Arnav
I pressed twice on the bell outside and waited for Hariprakash or someone else to open the door.
"Chote?" Di's voice reached me from behind, but I didn't turn. Because she's the last person I want to see right now.
How did we reach here? How did we come to a point of life where I don't want to see my own sisters face?... I wish I knew everything sooner... Things would have been so much different if I hadn't listened to her. If Akash hadn't listened to her, then he and Payal would have been together now.
I internally sighed and again pressed hard on the bell as I saw Di nearby from the corner of my eyes.
Where is everyone? Can't...
The door opened wide, and Hariprakash stepped aside for me to walk in.
"Where were you? Didn't you hear the bell?" I shouted at him as I walked inside but stopped right in front of him as I breathed heavily, anger rising inside of me.
"Bhaiya, actually, I was..." He stammered his words with his head bowed down.
"Chote?" I felt her hands on my shoulders as soon as she called me.
I shrugged it off as gently as possible before I started inside.
"Chote, I know you're angry about something Khushi did. But, please..." Di spoke softly.
"She did nothing!" I yelled back as I stopped in my tracks and turned to face her, who also halted with a startled reaction on her face.
"Bhai!" Akash called me quietly and looked at Avni, then again at me.
My whole body started to shake with rage, but as I noticed Avni hiding behind NK, who held her hand and stared at me with pressed lips, so, I quietly spoke, "Hariprakash, take Avni to her room!"
As Hariprakash neared Avni, she looked up at NK, Akash, and lastly at me.
"Avni, go!" Di said without looking at her. Her voice sounded a little harsh. But Avni didn't move a thread.
"Avni, beta, why don't you go to your room and draw a picture of the family?" NK suggested as he looked down at her. And she finally nodded and went upstairs with Hariprakash, and by that time, the whole family had already gathered in the living room.
I inhaled through my nose before I said, "I'll freshen up and..."
"Chote, tell us, why are you so angry?" She pushed. "Did Khushi do something to make you angry? Did she..."
"For the last time," I looked down at the ground but didn't bow my head as I exhaled. "She... did nothing!"
"But she..." Di started.
Mami interrupted, saying, "Hello-Hi-Bye-Bye, Anjali Bitiya, are you talking about that Phati Saree?"
Di nodded her head at her.
"But why?" She added, with a horrified reaction on her face.
"AR signed a contract with a company, which happens to be Khushi's. And I also met with Payal today at the office." Di explained. "She also works there."
"Work?" Mami made a face of disgust. "Huh, I bet she was there to seduce my son. That Khunbhari Tang will n..."
"Maa..." Akash gave her a look. "Stop it!"
"Why are you behaving like this, Manorama?" Nani asked with a sigh.
"Because that girl is after my son. Even after all these years, she still hasn't..."
"She's engaged!" Akash interrupted with clenched jaws. "So, please, stop."
Mami looked at him with shock before saying, "Khunbhari Tang? Engaged?"
I felt a headache growing. So, I turned on my feet and started for the stairs. All I want is to be alone. Because after that conversation with Khushi, there's no way I want to be a part of a family drama now. All I need is a day alone, so I can process it in a civilized way.
"Arnav Bitwa?" I heard Mami.
I sighed as I stopped on the second last step before turning to face them.
"What happened between that Phati Saree and you?" She asked.
You want to hear it? Fine, then.
"I confessed to her. I told her that I still loved her." I said it blankly to appear unbothered. "But she said that she hated me and rejected me." And suddenly, I could hear her words clearly in my ear. Which resulted in me saying... everything. "She... loves him. She really does. I... saw that look in her eyes. She..."
"Bhai!" I blinked as I looked at Akash, who slightly shook his head. And I realized what I had done. I had literally announced my feelings in front of the whole family. And they were looking at me like I had said something very alien. Well, I had expected this much.
"But you were quite over her, Chote. You weren't this much affected by her until Khushi returned to your life." Di said as she walked up to me and looked at me with care in her eyes.
So I just swallowed before slowly saying, "Di... Stop. Just... stop now. Please."
"What do you m..."
"Just stop this. You have already done more than enough. So, just stop now." I insisted quietly because I didn't want to encourage this topic.
"Are you blaming me, Chote?" She asked as her brows slightly tugged in the center. "Me? You're Di?"
I pressed my lips together for a moment and decided to apologize because that's the only thing that can get me out of this situation where I don't have to blame my own sister for something she is in denial about herself.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking straight. I... I'm sorry." I said and almost turned on my feet to head upstairs when she said, "These are Khushi's words, aren't they? She... turned you against me, didn't she?"
"She didn't need to." The words slipped from my mouth as I turned to face her again and walked down the stairs toward her. "You yourself were enough."
Di stared at me with a look of complete betrayal in her face and features while her eyes welled up.
"What do you mean by that, Chote?" She tried to reach me, but I took a step back.
"You think I don't know what you were doing seven years ago? What you're doing now?" I stared at her for a moment before adding, "You think I didn't know why you were suddenly so excited about going to Lucknow?"
Di continued her look of betrayal.
"I know that you separated Akash and Payal. I know that you didn't want them or me to be with Khushi. Because you thought you didn't have anyone. Or more specifically, Shyam." And with every word, all my buried emotions started to surface.
"Bhai, what are you saying? Why will Di do this?" Akash asked. "She's our sister."
"Ask her." I again looked at Di and felt that same heartbreak from years ago when I first learned of this truth that my own sister can't see her brothers happily, simply because she isn't happy herself.
"Di?" Akash said her name as a question.
Di turned over her shoulders and looked at everyone in the room, but the whole family was too shocked to say anything.
"It's not true. It's really not. Chote, he... he's..." She stopped and looked at me with pleading eyes. And I looked back into her eyes because I couldn't hide this inside me anymore. Just admit it, Di. Please. That's the least you can do now.
"Chote, tell them you're lying." Di pleaded as she grabbed my arms.
I also took hold of her arms as I replied with a shaking voice, "Di, admit it. Please."
She let go of my arm and slightly shook her head with wide eyes as she stared at me and stepped back slowly.
"Admit that you advised Akash to say all those things to Payal so that she would back off from the wedding, which she eventually did. But because of the delay in her answer, you were scared that your plan might fail. And that's why you hired someone to help Shyam run from the jail, because you knew he would come for Khushi and make a scene. And the Gupta's will definitely call off the wedding after that."
I felt sick from inside as I heard myself. Because no matter how much I think about everything she has done in my head, nothing can compare to the feeling of actually hearing it. Nothing.
And the worst part of all is that my sister, who was my world, did this to me and Akash.
