Drabble Central (collection of short OS's)Pg21 NEW

The hand that was raised caused a silence to fall on the entire dining table, the faint chatter that was filling the afternoon fading away as everyone looked at the hand raised and the wide-eyed, fearful looking girl standing next to it, a roti in one hand as she balanced a tray full of rotis with the other.

Their eyes sympathetically met hers, and gave a nod of encouragement, giving her the support she needed.

She cleared her throat, and swallowed hard, her mouth tuning dry and her throat scratchy as she nervously looked at the hand and the cold eyes which refused to look at her.

"D-dadiji-" Khushi tried, however her voice died in her throat as Dadi raised her eyes to glare at Khushi. Khushi felt a shiver pass down her spine as she looked into those eyes, reminded of the countless amount of times her husband had looked at her with the same expression.

"Do not call me that" She said sternly, her mouth setting into a thin line, as she lowered her hand to the table and picked up her spoon, scooping up the yogurt in a steel bowl and bringing it to her mouth. Khushi looked at Dadi helplessly, placing the roti back on the tray, before placing it on the table.

"Can you pass me the roti?" Dadi asked Payal just as Khushi moved away and she halted in her tracks, a lump forming in her throat, as she looked at Dadi, before her eyes travelled to her sister. Payal bit her lip and got up, her eyes continuously darting between Khushi and Dadi, passing her a look of regret, before placing two rotis on her plate.

Khushi gave her sister a small smile of encouragement, ignoring the tears that threatened to break free, and took a deep breath. She looked towards her seat and saw that Arnav had not eaten anything, but was staring at Dadi with a frown on his face, his mouth dipped at the sides, his hand clutching tightly onto the glass of water.

Knowing that he was going to snap soon, Khushi forced a wide smile on her face, and went to sit beside him, hoping to calm him before he said something. Just as Khushi was about to sit down, the scrapping of a seat halted her, and she looked up to see Dadi getting up from her chair.

"Sumi, where are you going?" Nani asked, looking at her surprised, while the rest of the table looked at her curiously.

"Did you want something, Dadi?" Anjali asked in her soft voice, her eyes worriedly looking at the grim expression on her grandmother.

Dadi's eyes met Khushi's and Khushi felt her breath hitch, as her heart thrummed wildly against her chest, her palms turning sweaty, and the lump in her throat got heavier. She felt the heat of embarrassment rise up her cheeks, and she quickly looked away realizing what was the reason of Dadi's leave from the table.

Khushi.

She straightened her back, and put on the smile back on her face, addressing Nani, as her eyes kept darting towards Dadi, not wanting her to leave, "Naniji, I am not that hungry. Is it okay if I go up to my room?"

Nani looked at Khushi surprised, a frown settling on her face, "Are you okay Khushi bitiya? What's wrong?'

Khushi shook her head wildly, as her eyes settled on the plate in front of her, her mind working hard to come up with a better lie, "It's nothing Naniji, I just...I don't..I have a stomach ache. So I thought I should rest-"

"Sit down"

Khushi stopped and looked down surprised to see Arnav glaring at the plate in front of him, his grip on the glass tightening.

"Arnavji, I-"

"Khushi, I said, sit down. You are not going anywhere"

"Arnavji-"

"Whoever has a problem with my wife sitting and having lunch with me can leave now" Arnav said, his eyes flickering from Dadi's astonished ones to hers, a fierce determination and anger flashing through leaving no room for argument.

She silently sat down, her eyes still held captive by Arnav's and Arnav reached over and clasped her hand in his, entwining their fingers together.

She held her breath, her heart still beating wildly in her chest, her breath shortening as she felt the blush in her cheeks intensifying, waiting for the situation to go out of hand, her fearful gaze flickering between Arnav's to Dadi's.

Arnav broke the gaze from hers and looked up at Dadi, no expression on his face, his tone monotonous, as he held the glare that Dadi sent his way, "Dadi did you want to eat with us?"

Dadi looked at Khushi, and Khushi felt Arnav's grip on her hand tighten in support. Khushi stared back, holding her breath, waiting to see what her response would be.

Dadi silently sat back down, displeasure clearly evident on her face, her hand tugging angrily at the pallu that covered her head, but she said nothing.

Arnav picked up a spoon and shoved a mouthful of rice in his mouth, "Great food" he said, as he ate some more.

Khushi felt her mouth twitching into a smile as she watched fascinated, her husband eating the food prepared by her, not paying any heed to Dadi's displeasure at what was happening.

She squeezed his hand that held hers, in appreciation and gratitude, and she saw the twinkle return to his eyes as he looked up at her with a smile on his face.

