bonus chapter 2
Isha as planned went and stayed for a few weeks at the Rajput palace, during the very same time Anshi came from the U.S. to see the babies... Isha was happy that Anshi started accepting herself as a member of the Ranawat family.
"Rani sa... Your babies are so cute... ", Anshi said playing with the triplets who are
"Yes, they are happy that their chachi came to visit them...", Isha said and Anshi gave her a small smile...
"Why did you not come earlier ? Were you waiting for me to come and stay at Rajput palace ?", Isha asked seriously and Anshi stayed silent strengthening Isha's beliefs.
"I wouldn't want to involve in between you and Avyan, that's something Rana sa wouldn't appreciate... But I would like to advise you because you are like my sister Anshi... This courtship period is the best time any couple could get... It's a beautiful feeling, you won't be overwhelmed by each other's presence too much, and at the same time, you will get to know each other better, all the messages, phone calls, video calls, and the longing, everything makes it so special... You both are extra lucky that you got 2 years of time in this... Don't waste it, try to know each other, when you know this is what you want to do, then why not give it a chance, heartfully ?", Isha said holding Anshi's palm who looked here and there not knowing what to say... "I won't force you anymore, but think about this once, hm ?", Isha asked and Anshi gave a meek nod.
"Are they asleep ?", Abhyansh said walking in... Anshi quickly stood up, hearing Abhyansh's tone.
She bowed down and greeted Abhyansh respectfully.
"How was your flight ?", Abhyansh asked her...
"It was great, Maharaj... Thank you", Anshi thanked him for the comfortable flight...
"You knew she was coming ?", Isha asked, and Abhyansh gave a nod, before picking up his daughter, who squealed in happiness seeing her baba...
Avyan and Ranveer walked in after freshening up, as they just returned from office.
"I'll play more today...", Avyan said walking in...
"No, I will", Ranveer said
"Yesterday Your turn was over, before the home meeting started, you spend all your time with them, today is my turn", Avyan argued
"And this is my home", Ranveer said
"think again, they will be staying at Ranawat palace for most of their time, and I might use this against you", Avyan said entering inside the chamber followed by Ranveer.
Avyan stilled seeing Anshi there, he has no idea she would be there, the last time she talked to her was months ago, when he called to inform her about the arrival of the triplets, and he asked her to come there to see them and she said she couldn't, after the little argument they had, he never called her again, neither did she...
"When did you come ?", Avyan's tone was rather harsh, no one heard him use that tone ever... Anshi teared up but she pulled up the facade soon...
"Just this morning...", Anshi answered carefully, as if his rude tone didn't affect her... Avyan felt the blazing glare of his brother and quickly understood what blunder he did, like always, his bhabhi ma came to his rescue...
"Avi... Why don't you show Anshi the whole Rajput Palace ? She saw the Ranawat palaces but never got to visit here, hm ?", Isha asked before Abhyansh could reprimand Avyan.
"Ji bhabhi ma...", Avyan said and quickly walked away, with Anshi following behind...
"Rani sa ?", Abhyansh questioned his wife's act...
"I know you are going to reprimand Avyan but that would only complicate things... There are some disturbances between them, all they need is time to clear the air which we should give", Isha said softly.
"He deserves it for using that tone on her... No matter their differences, he should behave respectfully with her in front of people. I know my brother, he would never disrespect a woman except when it comes to his family, but he should know that using this kind of tone in front of people is also a kind of disrespect and he should avoid it at cost", Abhyansh said
"You are right, but make him understand this later, calmly, if I may add, getting angry wouldn't solve issues, Rana sa, most of the times, it worsens the situation", Isha said and Abhyansh sighed looking at his wife, but his concentration shifted with a loud squeal from his daughter, who wanted all her baba's attention...
"Fine... Fine, Don't scream so loud, your vocal cords will hurt...", Abhyansh said rubbing her throat gently, giving her all his attention...
"Yes, Your Dadda is right bache... Don't scream... you'll hurt hele", Ranveer said, using a baby tone at which Abhyansh cringed earning a glare from Ranveer.
