Chapter 13
Swayam was perched on the sofa, his gaze drifting to the closed bedroom door across the living room for what felt like the hundredth time in the last hour.
He had hoped to catch a sound, a movement, any sign that Kashvi was no longer as agitated as she had been when they came home.
Though the outcome of the meeting had gone in their favour, Karthik had done a number on her. She had barely spoken all evening, lost in her own thoughts.
Swayam had hoped to talk to her, but she had walked straight into her room and slammed the door shut behind her without looking back.
That had been two hours ago.
His eyes flickered to his watch, the time glowing in the dim amber light cast by the lamp beside him.
11:55 p.m.
Swayam dragged a hand through his hair as he leaned back, then immediately shifted again when the cushion dipped awkwardly beneath him. Stretching out his legs, he stared up at the ceiling, trying to settle the restless loop of his thoughts.
Maybe she had already fallen asleep.
He didn’t like the thought of her spending the night of her birthday alone, but if she had finally given in to exhaustion, waking her just to wish her felt selfish.
Swayam hadn’t realised how still the apartment had become until his phone rang. He flinched, glancing once towards the bedroom door before checking the screen. An unknown number was blinking at him. ‘Hello?’
A familiar voice came through. ‘Hey, it’s Dhruv. Did I wake you up?’
Swayam pushed himself upright. ‘No, no. I was awake. What’s up?’
There was a muted tension in Dhruv’s tone as he asked, ‘I just… Is Kashvi okay?’
His gaze flickered back to her bedroom door. ‘She’s okay. I think.’
‘You think?’ Dhruv repeated. ‘What’s she doing?’
Swayam let out a quiet sigh. ‘I don’t know. She hasn’t come out once since she shut herself in her room.’
‘After the way our father behaved today, I’d be surprised if she was in a celebratory mood.’
Swayam tightened his jaw, pressing his thumb against the edge of his phone. ‘I swear I almost jumped over the desk to punch him.’
Dhruv chuckled, but there was no humour in it. ‘He has a way of effortlessly pushing people to that point.’
‘You say that like you know what it feels like.’
Dhruv sighed. ‘I do. When you grow up with someone like him, someone who can turn your emotions into a weapon, you learn to suppress it all. Though it’s harder on days like today. Did she say anything when you guys left after dinner?’
‘Just enough to thank me for closing her car door. That’s it,’ Swayam recalled, his chest feeling heavy. ‘It didn’t feel right seeing her like that.’
‘No, it didn’t,’ Dhruv agreed. ‘But that’s what Dad does to people, especially his own blood.’
Swayam shifted forward, resting his elbows on his knees. ‘How did you deal with it?’
‘I didn’t. Not really. I don’t think either of us got through those years without some scars to show for it.’
‘Is that why you care about them? Because you understand their pain?’
‘I care about them because they’re my sisters. Just because it’s complicated doesn’t make it any less real.’
‘Why didn’t you help them earlier then?’ Swayam asked, trying to understand.
‘I did, but I couldn’t make it obvious. If Dad had found out, it would have made things worse. So I did what I could without drawing attention to it. I know it wasn’t enough, but I’m not giving up. Siya and I are working things out, and things aren’t as tense as they used to be. But with Kashvi…’
‘Yeah, she doesn’t let people in easily,’ Swayam said, speaking from experience.
‘I know,’ Dhruv replied. ‘The kind of connection we have is difficult to put into words. It’s more like I recognise pieces of myself in her. I wish I could have been there for her.’
‘For what it’s worth, you were there today. That matters more than you think. If you hadn’t brought the NOCs, Karthik would have found a way to make our lives hell,’ Swayam said.
Dhruv brushed it off. ‘It was the least I could do.’
‘How did you know that’s what he’d threaten with?’
‘I know how he thinks. It’s not something I’m proud of, but it’s useful. I knew he’d go to the board members because he can control them, so I wanted to limit his options.’
Swayam hummed. ‘Well, you didn’t have to do this, and I don’t think anyone expected you to either. So thank you. Kashvi may not say it, but I’m sure it means a lot to her that you did this.’
‘Kashvi keeps me at a distance, and I can’t blame her for that, but I’d like to change it. Slowly, if that’s what it takes.’ Even without seeing him, Swayam could hear the vulnerability in his voice.
With a sigh, Dhruv added, ‘I called hoping to wish her, but I didn’t know if calling her directly was a good idea, so I thought I’d check with you first.’
Swayam glanced at his watch again as it ticked closer to midnight. ‘I’ve been sitting here trying to decide if I should knock on her door or just wait until morning.’
