Intertwined Fates -- An IPKKND FanFic

Subhadra's Entry

To the untrained eye, Anya was a normal teenager. But both Lavanya and NK saw the signs. The way her eyes darted back and forth when she stepped out of the car, looking for any signs of danger. The way she subtly moved closer to them when the male host arrived to seat them. The way she flinched when someone a few tables away dropped their glass.

No, Anya wasn't a normal teenager. She was one who'd gone through hell, and she'd never forget it as long as she lived.

NK's jaw clenched and Lavanya fought back her own rising anger. It wasn't fair, but then again, very little in life was. The only thing to do was to move forward and so, Lavanya briskly picked up the menu. She frowned at the options. "Why'd you pick this place? Everything is overpriced and ridiculous."

"They have really good grilled cheese here," NK replied.

Lavanya lifted her eyebrow. "You brought us to a fancy French restaurant...for grilled cheese sandwiches?"

Anya giggled. "I like grilled cheese."

NK high-fived her and then turned his puppy dog eyes to Lavanya. "So we can stay, right?"

"I never said we had to leave," Lavanya grumbled as she flagged down the waiter and ordered three grilled cheese sandwiches.

***

Devyani stood at her tallest and narrowed her eyes. "Subhadra."

The woman--Arnav and Anjali's grandmother--smiled and Khushi was reminded of a snake. "Devyani. How nice to see you again."

"Children," Devyani said, not taking her eyes off Subhadra, "go to the poolside. Subhadra and I have some things to discuss."

Arnav opened his mouth to protest, but Anjali tugged his sleeve and shook her head. This was a battle between their grandmothers, and if they protested, it wouldn't do Devyani any good.

He frowned but clamped his mouth shut until they were all in the pool room and Akash had closed the door behind them.

"Why the hell is she here?"

"Chote," Anjali warned, gesturing to a confused Aarav.

"Who is that, Mom?"

Anjali took a deep breath. "Sweetie, that's our Dadiji."

"You don't like her?"

"She's been...mean to us."

Arnav snorted. "Mean is a small word."

"Is she really that bad?" Payal asked hesitantly. "I mean, I know her sons have done awful things, but that's not her fault, is it?"

Anjali shook her head. "When I was born, she cried and locked herself in her room for three days because she was so disappointed that her son's firstborn was a girl. She stopped acknowledging my mother until Chote was born. And our whole lives, she's blatantly favored him. He got lavish presents for his birthdays and every holiday, and I didn't even get a happy birthday."

"After everything that happened with my parents," Arnav continued, "she had the audacity to suggest that Arman cheated because our mom failed to keep him happy. There was a huge fight between her and Naniji the day after the funeral and that's when she left for the Ashram. The last time we contacted her was after Chacha kicked us out, but she refused to help."

"So...why is she back now?" Khushi asked. "Right when the police started looking for Daksh? It seems like too much of a coincidence."

"You're right," Anjali said. "We should let Lavanya know."

"I'll text her."

The doorbell rang again. "Is that the pizza?" Aarav asked.

Anjali smiled down at him. "Are you hungry? I'll ask Mamaji to bring it out here for us."