Khushi bit her nails nervously as she glanced at her brother, who was seated on the opposite sofa. His eyes were fixed on the television, and he appeared to be engrossed in the program. She could sense that he was serious and chose not to acknowledge her presence in the living room. Then she turned her attention to her Buaji, who was seated next to her on the same sofa. She silently implored her Buaji to help her in reconciling with her brother.
Buaji nodded with a reassuring blink of her eyes, then directed her gaze to Shyam, smiling sheepishly as she spoke, "Shyam bitwa, please let go of your anger. Look how your poor, tired titaliya is saddened by the fact that her brother is not speaking to her."
Khushi nodded with a puppy sad face.
Buaji continued, "You can't be mean to your little sister. She came back home after a long tough day at work, soaking wet from the rain, and you know she won't sleep until you talk to her. She needs to rest, but she won't be able to if you're still mad at her."
Shyam made a face, finally showing a reaction on his face. He glanced at Buaji, slightly frowning. "Don't defend her, Buaji. She had plenty of time to hang out with her special friend and ditch her brother."
Khushi pouted, "Ye sach nahi hai bhaiya (This is not true)."
"Oh really? You chose to have dinner with him instead of ME and then you skipped watching Crime Patrol episode WITH ME to spend time with him," he finally looked at Khushi sulking like a jealous kid.
Khushi swiftly rose from her seat and hurried towards him. She eagerly positioned herself close to her brother and affectionately wrapped her arms around his shoulders, "I'm sorry bhaiya. I did text you that I had a meeting with Arnav, but I didn't tell you I'd stay for dinner too. And about missing Crime Patrol, it would've been rude to leave our guest alone to watch my favorite show, right?"
Shyam raised his one eyebrow, "You never missed a single episode of Crime Patrol for anyone else. He must be more important to you than me, isn't it?"
Khushi vehemently shook her head, her tone serious, "Absolutely not, never. In this world, no one is more important to me than you, bhaiya. You know, you don't need to compare yourself to Arnav ji."
Shyam noticed her eyes glistening, he immediately pulled her closer, reciprocating her hug, as he caressed her hair, "Hey chutki, don't cry. I was just feeling a bit jealous, you know how I am about you."
Khushi shut her eyes tightly, resting her head on his chest, "You don't need to feel jealous of anyone bhaiya. No one can replace you in my life."
Shyam smiled warmly, placing an affectionate kiss on her head as he whispered, "I know, my little girl."
Buaji looked at them, shaking her head, "Thank God you managed to calm your brother down, Titaliya, otherwise Shyam would make up for the episode you missed by making Chotuwa feature in one of the episodes of crime patrol."
"Buaji seriously," Shyam chuckled, "My level of jealousy is not that extreme-"
He couldn't finish what he was saying because he was caught off guard when his sister jumped up from her seat. She had her hand on her chest and a panicked expression on her face. She said in a scolding tone, "Buaji, don't talk like that. God forbid, Arnav ji will never feature on a crime patrol episode. Nothing bad will happen to him. DM is always there to protect him from all evil."
Shyam and Buaji stared at her dumbfounded for a moment before Shyam intervened, "Relax Titaliya.. Buaji is just kidding."
Khushi frowned slightly, "Humein aisa majak bilkul pasand nahi hai (I don't like this kind of jokes)."