‘I know it’s futile, but I do wish he hadn’t done this the day before her birthday,’ Dhruv said, bitterness threading his voice.
Anger surged through Swayam as he recalled the cocky smirk on his father-in-law’s face in that meeting room. What he would have given for two minutes alone with the man, just so he could say exactly what was on his mind.
‘Karthik can do whatever he wants with his own life, but he doesn’t get to keep doing this to her. Not anymore,’ Swayam vowed. ‘We’re going to keep her away from him as much as we can. She needs space from all this toxicity if she’s ever going to heal.’
Dhruv was quiet for a moment before he said, ‘I understand.’
It was the quiet acceptance in his voice that made Swayam pause. He thought about it for a moment before finally saying, ‘I wasn’t including you in that.’
‘You weren’t?’ Dhruv asked, unable to hide his surprise.
Swayam sighed, trying to untangle his mixed feelings when it came to his brother-in-law. They had butted heads over the years, so civility didn’t come easily to him. ‘I won’t lie. A while ago, I might have. But over the last few months, you’ve given me reasons to reconsider that.’
‘That means more than you know,’ Dhruv said after a heavy pause.
‘I’ll let her know you called to wish her.’
‘Thanks, that would be great.’
The uncertainty in his voice made Swayam add, ‘I do think she’ll call you back.’
‘Yeah?’ Dhruv asked, hopeful. ‘Well, I’ll be waiting. Goodnight.’
‘Goodnight,’ he repeated, ending the call.
Silence settled over the room again as he lowered the phone. Swayam glanced at his watch just in time to see it tick past midnight.
He looked towards the door, hoping it would open so he could see his birthday girl. When a minute passed and Kashvi still didn’t appear with her angelic smile, tension eased out of his shoulders. She must be asleep.
Reluctantly deciding to wait until morning, Swayam dropped back onto the sofa. He tucked one arm beneath his head, trying to get comfortable against the lumpy cushion. When he couldn’t, he let out a slow, frustrated breath, watching faint shadows flicker on the ceiling.
Swayam closed his eyes, and his thoughts drifted, as they always did, to his favourite person. The melody of her laughter, the spark in her eyes whenever he teased her, the unyielding strength she carried… all of it had burrowed deep within his chest.
If he ever tried to put what he felt for her into words, every language he knew would fail him, each one falling short of capturing the depth of it.
Happy Birthday, baby.
Hoping to dream of her, Swayam was about to drift off when he heard the sound.
At first, he almost missed it, but then it came again. A soft, broken mewl curled through the air, raising the hair on his arms.
Swayam pushed himself up onto his elbows, straining to hear it again, but there was only the steady hum of the ceiling fan. He dragged a hand over his face, wondering if he had imagined it. He stretched back onto the cushion, trying to even out his breathing.
But then his heart jolted into his throat as he caught the unmistakable pain in the long, broken wail that rang through the silence.
Swayam pushed himself to his feet immediately, trying to locate the source of the sound. He glanced towards the glass balcony doors, wondering if a stray animal had been hurt or trapped.
His body went rigid as another drawn-out, raw cry filled the space, and he realised it wasn’t coming from outside.
It was coming from Kashvi’s room.
A surge of fear hit him hard enough to spike his pulse, and he ran across the room. He knocked twice, hard enough to make the door vibrate. ‘Kash? Are you okay?’
A long, aching wail rang out from the other side, and his blood ran cold.
Was she having another nightmare?
He had been worried this might happen, which was why he had slept on the sofa close to her room. One way or another, he was going to make sure her father paid for triggering this.
‘Kashvi, I’m coming in, okay?’ he called, then pushed the door open.
Her room was dark, except for the warm light spilling from the bedside lamp, illuminating her on the bed.
When Swayam saw her, the air froze in his lungs because he finally had his answer.
This was no nightmare. Every other time, she had been trapped only inside her mind, but her body had stayed under her control. This was different.
Kashvi lay on her side, thrashing in sharp, uncontrollable jerks. Her shoulders convulsed so violently that the thin bedsheet twisted beneath her. The pain in her cries was unbearable, tightening his chest until it physically hurt.
Swayam rushed to her side as she jerked again. Her head tilted back as another fractured, painful cry tore out of her.
The sound ripped his heart apart. ‘Hey, hey, Kashvi. I’m right here. Can you hear me?’
Her breathing, uneven and strained, with broken cries slipping between each violent jerk, was the only response he got.
His hand hovered over her as Swayam struggled to catch up with what was happening.
Should I touch her? Should I hold her down? How the hell do I help her?
He didn’t have answers, only the certainty that something was terribly wrong, trapping him in a nightmare of his own.