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Anshi left for her home after dinner, Abhyansh got her dropped at her place, though Isha asked her stay, she denied politely citing her parents' and since she would be leaving in a two days, she would want to spend some time with them. Abhyansh though knew her initial plans of staying for a few weeks before returning to th U.S. stayed silent, he understood something terrible took place between Avyan and Anshi that forced her to take this decision, he didn't say much as he didn't want Isha to worry about them, already handling triplets was a huge task and despite having many helpers, Isha was having a tough time, so Abhyansh didn't want to add to her stress.
"Avi... Is everything alright with Anshi and you ?", Isha asked after Anshi left...
"Ji bhabhi ma", Avyan lied and everyone knew he was lying... But none said a word...
"Avyan... have this... I specially learned this for you", Ragini said serving him more...
"Thank you Ragini", Avyan said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes, Ragini and Isha exchanged looks at this but no one commented.
But their husbands knew that these women were up to something to bring this new couple closer.
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After a few more weeks, Isha and Abhyansh along with their triplets returned to Ranawat palace. On a Sunday, after their lunch, they took their triplets to Sharah and Veera to introduce them.
As soon as they entered, Sharah and Veera rushed to them. It's been a few months since Isha or Abhyansh came to meet them as they got extremely occupied with the triplets.
"Sharah... Veera... Calm down", Abhyansh sternly commanded and both of them quickly went and settled on their usual place, Abhyansh and Isha settled on the floor holding the triplets and gently introduced them to their friends, and it was so heartwarming to see how the triplets enjoyed their company and how the wild pets became protective of the infants.
After spending some time with them, Isha and Abhyansh left the back palace with their children.
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A few days passed, and Abhyansh had to leave for a business trip urgently, he postponed it for a week and Isha, in this one week trained their chef to make food exactly like her, and she was amazed by the results. She knew her husband wouldn't eat food properly so came up with this idea.
After rigorous training, Isha decided to test their family, she just cooked a single dish, and the rest were made by the chef she trained.
Everyone sat for dinner, and Isha served Abhyansh since she was the one who cooked that day, or at least that's what she wanted to portray. Everyone had their food without recognizing the difference, Isha sighed in relief but it was momentary, she noticed her husband having a second and third serving of the dish she prepared, he didn't eat much of the rest of the items and she sighed in disappointment.
"Bhabhi ma... the food is delicious, thank you, but don't get so worked up next time, you need proper rest", Avyan said and Isha gave him a half-smile.
"No matter how hard you train someone to cook like you, no one can recreate your unique taste, so don't waste your time and energy", Abhyansh said and left, after finishing his dinner.
"You didn't make these ?", Rajmata asked, Isha shook her head.
"I just made daal, the rest all items were cooked by Kishanlal, since Rana sa had to go for a business trip next week, I was training Kishanlal, and he surpassed my expectations, for a second, I myself couldn't recognize the difference, I don't know how he found out", Isha whined...
"You should be happy that your husband could identify the unique taste of your food where everyone else failed to do so", Rajmata Devyani Devi said
"What should I do of his talent Dadi sa ? It wouldn't feed his empty stomach when he is away... and I can't travel with my 3 children in this condition... I seriously don't understand what to do with this man", Isha complained...
"I think Abhyansh would manage with Kishanlal, he was very good, he almost matched your unique taste, so your husband could adjust for a while...", Rajmata said
"I am not so lucky Dadi sa", Isha said before leaving to check on her husband, who might be pissed off now, since she went against his instructions and worked in the kitchen...
Isha walked into the chamber thinking her husband would be red with anger, but she got to witness the cutest sight. He is red with anger but cuteness overloaded his fury. The mighty King Abhyansh Singh Ranawat is seen complaining to his children about their mother...
"Did you see both of you? This is why I reprimand your mumma, but you both would glare at me as if I am a terrorist every time I do it... You are such brats, just like your mother, only my princess understands her dadda... Right baby? We won't talk to mumma, deal?", Abhyansh raised his palm and his daughter gave her palm as if making a deal with her father.
"Oh! really? Fine by me...", Isha said walking inside picking up both her sons... "Let's feed you both... Awe... my babies ale hungly ? let's feed these little tummies...", Isha said taking them to the bed ignoring her husband and daughter...
Abhyansh glared at his wife for her revenge...
"Your daughter is hungry too", Abhyansh said after waiting for 5 minutes to see if Isha would give the father-daughter any attention...
"So ? Feed her...", Isha said not even looking at them making the father-daughter jealous...
