Chapter 4 #2
What if he goes to the engagement… and actually likes the girl?
Her thoughts drifted to their tiny kitchen, to sleepy mornings spent making breakfast together, and nights when they talked so long that dinner went cold. Somewhere along the way, she had come to love the cosy little life they had built together.
And suddenly, the thought of losing Swayam felt unbearable. Without him, the apartment would no longer feel like home.
‘Kashu?’
Luv called out, drawing her attention. ‘You’ve been suspiciously quiet. Got any grand wedding plans in the future we should know about?
The question caught her off guard, and the answer slipped out before she could stop it. ‘You’re safe. I don’t ever plan to get married.’
Heat crept up her neck as all four of them looked at her in surprise. Kashvi usually avoided saying that aloud, but now that it was out, she lifted a shoulder in a shrug. ‘I happen to like my life the way it is.’
Abhay broke the silence. ‘If you’re sure that’s what you want, then that sounds fair enough.’
‘I am,’ Kashvi said.
Though Swayam didn’t say anything, she could feel his burning gaze on her. His silence was heavy enough to be noticeable.
Luv cleared his throat. ‘Why don’t we play a board game until Siya comes home with dinner?’
Abhay shook his head. ‘We can’t. Siya left us homework.’
He disappeared briefly before returning with a large cardboard box filled with neatly stacked photographs. ‘The photographer dropped these off. Siya wanted us to sort through them for the family album.’
‘Alright, one ground rule,’ Luv declared, pulling out a stack. ‘If I look good in a picture, it’s an automatic yes.’
‘So the album’s going to stay empty,’ Swayam said, earning a soft laugh from her.
‘Jealousy looks good on you, bhai,’ Luv shot back.
Kashvi slid a small pile towards herself and began arranging the glossy prints into neat rows on the coffee table.
She smiled softly at the last one. It showed the entire group in all its pure chaotic glory, standing together in front of the mandap, busy reminding each other to behave.
The photographer had captured the essence of their group in a single candid shot.
Luv whistled, holding up a photograph. ‘Oh, this one. Abhay looks like he bit into a lemon,’ he said, turning it around to show the captured moment of Abhay glaring at him while Siya laughed.
Raghav snorted. ‘That’s because you were flirting with his wife.’
Luv waved the accusation away. ‘Hey! I was complimenting the bride.’
‘By telling Siya she could do better?’
Abhay shot him a scathing look at the reminder.
‘I mean, c’mon. He didn’t even cry as she walked down the aisle,’ Luv argued.
‘I couldn’t stop smiling because I knew I’d married up,’ Abhay said proudly.
Kashvi let out a quiet laugh as she flipped over another photograph and paused to look at it. It showed her sister bathed in the glow of the sacred fire, sharing a soft smile with her husband. This one definitely belonged in the album.
She passed it to Luv, who studied it for a moment. ‘You know, you two look so happy in love.’
Abhay rolled his eyes. ‘We are married.’
Something almost sombre flickered in his eyes as Luv said, ‘That doesn’t guarantee anything. Love can be… fleeting with the wrong person.’
The comment caught Kashvi off guard, but before she could ask anything, Raghav held up another photo. ‘Kashu, why do you look like you’re about to kill someone?’
‘The photographer kept telling her to smile,’ Swayam answered before she could. He tried to hide it, but his dimple gave away his amusement.
Kashvi flinched as she recalled the constant click of cameras and the photographer’s relentless reminders to smile. It had been unnerving. The only thing that had kept her sane was Swayam’s arm at the small of her back, holding her close.
Trying to push that memory aside, she reached for another stack, but a quick ripple ran up her skin when her arm brushed against Swayam. He’d shifted closer without her noticing.
When she found it difficult to focus, Kashvi stole a glance at him.
Swayam was looking down at a photograph, a faint smile tugging at his lips. Curiosity pulled her in, and she leaned closer to sneak a peek.
Her breath caught when she realised it was a picture of the two of them. Her head was tipped back in laughter, and Swayam was looking at her with something she could almost mistake for reverence.
His smile stirred a restless ache within her, and she fought the urge to trace a finger along his lips.
As if sensing her eyes on him, Swayam looked up.
Kashvi reacted instantly, reaching for the photograph. ‘Give me that.’
He lifted it out of reach, his grin unwavering.
She pinned him with a glare. ‘Must you always be so irritating?’
‘Must you always be so beautiful?’ he asked sincerely.
The photograph hovered just beyond her fingertips. If she leaned in, she could grab it, but that meant closing the distance between them completely.
Too dangerous.
