CHAPTER 27! HER PAST
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The morning sun didn't warm the Shinghania mansion; it merely illuminated its sharp, clinical edges.
When Aadhira opened her eyes, the heavy silk sheets of the master bed felt completely foreign beneath her.
For a second, panic gripped her chest until she realized she was alone on the mattress. The other side was pristine, cold, and empty. Aryav was already gone.
A small, soft weight shifted near the edge of the bed.
Aadhira blinked against the morning light, her gaze falling on a tiny figure sitting silently on the plush rug. Ayaan. He was dressed in his crisp school uniform, his dark eyes wide and fixed on her with that quiet observation he had inherited from his father.
But the moment he saw her looking, the icy wall vanished.
"Mama," he whispered.
Aadhira's heart melted instantly. The suffocating weight of the Shinghania name didn't matter.
She sat up quickly, throwing the duvet aside, and scooped the seven-year-old into her lap, planting a warm kiss on his cheek.
"Good morning, meri jaan," she breathed, her voice thick with sleep. "Your socks ran away again?"
Ayaan nodded seriously. "I think so."
"Again?" Aadhira held up a single, lonely black sock she found near the pillow.
"Ayaan, beta, one day I'm going to find a secret kingdom inside this house where all your missing socks are living happily ever after."
Ayaan blinked, processing the thought. "With my geometry box?"
"Exactly. And three water bottles."
"Mama?"
"Hmm?"
"How do you always find my things?"
Aadhira grinned, squeezing him gently.
"Because I have secret contacts."
"Where?"
"The Sock gang."
Ayaan let out a rare, genuine giggle, his small arms wrapping around her neck. It took less than a minute of rummaging through the precisely organized walk-in closet to track down the missing pair.
"Found the criminals," Aadhira held them up triumphantly. "Case solved."
She tapped his nose playfully. "Now go before your school starts charging late fees."
Ayaan nodded obediently, clutching his socks as he trotted out of the room.
By the time Aadhira quickly showered, dressed in a traditional post-wedding suit, and hurried downstairs, the driver had already escorted him to the school Bentley.
A small sigh of relief escaped her lips; at least the kid was safe from the heavy atmosphere of this house.
The grand dining hall was already filled with the silent presence of the Shinghania dynasty.
The hierarchy here was absolute. The younger members of the family-Reyansh, Tara, and the twins, Arjun and Aarush-stood quietly by their respective chairs.
Nobody sat before Rajendra Vikram took his seat at the head of the table. Once the patriarch was seated, Mrinalini Devi took her place beside him, followed by Vikrant and Ishaani. Only then did the rest of the family sit.
Aryav sat directly across from his father. He was already dressed in a flawless charcoal suit, a freshly lit cigarette resting between his fingers, the smoke curling lazily around his sharp profile.
The younger members waited until Mrinalini Devi had taken her first bite of breakfast before touching their own plates.
As Aadhira stepped into the room, the gaze of the family matriarch shifted to her.
"Aadhira." Mrinalini Devi looked up from her tea, her tone carrying the absolute weight of generations.
"Ji, Dadi."
"Aaj rasoi tumhari hai. Rasam kecliye Kuch meetha banana hai ."
Before Aadhira could even nod, Aarush immediately looked up, his eyes gleaming. "Dadi, if bhabhi is cooking, can we place requests?"
"No," Mrinalini Devi replied without looking at him.
"Suggestion?"
"No."
"Appeal?"
"No."
Arjun without looking up
"Chup chaap baith."
Aarush sighs.
"Is ghar mein democracy kab aayegi?"
Aadhira swallowed the lump in her throat, a small, involuntary smile tugging at her lips despite her nerves.
Radha Rani, please help me. Inka khaana kharab hua toh pata nahi kaun si jail mein band kar denge.
Ten minutes later, she returned with a tray of fresh, aromatic halwa. She began serving the elders first, her hands surprisingly steady.
Tara lowered her sunglasses dramatically as Aadhira approached.
"Bhabhi..."
"Hmm?"
"Ek baat poochun?"
"Poocho."
"Kal Aryav bhai sach mein muskuraaye the?"
Aadhira freezes.
"...kisne bola?"
Tara gasps.
"Toh sach hai!"
Further down the table, Reyansh took another bite from his plate, chewing thoughtfully before pointing his spoon at Aadhira.
"Approved."
(Another bite)
"Hm."
Aadhira waits.
"Zinda bach gaya."
"..."
"Accha hai."
Aadhira stared. "Thank you?"
"Highest compliment you'll get from me," Reyansh shrugged effortlessly.
Aarush immediately pointed his fork at the remaining halwa on the tray.
"Bhabhi, if I fail my upcoming exams, can I blame this?"
"No," Aadhira countered smoothly.
