Kripa wakes up and yawns, she opens the curtains and a huge smile appears on her face, Shilpa had been right when she had told Kripa she was getting the best room in the house, and this is the best room with a spectacular view. The sun shines over the countryside making even the farthest mountains and hills visible. Kripa opens the window slightly to let the wind creep into the room while she heads to the bathroom.
As soon as she's freshened up Kripa comes back into the room with a towel in her hand, she stands by the window and begins to lightly dry her hair with the towel, as she looks out of the window she spots someone exercising, she looks closer and realises it's Angad, she looks puzzled, she shakes her head and leaves the room.
Angad notices someone standing by the door watching him as he does his push ups, he turns his head and finds its none other than Kripa who quickly turns her attention to something else, how obvious can she get, Angad shakes his head and smirks to himself while he continues to exercise, he focuses on the ground but takes the odd peek at Kripa who is still standing by the door, he sighs and stops doing the push ups and gets up, he wipes his face with the towel lying on the chair then walks over to Kripa. He folds his arms and leans against the door
"Was there something you wanted?"
Kripa jerks her head up at Angad and rapidly shakes her head, she turns and pretends to do something while Angad just chuckles, he leans closer and whispers
"Did you like what you saw?"
Kripa's mouth falls open while Angad grins and walks off, he stops at the door and turns and winks at her, Kripa scowls at him and she turns to go into the garden. Angad laughs to himself and heads into the bathroom to have a shower.
Kripa mumbles to herself as she picks a flower from the garden, she begins to pick the petals off and throw them onto the ground as she walks around.
"I like my flowers in one piece"
Kripa stops and turns, she finds Shilpa frowning at her, Kripa looks at the flower in her hand and hide sit behind her back, she smiles nervously
"Sorry, I was just..."
"I'm kidding"
Shilpa smiles while Kripa relaxes, Shilpa holds Kripa's hand and leads her to the bench, both sit down.
"So Kripa, what's the deal with you and my grandson?"
Kripa's eyes widen, she fumbles but Shilpa smiles again, Kripa smiles realising she was joking with her again. They begin talking about their lives when Angad comes, he kisses Shilpa's cheek and grabs a chair from the garden table and sits opposite them.
"Nani, is there any good shops around here?"
"Of course Angad, why?"
"Me and Kripa were hoping to take you shopping, isn't that right Kripa?"
Kripa looks at him then at Shilpa and slowly nods her head. She excuses herself and goes inside to get a glass of water, she heads for the garden with the glass in her hand when she spots Angad and Shilpa smiling and laughing with each other, she sees Angad sit next to Shilpa and hug her then sees Shilpa pulling his ear. A single tear creeps down Kripa's cheek; she sets the glass on the table inside and runs upstairs without wanting to attract any attention.
But Angad had seen her, he tells Shilpa the same and they both go back inside and up to Kripa's room. Shilpa knocks on her door and opens it slowly, she finds Kripa standing against the wall gazing out of the window, she signals for Angad to stay outside who nods his head and stays outside but watches as Shilpa places her hand on Kripa's shoulder.
Kripa hastily wipes her tears and smiles weakly, Shilpa puts her hand on Kripa's cheek and motions for her to tell her what the problem is, Kripa shakes her head at first but Shilpa insists.
"It's just, I was raised in the foster care system, I was frequently moving houses so I never really received love from a family, and seeing you and Angad, and I got emotional"
Shilpa smiles and hugs Kripa, she smoothes Kripa's hair.
"Well there's no need for you to feel like that while you're here, I'm Angad's nani, and you're Angad's friend so I can be your nani too"
Kripa looks at Shilpa who nods her head, Kripa smiles and hugs Shilpa.
"Thanks….Nani"
Shilpa smiles and kisses Kripa's cheek then leaves; Angad gives Shilpa a kiss on her cheek as she passes him. He looks over at Kripa and clears his throat, Kripa looks at him
"Can I come in?"
Kripa hesitantly nods her head as she sits on the bed, Angad sits next to her and takes her hand into his, she stares at her fingers as he speaks
"Kripa, despite our past, you should know that you're never alone, no matter how many years go by I want you to know that you have at least someone who you can consider as family"
Kripa looks at Angad speechless, she breathes deeply and smiles, Angad plays with the ring on her finger before speaking again
"Also, don't be scared to tell me whenever you want to go to the zoo to see your family members"
Kripa gasps and pulls her hand away, Angad laughs, Kripa scowls and stands up to walk away, Angad grabs her hand and pulls her back and makes her sit on his lap, Kripa tries to struggle but Angad keeps his grip on her, he forces her to look into his eyes.
"Jokes apart, I'm always here for you Kripa, whenever you need me, you will always be a part of my family"
Kripa's anger look softens, Angad smiles sweetly and kisses her cheek softly before letting her go, Kripa continues to stare into his eyes, Angad bites his bottom lip
"Kripa, you can get off me now"
Kripa looks down and quickly jumps off Angad, he stands up and chuckles while leaving the room, Kripa picks up a pillow and throws it at him but misses, she mumbles something before picking the pillow up and shutting the door.
