Sabherwal Series: Shot #5 updated Pg24 (27/10) - Page 5

#2: Bebo & Kitty Sabherwal

The twins watched the students stroll out of the classroom after a grueling class with the mathematics professor. Usually, their group was the first ones to escape the walls of the boring classroom, but today they were sitting in their seats because they were waiting for their sister-in-law.

And just as Anokhi reached their benches followed by her two friends, Bebo spoke up, making the trio halt in their steps, “Anokhi, humare saath canteen chalogi?”

“I would love to, Bebo… But mujhe thoda kaam hai, toh shayad time lag jayega.” Anokhi replied with a smile. Nobody could have missed the changing dynamics between the twins and their Bhabhi. The entire class could see that the sisters were actually making an effort to befriend Anokhi.

“But we have the next two lectures free, right?” Kitty frowned.

“Yep! But Professor Singh has asked me to help him with his latest research paper. So I was supposed to report to him in the library today. But I only need 30 to 40 minutes max, uske baad milu tumhe canteen mei?”

“Actually, we are supposed to refer to some journals in the library as well. So why don’t we all head there first and then go to the canteen next?” Anmol suggested to which everyone agreed.

Once inside the library, Anokhi headed to greet Professor Singh while Kitty and Bebo went up the stairs with their gang.

“Bebo, please tell me that you are only fooling Anokhi Bhalla! Mujhe toh hazam hi nahi ho raha ki tum sach mei uski ‘friend’ banna chahti ho.” Sonia whispered while eyeing Anokhi who was standing next to a bookshelf.

Bebo smiled stiffly, “Of course yaar! We are absolutely serious about trying to get along with her, right Kitty?” To which her sister nodded earnestly.

“I don’t believe you guys!” Anmol scoffed and leaned forward, “I mean look at you guys and look at her.”

"Yeah! Look at her, our Bhabhi." Bebo emphasised, "Agar hum usey pareshan karte rahe naa, toh Shaurya Bhaiyya humari class laga denge…"

"Exactly! And guys, hai toh humari family naa… We have to stay within our limits, you know… to co-exist." Kitty shrugged.

"Mujhe toh samajh nahi aa raha ki iss pindu ne The most eligible bachelor, Shaurya Sabherwal ko pataya kaise?" Anmol tattled dramatically.

"Yaar, maine toh suna tha ki Shaurya Sir hi haath dho ke Anokhi ke peeche pade hue the!" Sonia whispered.

The twins made a face.

This is what the students know their brother as… A lover boy. The Shaurya Sabherwal was reduced to a romeo.

"Aisa kuch nahi hai… Anokhi chased Bhaiyya all the way to Goa! Can you imagine that!?" Bebo tried to do some 'damage control'.

"But she was the one who chased him away too, right? I heard Shaurya Sir left because he got really upset that Anokhi rejected his proposal."

"Where did you hear that?"

"How does it matter, Bebo? #ShaKhi is the hot topic in the entire city! Everyone wants to know…"

"If you want to believe those rumors over us, then why are you asking us?" Kitty defended Bebo.

"Guys, don't get defensive… But yeh toh tum bhi jante ho ki tumhare Bhaiyya ne hi Anokhi ko pataya hai! After all, he had full intention to spend time with her in Goa until your family gate crashed their vacation!" Anmol laughed and hi-fied Sonia.

Their laughter came to halt as Anokhi approached their table and asked if they were ready to go.

Though they were no longer in the mood to play nice, the sisters gave her a fake smile and thanked god that the conversation had come to an end.

** ** ** ** **

“Why do you keep staring at me like that?” Bebo asked, annoyed with Anokhi’s watchful gaze.

She had decided to watch a movie and went looking for popcorn when she spotted Anokhi in the kitchen filling a bottle of water. And for reasons unknown, the topper decided to give her company.

“You have a romantic movie playing on the screen but you are actually fond of action movies. Also you are too preoccupied with texting to pay attention to the scenes. When you are actually paying attention, and a romantic scene starts to play, you blush too hard.”

“Didn't you say you wanted to watch the movie? Or am I more entertaining to you?"

