Chronicles Of My Darling Husband

28. Madanah (Part 3)

His boring eyes bore into her face and for all the money in the world, she couldn't stop blushing.

"What?" He asked slowly, drawing each alphabet like he wanted her to register him as he spelled his surprise.

She blinked rapidly. "I... You did mention wanting to meet, so naturally, I assumed you weren't interested in taking things further and—"

"Ran for the hills," Devika butted in, munching on her Sabudana Vada one pearl at a time, seemingly unfazed.

Nishita snapped her head towards her nuisance of a friend, muttering a curse under her breath.

"Come on, now..." Devika gave her innocent puppy-dog eyes. "Weren't you the one yesterday, rolling around in your bed with his photo, looking like a lovestruck Laila waiting for Majnu?" she teased, "I thought I could help speed up the process."

From the corner of her eyes, she noticed Jagdish, who was already turning pink, the color creeping up his neck—completely encased in the crisp collars of his formal shirt—and into his cheeks.

Gosh, he looks so... Argh, what am I going to do with this man!?

She had to silence her friend's motor mouth. The best she could manage was a discreet kick under the table, but her luck failed her, and she accidentally hit Jagdish, who flinched, letting out a small groan. "Argh!"

"Sorry!" she apologized quickly, flustered. "That was..."

"Intended for me." Devika helpfully supplied with a grin.

Subhadra chuckled, her eyes gleaming with mischief. "We're almost finished with the food," she said, her enthusiasm palpable as she looked at Nishita. "Why don't you and Jagdish Bhaiyya go somewhere alone to talk? I mean, don't you find the three of us being a bit of a pest?"

"You're quite perceptive, Mrs. Singh seems to have a duplicate of herself as a daughter," Devika remarked, nodding in approval. "Some good genes must have passed on to the woman of the house other than just being tall, isn't that right, Krishna?"

Krishna shot her a sharp look. "You don't know anything about us. Keep your judgments to yourself."

"Aww, did I hurt the kid's feelings?" Devika teased, then turned to Jagdish. "You two go and enjoy yourselves. I'll be a good host and take care of your baby and sister, both."

Jagdish bit his lips to stop himself from grinning at the continuous assault of Devika on his brother and nodded.

"Take my bike, Nishu," she tossed her bike key to Nishita, "A bike ride works wonders for romance."

"Like you've had thousands of boyfriends," Krishna muttered, snickering at her suggestion.

Devika winked. "More than that, kid."

--

As they leisurely strolled through the steps of Shaniwar Wada, Devika playfully turned to Krishna. "How old are you, kid?"

Krishna, without bothering to respond, continued walking ahead, leaving Devika with Subhadra.

Giggling, Subhadra replied, "He turned twenty-two recently, and I'll be twenty-one soon."

"Hey, you're both almost my age!" Devika exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Nishu and I are both twenty-two as well."

"We know... I mean, about Nishita Ji, we know. She's just three days younger than Krish."

"Oh, wait, the kid is older than me!?" Devika chuckled, teasing Krishna as he walked ahead. "Poor boy, Krishna, are you upset to be trolled by a woman younger than you?"

He turned around to face her. "You're annoying."

"I guess you find every woman who speaks a word against you annoying, including your sister," Devika retorted, her eyes sparkling with amusement, a smile dancing on her lips. "You're the apple of your mother's eye, aren't you?"

"That's Bhaiyya," Subhadra corrected with a smile. "Jagdish Bhaiyya is everything to Maa."

"Uh-huh?"

"Not just to Maa, but also to Papa, Dadi... I guess he's the Ram Bhagwaan of our family," Subhadra sighed contentedly, reminiscing about her brother's revered status in their family.

"He's idealistic, no one can be like him," Krishna shook his head, admiration evident in his tone. "I can't sacrifice my happiness and life for whatever duty he believes he has as the eldest son!"

"Duty?" Devika prodded, her curiosity piqued. "Isn't he interested in this marriage?"

"Not much," Subhadra replied, her voice tinged with understanding. "He never showed much interest; Maa forced him to come and meet Nishita Ji."

"Oh." Devika furrowed her brow, contemplating the situation.

"But we feel he's started to like her," Krishna added, trying to sense that this wasn't the right way to take the conversation.

"Uh-huh," Devika prodded further. "Why do you say that?"

"He's never been afraid of anything," Krishna explained. "But he was scared to talk to Nishita... Shows that he cares about too much to lose her."

"That's just the romantic corny crap you are spewing now." Devika scoffed.

Krishna shook his head, a wry smile playing on his lips. "Love changes people."

"Since when did you start believing in love?" Subhadra asked, surprised by her brother's statement.

Devika jumped in, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "So, you're saying Jagdish has a crush on Nishita?"

"How would I know?" Krishna replied, a hint of frustration in his voice. "And where have you brought us in this sweltering heat? Can't we go somewhere else? I don't want to learn about this Bajirao when all I feel is sweat!"

Devika laughed, amused by Krishna's discomfort. "Okay, calm down, kid. We'll go home."

"Home?" Subhadra questioned, intrigued by the sudden change in plans.

Devika nodded emphatically. "Yes, home."

--

A/N

Devika and Subhadra do make a good duo XD

I have nothing to write much about this chapter, it's just a cute conversation between people who might grow to be friends in the future.

I was just too surprised to know that Sunidhi had sung the "Bhaage Re" song... Her voice sounds so different, truly gifted!

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