44 | Raspy Reunions

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An extremely long gushy-mushy update to compensate you all for a late update!

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Chapter dedicated to YASHASVI914❤️

Trigger warning; Mention of Personality disorder, Anorexia Nervosa.

______________________

Riya's Pov

"Don't talk to me." I looked away, whining, and before he could utter a word in his defense, I cribbed,

"I hate you." Huffing, I glared at the evil sight of my husband in front of me, who sighed heavily in return with a slight hopeless shake of his head.

"Yaar, it's not my fault if Kunal has some work near Hoshiarpur and he would pick you up tomorrow instead of me." He explained it for the umpteenth time, his tone hinting of helplessness.

Instead of paying attention to what he said, for a fleeting second my gaze switched to his chest as he wore his t-shirt, thus depriving me of my favorite nakey-nakey sight of his.

"Oye bas kar. Upar dekhle ab." My shameless gawking halted as my gaze shifted only to witness a teasing smile quirked upon his lips.

"There is nothing left to be seen there." I murmured, shrugging nonchalantly while he chuckled in amusement.

However, I glared at him a moment later, partially because he was not coming to pick me up and partially of this stupid tshirt he was now wearing to cover up his modesty.

But, unfrightened by Princess Riya's terror, he dared to grin in response, his hands busy adjusting the phone on the dressing table.

"You sure are not coming?" I tried my luck again, peering at him with immense hope while he rolled his eyes in hopelessness.

"There's no logic in me coming to Hoshiarpur separately when Kunal will already be there." He pursed his lips, his fingers busy settling his hair making my scowl deepen at his explanation even though I knew he was right.

"I wanted to meet you." I pouted sadly while a tinge of a proud smile graced his lips as he admired himself in the mirror,

"Now, I have to wait..." I thought for a while and counted hours on my fingers,

"Oh God! I have to wait seven hours more to meet you in person." The mere thought was enough to disappoint my senses whereas a stupid dimpled smile beguiled his lips at my reply which failed to subside despite my constant glares and glowers.

"You were eager to leave Delhi and come to Hoshiarpur two weeks ago, and now it's the exact opposite." He wriggled his brows with mischief and I contemplated if I should blush or feel defensive at his words.

Yes.
Meet you.

And maybe kiss you?

And maybe compensate you all night for the kiss-deprivation?

"Oh puh-lease, Princess Riya is nowhere eager to come to Delhi." I masked an indifferent expression and swayed my hair royally.

"Sure Sure." He spoke with utmost seriousness, a failed attempt on his part to suppress his smirk.

"Acha chal chod ise aur bata, How am I looking? Handsome?" He took a few steps back, all the while raking his hair, and glanced at me with a teeny-tiny arrogance.

"Super handsome." I swooned, my words enough to boast him as I eyed him from top to bottom, the combination of peach t-shirt and navy blue jeans suiting him.

"Sachi?" He confirmed, narrowing his eyes a bit, not believing that I praised him in an instant.

"Aur kya! I could have whistled if I knew how to." I answered immediately and made a few futile attempts to whistle which only produced a series of sounds similar to uhm,

A fart.

My cheeks reddened as he eyed me friskily, thus revealing that he is thinking the same as I have been.

"I never knew, apart from producing funky farts, you can produce its sound too. Such a talented wife I got." He bit his inner cheeks, while I could only gape at him for giving words to his farty thoughts.

Shameless.

"I am cutting the call if you do not change the topic in a second." I threatened with a serious tone because this was the only thing I could do to conceal my embarrassed self.

"Acha acha, sorry." He spoke in a rush, and added,

"Chal ye bata, how many girls will swoon over me tonight?" He sighed dreamily and adjusted his collars, a glint of naughtiness evident on his face.

"Ah, sooo many." I played along and intentionally drawled the second word,

"Kya pata, some might even ask for your number."

"Hain!?" He confirmed with a shine in his eyes and picked up the phone from the dressing table, his face now near to the screen.