"If you are done with taking revenge, then feed her", Abhyansh said coldly, settling beside Isha on the bed.
After she is done with feeding her boys, she slowly took her daughter in her arms who didn't smile at Isha which she does every day.
"Don't show your attitude with me, I'm your mother...", Isha warned her daughter and her daughter turned to look at her father squealing 'Ba ba... ba ba' "Yeah... yeah... you can go to your baba after I feed you, unfortunately, he didn't have that skill", Isha said and Abhyansh glared at his wife for making fun of him... Atimya squealed angrily as if she understood her mother was making fun of her dadda.
"What ? You can't change the truth", Isha said and tried to feed her but the little infant pulled away refusing to drink shocking Isha. "Atimya... Enough of tantrums", Isha said sternly and the little baby started crying but stood by her ground.
Abhyansh too was stunned by his daughter's stubbornness.
"Provoke her more against her mother", Isha taunted her husband, who picked his daughter in his arms...
"You can't stop roasting your husband in front of her, why are you blaming me now ? It was you that got her mad", Abhyansh said
"Mad ? She is just half a year old, do you think she even understands what we are talking about?", Isha argued glaring angrily at her husband but her daughter who is laying on her father's shoulder, held his face protectively, squealing at her mumma angrily.
"She might not get what you are saying, but she knows how you are saying", Abhaynsh said and Isha rolled her eyes...
"Awe... Atimya baby and her dadda are two big stupids, they are so so bad... they keep irritating me...", Isha rants out all the complaints against the father-daughter with a smile on her face, and presses sweet kisses on both the father-daughter. Isha was about to fool her daughter, the little baby squealed in happiness as her mother is being nice to her and her father, but seeing her father's stern posture, she changed her position again... "Put a smile on your face, she is waiting for your reaction", Isha said to her husband...
"I couldn't smile with the kind of words you used for me... Kiss me and maybe I could give a small smile", Abhyansh demanded, Isha rolled her eyes before pulling her husband into a kiss, and he gave her a small smile, looking at which the little Atimya squealed in happiness and jumped into her mother's arms, tapping her chest...
"Yes... I know what you want... Wait a minute", Isha said, unzipping her maternity gown and feeding her daughter... "God! she and her attitude...", Isha said looking at her daughter who is hungrily sucking her nipple as she was very hungry but didn't budge until Isha persuaded her and her father.
"Slow bache... Slow", Abhyansh softly patted his daughter's back softly, Isha gave a small smile at her softy husband. When her husband's eyes shifted back to her from her daughter, her softness disappeared with stern look taking it's place.
"Why did you strain yourself training that chef ? It's so useless, he is so useless", Abhyansh whisper-yelled at his wife...
"Rana sa... Don't curse the poor man, he did a very good job, not his fault if you are very picky about your food... And it's no strain for me, I am getting better now... Don't worry", Isha tried to handle her husband
"Like the hell you are... You almost fainted just 3 days ago... Your hemoglobin is still low... Woman you delivered not one or two but three kids and you behave as if it's such a normal thing... F**king insane", he blurted earning a hard slap on his forearm from his wife...
Atimya paused drinking milk and looked at her parents, especially her baba if he is fine... Isha rolled her eyes at the protective daughter and her instincts...
"Your baba is an iron man, nothing could hurt him... Continue with your work", Isha said, gently breastfeeding her, slowly rubbing her back...
Abhyansh lay on the bed with his face supported by his palm and elbow, staring at his wife with all the overwhelming feelings in his heart, every time he looked at her, he felt his heart bubbling with happiness, there's a kind of bliss that takes over his entire being and his love didn't stay hidden, it's a good thing that no one would ever look into his eyes except for herself and her brother, now Amruta and Rajmata were added to that list, Avyan though did that a couple of times, still hesitates to look directly into his brother's eye.
"Now you weren't angry anymore ?", Isha asked her husband, trying to hide her blush at his intense gaze, it sounded so weird to her that he still made her blush even after all these years of marriage.
"I am, but that doesn't stop me from staring at my wife, with love", Abhyansh said and Isha shook her head with a small smile taking over...
