yun hi tu mere saath rehna

Chapter Twelve

“Kya baat hai, Badi Maa?” Abhira asked. “Aaj achanak sab ghar se bahar? Aapko kuch baat karni hai kya?” Mishti sighed. Abhira was just too smart for her own good. Of course, she'd been able to deduce that something was going on. 

It had been a couple of days since Abhira had moved in with them. Time seemed to be slipping away like sand from the palm of her hands in Abhira's presence. They'd spent the last two days merry making and having fun, everyone in the family having taken an extended leave to spend time with the newest member of their little world. 

But, Manish Goenka's shadow loomed in the background like a warning sign for Mishti. She had spoken to Abir about it and both of them had agreed that it would be better to tell Abhira the full story as soon as possible. They weren't sure if Akshara had been comfortable sharing everything from her past with her daughter. And, it did make sense. After all, Akshu's past had been littered with trauma and heartache at every turn, betrayal weaving itself into her life like her most loyal companion. 

However, it wouldn't do good to keep Abhira in the dark. She deserved to know the truth. These kinds of things could never be buried forever and Mishti didn't want Abhira to discover it from somewhere else. She trusted them and it was their job as her guardians to be honest with her. Hence why, Mishti had asked everyone to leave the house for the evening, so that her & Abir could speak to Abhira in private. She didn't think that Abhira would be comfortable being so vulnerable in front of the entire family, no matter how much they all adored each other. She didn't trust them enough yet. They were family, but they were also practically strangers. So, she'd sent the family out and invited Armaan over for dinner, knowing that Abhira would need him after learning the truth. 

“Tum kitni impatient ho, Ira!” Armaan laughed. “Dinner karle pehle?”

Armaan understood very well that whatever they wanted to talk about was serious. Both Abir & Mishti had been extremely fidgety since he'd gotten there, and for some reason, Abir wasn't talking a mile a minute. Even Mishti seemed to be lost in thought. All those were sure signs that they wanted to talk about something big. But, Armaan desperately clung on to the facade of normalcy they were trying to build, for however long it might last. He was afraid that this new revelation would only hurt Abhira and he wanted to protect her from it. 

“Yes! Let's eat!” Abir cried, trying his best to appear cheerful. “Waise aaj maine Heera ke favourite wale noodles banaye hain!”

“Sach, Bade Papa?” Abhira exclaimed. “Thank you!! Mujhe mere noodles ki badi yaad aa rahi thi!”

“Woh toh kuch bhi nahi hai,” Abir laughed. “Dessert mein woh tere favourite spot se paan-kulfi bhi hai!”

“Bade Papa… Aap iski saari aadatein bigaad rahe ho!” Armaan whined as Abhira clucked in delight. “Aapka kya hai? Aap toh sir pe chadha doge isse… Phir zindagi bhar sambhaalna toh mujhe hi haina! Kaise uthaunga iske nakhre?”

“Armaan… Agar tum iske nakhre nahi utha sakte na, toh theek hai,” Mishti parried. “Tum yeh sab shaadi ke sapne dekhna chod do. Main aur Abir hi Heera ke saare nakhre utha lenge zindagi bhar.

Tumhe pata hai jab Abir mere Badi Maa aur Bade Papa se baat karne aaya tha toh usne kya kaha tha? He said that woh mujhe itna pyaar dega ki main zidd karna seekh jaungi. Aur tum yahaan baithe aisa keh rahe ho! Poora time iss Ajeeb Rajvansh se itni baatein karte ho, yeh sab bhi seekh lo! Aage jaake tumhaare hi kaam aayega.”

“Arreee, Badi Maa! Aap toh serious ho gayi,” Armaan cried. “Main toh bas mazaak kar raha tha. Aapki beti ka har nakhra saraankhon par! I promise, main bhi Abhira se hamesha itna pyaar karunga ki uski har zidd uske kehne se pehle hi poori ho jaaye!”