Chapter Conversations, Chaos, and Blushing
Conversations, Chaos, and Blushing
SITARA
Veeraj bhai-sa calls at the most Veeraj bhai-sa time possible.
Which is to say—without warning, without pleasantries, and with the emotional range of a stone wall that has decided to tolerate your existence.
My phone vibrates on the side table while I’m mid-sip of tea, curled comfortably on the couch with my legs tucked under me.
Dhruv is across the room, pretending to read something important while very obviously listening to every sound I make.
Yagini is sprawled on the rug at my feet, half-bored, half-plotting chaos as usual.
I glance at the screen and my lips curve automatically.
I answer before the second ring. “Hi, Bhai-sa,”
There’s a pause on the other end. Just long enough that I know he’s deciding whether to hang up. “You’re alive,” he says flatly.
I grin. “Missed you too.”
Another pause. I imagine him pinching the bridge of his nose, already irritated by the fact that I exist in a cheerful mood.
“Are you eating properly?” he asks.
I blink. “Yes.”
“Sleeping?”
“Yes.”
“Annoying Dhruv enough?”
I glance instinctively toward Dhruv, who looks up at his name with an unreadable expression.
“Yes,” I say, voice innocent. “Daily.”
“Hm.”
That’s his version of approval.
“I heard about Ayush,” he says, his voice harsh, “I am glad Devraj bhai-sa was there, but he didn’t do anything, right?”
I smile at the protectiveness of my brother. I kind of miss him too much now. I would love to hug him and have him wrestle my hold, which he says he doesn’t like but still never pushes me away.
“He wouldn’t,” I scoff. “He knows you are my brother. One look from you and people want to run away from you.” I giggle.
“Very funny,” he huffs, and I know his lips are definitely twitching, I have no idea what he has against smiling. “You look… fine,” Veeraj bhai-sa says at last after a long pause, and for him that is practically a poem. “I saw the photos.”
My throat tightens a little. “You did?”
“Yes.”
Another pause. Then, gruffly, “Tell him—” he stops, exhales through his nose, clearly annoyed at himself, “—tell Dhruv to take care of you.”
I don’t need to look at Dhruv to know his smile has softened.
“He does,” I say quietly.
He doesn’t respond, “When are you coming home?” he asks.
A huge grin makes a way to my face, “Are you missing me, Bhai-sa?” I ask in a teasing tone.
“I knew I shouldn’t have asked,” he groans, and I laugh.
“Sitara,” he says after a beat of silence, “I do miss you… you are my little sister,” he whispers, and I feel a lump form in my throat just like that.
“I miss you too, Bhai-sa,” I smile softly, “and I love you.”
“Love you too,” he says abruptly and ends the call just like that. Veeraj bhai-sa isn’t good with his emotions, and it’s not a hidden fact but him calling me, admitting he misses me, saying I love you back… it feels like a win.
I stare at the phone for a moment, heart warm in that quiet, familiar way Veeraj Bhai-sa always leaves me feeling—protected without being smothered, loved without fuss.
When I look up, Yagini grins at me and I know she’s planning something. “Now that Kunwar Veeraj has done his emotional check-in for the month—” she turns toward Dhruv and me, eyes glittering, “—can we talk about the real issue?”
Dhruv leans back, folding his arms. “Whatever it is, don’t drag me in it.”
“You are actually very important for this,” she shoots back cheerfully. Then she looks at me. “You two never went on a honeymoon.”
The word lands between us like a dropped glass.
My cheeks heat instantly. I can feel it—how fast it happens, how obvious. I open my mouth, then close it again, because apparently my brain has short-circuited.
Dhruv, traitor that he is, smirks.
“A honeymoon?” Maa-sa echoes from where she’s been sipping her tea, watching us both far too knowingly. “That is overdue.”
“Maa,” I protest weakly.
Yagini gasps theatrically. “Oh! Then we definitely need to go shopping.”
Dhruv coughs. Loudly.
“Shopping?” Maa-sa repeats, intrigued.
Yagini waves a dismissive hand, “On a second thought,” she smirks, “Sitara won’t really need anything, anyways. They’re going on a honeymoon, after all.” She winks at me. and I almost die of embarrassment.
My eyes widen. “Yagini!”
She bursts out laughing, fully unrepentant. “What? I didn’t say anything wrong.”
I glance helplessly at Dhruv, who—may the universe curse him gently—is now blushing.
Actually blushing.
Maa-sa notices immediately. “Arre, look at him. Even Dhruv is red.”
“Please,” I mutter, burying my face briefly in my hands. “You’re all conspiring against me.”
“No,” Maa-sa says fondly. “We’re celebrating you.”
She reaches over, squeezing my hand. The warmth of it steadies me, grounds me. “You deserve happiness, beta. Both of you.”
Dhruv’s fingers brush mine under the table, a silent question.
I don’t pull away.
Yagini grins at us like she’s won something. “So,” she says, popping another biscuit into her mouth, “where are you going?”
Dhruv clears his throat. “We haven’t—”
“Anywhere,” I blurt out, surprising myself. “Anywhere is fine.” My hands clamp my mouth. What the hell is wrong with me!
He turns to me, eyes soft, something unspoken passing between us. “Anywhere you want,” he corrects gently, noticing my unease.
My heart does that thing again—stumbles, then settles somewhere warm and certain.
Maa-sa smiles into her tea. “Good,” she says. “Then it’s decided.”