Realisation And Nurture (BOOK #2) ✔

Chapter 31

Chapter 31

     Under the incandescent street light, the small boy's tawny eyes shot towards Shaurya. He lifted his catapult high in the air and waved it back and forth, his brows dancing with excitement.

"I challenged mom that I would defeat you tonight, Shay uncle."

"Are you the one who punctured my car's tyres to show off your skill?" Shaurya raised an eyebrow as he inquired, his arms folded over his chest.

"Uncle, I was the one... The one and only Rehaan Singh Bundela who fully understands how to clinch victory over his opponents," he said again, raising his hand and fixing his collar.

"Are you taking on your father's accent?" Shaurya took a step forward and lifted Rehaan, tossing him over his shoulders in one sweep. "I wonder whether Vihaan was as mischievous as you as a child!"

"You may ask my granny about it, but just let me go." Rehaan implored, grabbing Shaurya's hair and giggling incessantly. In tandem with his laughter, a dimple appeared on his left cheek. "Stop tickling me, uncle!"

"I'm going to use this against your father for the tyre damage." Rehaan was ultimately put to the ground by Shaurya. "Vihaan still owes me an explanation for marrying and having twins while keeping me in the dark."

"Dad hasn't returned home." Rehaan shifted his gaze to the vacant street and shrugged. "He'll be returning home after such a long time, and I'm excited to see him when he returns. I can't wait to meet him."

"Wasn't he at Gwalior serving his duty? Is he done with his term?"

"I'm not sure, but he'll be fetching aunt Nidhi along as well. It will be my first meet with her." Rehaan spoke out, his voice heaving with eagerness. "I've heard a lot about her, and I've talked to her on the phone a few times; I've also heard about uncle Arjun, but I haven't met him in person."

"It's pointless to be so excited." Shaurya voiced his displeasure. "Whether it was Nidhi, Vay, or Vidya, they all married the love of their lives without telling me."

"Why, uncle?"

"They absolutely alienated me over the years because I was so busy with my company, managing our factories, and was out of town most of the time," Shaurya remarked, a mournful expression on his face.

Shalini, who had been listening to their conversation the entire time, approached them, grasped Shaurya's hand, and muttered, "Hello Rihu, how are you doing?"

"How are you doing, Shai?" Rehaan gently tapped her on the shoulder. "You seem to have entirely forgotten about your brother!"

"Didn't you say you were friends?" Shaurya was perplexed. "How long have you known her as your sister?"

"Mom said so. . ." Rehaan giggled. "Whenever I visited your place, I used to irritate Shai, and mom once scolded me for it. She explained that she was my cousin and that I should not behave badly around her."

"What was she?" Shaurya made a gesture with his hand. "Is she your cousin?"

"Sir, when did you start following in your best friend's footsteps of interrogating others?" They were interrupted by Rohini. "It's possible Sanchi told it to stop him from taunting Shalini. There's no reason to be so serious."

Shaurya agreed with a nod and turned to face Rehaan. "It's already becoming dark. I think we should play catapult on another day."

"I know it's becoming dark, but I wanted to kill some time by playing. Waiting for my dad has been a never-ending task." Finally, Rehaan spoke up. "All right, you go inside; I'll simply wait here."