Chapter 40

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I am back with new chapter.
And agge vale chapter gonna be more fun.

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Total words:- 1528

One Month Later

It had been over a month since I got discharged from the hospital. The smell of Dettol and boiled vegetables still haunted my dreams.

Bro, like,if a person is sick, give him delicious food so he recovers faster.
But does anyone listen to me?

Obviously not.

Ma had practically turned our living room into a medical shop. One cough from me, and she’d fly in with a thermometer like I was dying.
Dad was no better, kept barging into my room pretending to “look for files,” only to catch me checking my emails.

Aur fir jo dant padti hai na…
Woh, Bta hi nahi sakta.

Subh, my emotionally unstable little brother, had taken up the role of nurse, manager, and overprotective watchdog, rolled into one.
And occasionally, when the stars aligned, Vani would show up.

Not that I waited for her.

…Much.

“Navv…!!! You didn’t take your medicines again? And are you seriously wearing just a t-shirt?”
Ma’s voice echoed across the house as she appeared holding a jacket.

“It’s raining, beta. Did you even check the temperature?”

“Maaaaa, garmi hai!” I protested, hands up.

“Chup. Ekdum chup. Pehen ise.” she snapped, handing me the jacket.

Dad had started glaring by then,
agar unki patni ko abb koch bola to kacha kha jayege mujhe.

(and if I dared talk back to his wife again, he’d eat me alive.)

So, like a good boy, I took the jacket.
Reluctantly.

Subh strolled in, smug as ever.
“I also told them, ki tu chupke chupke vani di se kam mangta hai.”

“I told them you secretly call Vani di to get office work too.”

I glared. “Tu bhai hai ya bodyguard?”

And just then… she walked in.

Holding a laptop bag in one hand and a grocery bag in the other. Hair tied up, her dupatta slipping a little from the breeze.

Tabahi

She looked like tabahi
Aur agar tabhai itni khubsurat ho, to marne mai koi ghum nahi..

(And if destruction looked that good then honestly, dying didn’t sound so bad.)

“Office update?” I asked casually, as she set the laptop down.

She gave me a quick glare, then smiled at Ma, who rushed over and hugged her.

Wow.

Mujhse to itna has ke kabhi baat ni ki…

I am definitely not jealous of my mom.

Promise.

…Maybe just a little.

“Oh hello? I’m lying here on the bed. You could at least ask how I am,” I whined, full drama mode.

She rolled her eyes and started to sit……. Beside me? 

Nope, not beside me.
Obviously not.

Ughh… Offcourse not.

On Fucking couch.

Why do I even want her to sit beside me?
Nav. You hit your head too hard.

“How are you, Mr Nav?” she asked finally, voice soft but teasing.
If I hadn’t mastered my poker face, I would’ve smiled right there.

She’s cute, man…

SHUT UP, NAV.
Focus.
On her.
NAV!

“Navvv?”
“Navv???”  she waved her hand infront of my face “ kahan kho gye?”

( Where did you drift off to?)

“Oh, yeah. I was just thinking… workload must be heavy, right? Must be exhausting,doing everything alone……”

Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.
Why would I say that? Now she’ll think I’m mocking her and leave ugh.

Are bhai nahiiiiii.. i was trying to find a sentence to distract.

“Running smoothly. Unlike someone who insists on replying to board emails at 2 a.m. na jine deta hai, na khud jita hai… Are you crazy . Who calls at 2 am. Do you think i can’t manage? Huh? Huh? Say…” she snapped, glaring at me.

(Running smoothly,” she replied, eyes narrowing. “Unlike someone who insists on replying to board emails at 2 A.M.
Neither sleeps, nor lets others sleep.
Who does that? Do you think I can’t manage things without you?)

“Yaar, it was just one email…”

“They became three from one, by 2:15,” she snapped, eyebrow raised like a weapon.

I gave a half-smirk.
“How would I even know what you’re doing at 2:15 if I hadn’t sent that email? Mujhe meri company ki fikar hai, yaar.”

She paused. Just for a second.

“I was the one cleaning up the mess you created.
Aur bhai, raat ko sone ka time hota hai. Please, so jaaya kar.
Aur sone diya kar. My secretary woke me up because of your email.”

