CLICK——
THE DOOR OPENED—
The lady standing in front of us said,
"Ah…"
I glanced at Ruhaan before replying, "We're actually Maya's friends. We wanted to meet her. She's home, right?"
The woman didn't say anything at first, but then she replied,
"Yes, she's in her room. You can go and meet her."
"Okay. By the way, what are you to Maya?"
"I'm her mother."
"Oh, okay, Aunty. We'll go meet her."
With that, the two of us headed towards Maya's room.
We entered, but there was no one inside.
"Maya… Maya?"
We called out her name, looking around the room, but there was still no response.
"Maybe she isn't here," Ruhaan said.
"But her mom said she was in her room."
"Yeah, but she's clearly not here."
"Let's just go and talk to her mom," I said.
We went back to the hall, where Maya's mother was still sitting.
"Excuse me, ma'am," Ruhaan called.
"Yes?"
"Ah… you said Maya was in her room, but we went there and she wasn't there."
The moment I finished speaking, Maya's mother suddenly shot up from her seat.
"What?!"
Her reaction was so loud that both Ruhaan and I froze.
"She's not in her room?" i repeated.
"Where has this girl gone? Her father had forbidden her from going anywhere. I'll have to call him and let him know."
She hurried to pick up her phone, which was lying on the dining table. Just then, Maya entered through the other door.
"Mom," she called.
"Where had you gone, Maya?" her mother asked.
"I was in the backyard."
Maya's gaze shifted toward us, and her eyes widened slightly.
"Ashvi, Ruhaan, what are you two doing here?"
"Maya, we came here to talk to you about something."
"There's no need to talk about anything."
A voice came from behind us.
We both turned around to see Maya's father standing there. His expression was stern, and he looked quite rude . No wonder Maya had listened to him. Anyone would find it difficult to go against someone who looked that scary.
He walked toward us and stopped right in front of us. My pulse quickened, and I instinctively glanced at Ruhaan.
Before I could say anything, Ruhaan spoke.
"Sir, we're Maya's friends. We just came here to talk to her. We'll leave once we're done," he said calmly. Very calmly.
(So this man can actually speak like this?)
"There's no need for any conversation. Do you think I don't know what you people are going to talk to my daughter about?" he replied harshly.
Maya lowered her gaze, her fingers nervously twisting together.
"I know you're Varun's friends. That's why there's no need for you to say anything about him to my daughter and brainwash her."
"Is your daughter a child that we can just say anything to her and brainwash her?" I said.
His eyes immediately shifted toward me. Ruhaan glanced at me, and even Maya looked up in surprise.
"Sorry to say this, sir. I know I have no right to interfere in your family matters."
I took a small breath before continuing.
"But please, think about it yourself. Is what you're doing to your daughter right? Arranging her marriage at such a young age, and against her wishes?"
Mr. Chauhan's expression hardened, but I continued.
"I understand that you're worried about her future. You haven't accepted Varun because he doesn't have enough to offer your daughter financially, and that's understandable too. Love alone isn't enough to put food on the table. A career and financial stability are important, and you're right about that."
Maya slowly looked up at her father. There was something in her expression that made my heart ache.
"But you're wrong to rush Maya into a marriage without even considering her happiness."
"And who are you to tell me what's right or wrong when it comes to my own daughter?" he snapped.
I swallowed nervously, but I couldn't bring myself to stop.
"I know I might be speaking beyond my age," I continued, "but please, just think about it once. Look at your daughter. Does she look happy to you?"
For a brief moment, Mr. Chauhan glanced at Maya.
And Ruhaan stopped me.
"You talk too much, girl. You two can leave now." He pointed toward the door.
Ruhaan gently took my hand and began leading me away. I knew he wanted me to stop before things got worse.
But I couldn't leave without saying one last thing.
"Mr. Chauhan," I began again, this time without any politeness.
Ruhaan paused beside me.
"What you're doing is very wrong. And as for Varun, you gave him a week to restart his restaurant, didn't you? I guarantee you that he will reopen it."
I turned and started walking away, leaving the room in silence.
**************
_Outside the house_
"Ugh!"
I kicked Ruhaan's car in frustration.
"Maya's father is such an annoying man! He's heartless. He doesn't care about his own daughter at all. I said so much to him, and he still doesn't understand!" I exclaimed irritably.
"And why do you expect him to understand you when he can't even see his own daughter's unhappiness?" Ruhaan replied.
"Then what are we supposed to do?" I asked, frustrated.
"We have to show him through our actions, not just tell him. And that's something Varun has to do, not us," he answered.
And, to some extent, he was right.
"By the way, what was that back there?" he asked, his teasing beginning.
"What?" I asked, even though I knew exactly what he was talking about.
He started chuckling.
"You were really bold in there."
"I just said all that in anger," I replied.
"But I meant what I said about his restaurant."
"And what are you going to do to help him?" he asked.
