CHAPTER 30! POSSESIVE MUCH #3
"Haan!" Tara agreed immediately. "Exactly!"
"Problem Aryav bhai nahi... hum hain," Myra chimed in, nodding.
Aadhira blinked rapidly, her chest tightening.
Maine limit cross kar di kya? Lagta hai jada bol Diya.
Reyansh had already entered an entirely different universe of confidence.
"Aaj se rules change. No unnecessary fear. No panic standing. If AC 18 pe chalana hai..." He slammed his open palm against the table. "...toh 18 pe hi chalega!"
"Haan!" Aarush cheered.
"If breakfast pe hasna hai..." Tara raised both hands in the air. "...toh hasenge!"
"If bhai daantenge..." Reyansh rolled up his sleeves with immense bravado. "...toh bhabhi hai na bachane ko!"
The cousins broke out into spontaneous applause. Aadhira stared at them in absolute horror.
Radha Rani... Yeh log toh union bana rahe hain, aur mujhe bina election ke leader bana diya!
"Guys..." She tried to interject, but her voice was drowned out.
"My first feedback," Reyansh planned out loud, pacing the floor. "'Bhai, aap unnecessary overreact karte ho.'"
"Main bolungi... 'Breakfast family time hota hai, corporate meeting nahi,'" Tara chimed in.
Unlike them, Aadhira could actually picture Aryav's face perfectly. And right after that statement... she could picture all of their funeral processions.
"Aree... meri baat suno," Aadhira tried to raise her voice over the rising din. "Main kya soch rahi thi..."
"Haan haan," Reyansh waved her off dismissively. "Hum samajh gaye, bhabhi. Aap humein sher banana chahti ho. Confidence hi key hai."
"Nahi!-"
"We're proud of you, bhabhi," Tara suddenly leaned over and threw her arms around her in a tight hug. "You broke the fear cycle."
Aadhira completely froze.
Main? Maine? Main toh bas biscuit kha rahi thi!
Before she could confess, the front doors opened.
Vivaan walked into the grand house, carrying a thick leather folder securely tucked beneath his arm.
He took exactly three heavy steps into the corridor and stopped dead in his tracks.
The atmosphere in the room changed slightly, but Reyansh was still conducting his motivational seminar, entirely oblivious.
"Fear ko dimaag se nikaalo," Reyansh declared, hands tucked behind his back.
"Aadhe darr toh dimaag ke hote hain," Arjun murmured dryly from the corner.
"Exactly!" Reyansh pointed an index finger at him. "Isi soch ne humein barbaad kiya hai."
Aadhira closed her eyes in sheer despair. Main pankha ban jaaun kya?
Vivaan finally cleared his throat. "Ahem."
The cousins turned around.
"Oh, Vivaan bhai!" Reyansh beamed, waving him over. "Perfect timing."
Vivaan looked at the unusually cheerful, bright faces of the cousins. Then his sharp, calculating eyes drifted to Aadhira.
She gave him the weakest, most strained smile imaginable-the universal look of someone silently screaming for a lifeline.
Vivaan adjusted his folder. "...Main disturb toh nahi kar raha?"
"Nahi!" Tara said happily. "Hum log ek bahut important discussion kar rahe hain. Aryav bhai ke baare mein."
The thick leather folder nearly slipped from under Vivaan's arm. He gripped it tighter, his face remaining entirely neutral, though his left eyebrow twitched. "...I'm sorry?"
"Myra, explain," Reyansh ordered.
Myra sat up straighter. "Bachpan se Aryav bhai humein darate aa rahe hain, or hum darr ke hi ji rahe hain."
Vivaan blinked once. Then he looked at Aadhira again.
She looked ready to faint directly into her poha.
He understood.
Not every single detail, but enough to know a lethal storm was brewing.
"...Aapne kya bola in logon ko?" he asked her quietly, his voice dropping to a cautious murmur.
Aadhira smiled nervously, her shoulders shrinking into herself. "...Bas..."
"Bas?"
"...Thoda sa."
"Kitna thoda?"
She completely looked away, studying the floor patterns.
"...Matlab... Thoda zyada todha."
Vivaan slowly pinched the bridge of his nose. He had negotiated multi-million dollar deals with cutthroat syndicates. He had handled hostile, multi-billion-dollar corporate takeovers.
He had successfully stopped literal turf wars in the dock districts. Yet somehow, absolutely nothing in his career had prepared him for the sheer, unadulterated chaos of this breakfast table.
Reyansh stepped forward and clapped a hand heavily on Vivaan's shoulder.
"Relax, Vivaan bhai. Bhabhi ne humein ehsaas dilaya ki hum bhi independent hain. Bhai bhi toh insaan hain."
Vivaan stared at Reyansh's hand on his shoulder, then up at his face. For the first time in years, a tiny, buried muscle in his cheek twitched.
"...Aur yeh gyaan kisne diya?" Vivaan asked calmly.
In perfect, synchronized choreography, five fingers pointed straight at Aadhira. "Bhabhi."
Aadhira immediately locked her eyes onto the ceiling.
Zameen kyun nahi phat rahi?
Vivaan sighed, a very quiet, almost imperceptible sound. "Interesting."
His survival instincts-honed by years of working in close proximity to the monster himself-suddenly flared.
The atmosphere in the dining hall felt too open, too loud. He lowered his voice. "Waise... Sir kahan hain?"
Aarush shrugged carelessly. "Pata nahi. Office mein honge."
Reyansh casually waved a hand. "Kahin bhi ho, aaj hum unhe dikha denge ki ab hum nahi darte kisi se."
Vivaan's expression turned intensely flat. "Kisi se bhi?"
"Haan. Bhai hain. Kha toh nahi jaayenge."
Aadhira's soul quietly packed its bags. Kha hi jaayenge... Sabko. Ek-ek karke.
Vivaan watched Reyansh with the clinical observation of a man watching someone accidentally step onto a landmine.
He made one last, logical attempt to save his cousin. "Reyansh. Main ek advice doon? Jo bhi bolna hai... Sir ke saamne mat bolna."
Reyansh burst into a loud, mocking laugh. "Hahaha! Vivaan bhai... Aap bhi na! Aap bhi faltu mein darte ho. Aapko bhi Aadhira bhabhi ki zaroorat hai coaching ke liye."
Vivaan actually froze.
Aadhira immediately slapped an open hand over her mouth.
Nahi... Yeh toh gaya. Isko ab koi nahi bacha sakta.
"Dekho, respect alag cheez hai aur darr alag," Reyansh added, rolling his sleeves higher. "Aaj se... main nahi darta."
Vivaan slowly looked up at the ceiling. He leaned in slightly toward Reyansh and muttered under his breath, "Insurance kara rakha hai na?"
"Kya?" Reyansh blinked.