The Lustre [On Hold]

chapter twenty-three

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chapter twenty-three • a diamond, a gem
Z A R A  A U R O R A  M A L H O T R A

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I could feel the sunrise hit my face as I tightened my eyelids and opened them slowly. My first sight is Raj sleeping on the couch. Wait, did I wake up earlier than him for once? I could never see him sleep ever since we got married.

I understood what I missed, the sight of him sleeping so peacefully. His messy hair, and his mouth opening a little made him look hot and cute at the same time. Then, I realized I was staring at him and bit my tongue.

His alarm clock rang unexpectedly shocking the hell out of me. It only took him a few seconds to wake up and the first thing he laid his eyes on was me. I lowered my eyelids and got up whilst he turned his alarm clock off.

Clipping my hair up, as usual, I brushed my teeth and washed my face. I made my way downstairs and started preparing breakfast. While making them, I heard Mia running towards me, calling my name.

"Bhabhi! Someone's here to meet Raj Bhaiya."

"Okay, prepare this for me, I'll go check."

I left the kitchen to the main door to see an elderly couple and another young couple. I was pretty confused because I'd never seen them before but I put up a smile and greeted them.

"Namasté. How may I help you?"
[Translation: Hello.]

"Namasté ji. We would like to see Mr. Raj Malhotra." A young man, probably in his mid-thirties, requests me with a bright smile on his face.
[Translation: Hello ( 'ji' - addressing respectfully).]

"I'm his wife. He's upstairs. Come inside, please." I say, mirroring their smiles.

"No, it's okay, Mrs. Malhotra. We just wanted to thank him from the bottom of our hearts. He's like an angel sent from heaven. Please let him know that all the formalities are completed and our children are okay. May you both be blessed, dear." The elderly woman says and everyone began walking away which left me perplexed to hell.

What the hell just happened? That's when I see Raj coming down the stairs. He sees me standing near the main door and approaches me with a worried look on his face. He could guess something happened by the look on my face.

"What's wrong, princess? Are you okay?"

"A family just came. They wanted to see you but you were upstairs so I told them to come in first but they said it's fine. They just wanted you to know that the formalities are completed. Their children are fine and they thanked you from the bottom of their hearts. The senior lady blessed us too."

I explained to him with my eyebrows furrowed because I had no idea what the hell was happening.

He smiles upon hearing the story. "Really? Damn, I missed it. That's alright, I'll see them later."

"Wait but what happened? Why were they thanking you?"

"It's nothing, princess. Not a big deal." He smiles. "I have to leave for work now, I'll see you in the evening."