|| Carefree For The Moment. ||

|| Part Seven. ||

"We should go back" Abeer announced once they had finished their meal.
"What!?" Mishti exclaimed, her eyes widened. "No! No way. I'm not going back." She said & Abeer smiled. "Everyone's going to ask where we were"
"They'll all know where we were by now" He shrugged
"I'm not going" she folded her arms & a smile came to his lips. "No way"
"Mishti-"
"I don't know what you're smiling about, by the way. They won't leave any opportunity to tease you either. You'll never hear the end of it"
"That's fine" he shrugged & she tilted her head at him.
"Really?" She scoffed. "Just a little while ago you were hiding behind Atul. Where's this sudden confidence come from?"
"Well" He leaned forward, his elbows on the table. "We could just stay here" He teased her.
"You are actually ridiculous!" She scoffed & he chuckled.
"Come" He said, taking her hand & helping her up, causing her to sigh as he led her around the table, towards him. "You can't hide forever, Angry Chorni."
"Not even until everyone goes?" She asked, a pleading face to match her voice.
"Nope" He chuckled, amused. "Let's go" he said & they began to walk off, around the corner.
"That wasn't funny!" She told him, holding his arm with his other hand.
"It was a little bit" He teased, looking down at her & she glared at him.

"Bhai" a voice said & Abeer stopped in his tracks & saw his brother stood in front of him so he sighed. Mishti took her hands away from his arm but Abeer didn't let go of her hand.
"Come, Mishti" he said, about to walk off when Mishti pulled on his hand.
"Abeer-"
"Mishti" he said sternly, he shook his head. He wasn't in the mood tonight so she sighed, following him as they both walked past Kunal, back to the others.

"Here are Rajkot's Raj & Simran" Yashpal teased as Mishti looked away, with a smile & everyone laughed. She looked up to see Abeer smiling so she glared at him before making her way over to Rajshri & he went to join his Naanu.

"Anything else you & your favourite have been planning?" She asked, casually & her mother laughed.
"He asked for my help" She said quietly. "I was hardly going to say no to him"
"Of course you weren't" She shook her head & she looked over at Kuhu to see her laughing with Jasmeet & Varsha. "How were things here...?" She asked & Rajshri sighed.
"Looked all okay. He even opened her fast."
"What?" Mishti asked confused, turning to her mother, who nodded, mirroring her surprise.
"Badi Maa, I didn't expect him to be here, let alone open her fast!"
"I know beta. I don't understand. None of us do." She said & Mishti saw Ketki rushing over to take a selfie with Kuhu, as they both posed. Then saw Kunal speaking to Shaurya, glancing over at his brother every so often.

A little while later, Yashpal announced their departure & everyone began to get ready to leave."Bhai" Atul placed his arm around his brother's shoulder, subsequently interrupting his & Mishti's exchange of glances across the courtyard. "Do you need us all to give you some time to say bye to Bhabhi. Or...?" He teased & just as Abeer turned his head, Atul quickly went & hid behind Kaushal as everyone laughed when Abeer attempted to go for him.
"You've started as well!"
"Come on Bhai" Ketki said, her arm on her mother's shoulders. "we're your siblings, if we won't tease you, who will?" She said proudly & Mishti smiled.
"Yes, yes!" Nidhi agreed.
"Exactly. Abeer beta" Rajshri said & Abeer turned to her. "that's a sibling's right, you can't take it from them" She said & Abeer smiled, making Mishti smile as she linked her arm with her mother's. Her mother glancing down at her to give her a teasing look.

"Okay, give us permission to leave." Yashpal said folding his hands & the Maheshwaris did the same before they began to leave.
"Bhaiyaaaa?" Jugnu stepped forward when Abeer didn't make any move & he turned his head towards them. "Shall I take this?" He asked innocently, holding the gifts that both Vishamber & Rajshri had offered them. Abeer glared at Jugnu, who chuckled before rushing off."We'll see you kids at home" Parul told Abeer, who nodded before she walked off

Everyone began to disperse. The Maheshwari's went back inside & the Rajvansh's went to their cars. Abeer began to make his way over to her. "I'd better go" He sighed, glancing as everyone was walking out of the gate.

"Abeer" Mishti said & Abeer turned to her. "You should speak to Kunal when you get home" she said & Abeer sighed so she took both of his hands in her. "I know you don't want to but you can't avoid him forever" She reminded him & he closed his eyes. "Maybe you can make him see sense?"
"Has it ever worked before?" He asked, sighing.
"It might work now?" She suggested & he opened his eyes to see her waiting for a response. He nodded slowly.
"Fine. I'll speak to him""Good" She smiled & he pulled her to him.
"Abeer!" She whispered, looking around the empty courtyard."What?" He said softly. "Everyone's gone"
"That means you should go too" She released his hands & turned him around to encourage him to walk away but he didn't. He turned back around to face her.
"Okay, fine. I'm going. But meet me at the NGO tomorrow" He said & she folded her arms.
"Why?" She raised an eyebrow at him.
"What, why?" He glared. "I want to see you" He pouted, making her chuckle.
"Fine, I'll meet you Ajeeb Rajvansh, but go now!" She warned him & he sighed before leaning forward to kiss her on the cheek, making her smile. "Abeer, are you going or shall I call Meenakshi Aunty?" She asked him & he glared at her before walking off, turning to her when he got to the gate & winking at her before walking off out of sight.