***********
While Dilip and Kareena are enjoying the comfort of having Shilpa's house to themselves, Shilpa, Angad and Kripa are roaming around the small shopping centre. Kripa has her arm linked with Shilpa's while Angad walks beside them both. Angad nudges Shilpa and whispers into her ear, Shilpa nods her head, Angad grins and continues walking. Shilpa glances over at Kripa who looks lost in her own world and lets go of her arm, Kripa doesn't seem to notice thinking Shilpa is probably getting something out of her bag, she hears Shilpa say something and merely nods her head, when she feels an arm nudging her she assumes it's Shilpa so she links arms and continues to walk.
It isn't until Kripa stops day dreaming and notices a cute outfit that she turns her head to tell Shilpa to go into the shop with her but is miffed when she sees Angad instead of Shilpa. She stops walking and looks around looking very puzzled, Angad waits for her to stop looking around, soon she does, she looks at Angad
"Where's Nani?"
Angad raises his eyebrows at Kripa then speaks
"She left"
"What? Why?" Kripa asks shocked
"She told you she was going and asked if it would be ok if you continued shopping with me, you nodded your head"
"I wasn't even listening properly"
"Well that's your problem; you can either continue shopping with me or go home on your own because Nani has given me a huge list of things to get for her"
Kripa frowns and decides to go along with Angad but unlike before she keeps her distance, Angad steals glances at her and smirks to himself at his intelligence to fool her. He mentally thanks his Nani for agreeing to his words and helping him woo Kripa.
****************
2 days earlier
Angad agrees to go to Scotland with Dilip and Kareena as long as Kripa comes with them. Kripa informs Angad that she is going with them and Angad begins to think of a plan, as there is no way he will return from Scotland without Kripa in his arms. So he begins to think of what he can do in Scotland which will make Kripa his, that's when he remembers his Nani and decides to seek her help.
Angad calls Shilpa up and informs her they will be arriving soon, Nani is happy and Angad decides to tell her his problem.
"Nani, Kripa is coming with us"
"Kripa? The girl you're madly in love with?" Nani asks firmly
"Yes Nani" Angad replies cheekily "but I need your help, she hates me but now that she's agreed to come to Scotland with us I want to make sure all of our differences are sorted in this trip and our relationship can become a success, so will you help me?"
Shilpa mulls over Angad's problem and agrees to help him, she tells him the first step will be to make Kripa question her feelings for him by making her nervous whenever he's around, she continues to tell him what to do and also tells him she will offer her help when they come. Angad agrees and thanks her.
*************
Kripa shakes Angad out of his thoughts he looks at her and sees her pointing to a shop; he looks and sees it's an ice cream shop, he smiles.
"You want ice cream?"
Kripa nods her head frantically and Angad also nods his head and leads her to the shop, he makes her sit down then goes to get their ice creams. He gets himself a double chocolate cone while he gets Kripa a vanilla-strawberry cone. He hands it to her and sees her looking puzzled.
"What's wrong Kripa?" He asks as he takes his seat opposite her and begins to have his ice cream.
"Nothing, I didn't think you would remember my favourite flavour" Kripa begins having her ice cream while Angad watches her and smiles at her innocence.
"Well I remember almost everything about you" He says while eating, Kripa looks up at him with her eyebrows raised.
"I'm serious Kripa, ask me anything"
Kripa nods her head but agrees to do it after they've had their ice cream.
When they've finished having their ice creams they begin walking around the shopping centre, Kripa glances at Angad and smiles to herself
"Are you ready for my questions?"
Angad nods his head and gives her his full attention.
"OK, I'll start with something easy, my favourite colour?"
Angad laughs at the easiness of the questions and merely points to the black jacket he's wearing, Kripa nods her head.
"That's one correct, next one, my favourite perfume?"
"Come on Kripa, challenge me at least, Light Blue from D&G"
Kripa nods her head again and asks another question.
"My favourite English film?"
"You don't have one although you take quite a liking to Robert De Niro films"
Kripa looks at him astonished and concurs with him.
"OK, my favourite book"
"You don't read"
Kripa smiles "Just trying to catch you out, ok, a more serious one how many foster homes have I been in?"
Angad stops walking and scratches his chin, Kripa smirks to herself and begins to walk ahead.
"7"
Kripa stops walking and turns around, Angad nods his head and repeats the answer and begins to give his explanation.
"Your first was from when you left the orphanage when you were 3, you were fostered by an elderly woman in Birmingham, but she died 6 months after and you were fostered by another woman where you stayed almost 2 years. You were then fostered when you turned 5 because the other woman had to move away, this time you were fostered by a couple who couldn't have kids, but as soon as you turned 7, the woman got pregnant so you were sent to another foster home. This one was with an elderly couple who had fostered many in their lifetime, a year later sadly they also passed away and you were sent to a foster home where there were around 5 other foster kids like you and you being you hated it there so you only lasted 6 weeks. You then went on to live with another middle aged woman until you were 14, the longest you had been in any one home and if I'm correct you began to feel this was your home until the woman decided she was done with fostering and sent you off to another middle aged couple who were fostering another child as well. You stayed there until you were 16then you moved out."
