CHAPTER 40
Two Hours Later
Mishti entered Karan’s room. The staff had already moved her packed trolleys and bags into his suite.
As she stepped inside and walked further in, her pace slowed.
She stopped briefly in the hallway, taking in the space around her.
It was large, expansive, and unmistakably his.
Her eyes travelled across the room and then, almost involuntarily, settled on the bed.
Behind her, Karan shut the door quietly. He stayed there for a moment, watching her as she absorbed the reality of the room she was now supposed to share with him. Unable to resist teasing her, he spoke casually, almost lazily.
“There’s only one bed.”
Mishti swallowed. She knew exactly what he was doing. Turning around, she faced him with a composed expression and said, “I know. But there’s a couch too. I’ll take the bed. You can adjust on the couch.”
His brows arched at her demand, but he admired it. She had not offered him the bed. It was obvious who made the rules between them now.
Karan walked closer, reducing the space between them. Something shifted in the air. Mishti felt her nerves stir despite the calm she maintained on the outside. When he stopped in front of her, she lifted her gaze to meet his.
“What if I don’t get sleep on the couch?” he asked.
She knew he was teasing again. This time, she was prepared.
“Hmm,” she said thoughtfully. “That’s a good question.”
She pretended to consider it seriously. Karan watched her with a faint smirk, thoroughly enjoying every second of it.
“Then,” she continued, “you do exactly what you always do when you can’t sleep. Open a bottle. Drink your heart out. Spoil your liver.”
Karan laughed softly. It was not loud, not careless. Just a laugh that sent a strange flutter through her chest.
“No more drinking like that,” he said. “Let me save my liver for living life with you.”
Her cheeks burned. Was he really saying he would tone down his drinking for her? She did not ask nor react.
Karan reached out and gripped her arms gently. “And for all the damage my liver may already have suffered because of drinking,” he added, “I know you will pray to your God for me. So that I get to live many more healthy years with you.”
Mishti crossed her arms instinctively, even as his hands remained on her upper arms. “I’ve stopped praying for people who don’t believe in God,” she said coolly.
He smirked again. “Good. You shouldn’t. Thankfully, I’ve turned from a nastik (someone who does not believe in God) to an aastik (someone who has faith). All thanks to you.”
Her jaw dropped slightly, but he continued before she could react. “Ask Maria. Who do you think used to pray in the temple room back at the Wadhwa mansion when you weren’t there?”
Mishti stared at him, shocked. “You did?” she asked.
Karan nodded with a shrug. “Not as good as you do. But well enough for God to know that I was praying from my heart.”
Happiness surged through her, but she quickly masked it, refusing to let it show. She would not give in so easily.
Karan tilted his head, studying her again. “Now I’m thinking,” he said slowly, “maybe I should keep a few nirjala fasts too. Like you did. I have many desires that need to be fulfilled. Maybe God will hear me and bless me with those.”
Mishti almost smiled and then quickly looked away. “You really think God negotiates like that?” she mocked lightly.
Before she could move, he pulled her closer, sliding his arm around her waist. “I don’t care how God works,” he said. “All I know is, every desire I have starts and ends with you.”
Her heart faltered. Without thinking, her gaze dropped to his lips, and the memory of their kiss in the rain surfaced vividly in her mind. That night had left no room for doubt. His desire for her had been there. She did not need any more proof of that.
But she was not going to make it easy for him again. Not this time. He still had to earn his way back into her heart. That place was no longer his by default.
The doorbell rang, breaking the charged moment.
Karan exhaled slowly and stepped away from her, moving toward the door to see who it was. The very next instant, he opened it, and Avni, Rajat, Abhimanyu, and Komal walked in together, with Karan following them back inside.
Avni immediately turned to Mishti. “Have you settled in properly?” she asked casually.
Mishti did not answer right away. She looked at all of them instead and said flatly, “Whose idea was this?”
They exchanged looks, feigning innocence.
“What idea?” Rajat asked, pretending not to understand.
“This,” Mishti said, gesturing around the room. “Making me and Karan stay in the same room.”
Karan, too, strongly suspected that this arrangement had been planned. But he did not question it. He wanted the same outcome, and he was not about to complain.
Abhimanyu spoke up quickly. “No, bhabhi. You know VK uncle’s friends really are coming.”