"Rana sa, now leave your anger, I didn't strain myself, I'm perfectly alright... I didn't train him for you but my own sanity, all the time when you are away, I will keep thinking about you and whether you are having timely meals or not, so please try to understand me", Isha said
"Why don't you try to understand me and my worry for your health? and moreover I will be glad if you think about me when I'm away, because I'm afraid of leaving you, what if you get busy with your kids and forget about me ? these monsters are enough to take all your time", Abhyansh said the last sentence looking at his sons...
"If they are monsters, your daughter is too", Isha said and Abhyansh glared at his wife which she royally ignored. Isha helped her daughter burp and then handed over her to Abhyansh, zipping her maternity gown back.
"Anyways, Don't waste your time and energy in training that chef from tomorrow, I'm not sure whether I'll go or not, Joh was making security arrangements for them to come here", Abhyansh said
"Abhyansh... Why are you so adamant in making them travel here ? they already expressed their security concerns, didn't they? What if something goes wrong that threatens life, it would turn into an unnecessary headache for you", Isha said
"No one could hurt someone if I choose to protect them... Till now, they weren't willing to travel because I denied the security, because that's not my headache, but now I'm willing to give it, if it helps me stay close to my wife and children...", he said blowing raspberry on his daughter's stomach making her giggle, the cute sound warming his heart. Isha smiled at her incredible husband...
"Children ? You said children, not your daughter ? Wow... Arhat, Adhyat, baba has finally recognized your presence, say thank you", Isha taunted earning a glare from her husband and that made her laugh more... She knew he loved his children equally, but his daughter a little more.
"Won't you get tired of taunting me ?", Abhyansh asked
"No, that's my source of entertainment... Take care of them, I'll freshen up and come... Your three kids take all my time, I don't even have some time to clean myself up", Isha said and walked to the washroom...
In the next few minutes, she found her husband inside...
"Rana sa... the kids...", she muttered looking here and there... They haven't even kissed properly since the triplets birth, all their time was taken by them, and if anything is left, Abhyansh takes care of her food, sleep and other things, and in all this, their romance and physical intimacy took a back seat and Abhyansh too kept his beast in check knowing she needs some rest...
"Ma and Revati(daima) are looking after them", Abhyansh said and locked the washroom door... "Let me take care of you, bacha", Abhyansh said, kissing her forehead and she let her husband pamper her. Thankfully, there wasn't much awkwardness as Isha was always comfortable with Abhyansh, even when she first breastfed their children, he was the one who stayed with her. She never felt embarrassed with him, if any, things got easier with his presence.
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"Rana sa... What is this ?", Isha asked showing a big bundle of cardboard, It's been more than 7 months since she properly arranged his study i.e right from the time she gave birth, she couldn't even find some time to at least make someone clean the whole study in her presence, so she decided to do it now.
Abhyansh who just walked in was surprised to see his wife in his study, arranging things...
"What are you doing here doing all this ?", Abhyansh asked
"Arranging things, I have fed your children, now they will wake up after an hour, and that will be their cereal time, Ma will feed them... So, I thought of cleaning this and arranging all this... It's been 7 months I have looked this way", Isha said continuing with her work... "Now answer me, what is this huge thing? It's so heavy", Isha said trying to pull it off the shelf, Abhyansh quickly went and helped her take it out and he gently placed it on the mahogany table present beside.
"Will show you, but first get down... Stop doing all these things, Get this done, don't do this yourself", Abhyansh said sternly and made her sit on the chair, he stood beside her, leaning on the table facing her... "Open and see for yourself", he said and she frowned in confusion and tried to open the huge metal cardboard, then she noticed a lock sign...
"1**6", Abhyansh said
"Huh ?", Isha was confused at the whole ordeal
"The password...", he said and she nodded adjusting the number lock and opened the metal box and the contents in it teared her up...
The metal box was a beautifully crafted memory lane with every picture of her pregnancy journey beautifully depicted in it... with her husband's handcrafted notes beside every picture...
"So this is why you took pictures of me every now and then huh ?", she asked wiping her tears, he nodded kissing her head.
"I want this journey to be an unforgettable one for the both of us... I tried my best to make it unforgettable but if at all we forgot, I want this box to remind us...", Abhyansh said and Isha smiled with tears still dropping...
