Chapter 25 #2
Flashes of the past hit her all at once.
The careless remarks. The times she had snapped at him or dismissed him whenever he tried to help.
It had been her stubborn pride that kept her from seeing him clearly, and the guilt of it made it difficult to breathe.
‘I should’ve been kinder to you. I should’ve been better than that, and I wasn’t. I’m sorry.’
Dhruv squeezed his eyes shut, and a tear slipped onto his shirt, instantly alarming her. ‘Hey, is it hurting that much?’
She whirled around. ‘Vihaan, should we get a doctor?’
He straightened immediately, humour fading into concern. ‘That looks bad, man. I know you said you don’t need it, but maybe Kashvi is right.’
Dhruv shook his head, then clasped her hands to pull her attention back to him. ‘Yesterday night, you reminded me of how you came to me the night Viraj took those pictures a few years ago.’
A hollow laugh escaped her at the memory. ‘Di wasn’t home, and Dad isn’t exactly known for comforting hugs, so going to him would’ve been a letdown.’
‘I did the same thing, didn’t I? You came to me, and I shut you out with cruel words.’
Her hands shook as she remembered standing there for a full minute after he shut the door, hoping he would change his mind.
‘You don’t have to answer. I know it’s true,’ Dhruv said softly with a half-hearted smile. ‘I don’t have an excuse for pushing you away the way I did. If I hadn’t been such an idiot that night, none of this would’ve happened. I can’t even think about it without feeling like I’m suffocating.’
‘Did you mean what you said?’ she asked, voicing the fear she had carried ever since.
Dhruv immediately shook his head. ‘I’d had a fight with Dad, and I was in a haze of anger. So I snapped at you. Later, I came to your room, but you weren’t there.’
‘I couldn’t stand being inside a locked room, so I slept in the gym,’ she confessed quietly.
He squeezed her hands as he said, ‘I know I’ve given you enough reasons to hate me long before any of this.
I showed up out of nowhere in your life as proof of Dad’s affair, and then made everything worse by being a terrible brother to you.
I know I don’t get to ask you to forgive me, but I hope someday...
you hate me a little less. Enough that I can live with it. ’
‘That’s not true,’ Kashvi said firmly. ‘I might have been just as terrible at showing it, and I definitely didn’t make it easy for you, but I don’t hate you.
I didn’t even hate you when we were kids.
When you came home, I was too young to understand the complicated dynamics behind it.
I was over the moon to finally have a brother. ’
His eyes shone with pure disbelief. ‘You’re kidding!’
She chuckled. ‘I was crazy excited. I kept thinking about all the games we could play, that I had someone to annoy and boss around, because Di did that to me all the time. But whenever I tried to spend time with you, Dad made it impossible.’
His brows scrunched together. ‘What do you mean?’
‘He kept you away from us. One time, I went to his room looking for you, and he asked me why. I told him I wanted to play hide-and-seek with my brother, and he said it was good that my mother wasn’t alive to hear me say that.
Over time, he made me believe that thinking of you as family was an insult to her memory, so I stayed away. ’
Dhruv exhaled sharply, muttering a curse. ‘When I asked him if I could spend time with you and Siya, he told me I didn’t belong with all of you and should stay within my limits. I heard it so often that eventually I started believing it too, but it was all him.’
Kashvi nodded, her chest nearly caving in under the crushing weight of disappointment. ‘There is not a single relationship in that house that he didn’t twist for his own gain.’
Dhruv insisted, ‘Whatever he wanted or tried to do, it doesn’t change the fact that I’ll always be there for you.’
Because you’re my sister.
The memory of his words from last night echoed through her mind, making her heart clench.
He added quietly, ‘And now that he’s not here anymore, maybe we can try to fix this. Maybe someday, I can hope to be part of your family too.’
‘But you are,’ Kashvi said, fighting back tears as she gently cupped his cheek. ‘You already are my family, bhaiya.’
His eyes widened, and Dhruv gasped aloud.
Tears gathered faster than she could blink them away. ‘I should have said it a long time ago, but my pride and anger held me back. I’m sorry I made you feel like you don’t belong with us, because you always have. That is, if you still want to.’
With a joyful laugh, Dhruv pulled her into a fierce hug. ‘Of course I do!’
‘You’re going to hurt yourself,’ she reminded him, lightly holding his shoulder.
‘I’m the older brother, so I’m allowed to boss you around. It’s practically in my job description,’ he said, pulling back.
‘Don’t get used to it,’ she warned, though her words carried no bite.
Then she walked over to Vihaan and said, ‘I owe you an apology too. I let my fear get the better of me and assumed the worst. I’ve been unfair to you, and I’m sorry.’
He smiled. ‘You were dealing with a lot. I get it.’
Kashvi shook her head. ‘I don’t just mean last night. You’ve gone out of your way to help me and Di, and you stood by Dhruv when neither of us did. You’ve done so much for all of us, and I genuinely think you deserve some kind of award for putting up with Dhruv for twenty years.’
‘He is unbearable on his best day. Don’t ask me about dealing with him at his worst.’
‘Yet you stayed, which kind of makes you worse than him, you know,’ she teased, making him chuckle. She lightly patted his cheek. ‘But I get why. You’re our brother, after all, and we don’t quit on family.’
Vihaan tried to hide his shock, but his eyes gave him away.
‘Why are you looking so shocked? You’ve been here this whole time. You already became part of the family long ago, didn’t you?’
His composure slipped just enough for the emotion underneath to show. His eyes glistened faintly as Vihaan nodded.
‘Good,’ Kashvi smiled. ‘I’d have a much better shot at surviving Dhruv with you by my side. Are you injured too?’
Vihaan shook his head. ‘Dhruv wanted to play a solo hero.’
‘So that means I can hug you without hurting you, right?’
Vihaan let out a quiet laugh as he pulled her into a quick hug. When she stepped back, he ruffled her hair, earning an immediate glare.
‘I still cannot believe you guys did this. How did you even manage it?’ she asked.
Dhruv shrugged. ‘Dad made sure I learned how to fight through years of professional training so I could save him if he was ever in danger.’
‘You’re kidding!’ Kashvi exclaimed. ‘He genuinely thought he was important enough to get assassinated?’
Vihaan snorted. ‘I don’t think delusional even begins to cover it. He’s entitled on an entirely different dimension. But I’m thankful for it, because I got free lessons out of it after Dhruv dragged me along.’