Mishti shook her head. “Look, I’m not that innocent anymore for the two of you to fool me,” she said firmly. “And I still haven’t forgiven you and Rajat for hiding the truth all this time. You both knew where I was all along.”
Rajat and Abhimanyu almost pouted at that, but Avni stepped in without hesitation.
“Alright, alright,” she said. “Don’t scold them. This was my idea. I wanted the two of you to stay in the same room. They just helped me.”
Mishti frowned at her.
Avni continued calmly, “I just wanted you both to live in one room. That’s it. I don’t care how long you take to forgive these men. That is completely up to you. I won’t come in between.”
Abhimanyu looked at her in disbelief. “What are you saying, Avni? Instead of helping us, you’re instigating her?”
Avni shot back immediately. “Who asked you to hide all of this from her? In fact, even I’m not convinced. You all hid it from me, too, that Mishti was my bhabhi. I wasn’t on good terms with Karan bhai, fine. But you two? You didn’t say a word either.”
She turned toward Mishti decisively. “So I’m on her side.”
With that, she stepped forward and hugged Mishti from the side, claiming her without hesitation.
Komal was thoroughly enjoying the banter, and as for Karan, he remained silent, his attention fixed on his wife. He observed her closely, the way she naturally commanded respect from everyone around her without demanding it. She deserved every bit of it, and he knew that.
Rajat and Abhimanyu exchanged a glance, then, in unison, held their ears in apology. “This is the least we can do,” they said together. “Sorry, Mishti. Please forgive us this time.”
Abhimanyu added quickly, “The idea to hide it was Karan bhai’s, obviously.”
“Excuse me?” Karan protested immediately.
Abhimanyu looked at him pointedly. “Wasn’t it you who wanted her to remain oblivious about who Avni was? So why should we suffer?”
He then turned back to Mishti. “Look, Mishti bhabhi,” Abhimanyu continued earnestly, “please punish Karan bhai however you like. But spare Rajat and me. We are innocent.”
Karan rolled his eyes.
Mishti, unable to hold onto her anger any longer, finally laughed. The tension dissolved instantly as she gave in.
“Fine,” she said, shaking her head. “The entire family is dramebaaz (full of drama). I forgive you. But the next time you hide anything from me, I won’t tolerate it.”
Rajat and Abhimanyu spoke together again. “We would never.”
They all moved into a group hug, leaving Karan standing slightly aside, watching them with quiet affection. He loved their bond, their friendship, their connection. This, he realised, was what a family truly was.
And he was grateful.
Both Mishti and he had grown up without the warmth of a wholesome family like this. Now, they had built one of their own. And they had each other for a lifetime.
****************
It was already night when Mishti returned after saying goodnight to the rest of the group.
Now that she had finally patched things up with Rajat and Abhimanyu, the day had turned out to be unexpectedly wonderful.
She had spent hours laughing and talking with everyone, consciously keeping herself away from Karan and from the room they were supposed to share.
Even Karan had remained occupied with VK for most of the day, overseeing the wedding preparations.
Now, as she stepped inside the room, he was seated on the couch, his laptop open, working quietly.
The moment she crossed the threshold, she felt the shift in the air again.
This was the first time she would be living with him in the same room, and just the thought of it stirred memories she wished she could forget.
Bitter ones. Memories of the countless times she had questioned Karan about why he never allowed her to share his bedroom.
Only she knew how deeply those replies of his had hurt her back then, how humiliating and painful they had been.
Unable to hold those memories back any longer as they clawed at her even now, she moved toward the dressing table and began removing her bangles, ready to end the day, change, and sleep.
She was exhausted in every possible way.
That was when Karan walked to the closet and pulled out a large box.
He brought it toward her, and the moment she saw it, she knew what it was.
The same lehenga she had tried on at the boutique the other day while shopping with Avni.
The one whose veil Karan had lifted so tenderly to see her face.
She looked at him, questioning, when he spoke.
“I want you to wear it at Avni’s wedding,” he said.
Mishti looked at the lehenga, then back at him. Carefully masking her emotions, she replied, “Thanks. I don’t want it.”
“Why?” he asked, clearly struggling to keep his irritation in check. “It’s red. Your favourite colour.”
“As you said the other day…Some choices change with time,” she replied and turned away.