Touché.

“And Mr Brar,” she continued, “listen very carefully, you won’t, I repeat, you  won’t send any of your experiments or half-thought ideas directly to board members. You’ll run them through me first.
And not in the middle of the night.”

I blinked.
“Wait… did you just call me bhai?”

“Are you serious?” she groaned. “After all that, the only thing you heard was me calling you bhai?”

“Miss Vani Rathore, let’s be clear, I’m not your brother. At all.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Good. I don’t want you as my brother either.
I already have one emotional disaster in the family.
If I got you as my brother, I’d be the one on the hospital bed.”

“ ohhhhh so you dont want me as brother either. Koi khass feelings?”

“ navvv!!! YOU ARE DELUSIONAL ” she almost yelled

“ and you are mine. ” I blurt out before realising

“ what!!?” she widen her eyes with a scoff

“ I mean, you are my kareli, and you will be my kareli.” I said and she rolled her eyes.

My solnyshka

“Delusional confidence. Classic post-hospital symptom.
Hindi mein bhram kehte hain ise.”

I leaned a little closer.
Just slightly.

“Careful, Vani… you keep talking like that, I might start thinking you’re into me.”

She tilted her head. “In your dreams, Mr Brar.”

I smiled slow.
“Every night, sweetheart.”

“ hatto” she said and flicked my forehead.

“ owch vaniii” i whined.
“ I am injured solnyshka” I said with fake hurtful

“ itni bhi chot ni laggi nautanki tumhe…you are healing well.” she said and I chuckled.

“ how are you now? Your arm …” i stopped mid sentence.

My eyes followed her arm. Its still bandaged.

“ not that bad ..its healing…” She said and i absent mindedly nodded. My eyes still can’t drift from her arms.

“ and moreover…” she said and my eyes found her eyes. “ Besides no guy has made this much effort to get me. So I am not unhappy. They made so much planning and plotting yaar.” she said and I close my eyes

“They were fucking kidnappers. Vani!!” I snapped.

We stare at each other for a moment
And then we both chuckled.

✧

That evening, the living room felt like Mission Impossible.

I was fidgeting, scanning the room. Ma was cutting vegetables, Dad with some files, Subh glued to his phone

I gather the courage and finally said.

“ everyone. May i have you attention please.” I said and everyone looked at me. Dad put down his file.

“ now that its been months, and i am healing I want everyone to leave. And I wanna join my office work again”

The reaction?

Ma gasped like I had asked her to jump off the terrace. “You want us to leave? After all this? No. Its a no. And work? Not at all.”

“ exactly. I agree with your mother. Kaam to hota rahega… What if you’ll get weakness?”

“ yaaaaarrrr papa… I won’t… I haven’t got any serious injuries.”

“ you were in coma! And you are saying its wasn’t serious?”

“ mom! Dad! Please ”

“NOOO” they three said in union.

“Ughhhhh” I throw my hand in the air in frustration

✧

In the evening

I tried many times to make them believe I am alright and they should go but they didn’t moved an inch.

I am bored, man.

suddenly dad’s phone buzz with a call and he got up and went to balcony to take it.

Mom and I looked at dad’s composer
Mom twitch her eyebrows, asking ” what happened?” I shrugged, with a pout saying “I don’t know”

When dad came back, mom was the first one to ask

“ what happened?” She stood up while asking him

“ it’s not much, just a little problem in the company, I should go back to Punjab.”

“ Mai bhi chlu?” she asked
( Should I go too?”

“ no, no. You should stay here and take care of nav, although i will miss you but…” He stopped looking into mom’s eyes.

“ arrree… I was saying you both should go ..aur is subh ko bhi le jao… His post grad gonna start soon…. And i am perfectly fine. I promise” I said.

“ nahi… Nahi.. i can’t leave my child alone.”

“ mom. I am perfectly fine. Moreover vani is here with me. And going to punjab in also a necessity right?”

They both stood quite, debating whether they should leave or not.

✧

Finally, they agreed. Subh would leave for Italy directly from here.

But even after all that, they still hired a nurse to keep an eye on me.

Strict orders: no overworking.

I wonder what Vani’s doing right now.