ADITYA
"Why are you sweating so much?" I asked, noticing Rohan loosening his tie in the living room.
I've gotten so used to sleeping next to Tara that I can't fall asleep without her. And now, instead of being with my love, I'm stuck here with her brother.
What have I got myself into?
"Nothing, Bhai," Rohan replied, his voice shaky as he fumbled with his tie. "It's just gotten hotter in here."
"It's 2 AM, and you still haven't changed? Planning to stay up all night like an owl?" I shot back, raising an eyebrow.
"You're awake too," he mumbled under his breath, clearly trying to avoid my gaze.
"Excuse me?" I asked, my tone sharp.
"You're excused. No, I mean I was just wondering why you're still up. Why haven't you gone to bed?" he said, trying to sound casual, but failing miserably.
"I needed to talk to Tara, so I'm heading to her room," I replied, already making my way toward the door.
"You're going to see Bhabhi?" he blurted out, his voice suddenly loud and panicked. "Why... uh... why do you need to talk to her now? Can't it wait until morning? She's probably asleep."
"Why wouldn't she be awake? I spoke to her ten minutes ago." I said, narrowing my eyes at him.
Why the hell was he trying to stop me from seeing my own wife?
"Why couldn't she be asleep by now?" he stammered, his eyes darting around like he was hiding something. I raised an eyebrow, suspicion creeping in. "I mean, it's so late... it's not right to disturb a girl at this hour."
"She's my wife. And why are you getting nervous? It's not like I'm not going to see your girlfriend."
"Girlfriend? Bhai, I don't even have a girlfriend. Why would I be nervous?" he said with a forced laugh, his smile looking more like a grimace.
"Step aside, Rohan. I need to see Tara," I said firmly, moving toward the door again. But he jumped in front of me, blocking my path with his arms spread wide.
He let out a heavy sigh under my glare. "Bhai, please, just go to bed. Live and let live. Why don't you just take a break for once?"
"If you don't move out of my way in the next five seconds—" I started, but he cut me off.
"Bhai, please, I beg you. Why is everyone trying to get me into trouble?" he said angrily. Why is he so worked up?
"Fine," I said, rolling my eyes. "then I need to see Maa Maa."
The color drained from his face. Before I could take another step, he suddenly blurted out, "They're not at home!"
"WHAT?" I roared, my voice echoing.
"Nothing." he blurted out again.
At that exact moment, I heard footsteps behind us. Turning around, I saw Papa and Chachu standing there.
"What do you mean they're not at home?" Papa asked sternly, his gaze drilling into Rohan, who was now sweating bullets.
"I... I... well, you see..." Rohan stammered, looking like he was about to faint.
Papa crossed his arms, his brows furrowing. "Rohan, where are they?"
Rohan looked at me for help, but I was too angry to even consider anything. "Rohan," I said, my voice low and dangerous, "if you don't start talking right now, I'll make sure you regret it."
"They... they went out," he finally confessed, his voice barely a whisper.
"Where?" I demanded.
"To a... um... a party?" he finally spoke.
"WHAT?!" Papa and Chachu shouted in unison.
Papa looked like he was about to have a heart attack. "A bachelorette party? At 2:30 in the morning? And you thought it was a good idea not to tell us?"
"Bade Papa, Badi Maa told me not to tell anyone," Rohan stammered, hesitating as Chachu shot him a death glare. "And... and Mummy also said not to say anything," he quickly added, glancing nervously at Chachu.
"Please don't tell them I told you." he begged , but it was too late. I was already halfway to the door, determined to bring my wife and her gang of mischief-makers back home, whether they liked it or not.
TARA
The lights blazed on, my heart plummeted to my stomach.
There, standing in all their shirtless, muscular glory, were Aditya, Anirudh, Arjun bhaiya, Papa, and Chachu—each one looking angrier than the last.
I froze. The air was thick with tension, and I could feel my pulse quickening. "Oh. My. God," Ishani whispered beside me, her voice barely audible. "We fucked up real bad."
Seeing my Angry bird standing in front of me, my first instinct was to turn and bolt, but the moment I tried to move, Aditya's firm grip caught my wrist, pulling me back into place. "Going somewhere?" he asked, his tone dangerously low.
"I...umm...actually," I stammered, trying to keep my voice steady. This angry bird is going to eat me for sure.
"Just... you know... girls' night out," Ishani quickly covered up.
Anirudh stepped forward, looking at Ishani with raised eyebrows. "And girls' night out now requires male strippers?"
Ishani flashed a nervous smile. "This isn't our party! We just... stumbled in here by mistake." Can't even lie properly!
"Right! Totally not our party," Ananya agreed, but one sharp look from Aditya had her quickly backtracking. "Sorry, Bhai..." she mumbled, staring at her feet.
Meanwhile, Chachu was glaring daggers at Chachi, who was doing everything in her power to avoid his gaze. "And you?" he asked, his tone dripping with mockery. "Weren't you the one complaining about being too tired and wanting to sleep early? And now here you are, leading the charge. Came to sing bhajans, did you?"
Chachi flushed with embarrassment, her earlier confidence nowhere to be found.
"Alright, that's enough! What's the big deal? The kids just wanted to have a little fun." Maa suddenly stepped in, trying to defuse the situation.
I quickly hid behind her, hoping to shield myself from Aditya's fiery glare. I could feel his eyes boring into me, and I didn't have the strength to meet his gaze after what we'd done.
Papa raised an eyebrow at Maa. "Vaishnavi, since when do you count yourself among the 'kids'?"
Maa shot him a look and he zipped his lips.
"Are you calling me old? Just because you're ready to retire doesn't mean I am! I'm still young unlike you." she shot back.
"Why are you hiding behind Maa? What happened to the fierce lioness who was lecturing me just a few hours ago about not stepping out at night?" I heard Aditya's voice, sharp and mocking.
Before I could even attempt a response, Maa jumped in to save me. "Don't you dare say anything to Tara!" she snapped, stepping forward to my rescue.
"Maa," Aditya started but she silenced him.