The Replacement

Chapter 13: Before Sunrise

Khushi woke up the next day, bright and early, as was her habit. She lay in bed for a while, thinking about her day yesterday. Her mood plummeted, because she knew she would have to face the Raizadas again this morning. She reached over to check her messages on her phone. There were a few texts from NK late last night...

Reached home. Very late. Traffic. Mina Di is here. Thank you for everything.

Turning off cellphone now, just in case. Call on landline if emergency.

Love you lots. Muah!

That last one was Lavu, not me. I love you only a little.

Khushi smiled. NK and Lavu always brought a smile to her face. Her mood uplifted. Thank god she saw his text before she started worrying again this morning. It was a 6hr journey and when she hadn't heard from them last night, she was worried. Unnecessarily apparently. She should've factored in Delhi traffic, it likely took them 4 hours just to get to the outskirts of Delhi. But atleast, they were safe and together, so that was something. Mina Di would take good care of them, so Khushi breathed a sigh of relief.

She vowed not to call in case her phone calls were being monitored. She wouldn't put it past the Kashyaps, and honestly, wasn't sure she could trust the Raizadas either. Especially, not Arnav, he was too sharp for his own good. So she deleted NK's texts, just in case.

With her mood brightened up (atleast someone was happy in this scenario), Khushi walked into the bathroom and got ready to face the Raizadas over breakfast. As she showered and got dressed, she made mental plans for the rest of the day once she would leave Raizada Mansion. With a decidedly brighter mood, she walked out of the room to check if anyone else was up.

The house was a maze, for sure. It wasn't as big as Lavanya's house, which Khushi was used to, but was big enough for her to get lost after a few minutes. Khushi cursed herself for not paying attention to the route when she was being shown to her room last night. Suddenly, she heard laughter coming out from one of the rooms with a slightly ajar door. It sounded like kids, so she decided to take a quick peep in.

As soon as she peeped inside the door, the occupant of the room caught a glimpse of her, and his eyes widened. A slow smile spread over his face, as he ran over and hugged her as tightly as he could.

"You're here. In Nana's house. Did you come to meet me?"

"Good morning to you too, Hrishi sweetie!" his bright, happy face and non-complicated welcome brought a smile to her face, and she hugged him back.

He was abashed, "Good morning, Khushi. You're here very early. You came for me, right?", he wanted confirmation.

"But of course, I came for you. Who else do I know here that I like enough to wake up this early for?", she teased.

He smiled widely, and turned to his sister, "Riyu, Khushi is here", stating the obvious.

Aarya had stopped hopping on the bed as soon as they'd spied Khushi through the door. And now, she climbed down off it, and hid behind her brother shyly.

"Good morning, Aarya", Khushi smiled at her gently, feeling euphoric when her greeting was returned in a whisper with a shy smile.

"Hrishi, I need to get to the living room. Can you please tell me how to get there? I'm lost in this huge house", Khushi pouted.

Both Hrishi and Aarya laughed heartily. They thought it was hilarious that someone could get lost in Shantivan. Having grown up in this one, knowing each and every inch of it, it amused them that Khushi was lost.

"I can take you. I'm hungry too", Aarya told her, her shyness vanishing upon knowing that she knows something this adult did not.

She held one of Khushi's hands while Hrishi skipped in front of them, chattering about the house and how he knows it very well, turning back every couple of steps to ensure they were following.