" I saw you with Anmol Arora the other day." Trust Anokhi to not beat around the bush.

Bebo stiffened.

"Listen, what happens between us is none of your business okay!" Despite the threat in her voice, panic was written all over her face.

"I know, and I have absolutely no intention of interfering in your life, Bebo. But I am actually speaking to you out of concern…"

Now, that got her attention. Concern was one thing that Bebo knew Anokhi could never fake. In fact, Anokhi was a person who could never fake anything.

When she gave her a questioning look, Anokhi continued carefully, "What Anmol did to me, the way he came onto me when-"

"He said sorry, right? Are you gonna hold that incident over his head forever, Anokhi?" She screeched.

"Of course not! But that one incident is enough to tell me all I need to know about him. And I don't think I would be comfortable with my sister dating a guy like that…"

"Well, good for you! I am not your sister!" She sneered.

A moment later, Shaurya walked inside the home-theater room and stood beside Anokhi.

"It's late, you should get into bed."

Anokhi narrowed her eyes at him, "So, now you are gonna decide what time I should be in bed as well?"

Shaurya sighed in defeat while Bebo's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

So they have been fighting…

"I am sorry, Anokhi. I shouldn't have said that…" His voice dripped with honesty.

"Apology accepted." Anokhi smiled victoriously and gave her hand to him when he asked for it.

He pulled her up and started to drag her towards their room before Anokhi turned to her nanand and wished her a good night.

That night, Bebo slept with one thought in her head.

Should I heed Anokhi's advice?

** ** ** ** **

"Anokhi kaha hai?" Tej Sabherwal asked sternly.

Everyone at the dining table looked at each other and straightened in their seats.

Bebo and Kitty smirked at each other. They were not sure why Taya ji suddenly cared where Anokhi was, but assumed that their dear Bhabhi had created yet another drama, this time at the college.

“Taya ji, Anokhi abhi abhi college se aayi hai, room mei hogi.” Kanchan answered in a meek tone, silently worried about what Anokhi would have to hear tonight.

“Hello everyone!” Shaurya greeted the family followed by Anokhi who came in with a cheerful smile on her face.

“Kanchan Bhabhi, Gayatri Chachi, Please take a seat and have dinner. I could not help you cook but allow me to serve the food.” Anokhi took the casserole of phulkas from Gayatri.

“Iss mei naya kya hai, Anokhi? You always have some or the other excuse to avoid your responsibilities at home.” Devi Sabherwal taunted, which made Alok and his daughters snicker.

“Bhabhi,” Shaan interjected when he noticed Anokhi’s smile vanish, “You must excuse her absence tonight. Had she not been at the college, our institute would have faced plenty of embarrassment to last a lifetime.”

“Papa is right. Had Anokhi not shown up with witnesses and evidence, our committee would have been forced to issue a public apology to that college and it would have been disastrous for our image.” Shaurya extended his palm to his wife and she happily gave hers into his.

“It wasn’t right of our students to assault them, but they did so to protect our own student.” Tej spoke calmly, “Anokhi, you did the right thing by standing up for your fellow students. You have proved today that you are a true Sabherwal. You protected the honor of the institute and our family.”

Funny, Kitty thought to herself, Tayaji hasn’t once praised us for anything… But four months into marriage, this Anokhi is a true Sabherwal.

** ** ** **

It was late in the night and Kitty nervously stood outside her brother’s room, wondering if she should disturb them or not. The next day was their economics class test and their new teacher would be ruthless if she failed the test, again. So, finally giving up on her hesitance, she knocked on the door gently and was greeted by Anokhi a few seconds later.

“Kitty? Tum soyi nahi?” She asked in a surprised tone.

“Mujhe ek concept clear karna tha. Kal test hai naa, I need to ask Bhaiyya before I go to bed.”

“Test toh hai, par…” Anokhi let Kitty inside the room, “Tumhare Bhaiyya toh so gaye hai…”

“Mai kuch help karu?” Anokhi asked mindfully, “I mean… I can try.”

Kitty stood there for a moment thinking what to do next. She could not skip this topic and asking Bebo for help would lead to nothing but making chits.