With a quiet huff, she leaned back and looked away. ‘FYI, I was laughing at you,’ she muttered, pointing at the photo.
A spark of heat flickered to life in her stomach when his breath brushed against her ear. ‘Lucky me,’ he murmured, following it with a wink.
She elbowed him in retaliation but couldn’t quite hide her smile.
Kashvi forced herself to focus elsewhere and caught Luv trying to slide a photograph beneath the cushion beside him. ‘Oye, what are you doing?’ she asked suspiciously.
‘Nothing,’ Luv shot back instantly, his eyes widening.
‘You do realise answering that quickly usually means you’re guilty. We taught you to lie better than that,’ Raghav drawled in disappointment.
Kashvi leaned across and tugged the photograph free before Luv could stop her. The moment she saw it, a grin broke free.
‘I knew it!’ she declared, holding it up like a trophy. Swayam leaned over for a look and burst out laughing.
Luv groaned, dropping his head back against the cushion and covering his eyes.
‘What am I missing here?’ Abhay asked, looking between them.
‘You were busy being the groom when our friend here committed the crime of the century,’ Swayam said.
Kashvi passed it to Abhay. The photograph spoke for itself. Luv sat beside Meera, stealing ice cream straight from her plate with shameless delight.
‘You absolute traitor! I knew it was you,’ Kashvi scolded, smacking his arm.
Luv winced, rubbing the spot. ‘That proves nothing. All you see is a man eating ice cream. You don’t know where it came from.’
Raghav nearly choked on his laughter. ‘Oh please, you’re literally eating from her plate. And when you were asked about it, you blamed it on Kashvi.’
That earned Luv another hit.
‘I didn’t blame you,’ he protested. ‘I just said it was weird you had two empty bowls.’
‘One was mine,’ Swayam admitted, turning to Kashvi with a sheepish grin. ‘I’m sorry for every time I teased you about it.’
‘Oh no, you owe me much more than that,’ she argued. ‘You brought it up every time we had dessert, and that happened a lot whenever Mihu was around.’
Raghav waved the photo. ‘I cannot wait until she gets back and sees this.’
Luv’s head snapped up. ‘You wouldn’t.’
‘Oh yeah? Watch me.’
‘By the way, why did you wait until now to open these?’ Kashvi asked, flipping through another stack.
Abhay answered without hesitation. ‘We were waiting for you to come home.’
Kashvi jerked back. ‘Seriously?’
‘Kashu, did you really think we’d choose photos for the family album without you?’
Guilt tightened into a knot in her gut. ‘But now Meera is missing out.’
‘Oh please, I’m picking her pictures anyway, so you’re off the hook,’ Raghav said. Luv silently agreed, flashing her a photo of him and Meera from his pile.
‘Still, I made all of you worry. I’m really sorry,’ Kashvi murmured.
Abhay shook his head, his gaze soft with affection. ‘There’s nothing you need to apologise for. You’re an adult, Kashu, and you get to decide how you live your life. There’s nothing wrong with that.’
The difference between his words and the things she had grown up hearing from her father felt jarring, and she didn’t know how to untangle one from the other.
He added gently, ‘But you’re also family, which means we get to worry about you.’
Raghav said, ‘Siya called Mihu every night asking if you’d reached out. I’m not exaggerating when I say she was about ready to hunt you down herself.’
If there was one person Kashvi owed deeply besides Siya, it was Meera. She had always opened her home to Kashvi whenever she needed space, and promised never to tell her sister about it. But if Siya had started asking questions, she must have already suspected something.
Kashvi needed to find a way out of this. Now that her sister had finally begun to live her life and chase her dreams, she refused to drag her back into the old mess.
She stood abruptly, flashing a quick smile. ‘I need to call a friend. I’ll be right back.’
Kashvi moved towards the glass doors leading to the balcony. A cool gust of wind greeted her as she stepped outside, sliding the door shut behind her.
The air carried a faint salty tang from the distant sea, threaded with the low, constant hum of never-ending traffic.
She gripped the railing and drew in a slow breath. For a moment, Kashvi simply stood there, the wind lifting strands of her hair as the city pulsed quietly below.
Yet the chokehold of guilt didn’t loosen an inch.
If Siya found out about her seizures, everything would unravel back into what it had been nineteen years ago, when her sister’s entire life revolved around taking care of her. Even now, she still lingered like a shadow over Siya’s life.
But her sister had finally carved out a life of her own, and Kashvi would protect that, no matter what it cost her.
She startled when the balcony door slid open behind her and turned to see Siya step outside.