Rooh (Book 2 - Singhania Brothers)

Part 18 : The essence of relationships

Arnav came back from office and found Ritvik talking to his wife and Sharda. He smiled and walked inside. Meera saw him come inside and wanted to approach him but she hesitated. Arnav was yet to offer her any acknowledgement after the last conversation they had.

"Yeh lo, aa gye Sir!" Ritvik smiled at Arnav.

Arnav smiled back and hugged him. Ashi handed him a glass of water and moved away with Sharda to give some privacy to the friends to talk.

"How's Rishi doing?" Arnav asked slowly.

The smile on Ritvik's face faltered a bit. "He is fine, Arnav."

"Ani ne usse baat ki thi, Ritvik. He refused to tell him anything. Aniket wouldn't lie. Rishi hasn't told him anything!"

Ritvik nodded with a sigh. "That idiot has refused to talk to anyone. Let him recover. I'll make sure he starts talking."

Arnav felt pity for the boy, but he knew he deserved it. Rishaan had been away for three years but that didn't give him the freedom to play with his life. Arnav had himself given him a good veral bashing the moment he had returned back. But he couldn't overstep his boundaries.

Their attention was diverted as they saw Aryan coming down, as usual hoping down the stairs. Arnav whacked him as soon as he reached.

"Sorry!" Aryan yelled before Arnav could whack him again or start with his lecture about safety.

Arnav glared him down.

The classic puppy eyes were quick to surface.

"Kitni baar bola hai tujhe uchhal kud mat Kiya kar? Sunna nhi hai tujhe?" Arnav caught Aryan's ear and gave it a good twist.

"Ouch, ouch, Bhaiya," Aryan winced and gave a soulful look to Arnav. "Dard ho rha hai,"

"Uchhlega seedhiyon pe?"

Aryan shook his head innocently. Arnav left his ear. Aryan immediately hugged him. Arnav sighed. The boy knew how to melt his anger on his fingertips. He wrapped his arms around him and ruffled his hairs.

Ritvik smiled looking at them. The little prince had Arnav wrapped around his little fingers.

"Arnav,"

Arnav looked up. Meera hesitated as she forwarded a cup of coffee towards him.

Arnav's face closed off.

"Coffee le lo, beta," Meera insisted.

Before Arnav could respond, Aryan intervened. "Nhi, naani. Bhaiya ko kuch khane dijiye pehle, phir coffee dena."

"Office se aane ke baad toh coffee hi lete ho na, beta?" Meera asked in confusion. She had seen Ashi handing him a cup of coffee every evening.

"Haan par Bhaiya ka bp thoda low hai, Naani. He needs to eat something before having that coffee," Aryan explained and glared at Arnav in the end, making sure he was giving the message to the right person.

Arnav ruffled his hairs with a smile. "Aise mat dekh, I'll not have coffee before I eat something."

Aryan turned back to Meera. "Yeh coffee toh tab tak thandi ho jayegi, Naani. De dijiye, mai wapas kitchen me rakh deta hoon. I'll get Bhaiya another one."

Meera was annoyed but she curbed it down and handed back the cup of coffee to Aryan. She turned back to talk to Arnav, but he moved away with Ritvik. She sighed in disappointment and walked away.

Ayaansh came down and beelined for Arnav as soon as he saw him. Arnav saw him come and draped a casual arm around him. Ayaansh relaxed immediately. His Bhaiya's presence always soothed his mind.