They Don't Know about Us

Chapter 28 - Stolen Kisses

Chapter 28 – Stolen Kisses
🚨 Slight mature content advisory 🚨

The breakfast crowd had thinned. Laughter and clinking cutlery gave way to the quiet hum of the ceiling fans. In the courtyard, the sunlight had softened, dappling through the carved lattice.

Riddhima sat on the veranda steps beside her sister, cups of chai between them. Jeevika looked radiant even in her simplicity, her saree draped neatly, her hair tied back. A few feet away, Viren sat with a tablet in hand, scanning emails while occasionally glancing at the two sisters.

"Your leg seems fine now, no more limping right?" he said suddenly, looking up from his screen.

Riddhima blinked, surprised. "Oh—yeah. It's mostly fine now. It just gets a little stiff if I sit too long."

He frowned, setting the tablet aside. "You should've taken another week off after the accident. I still don't like that you went back to work so quickly."

"Viren," Jeevika said softly, smiling at his tone. "She's fine now."

"That's what she always says," Viren countered, leaning forward, elbows on his knees. "Do you have any idea how scared we were when we got that call? If I could've, I would've flown down the same night."

Riddhima's throat tightened. "I know. It wasn't that bad—"

"Riddhima," he interrupted gently, voice lowering. "You literally crashed into the boundary wall, your car completely got damaged. That's bad enough."

Jeevika rested a hand on his arm, trying to ease the tension, but he wasn't angry — just quietly protective. The kind of protectiveness Riddhima had never had from anyone except her sister.

"I'm really fine now," she said softly, smiling. "Physiotherapy helped. Besides, it's not like I have anything to drive now. Promise." She giggled.

That made him frown, "You know I offered to buy you one but you refused –"

"Jeeju come on it's fine, I am joking" She laughed, the sound easing the heaviness between them.

"Good. Keep it that way. You're too precious to take risks." Riddhima felt her heart squeeze — at the warmth in his voice, at the way family, for her, was still something she was learning to accept.

"You two are impossible," Jeevika teased, smiling at both of them. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you're the overprotective brother and she's the younger sister."

"Technically, she is," Viren said easily, leaning back. "Until she gets married, she's my responsibility."

Riddhima rolled her eyes, though her smile stayed. "I think Di's been rubbing off on you. You're getting sentimental."

"Maybe," he said with a small grin. "Or maybe I just want to make sure the man who wins your heart knows what he's signing up for." He gave her a pointed look.

Her breath caught — a flicker of Armaan's smile from the breakfast flashing through her mind. She lowered her gaze quickly, hiding the blush that rose unbidden.

For her, he was the one, but marriage? Were they already there?

Jeevika nudged her. "What's that look, hmm?"

"Nothing!" Riddhima said quickly, but her Viren had caught her look. His thoughts drifted back to the tall blue eyed brother of the bride. There was something in between them, yet he didn't know how to approach the subject with her. The Maliks were a good family, but what mattered was what she thought and how they treated her.