Heeriye

Twenty Seven.

Sidharth

The kids are all over me the moment I get back home.

It's not the usual excitement I'm met with, though. There's a fearful kind of desperation in the way they flock around me. I take a few minutes to sit with them before I go upstairs to check on Shehnaaz. I balance a little girl on each knee and look Jahan head-on when he sits down opposite us.

"Is Bua going to be alright? Kanan said we weren't allowed to d-disturb her," Jahan tells me quietly. His voice is shaky, his lip quivering, that stutter peeking out to show just how badly he needs to be reassured.

Chaya nods. "Yeah, even after we promised not to fight anymore."

Ruhi's bottom lip is going a mile a minute. I run a hand down her beautiful curtain of hair. "Listen to me: your aunt is strong. She's going to be fine. It's just that growing a baby isn't easy. So we're all going to have to be really mindful of that from now on, okay?"

"We won't fight anymore!" Ruhi promises. "And if we do, we'll fight far away from Bua."

I suppress my smile. "Good girl. Now, how about you guys play in the garden while I go upstairs and check on your aunt?"

"We're gonna have a picnic with Ayushi."

I turn to Chaya. "Ayushi?"

"Ahem." I glance up and see a young woman standing in the threshold of the living room's open arches dressed in oversize, paint-stained overalls that make her look like a giant toddler. "Hi," she says awkwardly. "Mr. Kanan hired me to take care of the kids for a few hours every day."

I put the girls down and walk over. "Kanan hired you?"

She gulps under my gaze. "H-he made me sign an NDA. I believe the words 'silence on pain of death' were also used."

"Good," I growl. "Then he covered my bases."

She has the audacity to look insulted, which incidentally makes me respect her more. "You don't have to worry about me. I can keep a secret. And I love those kids. I love Shehnaaz, too. She's been really good to me over the years."

I have no trouble believing that. I'm learning that I also don't mind a little fire in the people taking care of my family, even if it's not the kind of thing I'd normally tolerate from a subordinate. "Alright then. I won't keep you from your picnic."

She looks me in the eyes for a moment longer before nodding, satisfied. Then she takes the girls' hands and they all step out onto the patio.

I leave them and make my way upstairs. When I try Shehnaaz's door, I find it locked.Breathe, motherfucker,I coach myself.She needs your patience now. As hard-to-find as that may be.I take in a long inhale, release a long exhale, and then I knock.

"Who is it?"

"Sidharth."

A beat of silence. And then: "No thank you."

"Shehnaaz. I just want to see how you're doing."

"Tell Kanan he's an ass. And we're not friends anymore."

It's good to know that he's still got my back even in the face of his newfound affection for Shehnaaz. I need to tone down my inner asshole around him. The man doesn't deserve it.

"Open the door."

"No. I'm fine. Just leave me alone."

Fuck the expensive Himalayan timber—I could just break this goddamn door down. The only reason I don't is because I don't want to add to her already elevated stress levels. Instead of wasting time trying to reason with her, I head to the electrical power room on the first floor. There's a small safe in there to which only Kanan and I have the combination. Among other things, it contains a spare key for every room on the property.