Ishq hua (Duet 1)

Chapter 40: Lovers

Arsh:

After a long time, the Oberoi family was sitting together to have their dinner in full chaos. The kind that felt alive. The kind that made the walls feel warmer, as if the house itself was listening and smiling along.

Cutlery clinked against plates, overlapping with voices and laughter. Elders laughed at the jokes Adira made..

Akay was telling Vyom why dessert should come before dinner while Vyom claimed otherwise.

"That's not how it is." Vyom said flatly.

Akay gasped. Loudly. "You didn't even let me finish."

Vyom sighed, rubbing his temple. "Because that makes no sense at all."

"But dessert before dinner makes the most sense," Akay insisted, completely unfazed. "Sweet first, then salty. It prepares the brain."

Vyom glanced at him sideways. "Which science book taught you that?"

"The one I wrote," Akay replied confidently.

A corner of Vyom's mouth twitched. Just slightly. So slightly that anyone not watching carefully would have missed it. I didn't and neither did Akay.

"See," he said triumphantly, pointing at Vyom's face. "You smiled."

"I did not."

"You did. A little. Here." Akay mimicked the exact twitch with exaggerated flair.

Vyom looked away, clearing his throat. "Eat your food."

But he didn't sound annoyed. Not really.
And that was the thing.

Somewhere between their late-night conversations, endless chatter, and Akay's refusal to be intimidated by anything or anyone, the hard shell Vyom had worn for years had softened. Not cracked. Not broken. Just... maybe warmed. Enough to let laughter linger a little longer.

Inaya sometimes looked worried at their interaction, she was somehow extra careful of Vyom, even more than of me.

But I had assured her that Vyom would never hurt him.

A maid approached us quietly, holding a bouquet wrapped neatly in pastel paper. "Madam," she said softly, stopping beside Varya. "These flowers came for you."

Varya looked up, surprised flickering briefly across her face. Her gaze dropped to the bouquet, taking in the colours, the freshness, the care with which they had been arranged.

"Oh," she said, caught off guard.

Everyone watched her with curiosity, my eyes instinctively moved to Adhikrit bhai but his reaction told me that he wasn't the one who sent her the flowers.

She smiled faintly, then looked back at her plate. "Keep them on the table for now," she instructed gently. "I will take them to my room after dinner."

The maid nodded and placed the flowers carefully near Varya's side before leaving.

Adira had been watching all of this far too intently.

Her eyes lit up instantly. And I could already guess what the little devil was up to.

She leaned across the table, chin resting on her palm, eyes fixed on the flowers. "Dad!" she sang. "Did you get mom flowers?"

Varya shot her a warning look. "Adira."

"What," Adira grinned innocently, then turned her attention to Adhikrit bhai. "Someone got you flowers," she repeated, louder this time, as if he hadn't heard it the first time. "I was wondering if they are from Dad."