khushi cried even harder. Abhi reached out to his mother and pulled her into a comforting embrace.

Not feeling Rishabh beside her, she pushed Abhi away, but when her gaze landed on him, she relaxed and stood up, wiping her tears.

"You’re all back. I’ll make some drinks for you. Go freshen up first," Khushi said in a rush. She tried to walk past them, but Abhi grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

"Mom, did something happen to you in the past? Please tell me. I’ll take care of it. I won’t let anyone get away with it. I’ll deal with that bastard who hurt my sister. I will kill them. Mom, please," Abhi urged. Khushi's expression turned fierce at the mention of "kill."

A loud slap echoed in the room as Abhi's face turned away from the impact of Khushi's hand.

"I don’t want to hear that kind of talk from you," Khushi yelled, storming off to her room while wiping away her tears that kept flowing.

Abhi ran his fingers through his hair, looking lost. Srisha watched him quietly, and when he didn’t move after a few minutes, she took small steps toward him and wrapped her arms around him from behind.

"I love you," she whispered softly. Abhi lowered his head, and when Srisha felt a tear drop onto her hand, she quickly turned him to face her.

"Don’t cry," she said in a panic, pulling him into another tight hug.

"Shree, my family... it’s falling apart. Dad’s right; it’s all my fault," Abhi murmured. Srisha shook her head but couldn’t find her voice to respond.

After a few minutes of silence, Srisha broke the hug and pointed toward the kitchen.

"Let’s make some lunch," she suggested quietly.

"Yeah, we should," Abhi agreed, heading toward the kitchen. They started preparing lunch together. After food was ready she looked around to find Aru.

"Where’s Aru? Why isn’t she here yet?" Srisha asked after setting the table.

"I’m going to check on her." Abhi said as he walked toward Aradhya’s room. He knocked on the door, but when there was no answer, he entered, thinking she might have fallen asleep. He frowned at the empty room but heard the sound of the shower running, so he knocked softly on the bathroom door.

"Aru, open up! You can’t stay in there forever," he said a bit louder.

He sighed in relief when the water stopped. Aradhya opened the door with a smile, but Abhi could tell it was forced, so he pulled her into a hug.

"My hair is wet," she mumbled. Ignoring her complaint, he noticed her fingers were pruney from being in the water too long.

"Aru, look at me," he said, gently making her face him.

"What happened to you wasn’t your fault. You’re not dirty; they are the ones who are dirty for touching you. You’re still my little sister who loves to annoy me," Abhi said firmly. Aradhya nodded slowly.

A minute later, Rishabh walked into the room, looking better than before. His gaze landed on Abhi’s red cheeks, where fingerprints were visible, but he chose to focus on Aradhya ignore abhi.

"Your mom's taking a nap. I know you had training and must be feeling sore. I’ll give your legs a massage. As for the medicine, I wanted to ask Srisha, but I couldn’t find her, so I’ll handle that too. Now, hop onto the bed quietly. I brought you some lunch," Rishabh said, holding up a packed meal for her.

"But I already made lunch," Abhi chimed in, glancing at Aradhya.

Unaware of the situation, Aradhya took the packet from her dad.

"Bhaiya, I eat that food every day."

"We’ll share it together," Rishabh replied to Aradhya, not even looking at Abhi.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Srisha was waiting for everyone. Abhi joined her and sat down.

"Dad's taking care of Aru. She’ll be here soon. Let’s eat now; I need to head out," Abhi said, taking a small bite and offering it to Srisha.

Srisha opened her mouth and started eating from Abhi's hand without a word.

Comment down your thoughts....