24 | two bhabhis
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Everyone had finally received their breakfast.
Abhijit ( Avyukt's dad ) had served Mom.
Avyukt had served Avantika.
Krish had practically delivered Siya's plate like it was a royal offering.
Only one person was left staring at an empty spot in front of her.
Ruhi.
She looked around the table dramatically. Then looked at her empty place setting. Then looked at everyone else.
"Wow." Nobody paid attention.
"Amazing." Still nothing.
Finally, she put a hand over her heart.
"Everyone has someone to bring them breakfast, and then there's me."
The entire table looked at her.
"Such discrimination."
Dad laughed.
Mom shook her head. "Ruhi..."
"No, Mom. Let me suffer in peace."
Avantika smiled and stood up. "Drama queen."
She walked to the kitchen and returned with a plate of breakfast. At the same time, Siya quietly got up and brought a cup of tea.
Both of them placed the items in front of Ruhi together.
Ruhi looked at the plate.
Then at the tea.
Then at both of them.
A huge smile appeared on her face. "Aww."
She immediately wrapped an arm around Avantika and another around Siya. "Thanks to my both bhabhis."
Siya instantly choked. "WHAT?"
Avantika almost laughed.
Krish looked way too happy.
Avyukt slowly put down his fork. "Interesting choice of words."
Siya pointed at Ruhi. "Take that back."
"Never." Ruhi grinned.
"One is my present bhabhi." She pointed at Avantika.
"And one is my future bhabhi."
This time even her Dad started laughing. Mom looked suspiciously at Krish.
Krish suddenly became very interested in his breakfast.
Siya's face turned completely red.
"RUHI!"
Ruhi happily took a sip of tea. "What? I'm just planning ahead."
From the head of the table, Avyukt calmly spoke. "At least someone in this house has long-term vision."
Krish almost looked emotional. "Bhaiya supports me!"
"No."
"Oh."
The entire table burst into laughter while Siya seriously considered throwing her tea at all of them.
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*******
The house was unusually quiet that afternoon.
Avyukt was buried in work. The stock market had been fluctuating for days, and most of his attention was stuck between meetings, reports, and endless charts.
But somehow... He still found time to send snaps to Avantika.
The same man who once claimed that sending snaps was the most useless thing in the world was now flooding her notifications.
A picture of his black coffee.
A picture of a bird sitting outside his office window.
A picture of a file , his laptop , board meeting , stock market screens.
Even a picture of his watch with the caption: "Still alive."
Avantika kept picking up her phone every few minutes.
Notification.
Open. Look. Put it back.
What exactly was she supposed to reply to a picture of a coffee mug?
On the other side of the house, Krish was sitting in the lounge area with his laptop.
His interview preparation was in full swing.
At least that was what he was pretending to do. Because every few minutes his eyes drifted away from the screen.
Toward Siya.
Ruhi was out meeting her friends. Leaving Siya completely alone with Krish.
Which apparently was becoming a problem.
Siya walked into the kitchen. Then back to her room.
Then to the balcony.
Then back inside.
Then to the kitchen again.
She wasn't even sure what she was looking for. Finally, after almost ten minutes of unnecessary walking, she stopped in front of him.
Krish looked up from his laptop.
Immediately attentive. "Yes?"
Siya awkwardly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Will you... have some tea?"
Krish stared at her for two full seconds. Then slowly closed his laptop. "If you're making it, absolutely."
Siya instantly regretted asking. "I was just asking."
"And I just answered." A smile appeared on Krish's face.
"Thank you, Siya ji."
Siya sighed. "Again with the ji."
"I like it."
"I don't."
Krish leaned back in his chair. "That's unfortunate."
"Krish..."
He grinned. "I can call you by a lot of names."
Siya immediately looked around to make sure Avyukt wasn't nearby. "Don't."
"But for now..." he said dramatically, "Siya ji is perfectly fine."
Siya rolled her eyes and turned toward the kitchen. Behind her, Krish smiled and reopened his laptop.
He wasn't looking at the interview questions anymore.
Siya suddenly stopped.
For some reason, curiosity got the better of her. She turned back and looked at him. "What kind of names?"
Krish's fingers froze above his laptop keyboard. A slow smile appeared on his face. "Oh?"
"You want to know?"
Siya immediately regretted asking. "No, I was just asking."
"Too late." He closed his laptop completely and gave her his full attention.
"Let's see..."
Siya already knew this was a mistake.
"Siya ji..." he started.
"That's the current version."
She crossed her arms. "And the other versions?"
Krish pretended to think seriously. "Siya."