"Why?"
"Because even my cooking can't explain your marks."
Arjun burst out laughing, nearly choking on his orange juice, while Tara let out a loud snort.
Aarush looked utterly betrayed, placing a hand over his heart. "I welcomed you into this family."
When Aadhira finally reached Aryav's side, she carefully placed a small crystal bowl of the sweet in front of him.
Aryav glanced at the bowl. "Take it away."
Aadhira blinked, forcing a tight smile as the cross-table chatter instantly died down. "It's prasad."
"It's sugar."
"It's blessed sugar."
"Still sugar."
Aadhira folded her arms, her inner chaotic stubbornness flaring up despite the icy aura radiating off him.
"One spoon."
"No."
"One."
Aryav finally looked up from his tablet, his dark eyes locking onto her face with a flat, absolute stillness.
"Har baat main ladna jaruri hai aapka?."
"Meri koi baat na manna jaruri hai. apko?."
Something cold and entirely unreadable flickered deep in Aryav's dark eyes.
It lasted for a single, fleeting second before his focus returned squarely to his tablet, effectively ending the conversation.
Outwardly, she backed away without another word, setting the bowl aside.
Itna nakhra? Ek chammach kha lene se mar nahi jaate.
Before anyone else could pick up their spoons, a house steward stepped into the dining hall, leaning down toward the head of the table. "Ji, sir. Commissioner Raghavan is here."
The atmosphere shifted from family banter to sharp, familiar tension. A man in an immaculate police uniform walked in, his chest decorated with high-ranking medals.
Commissioner Raghavan.
He was a man who had made it his life's mission to bring down the Rai Shinghania empire, a fierce enemy wrapped in the authority of the state.
Behind him, four armed officers stood at attention.
Aryav didn't even flinch. He didn't raise his eyes from his plate as he cut another piece of toast.
"Vivaan," Aryav said quietly, his voice cutting through the sudden silence.
Vivaan, who was standing by the large French windows with his hands clasped behind his back, looked up. "Sir?"
"Has he brought a warrant?"
"No, sir."
"Then he can wait."
Vivaan turned his gaze to the Commissioner, his hands remaining casually clasped behind his back. "You may wait in the living hall."
Raghavan's jaw tightened, his gaze hardening. "This is an official investigation."
Vivaan offered a pleasant, entirely empty smile. "And breakfast is still breakfast."
"And if I don't?" Raghavan stepped forward, his boots clicking sharply on the marble. "If I demand an immediate audience?"
Vivaan's expression didn't change, but his tone dropped into something smoothly lethal. "Then you'll still be waiting, Commissioner...
Just somewhere less comfortable."
Raghavan's jaw clenched, his eyes burning with suppressed rage. As he began to turn toward the hallway, his eyes drifted toward the back of the room, briefly landing on Aadhira, who stood frozen by the arched pillar.
Aryav's gaze sharpened instantly.
Without a single change in his expression, Aryav's dark gaze locked onto the officer, his voice dropping to a terrifyingly sharp register that sliced through the room.
"Commissioner."
Raghavan paused, his attention snapping back. "What?"
"My wife isn't part of this conversation."
Silence descended upon the dining hall like a physical weight. Aryav slowly leaned back, his eyes turning completely dead.
"Look at me."
Raghavan's chest heaved with tightly wound anger, but with a stiff nod, he turned on his heel and marched toward the main living hall.
Aadhira's heart hammered against her ribs. She looked around the table. Reyansh was calmly buttering his toast again.
Tara was casually checking her nails. Vikrant hadn't even looked up from his financial briefing.
Ghar mein police aayi hai aur inlogo ko halwa ki padi hai! Kaha fas gayi main!
Five minutes later, Aryav stood up. He adjusted his cuffs, his movements unhurried, and walked toward the living hall.
The family followed at a distance, standing near the arched pillars to watch. Aadhira stayed close to the back, her fingers trembling.
Aryav took a seat on the leather armchair opposite the Commissioner. He crossed one leg over the other, leaning back as though the accusation bored him.
"Reason for your visit," Aryav said, his dark eyes locking onto the older man.
The Commissioner leaned forward, slamming a heavy folder onto the glass table. "We found four dead bodies in the industrial wasteland outside the city limits this morning. All four of them were executing clerks who used to work directly under your parent company. This is a murder investigation."
Aadhira's fingers tightened around the edge of the pillar.
Four dead bodies?
Four?
Mere ghar mein toh do log lad lete the toh mummy colony group mein announcement kar deti thi.
She instinctively scanned the room, but nobody at the breakfast table looked remotely surprised.
Aryav didn't look at the folder. Instead, he tilted his head slightly, a look creeping into his eyes. He glanced toward his right hand.
"How many employees work for us?" Aryav asked smoothly.