"I can't bear with your sweetness Rana sa... It overwhelms me...", she said and he chuckled at her taunt. "You made it all by yourself right ?", Isha asked and Abhyansh nodded... He crafted the whole book including the metal exteriors that has gold and silver linings... He wanted to make this wholly for his wife, every inch of it should have only his touch, no one else's... "This is the best gift for me... I will cherish this all my life...", Isha said and he nodded adjusting her hair locks. "What's with the password?", she asked
"The day your journey as a mother began", Abhyansh said and Isha understood that it was when they conceived the triplets... She got up and hugged him tightly for his thoughtfulness...
"I so love you, Ansh", she said nuzzling into his neck...
"I know...", he gave his usual reply but she heard his 'I love you more' in it. He rarely said 'I love you' but proved with his actions every second of their life and that's all she wanted.
"Now come, let's check this out... I was gonna gift you on their first birthday, but you found it before that", Abhyansh said
"No problem, we will fill this together from now on...", she said and both of them checked the book, Isha teared up at every note he wrote, having her emotionless husband to express is the best thing she could have...
"Enough for today, I want to have this happiness as a daily dose, I don't want this to end... You don't know how happy you have made me with this Rana sa", Isha said kissing his cheek.
He smiled placing a gentle kiss on her head, he was glad to have made her happy.
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"Ma... I have fed them, feed them their cereal after they wake up, give them some juice at around 4, I'll be back before that, but if at all the meeting extends...", Isha told her mother-in-law though she knew everything...
"Bhabhi ma... Ma and Papa will take care of the kids, come fast, bhai sa won't spare us if we get late", Avyan said
It was 3 months ago when Pratap finally gathered the courage to ask forgiveness from his sons, he expressed his regret and told them he wanted to make amends, do everything right at least in the final years of his life... Abhyansh didn't say a word neither did Avyan, but after seeing the old man's efforts, Avyan gave in, understanding the old man genuinely wanted to try... He wasn't completely over the pain for what Pratap did to him or his elder brother, but he decided to give it a chance, it was as a part of giving a normal family to the triplets, Avyan promised to do everything for the kids and he would stick by that promise no matter what, even if that meant giving a chance to his father who has done some unforgivable things to his brother.
It was an emotional day when Avyan addressed Pratap as 'Papa', Pratap teared up with regret that for any father it would take a year or two to hear that word from their children's mouth but it took him more than 2.5 decades to hear it from his younger son, and didn't know how many decades it would take to hear from his elder son...
"Yes... Let's go", Avyan said and both of them left for R Empire.
There is a board meeting today and as a part of the board of directors, Isha and Avyan are supposed to be present since it's an important discussion about acquiring India's second-largest real estate firm, but they weren't told of the importance, Abhyansh just asked them to be present in the office the next day, as he was in a hurry to head to work that day. Only if he had told them...
"I don't understand what's so important that he called the both of us to office, why didn't you protest Avi ? You were on leave today, technically you shouldn't be working", Isha said settling in the passenger seat, Avyan started the engine and drove off, with their security following them...
"No idea bhabhi ma... Don't worry, we'll find out soon", Avyan said
"Okay, wake me up when we reach, I'm sleepy", Isha said adjusting the seat to sleep comfortably...
Just after 10 minutes, Avyan stopped the car and woke up Isha...
"What happened Avi ?", Isha asked, rubbing the sleep off her eyes...
"Look there", Avyan said and he could see stars in Isha's eyes at the sight...
"I wanted to eat all of it... They look so yummy", Isha said and Avyan nodded...
"Let's go, but we have to be quick, there's not much time left", Avyan said
"Okay... Let's go fast", Isha said and before they could start eating, the security did a proper check and then gave the go-ahead, Isha ordered them to stay away, and then both the sister-in-law-brother-in-law duo started their food exploration... Starting from chaat to vada pav, bhel puri to jalebi, dabeli to pakora, they tried every other variety, as Isha was craving for them badly... She couldn't eat junk as she was on feeding, that's why she restricted herself all these days, but now she couldn't resist anymore, also she already pumped milk for the day as she was going out, moreover she limited the milk feed and increased the cereal and other feed to her triplets. Her doctor too gave a go-ahead to eat anything she wants to, but not too much if it's junk, so there's no stopping her today.
"Let's eat ice cream", Isha said
"Bhabhi ma... Oh no! we are late", Avyan panicked...