Angad stops speaking and counts on his fingers
"Yeah that was 7, is there anything else you want to ask me?"
Kripa is speechless, she stands there looking at Angad in awe, before she realises a few tears creep down her face, Angad turns to walk but Kripa holds his arm and stops him, she leans forward and kisses his cheek then walks off. Angad touches his cheek them smiles to himself, at least his plan is working, she shakes his head and falls into step with Kripa.
****************
With all the shopping done and dusted Angad and Kripa return back to the house where Shilpa is cooking Kripa offers her assistance and Shilpa accepts and sends Angad upstairs to fetch Dilip and Kareena.
Angad knocks on the door to the room his father and his step-mother are currently occupying, he hears a voice and opens the door to find Kareena sitting on the bed, he looks around but doesn't see Dilip, he clears his throat and Kareena looks up.
"Nani is making dinner, come downstairs with dad"
"He's gone"
Angad nods his head assuming she means that he's gone downstairs.
"OK, you come also"
Angad turns to leave.
"No, I mean he's left, he's gone"
Angad stops, he turns and looks closely and realises Kareena is crying, he breathes deeply and stands near her, he hands her a tissue and she uses it to wipe her tears away. Angad stands there awkwardly before speaking.
"What happened? How can he just leave like that?"
Kareena stands up and shrugs her shoulders she walks over to the window and opens it then faces Angad.
"He said he didn't find what he wanted to find in this relationship and wanted some space to think, I told him if he wanted to he could leave so he did"
Angad thinks back to how his father had tried his best to convince Angad to accept Kareena into the family then thinks back to the ride to Scotland where he was being lovey-dovey with her.
"But you guys you were so loved up"
"We were, I don't know where I went wrong"
More tears escape from Kareena's eyes, Angad hands her another tissue then out of sympathy places his hand on her shoulder, she turns and hugs Angad and begins to cry, Angad find sit weird at first but begins to comfort her.
The comfort soon turns to anger as he thinks of Dilip, he leaves Kareena and goes downstairs and informs Shilpa and Kripa about what happened, Shilpa frowns and goes upstairs to comfort Kareena while Kripa stays with Angad.
Angad goes into the living room and Kripa follows, she watches as he opens the liquor cabinet and pours himself a glass of whiskey then gulps it down, he's about to pour himself another when Kripa puts her hand on his hand.
"Now is not the time for you to get drunk, Kareena needs you right now, you may not have accepted her as part of your family but I'm pretty sure she has accepted you and if you were in the same position then she would try to comfort you"
Angad nods his head and heads upstairs, Kripa follows him and watches as he ushers Shilpa to leave the room, he sits next to Kareena and puts his hand on her shoulder and hugs her, he consoles her and pretty soon she's calmed down. He breathes deeply before speaking.
"I know I haven't been the least bit welcoming to you, but I never wished for anything like this to happen, I never accepted you but I knew you and dad were happy and that's all I wanted"
Kareena nods her head. "Well I'm hoping we can start over again?"
Angad agrees they smile and give each other a warm hug, he tells her to have dinner and she agrees. Kareena heads downstairs while Kripa goes to Angad, she taps his shoulder and he motions for her to speak.
"If Dilip uncle has left, then how will we get home?"
Angad hits his head on to the door before rushing downstairs, he informs Shilpa of the same who reassures him that he can take one of her cars. Kripa comes downstairs and begins to serve the food out.
************
After Kripa has done the washing up and spent a few minutes with both Shilpa and Kareena she retires to her room. She finds it warm to she opens the window slightly that's when she notices Angad sitting on the bench looking sad, she hesitates but goes to join him.
Angad is surprised when Kripa sits next to him on the bench; he gives her a brief smile then goes back to his thoughts. Kripa reaches out and takes his hand in hers causing him to break out of his trance, Kripa smiles victoriously
"I knew that would get your attention"
Angad laughs softly but frowns again.
"How could he do this Kripa? He fought with me for days to get me to accept Kareena into our family, I would never have thought he would do something like this. I may not have been happy with the relationship but I was happy for them"
Kripa squeezes his hand lightly and rests her head on his shoulder.
"What's happened has happened and now that you have accepted Kareena into your family, maybe you can try patch up things between them, if you assure your dad that you accept their relationship then maybe it will make things ok"
Angad nods his head then rests his head on top of Kripa's, out of habit he brings his arm around and puts it around her shoulder and brings her closer, she shuffles closer towards him and closes her eyes. Angad kisses her forehead lightly before closing his eyes.
From a window upstairs Shilpa watches excitedly, the distance between Angad and Kripa is growing less every minute, if this much happened in one day then what would happen by the end of the week? She smiles to herself and she draws the curtains shut and retires to her room.
Cricket
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