The Rathore's Family

Tej is changing

Bhavendra glanced at Riddhima as she walked into the room. Without waiting, he asked, "Where is everyone?"

"They’ve all gone to the temple," Riddhima replied, adjusting her dupatta. Her tone was casual, but her gaze flickered to the others in the room. “Advait is sitting here, busy with his coffee, and Amaira and Vihaan are supposedly studying in their room. Though, Who knows what they’re actually up to?”

Bhavendra’s eyes drifted to Advait, who appeared deeply engrossed in his phone. Hesitating for a moment, Bhavendra spoke up, “Advait?”

Advait looked up from his phone, his expression calm but curious.

“I was asking,” Bhavendra began tentatively, “if you’ve spoken to Ruhaan lately? Call him over, it’s been so long since he last visited.” There was a subtle note of longing in his voice, a plea that he tried to mask with a composed demeanor.

Riddhima nodded in agreement, her brows knitting slightly. “Yes, it’s been ages. He doesn’t even answer our calls anymore.”

Advait could sense the weight behind their words. Nodding with quiet understanding, Advait responded, “Alright, I’ll talk to him today. If he’s free, I’ll ask him to come over.”

Bhavendra and Riddhima exchanged faint smiles, but they lacked the warmth one might expect. It was a dry, almost forced smile—the kind that concealed deeper emotions. They missed Ruhaan terribly and knew he was intentionally keeping his distance.

Once upon a time, they had tried to shield Ruhaan from the chaos that engulfed their home. The environment had been toxic, and they had sent him away, hoping to protect him from falling into destructive habits. But fate had other plans. Despite their best efforts, Ruhaan had walked a path they had desperately tried to keep him from. He had become entangled in the very sins they had feared, shackled by the chains of vices they had worked so hard to avoid.

Their hearts ached, not just for his absence but for the realization that, despite their love, they couldn’t save him from himself.

“And what about that meeting? Are you going?” Bhavendra asked, his tone laced with curiosity as he leaned forward slightly, studying Advait’s reaction.

Advait frowned, his eyebrows knitting together as he weighed the situation in his mind. After a brief pause, he nodded thoughtfully. “Yes, Chachaji, I’ll go.”

Bhavendra’s gaze lingered on him for a moment before he sighed, his expression growing heavier. “I just don’t understand what Tej is up to... What is he trying to achieve with all of this?”

Advait let out a bitter smile, a sharp contrast to the pain flickering in his eyes. “He just doesn’t want to see me,” he replied, his voice low but steady. His words carried the weight of deep hurt, a pain he didn’t bother to mask.

His expression betrayed his inner turmoil. The strained relationship with his father was no secret, but hearing his own voice acknowledge it out loud made the wound feel even rawer. Despite the rift, they all continued to wear the facade of a happy family.

The bitterness in his tone mirrored the unspoken reality they all shared but refused to confront. It wasn’t just about disagreements or misunderstandings—it was about a love that had been fractured, leaving behind nothing but sharp edges that cut deeper with every encounter.

Riddhima's gaze shifted toward the door, her brows furrowing slightly as she murmured, loud enough for both Bhavendra and Advait to hear, “Where is everyone? Why haven’t they come back yet?”

Bhavendra, leaning back in his chair, replied in a casual tone, “They must be on their way.”

But Advait’s eyes, too, wandered to the door, a flicker of unease crossing his face. His thoughts churned restlessly. Why aren’t they back yet? He wondered, the question lodging itself in his mind like a splinter.