"Aur kya!" I remarked, silently resisting the urge to jump out of the phone and pounce on him while he only gushed at himself in return, unaware of my incorrigible thoughts.

"Umm, but.." He pretended to think, his words succeeding in putting me out of my trance.

"Even if they ask for my number, I am going to reject the offer." He clicked his tongue, pondering with utmost sincerity.

"Kyu?" I probed, feigning oblivion.

"Lae, because I already have my girl at home." He blew a kiss in the air, settled himself on the bed, and placed the phone to the side, his finger working to put on his shoes.

"Good husband." I nodded slowly, "This is exactly what I wanted to hear." I beamed, thoroughly impressed by his answer, the idea of pouncing on him resurfacing my senses.

While my thoughts wandered to jump on him like a kiss-thirsty lioness, I didn't notice when his expressions turned intense as he peered at me in suspicion.

"What are you thinking?" He squinted his eyes, eyeing me closely.

"Nothing?" I was quick to reply, my tone defensive and my face struggling to mask what my mind has been dreaming, and what my lips have been craving.

His lips twisted upwards in a teasing smirk,

"Acha." He spoke and before I could sigh in relief, he queried,

"Do you know what am I thinking about right now?" His intense glimmer in his gaze was enough to zip up my mouth and all I could answer was a slight shake of my head.

"I am thinking of kissing you right now." He spoke in such a hoarse whisper that I felt my heart skip a beat for a fleeting second.

I gulped inaudibly as my throat turned dry all of a sudden making me flick a tongue over my lips.

"Uh, um.." I babbled blinking my eyes in shock, failing to provide a coherent response.

"Badly." He spoke, and the gleam in his eyes intensified,

"Madly." I was speechless at his guts to exactly put words to what I have been yearning for.

"And unstoppably." He breathed, and added after a pause,

"Until you turn into a breathless mess." His voice dropped to a few decibels while my heartbeats failed to decipher if they should stop beating altogether or beat with wild madness.

"Aditya..!" I gasped at his unfiltered words, the mere imagination inviting a bunch of shudders within me.

"I know you want the same." He whispered, his tone husky, while I shook my head in an instant not wanting him to know the extent of carnal thoughts I've started to have about him these days.

"Uh, um go now." I mumbled, avoiding an eye contact "Rishabh might be coming anytime soon." I made a failed attempt to divert the topic, though his gaze didn't budge except for the occasional moments when it would fixate on my lips.

"Tomorrow." He rasped, eyeing me with fierce determination while I silently awaited his next words,

"I am not going to spare you, even for a second when you come back home. Fifteen days were enough, not more." My heart plummeted at the raw passion evident in his tone.

I hummed in response, like that of an obedient child my voice failing to come out.

"Uhm, Rishabh might be waiting Aditya." I bit my lips in nervousness and then swiped my tongue over my lips. Though, I regretted it instantly as his gaze switched there the exact moment.

"I swear.." My husband seemed to ignore what I said,

"I won't let you run away like you are doing right now." He ended, his eyes devoid of his usual warmth, his gaze hooded.

Captive of his stance, I nodded meekly, having nothing to say.

"Go now." I murmured when I noticed his expressions neutralizing, followed by a sodt sigh.

"Come soon. I miss you." He almost groaned, threading a reckless hand in his hair.

"I miss you too." I smiled softly, the warmth still creeping over my neck thinking and rethinking his words,

"Chalo go now and enjoy." I reminded him that he has to go to his friend's bachelorette tonight.

"Hanji." His lips thinned, not wanting to leave.

"Bye. And, don't wait for me, I'll come late." He informed, getting up from the bed.

"Hanji." I smiled before cutting the call and leaned against the headboard. Shutting my eyes tightly, I could feel a thunderstorm of alien emotions swirling within me as his words reverberated in my ears on repeat.

I won't spare you.

*********

"Ohho Kunal! At least don't touch my feet yaar. I am not this old." I gasped as after touching everyone's feet Kunal bent down to touch my feet as well.

