CHAPTER 34! JUST SIBLINGS THINGS #2
Despite multiple uniformed maids moving around the perimeter, Aadhira stepped in to personally serve breakfast to the elders first.
It wasn't an official rule of the house, but she liked doing it.
Veer and Padmini had raised her with traditional values: respect wasn't something shown through grand words; it was proven through quiet actions.
Rajendra accepted his tea with a slight, approving nod. Mrinalini offered her one of her rare, sharp glances that doubled as an accolade.
Aadhira secretly considered that the equivalent of receiving a national merit award.
Then, her phone rang.
The screen flashed brightly on the table.
Bhai
Aadhira immediately reached out and declined it. Absolutely not. Not here. Not with the speakerphone defect.
Five seconds later, the phone vibrated and rang again.
Aadhira stared straight ahead, pretending the noise wasn't happening. Ten seconds later, it rang a third time.
The entire table noticed the persistent buzzing. Mrinalini lifted a perfectly shaped eyebrow. "Answer it, Aadhira."
She sipped her tea. "Maybe it's urgent."
Aadhira offered a tight, nervous smile. "It's fine, Dadi. I'll just call him back later."
The ringing stopped.
Aadhira exhaled, her shoulders dropping slightly. Then it started a fourth time.
Everyone at the table looked at her. Even Aryav paused, his dark eyes shifting up from his tablet to pin her with a quiet, observant look.
Which, predictably, made everything ten times worse.
Aadhira knew Shaurya.
If she didn't answer now, he would call thirty more times without a shred of dignity.
With the heavy resignation of a soldier marching toward an inevitable execution, she swiped across the glass to accept the call.
The moment the connection went through, the broken speaker activated at maximum volume.
Shaurya Agrawal's voice exploded through the cavernous, high-ceilinged dining hall.
"MOTI!"
The entire table froze.
Spoons hovered in mid-air.
Aadhira closed her eyes, praying for the floor to open up and swallow her whole. Death would be preferable to this.
"MOTI, ITNI DER KYU LAGAI PHONE UTHANE MEIN?!"
Half the younger generation immediately folded. Reyansh was choking on his coffee, Tara disappeared behind her hands, and Aarush nearly dropped his glass of orange juice.
Even little Ayaan blinked, thoroughly confused. "Moti?"
Shaurya continued, completely oblivious to the fact that he was currently broadcasting to India's most feared dynasty.
"BILKUL APNE USS NIKAMME, JAHIL PATI PAR JAATI JA RAHI HO!"
Silence. Utter, absolute silence dropped over the room.
Aryav continued reading. Only the slight pause of his thumb betrayed that he had heard every word.
Half the table looked at Aryav.
The other half immediately looked away. Self-preservation was a valuable skill.
Reyansh leaned over and whispered to Arjun, "Oh."
"He has chosen death," Arjun whispered back.
Aarush nodded solemnly.
"A highly painful one."
Aadhira's face burned a furious scarlet. "Bhai! Mere pati ke baare mein aise mat bolo."
Shaurya laughed loudly through the speaker.
Bhagwan ji please inhone suna na ho , suna kya...? Nahi... nahi suna hoga...
Aryav finally looked at Aadhira. "We'll discuss my contact name later."
His voice remained perfectly level, but Aadhira stopped breathing entirely.
Sun liya hey bhagwan Satyanash ho mere muh ka, memory erase kar do inki please.
"Bhai... please stop talking," she squeaked out, burying her face in her right hand.
But it was too late. Nearly everyone at the table was actively hiding their laughter, except Roshni Bua, who openly chuckled and shook her head.
"Kya jodi banayi hai bhagwan ne."
"Acha listen!" Shaurya barged on, entirely unchecked. "I called to tell you something important."
Aadhira sighed heavily. "Bolo."
"Taiji tujhe paanch sau rupaye deke gayi thi aur bola tha aadhe mujhe dena," Shaurya stated with absolute gravity.
The room blinked. The grand dining hall fell completely quiet as the heirs to a multi-billion-dollar empire listened to a man hunt down a petty debt.
"Where are my two hundred and fifty rupees?" Shaurya demanded.
"Abhi chahiye mujhe."
Reyansh dropped his spoon into his bowl with a loud clink.
Tara practically folded in half laughing.
Aadhira straightened up, her defensiveness kicking in.
"KAUNSE PAISE?"
"Mere paise."
"Kaise tere paise?!"
"Half share."
Aadhira looked ready to hurl the phone across the room. "Maine sara ghar ka kaam kiya tha!"
"Partnership thi."
"Kab?"
"Emotionally."
The younger cousins were openly, hysterically laughing now.
Even Rajendra Vikram's lips twitched slightly at the exchange.
Aadhira pointed an accusing finger at the screen as if he could see her.
"Nashta maine banaya tha!"
"Main moral support de raha tha."
"Tu ghar pe bhi nahi tha!"
"Exactly," Shaurya said, sounding incredibly proud of himself. "Trust."
Aadhira looked like she might actually combust. "Main nahi de rahi!"
"Bhikari kahi ki."
"Chudail."
"Tu kamina."
"Mar ja moti."
"Phone kaat rahi hoon main!" Aadhira snapped.
Aadhira groaned. "What now?"
At this point, the younger Rai Shinghanias were listening with total, unvocalized focus-significantly more invested than they had ever been in any corporate board meeting.
"Meri chaar din ki chhutti hai, tere us pati ke samne 1000 baar hath jode sale ne tab chutti di hai," Shaurya explained.