CHAPTER 22! FAMILY #3
Vivaan stared, which was not a denial. He turned away first, his jaw tight, but he didn't actually walk away. The cousins exploded.
Before the verbal warfare could escalate, Aadhira lunged forward, grabbed Kashvi's arm, and dragged her backward.
"No. Absolutely not. Move."
"But Aadhira! He started it!" Kashvi yelled, her heels skidding against the polished marble.
"You literally spoke first, Kash!"
"He started it spiritually! Tu bina shadi ke bina hi ladke balo ka sath de rahi hai!"
Aadhira hauled her best friend away from the foyer.
"Baith," Aadhira commanded, pushing her toward a sofa.
"Nahi."
"Kashvi."
"Main uss aadmi ka murder karungi."
"Please don't commit murder at my family function."
With a huff, Kashvi dropped onto the cushions. For a moment, she stewed in her anger, but then her eyes began to wander across the room, taking in the people occupying it.
And then, her gaze landed on Aryav.
She froze.
Aadhira saw the exact moment it happened. The immediate stillness.
"No," Aadhira warned instantly.
Kashvi didn't answer.
"No, Kashvi."
Still nothing.
"Kashvi!"
Slowly, Kashvi turned her head, her eyes wide. "Aadhira."
"What?"
"Teri toh genetic lottery lag gayi."
"Chup!" Aadhira hissed, her cheeks burning.
"Nahi, seriously," Kashvi whispered, her eyes darting back toward the center of the room. "Yeh insaan hai ya unfair advantage?"
"Kashvi, shut up."
"Staring at Aryav is a dangerous hobby."
A voice directly behind them made both girls jump.
Shaurya stood there, swirling his drink, a smirk tugged at his mouth.
Kashvi rolled her eyes. "Why?"
Shaurya took a sip. "Most people recover."
A pause.
"Their expectations from other men never do."
Aadhira buried her face in a cushion, while Kashvi glared up at Shaurya, completely unmatched against his calm banter.
Just then, a sharp clash echoed through the hall. A waiter had accidentally dropped a tray, the metallic ring cutting through the low hum of conversation.
Half the guests in the room flinched.
Aryav didn't.
He stood among three generations of men-Veer, Dadaji, and Vikrant.
The pale waiter immediately bent down, collecting the shattered glass, his eyes wide with panic. "Sorry, sir," he whispered frantically.
Aryav hadn't said a word. He looked at the waiter once. Just once. Then he turned back to the conversation as though nothing had happened.
The relief that flooded the man's face was immediate. He practically scrambled away, his hands shaking as he backed into the safety of the kitchen corridors.
Aryav never looked at him again.
Kashvi pulled back into the safety of the sofa, her voice dropping. "Ab bhi scary lagta hai."
Aadhira snorted softly.
"Main kya karu? Sach toh sach hai."
Kashvi's mischievous grin spread wider, her elbow nudging Aadhira's arm. "Waise... main samajh sakti hoon."
"What?"
"Why you're always staring."
Aadhira threw the cushion straight at her face.
Kashvi caught it, laughing.
"You blushed!"
"I did not!"
"You absolutely did."
"I hate you."
"Feelings are mutual, Babe." Kashvi chuckled, leaning back.
Then, the teasing slowly softened, her expression turning uncharacteristically gentle. "Are you happy?"
The sudden shift caught Aadhira completely off guard. For the first time since arriving, Kashvi wasn't joking.
Aadhira's eyes drifted across the room.
Veer's gaze drifted toward Aryav. It lingered there a second too long. Not because he doubted the man. Because fathers noticed things.
Veer had lost count of how many times Aryav's attention drifted back to his daughter.
The unsettling part wasn't that he looked. It was how naturally he did.
A small smile appeared on her lips. "Yeah."
Kashvi saw the warmth in Aadhira's eyes and smiled back, squeezing her hand. "I am happy if you are happy. But you can share things with me, you know right?"
Aadhira just leaned forward and hugged her tightly.
Kashvi was still talking, her voice fading into a dull hum in the background.
Aadhira wasn't listening anymore.
He continued speaking to Veer. But every few minutes, his gaze found Aadhira again. Effortlessly.
The way people checked the location of something important.
A prickle crawled across Aadhira's skin.
That feeling.
The one she only ever got around him.
Slowly, she lifted her eyes.
Aryav was already looking at her.
As if her location had never been a mystery to him.
As if it never could be.
Aadhira's heartbeat stumbled.
Then he lifted the cigarette.
A slow drag.
Smoke unfurled between them, soft and grey.
His gaze never moved.
It wasn't admiration.
It wasn't curiosity.
It was the gaze of a man who had decided a long time ago.
Aadhira looked away first.
She always did.
Across the room, Aryav exhaled a slow stream of smoke and returned to his conversation, as though he hadn't just unraveled her heartbeat from thirty feet away.
Kashvi watched the entire exchange and groaned. "God help you."
Aadhira didn't answer.
Because for the first time all evening, she wasn't entirely sure she wanted saving.