"Mom's order bhabhi." He shrugged dismissively, "But don't worry, I'll hug you too." He chuckled, taking me in a big-bear side hug, thus inviting a giggle from me.

"No-no-no-no-no, boo-boo." Avyuktha was quick to babble and clung to my leg as soon as my brother-in-law hugged me, the sense of possessiveness seeping within my munchkin.

"What? She's only yours boo-boo? Nothing to us?." Kunal spoke gazing at avyuktha challengingly, just to irk him. However, his words, followed by avyuktha's wail were enough to invite a bunch of laughs from all of us.

"My Boo-boo." Avyuktha's lips wobbled and eyes shimmered with unshed teard as Kunal refused to put away his hand from my shoulder. My nephew's innocent eyes turned watery as he gazed at me upwards, hinting me of his troubled state. Unfortunately, his gaze would occasionally turn furious when directed towards Kunal, which only escalated when Kunal's hand didn't budge from my shoulder.

Hence proved, the Kansal brothers are strictly not approved by Mr. Avyuktha.

"He has become pretty possessive about me in these fifteen days." I sighed with a slight shake of my head picking an almost howling fourteen-month-old, as we all stepped inside the house for a few minutes before I leave for Delhi.

**********

"Bye." My lips trembled as I pressed my face to paa's chest, silent tears rolling down my eyes.

He sighed deeply as if controlling himself and pressed a gentle kiss on my forehead. A few moments later, after a soft rub on my back, he loosened his grip on me, almost forcing me to leave his hold.

It's astounding to believe that how quickly these difteen days passed by.

My throat turned dry, my breathing hastened and my heart dropped each second thinking when will be the next time I'll get to come back here and spend time with all of them.

As I embraced maa, we stood wrapped with each other for an inconsiderable period, wordlessly sinking in the last few seconds we have with each other before we leave.

Hugging both bhai and bhabhi, my gaze wandered around, settling at every inch of the house as if trying to fixate the hints of conversations, bunches of laughs and silly jokes we had at each corner of this home.

Believe it or not, but each place has its own emotion, an unsaid story and its distinct fragrance, and currently, my heart craved nothing but to hold on to this emotion and lock up this place's fragrance in my senses.

For a fleeting second my gaze switched to my munchkin, who unaware of the fact that I am leaving now, smiled brightly eyeing me, his arms automatically spreading knowing well I am going to pick him up.

"Let's go to Delhi." I whispered meekly, rubbing my nose with his teeny-tiny one while he slowly blinked his eyes in response, confused as if it was some gibberish that his boo-boo just blabbered.

Indifferent as to what I just said, he leisurely placed his head on my shoulder, his tender-little fingers playing with my hair, and his drool wettening my top.

My heart smiled and I couldn't help but place a tight, sloppy kiss on his cheek which he didn't appreciate at all as he used all his power and push my face away from his.

Laughing, I moved toward the car just to elicit a reaction from him. However, to my surprise, he didn't react at all and looked as if all set to leave with me.

"Dekhlo, your son doesn't love you both enough. He is ready to leave you both and come to me." I smirked lightly, arrogance seeping over my face as I proudly eyed bhai.

"Rakhle rakhle, this way we will also have some peace at home. Two satans will not be there to ruin our peace." He sighed in fake relief and I pouted, though I knew well that he meant otherwise.

"As if, you let me live in peace." Bhabhi grumbled, almost inaudibly, and pretended to ignore the glare her husband sent in her direction while I zipped up my mouth, not to laugh at my brother's expense.

"Uh, chalein bhabhi?" Kunal's awkward voice brought me back to the reality that it was time to leave this home.

Again.

I hummed softly and a few silent cries, a hundred soft smiles, and uncountable blessings later, I settled myself in the car.

Kunal revved the engine and I waved at each one of them with a faint smile, my gaze fixated on my family until they were out of my sight.

**********

"How's Trannum." I quipped, angling my neck sideways to my brother-in-law as he drove the car on the highway, his sole attention over the traffic in the front.

