ch 43 Ashiana Bhabhi
Kabir almost choked on his drink, coughing mid-sip before bursting out laughing.
"Tere muh se bhi kabhi kabhi atomic bomb nikalte hain, chhote," he said between laughs, pointing his glass at Raghav.
Raghav only smirked, swirling his whiskey lazily. "Just saying facts, bhai," he replied coolly, leaning back. "You're the one who keeps killing people who don't stay dead."
Aarav, sitting across from them, finally looked up from the file in his hand, his expression a mix of exhaustion and faint amusement. "Kabir, maybe next time make sure he's actually dead."
Kabir lifted his glass in mock salute. "Bhai, main to samajh gaya ye dunia bhi Marvel universe ban gayi hai. Villains marte nhi, sequel leke aa jaate hain."
Raghav's lips twitched, almost a smile. "Except you're no superhero, just a loud idiot with a gun."
Kabir narrowed his eyes playfully. "Aur tu? A silent psycho with a laptop?"
Aditya, who had been quietly refilling his glass, finally joined in with a low chuckle. "At least the psycho saves our asses every time."
Kabir's phone buzzed on the table. He flipped it open, saw Prerna's name, and a slow grin spread across his face until he answered and heard the sharp, amused cut of her voice.
"Kabir, kal hamari couple spa mein appointment hai," Prerna said in that half-order, half-laugh tone she used when she meant business.
"Aur main aapke bloody excuses nahi sunna chahti— 'darling, I'm busy,' 'mafia ka kaam hai'—samjhe?
Be on time there, or else you will..." She didn't finish the threat out loud; the look Kabir imagined at the other end was enough.
(Kabir, tommow will be our spa appintment, and i don't want to listen your bloody excuses sayng'darling i m busy', or'i have mafia work', understood, be on time there or else you know the consequences well....)
She clicked off with a small, triumphant laugh. Kabir lowered the phone and passed it across the table like a challenge.
"See? Boss lady," he said aloud, mock-surrender in his voice.
Kabir threw his hands up dramatically, mock-woe painted all over his face.
"Arey bhai! Shaadi se pehle ye kya kam bossy thii , aur ab jabse shaadi hui hai, biwi ka gulaam ban ke reh gaya hoon.
Jab bhi dekho: 'Kabir, yeh karo... Kabir, vo karo.
.. Kabir, aisa karna!' Agar koi underworld ka aadmi mujhe aise dekh le, toh meri kya izzat rahegi mafia samaj mein?
" He shook his head as if the tragedy was epic.
(bro!! she was bossy before marriage, and now after marriage, I become wife's servant now.. and everdaywent like, kabir' do this, kabir do that, kabir do like this, kabir do like that, guys, if someone from underworld seen this side of me that what about me damn reputation)
Aditya barked a laugh, enjoying the show.
"Phir to hot news banegi — 'Underworld ka mafia: Kabir Malhotra, nirlajta se hua biwi ki dayaheen zulmo ka shikar!
'" He wagged a finger mockingly and then added, "Make sure they print a picture of you scrubbing the floor and while prena sitting relaxed with cucumber slices on her eyes for dramatic effect. "
Raghav sighed theatrically, leaning back, glass in hand. "Bhai, mera toh case hi alag hai. Main saath saal se apni wali ko bhugat raha hoon , aur ab mera beta Raj bhi hai. Ab toh main apni biwi ke saath romance bhi nahin kar pata."
He made a pathetic face and nudged Kabir. "Imagine, my love life is a myth I tell children at night."
Kabir pointed a finger at Raghav. "ohh bhai tu.. to chup hi reh.. roz raato ko kaisi kaisi awaze ati h hame sab ptaa h . Don't act high and mighty."
(Oh please.. you just shut we all knows well which type of sounds comes from your room.. . don't act high and mighty.)
Raghav snorted. "that's practice is called strategy, bhai. You should try it before you go to the spa. You'll need lines like 'You are the queen of my heart, or your therapist will need to make an appointment."
Aarav, who'd been watching them with that small amused curl at the corner of his mouth, finally spoke, voice quiet but cutting through the banter.
"Or you could just be honest and embarrass yourselves less." He glanced at each of them, then at the file on the table. "Spa stories later. We have Ricci's lead to follow. Jokes are good, but not tonight."
Kabir, Raghav, and Aditya exchanged looks that silent, mischievous spark that usually spelled trouble for Aarav Malhotra. Then, almost in perfect unison, they burst into laughter.
"Bro, dekh!" Kabir managed between laughs. "Bol bhi kaun raha hai! Mr. Calm, Mr. Control.. ab lecture de rahe hain honesty ka!"
(ohh.. see , who is giving lecture on honesty..)
He leaned forward, grinning wickedly. "Aur nahi toh kya! Ab to bhai aap bhi 'single' se 'mingle' ho gaye ho... aur vo bhi Ashiana ke saath!"
(and now you are too 'mingle' from 'single')
Raghav added with a smirk, tilting his glass. "Aur mazaa tab aata hai jab duniya ki maa bhen ek kar karne wale Aarav Malhotra ki bolti Ashiana band kar deti hai."