Tonight is our suhaag raat the words rang through her mind, as she distractedly ran her hand through the lentils on a steel plate, trying to find the dirt in it.

"Nahi, nahi. Abhi nahi. Thoda karo inte-zaaar" Anjali sang under her breath, as her hands moved the knitting needles around, knitting a pair of socks for her child.

Khushi stopped going through the lentils, as her ears perked up, her face drained of colour, and the dhak dhak returned.

"Nahi, nahi, kabhi nahin, mein hoon bekaraar"

Khushi's eyes widened further, as the colour rushed to her cheeks, the steel plate clattered to the floor, the dry lentils flying everywhere, as the knitting needles stopped and everyone in the living room looked between the person who had just sang, and to the white-faced Khushi.

"Khushi?" Payal asked hesitantly, her eyes warily looking at the mess created on the floor.

"Chote?" Anjali asked bewildered, a smile playing on her lips as she looked at her brother, who had his laptop in front of him, his mouth curling up into a smirk. "Did you just sing?"

Arnav's eyes met Khushi's, and his smirk deepened before he looked at his sister, and looked back at his laptop, refusing to answer. His hand covered his mouth, the elbow resting on the armrest, as he tried hiding his smile.

"U-uh. I-I'll...I..." Khushi stuttered as she got up, her clammy hands gripping the sides of her suit, "I'll just clean this.." Khushi rushed out.

"Hariprakash!" Arnav called out, his amused eyes meeting Khushi's, "Hariprakash will clean it, you sit down."

Khushi averted her gaze, and sat down, her heart rate accelerating, as she tried taking a few deep breaths to calm her heart.

"Chote, you sing really well. Why haven't I heard you sing before?' Anjali asked, a small smile playing on her lips, as she concentrated on knitting the sock. Arnav looked at Khushi, his eyes boring into hers, warmth spreading in the pit of her stomach, as her cheeks flushed a deeper red, and he said,

"I guess today's just a special day, Di"

Arnav gently watered the plants, his mind preoccupied with thoughts of the upcoming marriage, glad to see that this had provided enough of a distraction for his family to be back to almost as normal as it was before.

Nani was once again smiling and playing with Laxmi, Mami was back to being herself, Akash and Payal were talking, and his Di...

He heaved a deep breath of relief, and closed his eyes briefly before opening them.

His Di was smiling, laughing, cheerful, almost back to how he remembered her to be. He smiled softly as he realized that Khushi had once again given him family a reason to smile.

He had always taken it away, but Khushi had somehow managed to bring back happiness into everyone's life she went to.

The sunlight was harsh, and it was boring into his back, making the vest and shirt stick to his back, as he watered the plants. He gently placed the tank next to the pot, and unbuttoned his sleeves, rolling them up, letting his skin breathe.

Just as he bent down to continue to water the plants, a glint of sunlight reflecting off something caught his eye, and made him frown as he blinked suddenly, trying to block of the harsh glare.

His hand rose, as he tried blocking of the sun, and his eyes opened briefly to find the source of the reflection.

Embedded in the bush, in the deep corner, something was glinting, and Arnav frowned as he stepped closer.

He couldn't have dropped anything.

Could Khushi?

But she was never careless with things valuable, and the way it was reflecting the sunlight, he was sure it was a diamond.

Could it be his sister?

Stepping closer, he looked up over the low branch, and peered closely at the object.

He felt his breath leave him in a rush, as blood rushed to his head, a faint pounding and thrumming at the back of his head, as his fists clenched, and the coldness gripped his insides.

He felt his knees weaken, as fury pounded through his veins at seeing a small camera fitted into his poolroom, the room in clear view of where it had been positioned.

Taking in a few deep breaths, he tried calming himself down, but thoughts kept running through his mind, making him angrier by the second.

Who had done this? What had they seen? Khushi...

He closed his eyes tightly, and his fist clenched tightly, trying to reign in his anger. He ripped off the camera, and enclosed his fist around it, opening his mouth to scream out his fury, but stopped himself as he knew that alarming his family would get him no where. A ringing noise filled his ears, as everything else was blocked out, and his eyes focused on the camera that was now hidden in his fist. Blood was ponding through his veins, and the need to do some harm filled his body, as he closed his eyes tight, his mouth curling up into an ugly snarl, an urge to protect his family...to protect Khushi blinding him.

Arnav Singh Raizada was furious.

Whoever had fitted the cameras into his bedroom would be found. And when they were found, he would make sure they suffered in the worst way possible.