Her Innocent Love

16 ~ Caught off Guard

Aadarsh's POV

I headed to the door, thinking it was Aarohi's friend showing up early, but when I opened it, I was stunned. Standing there were my mom and Jai, looking all too comfortable on her doorstep. Are you kidding me? What the hell are they doing here?

"How's your special one, Bhai? We heard she had an accident," Jai said with a smug smile, like this was some sort of family reunion.

"Move, Aashu, let me see her," Mom ordered, shoving me aside like I was invisible. I ran my hand over my face, trying to hold in the frustration bubbling inside me.

"Maa, Jai...what are you doing here? You shouldn't have come! What would she think?" I whispered through clenched teeth, desperate to keep Aarohi from hearing.

"Why not? She's our employee, and she got hurt because of you, so we're here to check on her," Mom declared, strutting into the living room like she owned the place. God, why is my family so dramatic? They're going to mess up everything.

I trailed behind them, silently praying they'd keep it together. Aarohi's eyes widened as she took in the unexpected visitors. "Umm..." I tried to say something, anything to control the situation, but Mom beat me to it, as usual.

"Hi beta, I'm Divya, Aadarsh's mother, and this is Jai, his cousin," she introduced herself, beaming as if she hadn't just barged into someone's home unannounced.

"Namaste, please have a seat," Aarohi said, nervously joining her hands while I stood there like an extra in my own scene, completely sidelined.

"How are you feeling, beta?" Mom asked, her voice dripping with concern that only made me more anxious.

"I'm good, ma'am. Thank you so much for coming," Aarohi responded, her smile shaky.

"I know, beta, this all happened because of my idiot son. I'm so sorry," Mom said, caressing Aarohi's hand.

"No, no ma'am, it's not his fault. I wasn't paying attention. Please don't apologize," Aarohi stammered, clearly uncomfortable with this whole soap opera playing out in her living room.

"Don't call me mam, beta. I'm like your Aunty. Call me Aunty," Mom insisted with her warmest smile. Wow, is this a TV serial now? Thank God she didn't say, "Call me Mom." I sighed, glancing between the two.

"Do you live alone?" Mom continued, clearly on a mission to know every detail of Aarohi's life.

"Usually, yes, but my friend is staying with me these days."

"Okay... okay, and where are you from?" Mom pressed, completely ignoring the signals that Aarohi needed rest, not a Q&A session.

"I'm from Sangrur, Punjab."

"Oh, how nice!" Mom exclaimed. "I'd love to visit Punjab," Jai chimed in with his usual enthusiasm.

"Guys, she just got out of the hospital. She needs rest. Maybe let her relax a bit?" I interrupted, trying to steer this runaway train back on track, but both of them turned to glare at me, synchronized and sharp.

"We're not bothering you, are we, beta?" Mom asked sweetly, her eyes flicking back to Aarohi.

"No, Aunty, I'm actually feeling good that you came. It's rare to find people who care like this," Aarohi replied, smiling nervously.

"I know, beta. Some people are so mannerless," Mom said with a pointed look in my direction. Are they seriously ganging up on me right now?

"Maa..." I began, but before I could finish, the doorbell rang again. Seriously? Is today some kind of open house?