He went silent for a second as if contemplating something and answered with an almost inaudible sigh, "She's good now."

"Now?" I frowned in confusion,

"What happened? Did you guys have some fight?" I shot two questions in a row figuring out his transforming expressions.

He seemed distracted as he peered outside for a fleeting second, "Nothing bhabhi. All well." There was a rush in his voice as if he wants to dodge the conversation.

"You can tell me, I won't judge." I said softly, "Still, if you don't want to, It's okay. I won't force you." I added almost immediately, so that he doesn't feel obligated to tell me.

"Nahi nahi, I just.." He stopped, and wetted his lips in apprehension.

"Trannum has anorexia nervosa." He began, his voice low, "There are times when her emotions are a highly triggered, and at that time, she is probably an emotional mess."

"Anorexia nervosa?." I repeated to no one in particular, "The one in which a person has an eating disorder, and they fear gaining weight?"

"Hanji." He hummed, and changed the gear, however, the ways his eyes were zeroed to the front hinted that his thoughts lingered to her only.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, he worded, his tone worrisome,

"She has been skipping food for the last three days, merely eating salads once a day. And, she is already underweight, I just don't know what to do." He rubbed his forehead and pressed his lips in a thin line and continued,

"Every single time, someone jokes or mentions weight gain, her anorexia is triggered. Every single time she sees a post on social media about food, her urge to lose weight heightens. She even weighs an apple or any other fruit on the weighing machine and counts calories for every little thing she eats. And, it's been five years of her going through this, and me seeing her in this state." I could clearly feel the tremble in his voice as he talked about her, the brief pauses and heavy breaths he took in between each sentence were enough to make me realize how much he loves her and to what extent he cares for her.

My heart dropped hearing the depth of this condition and I could only imagine that to what extent anorexics suffer insecurities and internal conflicts in their life.

"You know bhabhi." He eyed me momentarily,

"How insecure is she about her body? How negative she thinks about herself at times?" He eyed me in question and I gulped a lump in my throat as each word sunk in my heart, realizing the seriousness of this condition that most people fail to consider.

"I can't tell you that to what extent she cries at frequent intervals because of all the personality disorders she consequently is suffering from? I have seen her self-confidence falling to bits in these years, her recklessness fading with time." The shimmer gleaming in his was amissed.

"She takes therapy every once in a while, which fortunately works for her but only for some time, then some or the other thing happens and her anorexia is triggered again." His fingers tapped restlessly on the steering wheel resonating the restlessness in his heart, as we waited for the traffic outside to clear up.

"How do you manage in these situations then? Like, what do you do to let her feel confident again?" I couldn't help but ask about the prospective solution we could follow when encountering anorexics.

He smiled meekly, "I, I just..." He opened his mouth to speak and paused as if weighing his answer,

"I just try to make her believe that I accept her the way she is." My heart flared in happiness feeling the sincerity in his words and the love he beholds for her in his eyes.

"Whenever I am around her, I never force her to eat more or eat anything she doesn't want to. I let her eat whatever she feels like eating, no matter how less the proportion is." He voiced with a subtle hint of smile while I listened to him carefully,

"Nor do I ever comment upon how unhealthy or healthy she looks or she needs to be." A smile perked up on my lips at his thoughts,

"Also, I never try to compare her situation with what others might be facing. Every time she shares something , I try not make her condition feel insignificant because it will only add to her conflicts and insecurities." I nodded softly, my thoughts turning to the plethora of people suffering through a myriad of conflicting struggles in their lives.

"Most importantly, I try my best never to mention weight, food, calories, exercise, or body shape in any of our conversations And, never in my wildest dream did I give free advice or throw harsh statements like she's just being irresponsible about herself or she is unnecessarily fretting about it." He voiced with pinch of disappointment, maybe reminiscing the harsh statements being thrown at Trannum.

"In all these years, I have realised that the best treatment we could give them is to love and accept the way they are, respect the boundaries they have set for themselves and never pester them to do what is already not in their

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