"Ahhh… leave that to me. I know exactly what to do," I replied proudly.
He narrowed his eyes.
"What's going on in that tiny little brain of yours?"
I said nothing, just gave him a huge smile.
"Come on, drop me home before my own family kicks me out of the house."
"No worries. You can stay at my place. I wouldn't mind," Ruhaan said, biting his lower lip.
I tried to hide my blush.
"Idiot! Let's go," I said irritably and got into the car.
He got in too.
"Let's head home. But before that, let's get something to eat. I'm hungry," he said.
"You mentioned food. Now how am I supposed to say no?" I tried to act dramatically.
He burst out laughing.
Then he gently squeezed my cheeks.
"You're so dramatic! I like that," he added.
I could only stare at him, completely speechless.
Then he started the engine.
******************
The next day, everyone was seated in their usual places, busy doing their own thing.
Some were sleeping, some were eating, some were gossiping, and others were scrolling through their phones. A few were simply waiting for the class to begin.
Just then, the door opened, and Varun walked in.
There was an unmistakable happiness on his face. He looked happier than anyone had seen him in a long time.
"Hey, Varun! What's up? Why do you look so happy?
Yesterday, you were practically Devdas (a bollywood character) !" someone called out.
"Guys, I have good news!" Varun announced.
Everyone's attention immediately shifted to him.
"Good news?" Yash asked.
"I'm going to reopen my restaurant!" Varun said.
The classroom erupted into cheers.
"Wow! That's amazing!"
"Congratulations, man!"
"Varun, you're throwing a reopening party at your restaurant. No excuses!" someone shouted.
"YESSS!" Ashvi screamed from the back, catching everyone's attention.
"You have to feed us unlimited food! That's what the party should be!" she declared excitedly.
Harry laughed. "Lol, Varun, at this rate, there won't be any food left in your restaurant. Ashvi will eat everything!"
Ashvi smacked him on the head.
"Don't push your luck!"
"But wait," Ruhaan interrupted.
Everyone turned toward him.
"Varun, you're suddenly reopening your restaurant. I mean, that's great news, but where did you get the money from?"
"What does that have to do with anything?" Ashvi cut in. "The important thing is that he's reopening it. Now Maya's family will finally realize their mistake. Especially her father. He won't be able to arrange her marriage so easily now."
"Ruhaan, I took out a loan," Varun clarified.
"Okay."
"YESSS! FOOD! FOOD! FOOD!" everyone began chanting.
The entire classroom burst into laughter and excitement.
Ashvi stood right in the middle of everyone, looking so small compared to the people surrounding her, yet somehow managing to be the center of attention.
Ruhaan watched her with a smile.
Yash, standing beside him, smiled too.
---
A little later, Ashvi was walking down the corridor when a tall shadow appeared behind her.
She didn't even need to turn around to know who it was.
She turned.
"What's your problem? Why are you following me?"
Ruhaan looked at her calmly.
"Why can't I follow you? In fact, you should be happy. Girls usually follow me around, but here I am, following you."
"Oh, Lord! How did I become so valuable?" Ashvi exclaimed dramatically.
Ruhaan smirked.
"You," he said, pointing at her. "There's something about you."
"Of course there is. My soul. It's inside me."
"But I'll pull your soul out if you follow me again!"
Ruhaan burst out laughing.
"Why do you always threaten to kill people? What do you find so appealing about killing people?"
"Correction, Mr. Raina," Ashvi began. "Not people.
You.
She turned to walk away.
But Ruhaan caught her hand.
"What?"
"Did you give Varun the money to reopen the restaurant?" he suddenly asked.
Ashvi remained silent for a few seconds.
"Did Varun tell you?" she finally asked.
Ruhaan nodded.
"I told him not to, by the way!" she added. "But yes, I did."
"Where did you get that much money?"
"Excuse me? What makes you think I don't have money?" Ashvi immediately shot back.
"I know you're rich, and you definitely have money," he replied politely. "But I'm pretty sure you don't have enough to cover the investment he needs."
"Ah..."
She paused.
"I borrowed it from Ayaan."
Ruhaan smiled.
"I knew it. Come on."
He took her hand and started walking.
"Where?" she asked.
___________________
They stopped in front of his car.
"Why are we here?" she asked again.
"How much did you borrow from him?"
"Why?"
"Just tell me."
"About thirty thousand. I already had twenty thousand of my own."
Ruhaan got into his car and returned with some money in his hand.
He placed it in Ashvi's palm.
"What's this?" she asked, confused.
"I don't want you taking money from him to help our friend. And I don't want him holding this over your head later, either. So take this and give it to him."
Ashvi stared at him, amazed.
"But—"
"I said, take it."
She smiled.
"You really think so little of my brother."
"Really?" he replied, smiling back.
[Sometimes, the smallest gestures said the most. And perhaps, without either of them realizing it, something between them was slowly changing.]