"Wow. Very creative."
"Let me finish." He pointed at her.
"Sunshine."
"No."
"Miss Attitude."
"Krish."
"Future-"
"Don't you dare."
Krish laughed. "Fine, fine."
"See? This is why I don't ask questions." She turned to leave again. But his next words stopped her.
"My favorite one isn't decided yet."
Siya looked back. "Why?"
Krish's smile softened. "Because favorite names are earned."
For a second, neither of them spoke.
Then Siya immediately escaped to the kitchen. "You're impossible."
Krish watched her leave and smiled to himself. "And you're still Siya ji."
From upstairs, Avantika's voice suddenly echoed:
"SIYA! Is the tea ready?"
"COMING!" Siya practically ran.
Meanwhile, Krish leaned back in his chair.
Interview preparation: forgotten.
Mission Siya ji: progressing successfully.
________
*******
A little later, Ruhi came back home and immediately dropped onto the couch beside Siya. "Look at this."
She handed her phone over. Siya looked at the screen.
It was Krish's story. A picture of the tea cup she had made for him.
Caption: "Some tea tastes better than others."
Siya blinked. Then opened his profile.
The first thing she noticed was the following list.
A lot of girls.
A lot.
She raised an eyebrow. "You follow quite a lot of girls."
Ruhi instantly burst out laughing.
Across the room, Krish sat up straight. "Wait, what?"
Siya showed him the screen. Krish looked once and immediately grabbed his phone.
"I'll remove them right now."
"I didn't ask you to."
"Still removing them."
Ruhi was laughing so hard she almost fell off the couch.
Just then a notification popped up.
Reply from Avyukt: "Don't you dare follow me. And stay away from my sister-in-law."
Krish looked offended. "This is discrimination."
Another notification appeared. This time from Avantika.
She had replied from upstairs.
Avantika: "Nice try, Devar ji."
Ruhi laughed even harder.
Siya tried to hide her smile.
Krish looked at the three messages and sighed dramatically. "No support. Not a single person in this family supports me."
From upstairs, Avantika shouted, "Focus on your interview first!"
And from somewhere in the city, Avyukt sent one final message: "Interview. Then we'll talk."
Krish looked at Siya. "See? Even for love, Mr. Vardhan wants an interview."
This time, Siya couldn't stop the small smile that escaped her lips.
______
?? Chat
Avyukt:
Your devar is trying very hard.
Avyukt:
Good. That's how it should be.
Avyukt:
Protective husband.
Avyukt:
Very different.
Avyukt:
One is responsible for Siya.
The other is responsible for you.
Avyukt:
Really?
Avyukt:
Then why did I receive 17 snaps today with no reply?
Avyukt:
"Nice coffee."
Avyukt:
"Miss you."
Avyukt:
Mrs. Vardhan, reply to my snaps.
Avyukt:
Okay. Sending more.
Avyukt:
?????????
Avyukt:
And yet, you're still opening every snap.
Avantika stared at the last message for a few seconds before putting her phone face down... while secretly smiling.
___________
While Mr. and Mrs. Vardhan were busy arguing over snaps...Krish was sitting in a corner with a mission.
A very serious mission.
Siya's one casual comment- "You follow quite a lot of girls." -had hit harder than any interview question.
Five minutes later...
Unfollow. Unfollow. Unfollow.
Block. Block. Block.
Ruhi walked past him and stopped. "What are you doing?"
"Cleaning my account."
"Cleaning?" Ruhi looked at the screen and almost dropped her phone.
"KRISH!"
There wasn't a single girl left in his following list.
Not one.
"You removed all of them?"
"Yes."
"Even blocked them?"
"Yes."
"WHY?"
Krish didn't even look up from his phone. "Siya ji said there were too many."
Ruhi stared at him. "She wasn't even complaining!"
"Still."
A few minutes later Siya opened his profile again.
Following: practically zero girls.
Followers: practically zero girls.
She blinked.
Then blinked again. "You actually removed everyone?"
Krish looked up. "You noticed?"
"That's not the point!"
"Then what's the point?"
Siya opened and closed her mouth. Nothing came out.
A smile slowly appeared on Krish's face.
"Good. Because the point is..."
He locked his phone and stood up. "Now nobody can say my attention is divided."
Siya immediately looked away.
Ruhi watched the entire scene.
Then took out her phone.
Family Group:
"Emergency update: Krish has deleted half the female population from his Instagram."
Within seconds, Avyukt replied:
"Good. Now focus on the interview."
Avantika: "Poor Devar ji."
Krish: "Nobody supports true love in this family."