"Oh No!, Your bhai sa will chew us alive... hm... chalo I have a plan, but for now, let's have ice cream...", She said and Avyan nodded
Both of them had their ice cream, before getting into their car, Isha casually opened her phone, only to see 10 missed calls from her husband, those 10 missed calls didn't scare her as much as his 3 text messages did, as she knew his hatred for texting, still he did, that meant something is wrong...
"Where are you ? The board meeting has commenced", his first text read
"Isha... Are the kids fine ? Whay are you late ? Pick up my call ?", his second text read, which was after half an hour later to the first text...
"Meet me in my office, both of you", his third text read and that scared the sh*t outta her... She could read his dangerous tone through his cold text...
"Avi... We are dead...", Isha said explaining the whole issue to Avyan on their way... Avyan too was shocked to hear that they were called for a board meeting...
"Its not our fault completely, how would we know if your bhai sa doesn't say why he called us to office ? He was so used to people complying with his every word as if it were a written constitution, that he didn't even bother telling us the reason", Isha said walking inside the office... "How about I get into a fight with this reason ? Will we get out of this problem ?", Isha added and Avyan shook his head...
"Bhabhi ma... Your argument wasn't strong... Though Bhai sa didn't mention the reason, he did ask us to be on time as its very important", Avyan said, "It was us who forgot time in eating all those", Avyan pointed out making Isha curse themself...
"What if I act like I was sick ?", Isha said
"You don't sound convincing enough... Even if bhai sa believes you, you would be off the hook, what about me ?", Avyan asked
"Point... Moreover, it's not easy to fool him", Isha said
"Oh! It's a piece of cake for you, but right now you are nervous, so, just rule out that option", Avyan said earning a glare from his sister-in-law...
"The more you delay, the more you have to face my wrath", another text popped up Isha's phone making her terrified, she cursed her husband for being like this, she wished she was pregnant, she could have pushed all the blame of her cravings on her kids... Now she can't even do that, she already popped them out...
"Avi... We are dead, let's go fast, otherwise, your devil of a brother won't hesitate to give us an earful in front of everyone... he is that furious", Isha said
Isha and Avyan rushed to Abhyansh's office, all the way through planning and plotting but nothing seemed to work, they got all ready to bear the punishments when Isha suddenly remembered something...
"Bhabhi ma... I'm scared, bhai sa won't leave us", Avyan told, literally shivering at the thought that they missed a very important board meeting to satisfy their food cravings ?
"Don't worry, I have got a plan...", Isha said, taking out the sacred ash from her bag... "This is the scared ash, priest gave us when we went to Mahakal temple last month, apply it on your forehead", she added
"But why ?", Avyan questioned... Isha applied some on her forehead and did the same to her brother-in-law...
"Now only Mahadev can protect us, We got late because we stopped at a temple...", Isha said and Avyan cupped his mouth at his sister-in-law's lies...
"Bhabhi ma... Mahadev won't forgive us", Avyan said
"Don't worry, Shiv Ji will forgive us, he knew we were doing this to save ourselves from 'Asur' ", she said and Avyan's eyes widened as he never heard his bhabhi ma speak like that..."Don't look at me with those wide eyes, I'm tired of your brother's punctuality... he is like a time bomb...", Isha said
"What if bhai sa asks the security staff if we went to the temple", Avyan asked
"He wouldn't do it, that would mean he is insulting us, he wouldn't do it, also I'll tell him the truth when he calms down after a while, it;s just to save ourselves from getting burnt in the fire for now", Isha said and Avyan nodded, they started walking again...
"Do you think this will work", Avyan again asked halting the walk...
"Trust me Avi, this will work, Your bhai sa wouldn't say a word when it's about Mahadev, he is our protector in every sense", Isha said joining both her hands, and asking forgiveness from Bolenath before walking to the lion's den.
"Close the door", Abhyansh ordered as soon as the both of them entered in...
Avyan shivered at his brother's cold tone, he wasn't familiar anymore as its been a while since his brother used that tone... Isha nudged Avyan and he quickly locked the door both physically and digitally.
"We...", Isha started but she was cut off by Abhyansh's tone...
"So How is Mahadev planning to protect you from this 'Asur' ?", he asked looking sharply at his wife, shocking both of them. Their faces paled, especially his wife's as he knew he wouldn't tolerate any jokes about his Mahadev.
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