She made her way back inside slowly, smiling as she recalled the evening's events, glancing briefly at the gate in case he was still there before walking off back inside, assured.

"Bhai...?" Kunal was waiting outside the car as Atul peered his head out of the back passenger's window.
"Atul" Abeer addressed his younger brother, whilst looking at Kunal briefly.
"Yes Bhai?""Take Jugnu & Ketu home" He said holding out the keys for Atul to take. "We're coming in the other car"
"Yes!" He celebrated, "Okay Bhai" he said, getting out of the back seat to take the keys from Abeer.
"Bhai! Wait!" Ketki said jumping out of the car so that she could ride in the front passenger's seat.
"Hurry up before Bhai changes his mind!" Atul said & Abeer waited until his siblings drove off.
"Come" He told Kunal, making his way towards Kunal's car & he followed him. Kunal unlocked the car & both he & Abeer got into the passenger's seat & driver's seat respectively.

"Bhai-"
"No. I'm going to speak first" He said softly & Kunal sighed. "I don't know what's going on in that brain of yours, quite frankly I don't care. All that matters to me is that this" he pointed up & down his brother, in the driver's seat. "This isn't my Nanko" he said & Kunal looked ahead out of the window. "This isn't my brother who promised me when we were teens that he'd help me persuade Maa to accept my girlfriend" he reminded him of the past. A happy time. A time when life wasn't so complicated & relationships weren't as messy.

Kunal looked up to meet his brother's eyes. "This isn't anything I wanted or expected to happen!" He exclaimed, his emotions beginning to take over him. He had held it in for too long, it was bound to come out at some point.
"Bhai-"
"Okay" He turned to face his little brother. "I'm ready to listen to you. Tell me, what's going on in your mind? Why are you doing all of this!?"
"Bhai, I know that you're not happy with-"
"I don't care about whether or not it makes me happy!" He exclaimed. "I care about whether or not your conscience is screaming out at you for doing all this!" He sighed. "I can't even begin to understand exactly what it is you have against Mishti because the only thing she did was to say no to you. Is your ego that big that you can't even deal with someone putting forward their opinions to you? You had to see it as a rejection? Could you not see it as an escape?" He asked. "A way out from the wrong relationship. From an unhappy marriage. From a lifetime of pain & suffering?"
"But Bhai, she did it in front of everyone! How do you think I'd feel!"
"I know she did. But did you leave her any option?" He asked & Kunal sighed, frustrated as he was about to hear his brother defend her yet again. "Don't start huffing & puffing Nanko. Think about it logically!" He said. "Think back to exactly what happened on that day. Her dad, Shweta's photo. Recall it in your head." He said & Kunal paused for a moment, doing what his brother had said, albeit reluctantly.

"For some reason she came across Shweta's photo. But she didn't say anything to you. Her dad suddenly shows up to the gordhana & you blow a fuse? Does that not scream hypocrisy, Nanko?? Do you not see the double standards in that??"
"But Bhai-"
"But what? It's different?" He asked, reading Kunal's mind.
"Yes! It is!"
"How?" He asked sitting back. "Explain to me exactly how it's different. Because she's a girl & you're a boy?"
"Bhai" he sighed. "Don't start all that"
"I'm not starting anything!" He told him. "I'm merely trying to show you a mirror of what you've become." He said. "In your hatred for Mishti, you're making others suffer around you!" He told him. "Forget about my suffering. What does that even matter? I'm just a pawn in this family ready to be used as & when you all feel like it!" He scoffed. "Why think about that-"
"Bhai-" Kunal said, a sudden a wave of guilt came across his face as he saw his brother turning to the window, closing his eyes."No Kunal. I'm tired" He told him desperately before looking at his brother's face.

It was as if he was seeing his brother for the first time. He hadn't seen how worn out he had looked. How his eyes had drooped after probably nights of unease. "I'm tired of constantly fighting with you. With Maa. With everyone" he told him. "I just want to be happy" he said desperately. As if a child was sat in front of him, pleading for their favourite toy. Ironic. Seeing as whenever they were children, Abeer would always hand over whatever he got to his little brother. Kunal had never even considered whether or not Abeer had wanted it or not.

"Put yourself in my shoes" Abeer began, snapping Kunal out of his thoughts. "If you truly loved Kuhu" He taunted & Kunal sighed. "I'm just saying, if you did & I did everything I possibly could to stop the two of you from being together, how would that make you feel?" He asked & Kunal paused.

Kunal tried to brush these feelings of guilt to the back of his mind. She had disgraced him. He recalled the Gordhana again. The humiliation he felt. The anger simmering to the top again.

"You just can't let the anger go, can you?" He heard his brother say from beside him & he looked up to see him with a slight smile on his face. "Fine, if that's the case. I won't force you. You do exactly what it is that tells you in there" He said, pointing to his brother's heart. "& I'll do exactly what it says in here" He said, his hand to his chest. Abeer reached for the door's handle."Bhai-"
"No Kunal" he said, not turning to look at his brother. "I'll make my own way home" He said & opened the door to get out of the car. Kunal sighed before doing the same, getting out then noticing something out of the corner of his eye.

From his right, a truck had begun to pick up speed, swerving from side to side as it headed towards his brother. "Bhai!" Kunal yelled, in order to pre-warn his brother to get out of the way but Abeer simply turned to him before noticing the truck heading towards him, his eyes widening.

"BHAI!"