Chapter- 21 Retracing Back The Steps!

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Ruhi stirred in her sleep and opened her eyes groggily, only to find both her brothers literally sitting on her head...nead her obviously! She sighed and tried to sit up. Abhay and Rudra, who were lost in their own thoughts, snapped out of their daze and immediately helped Ruhi to sit up.

"Paani!" Ruhi said in her hoarse voice.

Rudra fetched the water glass and made her drink slowly.

"Thik hai tu?" Abhay asked, checking her forehead.

Ruhi nodded weakly, "Bas headache ho raha hai thoda sa."

"Kuch khaya nahi hai na isliye ho raha hoga. I will bring something for you," Rudra said and left.

Ruhi leaned towards Abhay, keeping her head on his shoulder as he caressed her hair.

"Ek baat bata Princess yeh achanak Teri tabiyat kaise kharab ho gayi? Kal raat tak toh tu thik thi na?" Abhay asked suspiciously.

"Headache ho raha hai bahut, mere sar ki massage kar do na." Ruhi said, diverting from the topic.

Abhay immediately nodded, making her sit straight. He started to give her a gentle massage. He knew something was definitely off, but he didn't wish to ask when she looked so pale.

While Ruhi closed her eyes, thinking about how she could get away from this situation, her bhaiyu had warned her countless times not to have something that might harm her health. She knew this weakness was not just because of the food poisoning but also due to the junk food she had stuffed in her office simultaneously. It was just her stubbornness that she was paying for. Adding to her distress was her Dada; if he found out about her not-so-good habits, even thinking about his reaction made her cringe. At that moment, she wished so much to faint all over again or for God to do something so her brothers would forget everything that had happened.

After a while, Ayan woke up and made his way towards the kitchen as per his usual habit. As it was Sunday, the boy always slept to his heart's content, and Rudra too didn't wish to disturb his sleep on holidays. As he entered in a cue, he hugged Rudra from behind, and the latter turned, embracing him properly.

"Slept well?" Rudra asked, ruffling his hair.

Ayan nodded, leaning on him, feeling his Bhaiya's warmth. After some time, he pulled back and cringed upon seeing the soup.

"Yeh kon peene wala hai?"

Rudra smiled, "Teri jiji...uski tabiyat thik nahi hai. Tere liye parathe..." He trailed off as Ayan ran from there hurriedly. Picking up the soup bowl, he too followed him.

As Ayan entered the room, he rushed towards Ruhi's side and hopped on the bed, stratling her.

"Ab kaise tabiyat hai aapki?" He asked, checking her forehead worriedly. "Main pehle he mana kar raha tha na aapko ki mat kho vo pav bhaji. It was unhygienic par nahi aap meri kyu sunegi aur vo kaam nahi tha toh beach mai bheeg gayi ice cream khane ke baad. Dekho ab tabiyat kharab ho gayi na...aapki junk food khane ki aadat aap kab change karogi jiji? Aise toh hospital mai aapke naam par ek ward he book kar dena padega. Kya bol rahi thi aap mujhe I am immune with this junk food hafte mai panch baar khati hoon...dekho ab kya hogaya aap na...." He trailed off, seeing the fiery glare of Ruhi, which was ready to burn him alive.

He gulped and looked aside only to find Abhay glaring at him. He got off the bed immediately, wanting to scurry away, but as he turned, he froze upon seeing Rudra already glaring at him hard.

Scared, Ayan took a step back and gulped, "Aap teeno mujhe bhookhe Sher jaise kyu dekh rahe ho? Mene kya kiya? Sab galti jiji ki hai unhe he sneak out karna tha adhi raat ko, vo mere pass ayi thi mene kuch nahi kiya." He said casually, throwing Ruhi under the bus.

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Ruhi looked away as fiery glares fixed on her. She so wished to throw Ayan out of that window at that very moment... she was annoyed by him. Siblings save each other, right? But here he just threw her in front of hungry preys... what kind of stupid brother God has given her.

Rudra silently entered and kept the tray on the bed before turning to Ayan, "You both sneaked out yesterday night?"

Ayan averted his gaze towards Ruhi and Abhay simultaneously for help.

"I am asking you something, Ayan," Rudra asked sternly, making him flinch and nod immediately.

Rudra held Ayan by his arm and took him towards the corner of the room, shoving him there. Ayan looked at him shocked and tried to open his mouth in protest but stopped as Rudra showed him his plan.

"Not a word, or you know me very well," He threatened and Ayan looked down. Rudra turned back and walked towards the bed.

As he sat, he picked up the bowl. Ruhi saw the soup and sighed, nothing can be worse than this. As Rudra blew on the hot soup and brought it near her mouth, Ruhi shook her head stubbornly... anything but not that!

"I am controlling myself to not lash out at you... so do yourself a favor and have it quietly." Rudra growled in his low, deep voice.

Ruhi flinched slightly and immediately complied. Hearing his voice brought all kinds of memories forth in her mind. Days when she used to get in trouble, days when she used to run in the whole mansion while Rudra would chase her, days when she needed a savior and she used to hide behind her Bhaiyu. And today too, out of habit, she reached for Abhay's hand, clutching it in a grip.

While Abhay wished to pull back, but on his own accord, he too kept his hand on Ruhi's for comfort. For the past six years, he has let his sister run wild, letting her do whatever she wants as he didn't have his twin by his side to console her, as they already had fixed roles in each other's lives. Other than that, his sister was already facing her own demons that he didn't wish to force her to comply with him. Though he drew the line when needed, still, a few things were hard for him too.

Now that Rudra was back in their life, he was glad that he could tame down Ruhi before she did something that could harm her health.

Once done with the soup, Rudra gave her the medicines which she gulped down without a word. She looked a bit better than her earlier pale self, and that relieved the twins.

"Idhar aa!" Rudra said, pointing to the place in front of him. Ayan slowly walked in front of him and stood there looking down.

"You...."

"Dada, usme uski galti nahi thi.... I was the one who forced him to go out with me." Ruhi interrupted him immediately.

Rudra snapped his hands towards her, making her flinch. Rudra Khanna and his scary looks would be the death of her!!!

"Sorry, Bhaiya," Ayan said slowly.

Rudra looked back at him, "And why are you sorry?"

Ayan gulped, "Mu... mujhe bahar nahi jaana chaiye tha."

"And why, Ayan?" Rudra pressed.

Ayan clenched his eyes shut, "Be.. because I was grounded for a month."

Silence, the suspenseful silence filled the room. Abhay was as shocked as Ruhi; however, Ruhi felt like whacking her kiddo for defying their brother's words so easily. If he had said earlier, she would have cancelled her plans rather than getting him into trouble.

Rudra got hold of Ayan's ears, giving them a hard twist. "Exactly! You were grounded for a month, and why? Because you sneaked out last month too," he scolded.

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