Making Her Mine- An IPKKND story.

Chapter 64 - Battle

The upside of the whole thing, besides Khushi suddenly finding him irresistible, was that Dadi seemed to have got the memo.

She sat across Arnav at the table at dinner, but neither looked at him, nor spoke to him. He didn't mind at all.

Nani, Di, and Mami greeted him with some trepidation when he and Kushi joined the table, and relaxed visibly when they saw he was no longer angry.

Di cornered him after dinner. "Chotay, can we talk?"

They went to the poolside. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yes," he said. Dadi was inconsequential in his life. He was happy, his family was fine, and she would leave at some point, hopefully.

She eyed him closely.

"I'm fine, Di. I have decided I don't want to get triggered by her. And after today she will know to not provoke me like that again."

She nodded, and after a pause, said "There's a boy in the orphanage..."

He turned his attention back to her — it was on the verge of wandering, preparing himself for another conversation entirely.

"He reminds me of you, actually." Di smiled. "Pushpa ji — she's the one who looks after them — said that he doesn't get along with the other children. He just came to the orphanage. His parents passed away not too long ago, and his relatives are... not fit to care for him. He hardly smiles, and stays aloof from other children."

"He reminds you of me?"

Di smiled again, and nodded. "He's very serious. Anyway, I want to bring him home."

Arnav frowned. This had potential to complicate life. But also, he wanted his sister to be happy. "You can just bring children home?"

"They said I can foster him. The orphanage is wiling to recommend it, because he's not at all happy there. That will make it easier."

"Are you sure it's a good idea, Di? Not to be heartless, I understand you want to help this boy. But it sounds like he has problems. Do you think we can look after him properly? With everything going on in the house — the wedding, you're going to deliver soon, Payal is pregnant. This whole court case, and now Dadi."

"If we don't help him, Chotay, no one will. We can't just leave him there. Besides, you had problems too."

"I know. You said he reminds you of me. That's not a good thing. Especially for a child... how old is he?"

"He's six. His name is Aarav."

Arnav sighed. "It sounds like he is going to bring more chaos into this house. Are you asking me for permission? Because you can do what you like, you know that."

Di shook her head, with amusement in her eyes. "I am asking you because you hate children. But please agree, Chotay."

"I don't hate children," he muttered somewhat defensively. "I'm not an actual monster."

"Really? Remember the girls from the Kanya Pooja?"

"They destroyed things in my room. And they were the most unruly bunch of little girls I have ever seen."

"Aarav is very quiet."

"For everyone's sake, I hope he's not like me."

Di laughed. "You're being too hard on yourself, Chotay. You're actually adorable," she stretched out her hand to pull his cheek, but he ducked out of her reach.

—

Khushi, obviously, was thrilled at the news. "Oooh, when will he come?" She asked.

"I don't know, ask Di," Arnav replied, somewhat grumpily. "This house is becoming too full."

"Don't you feel sorry for him, Arnav Ji? Orphaned at such a young age... when Amma and Babuji took me in, they saved my life. Maybe we can be to him what Babuji is to me."

Arnav softened at this. "You're lucky you found your Babuji," he said. "Not many men are like that."

—-

Arnav v Dadi round two was over the dinner table the next day.

Di had just told everyone about Aarav. Everyone else had been excited. Even Nani, the usual spoilsport, had raised no objections.

But Dadi, sitting straight backed across Arnav (this was her permanent spot at the table now), glanced coolly around once the exclamations had subsided, and said, "Are you sure you are thinking this through, Anjali?"

"Yes, Dadi," Anjali had replied with a meek deference Arnav did not like. "Besides, I know everyone will help out. He's such a sweet boy..."

Never mind that she had said the boy was like Arnav, the opposite of sweet.

"But you don't know what his parents were like. Or his family. His only relatives are unfit? That means they are either alcoholic or —"

"But how is that his fault?" It was NK who offered this. Apparently NK was the only other person at the table who didn't get intimidated by his grandmother. Arnav was beginning to appreciate his oddball cousin.

"Family history is everything," Dadi said coldly, not bothering to look at NK. "What is rotten at the root, will only bear rotten —"

"That's a terrible thing to say about a child," Arnav hissed, gripping his fork hard.

"Like it or not, that's the truth," Dadi said, unfazed. Apparently she was the only one at the table who wasn't intimidated by him.

Arnav clenched his jaw, holding himself back. No more monster. "We have decided that Aarav will be brought to this house," he said, without looking at his grandmother directly. "He is six years old. I won't — I — this is not the kind of family that is cruel to children. No one is going to say anything like that again, to his face or otherwise." His hand shook slightly.

The clinking of cutlery magnified as they ate in silence.

"As an elder, I was merely offering an opinion," Dadi said, finally, as she rose from the table.

Arnav bit back a retort. Dadi strutted away, head held high. It took a couple of moments for conversation to resume around the table.

"He's so cute, Khusjiji," NK was saying.

"Hello hi bye bye, so many children in the Raizada house suddenly."

"We're becoming grandparents, Manno."

"You please shut-up ji. You can be a grandfather. I'll still be Manorama Aunty. Maybe even didi."

"It will be nice to have a child in the house."

Arnav looked up, and saw Payal and Akash exchanging smiles. Wow, okay, so that was going well.