(and its fun to see.. the mighty king Aarav malhotra who do mother sister of the world, Ashiana makes his mouth shut)
Aditya, lounging back, chuckled and nudged Aarav with his elbow. "Sach keh raha hai Raghav. Ab to Aarav ko 'Aarav Sirrr...' ,sirf Ashiana ke muh se sunna acha lagta hoga."
(raghav.. is right.. because now 'Aarav sirr..', sounds like a beautiful song from her mouth only)
Kabir threw in dramatically, "Haan bhai! Boardroom mein log darr ke 'Sir' bolte hain, aur vo pyaar se bolti hai. Tone hi alag hoti hai, na bhai?"
(In boardroom people gets terrified saying ' sir ', and she says with whole some love.. )
Raghav pretended to narrate like a storyteller. "Aur tab, King Aarav Malhotra jiske naam se log kaampte hain ek blush maar dete hain..."
Aditya raised his brows teasingly. "Bas tabhi pata chalta hai, bhai ke andar ka lover boy zinda hai."
Aarav finally looked up from the file, his expression blank but his eyes flashing in warning, that quiet, icy glare that usually silenced a room.
But not tonight.
Because Kabir just grinned wider. "Ghoor lo bhai, ghoor lo. Gussa kam, pyaar zyada dikhta hai aankhon mein aajkal."
(glare.. brother all you want.. but now we can see love clearly in your eyes. )
Aarav exhaled slowly, shut the file, and stood. "Done?"
"Almost," Raghav said, smirking. "Bas ek baat aur..Ashiana bhabhi kaisi hain?"
(just one more thing.. how is Ashiana bhabhi.. (sister in law))
Aarav paused at the door, looked over his shoulder with that deadly calm that could freeze a storm but the corner of his mouth twitched just slightly.
"Tum teeno... agar.. mujhe report ek ghante m la kar nhi di to himalya bhej doonga m tumhe fir whi karte rehna y sab."
(I want report in an hour.. or get ready to go to Himalya and do this all stuff there only)
And with that, he walked out.
The room fell silent for two beats before all three brothers broke into loud laughter again.
Kabir wiped a tear from his eye. "Bhai ke expression dekhne layak the! Lagta hai ab humare King Malhotra ka Queen time officially shuru ho gaya hai."
Aditya chuckled, shaking his head. "God save Ashiana..."
Raghav smirked, raising his glass again. "Aur God save us, when bhabhi finds out we teased him."
As Aarav sat in the backseat of his black Maybach, city lights blurred past the tinted windows — golden streaks cutting through the dark.
The faint hum of the engine was the only sound, but inside his mind... chaos.
He loosened his tie slightly, resting his elbow on the window ledge, eyes lost in the night.
Ashiana.
Her name alone had started to feel dangerous like fire brushing too close to his skin, yet he never wanted to pull away.
His brothers' teasing still echoed faintly in his ears, but he couldn't even be angry. Because for the first time, they weren't wrong.
He had changed.
He wasn't supposed to care. He wasn't supposed to feel.
And yet, every time he saw her smiling, talking, laughing, even arguing something inside him softened, broke, and rebuilt itself all at once.
But one girl, with innocent eyes and a stubborn heart, had walked into his fortress and turned it into something human.
His phone buzzed on the seat beside him. A text from Aditya.
"Reached base. Updates tomorrow. Go easy tonight, Aarav."
He typed back only one word.
"Trying."
Then he placed the phone face down and leaned back, staring out the window again.
He could still see her in the way she looked that night in the lehenga, the way she smiled at Raj, the way her voice trembled when she'd said, 'I love you, sir...'
That single sentence had wrecked him.
Because he had heard many confessions before from people who wanted his money, his name, his protection.
But when she said it, it wasn't desire or ambition. It was... truth.
He leaned his head back against the seat, the soft rumble of the car fading into the background.
Streetlights flashed across his face light, shadow, light again like the rhythm of a memory he couldn't escape.
How did I get so lucky... he thought, eyes drifting toward the night sky visible through the glass. What did I ever do right... in this lifetime of wrongs... to deserve her?
His life had been built on blood, power, and the weight of choices no one should have to make.
He'd taken lives, broken empires, crushed anyone who threatened his family sins too many to count, too deep to confess.
And yet somehow, amidst all that darkness... she had walked in.
Uninvited. Unafraid.
As if she saw something in him he himself had buried long ago.
He rubbed his thumb against the gold ring on his finger a restless habit and let out a soft, bitter laugh.
"Maybe this is my one mercy," he murmured to the empty car. "The universe's way of saying even the damned can have one piece of heaven."
He closed his eyes, her face flashing before him her laughter, the way she called his name, the warmth in her touch that made even a man like him feel redeemable.
Ashiana...
His voice barely a whisper now, almost like a prayer.
If you're the punishment or the blessing I don't care anymore. You're mine either way.
The car slowed as the mansion gates came into view. But for the first time in years, Aarav didn't feel like he was returning to his empire.