“Are you sure? Tumhe neend nahi aa rahi?” Kitty asked to which Anokhi pointed towards the study table to show her own books sprawled over them.

“Mujhe applied econometrics mei doubts hai.”

Anokhi quitely collected her books and faced her sister-in-law, “Chalo, bahar baith ke padhte hai, warna Shaurya jaag jayenge.”

Surprisingly, Anokhi answered her questions very well, in fact, as well as Shaurya Bhaiyya did! And secretly, Kitty was happy to indulge in a creative discussion with her until Badi Maa suddenly showed up and ushered them to bed.

** ** ** **

A tub of ice-cream appeared in front of Bebo and her eyes trailed up to look at the hand holding it.

“No thanks, I already have mine.” She showed her spoon and tub to Anokhi.

“That’s not ice-cream anymore, it’s more like a milkshake.” She snorted and placed the new tub of ice-cream next to her and took the other out of her grip.

“Thanks.”

“You broke up with Anmol.” Anokhi stated in a matter-of-fact manner.

Bebo hadn’t told anyone about it, not even Kitty. Hell, Kitty didn’t even know that she was dating the infamous AA.

Silence prevailed between them and Anokhi was about to leave to give her some space when Bebo suddenly started to sniffle.

“He broke up with me.” Anokhi swiftly shifted closer and patted her back to console her, encouraging her to go on,“When he first proposed, I told him that we were both not ready for a serious relationship, but he didn’t listen. And now he wanted to… You know..” She hesitated.

Anokhi stiffened, “He wanted to do what?”

“He wanted to take things further… A step ahead of casual dating… And I refused.” She lowered her head in embarrassment.

“Is that why he broke up with you? Please tell me he didn’t try to force you into it!” Anokhi asked urgently.

“No! No! He didn’t. But he said he can’t wait forever.”

“Toh tum ro kyu rahi ho?” Anokhi gently nudged her head, “You should be happy that you no longer have to put up with such a prick!”

Bebo looked at her in confusion and Anokhi went on to explain.

“Bebo, you decided that you weren’t ready to take that kind of step! Anmol should have respected that. In fact, he should have respected your decision way back when you said that you were not ready for anything serious. You shouldn’t have let him influence you like that.”

“But I do really like him.”

“But Anmol doesn't! He was just wasting his time, yaar. And irrespective of the nature of your relationship, everything you guys do should be consensual! If you were not ready, he had no right to pressurize you into this.”

"Look who is talking! Tumne khud aise ladke se shaadi ki jisne tumse puche bina tumhari maang bhar di…" Bebo chuckled.

"Aur maine hi usey sabak bhi sikhaya." Anokhi added, "I made sure that Shaurya learnt to respect my decisions. And he has never manipulated me, Bebo. Shaurya instantly knew that none of his words or actions could change my mind unless he accepted me as I am, ideology, ambitions and all!"

“What about feelings? Strong banne ke liye feelings ignore karna padega kya?”

“Bilkul nahi! Tum agar strong banogi, toh apni feelings samajh paogi. You will be able to control yourself and the situation. Bebo, if you don’t respect your own choices, no one else will either.”

Bebo felt a gentle squeeze on her shoulder and watched Anokhi get up and walk in the direction of the kitchen.

** ** ** **

“What is the occasion today?” Shaan asked as soon as he spotted the dining table full of special delicacies.

“Your nephew has been promoted at work, Shaan Bhaisaab.” Alok happily announced.

“Yes, he is in Delhi right now, but we can always celebrate his success.” Devi smiled gracefully, “After all, ghar ke bete ne ghar ka naam roshan kiya hai...”

Kitty made a face and looked away.

Never has this family celebrated her achievements like they did for Shaurya Bhaiyya and Yash Bhaiyya. Today would be no different.

“And we are also celebrating Kitty’s win in the national level essay writing competition, Badi Maa.” Anokhi walked out of the kitchen holding a tray of Kitty’s favorite kheer and served the first bowl to her, “Gayatri Chachi specially made this for you, Kitty!”

Kitty straightened in her seat and thanked her mother with a beaming smile.

“Gayatri, itna sara kheer banane se pehle ek baar puchna zaruri nahi samjha?” Devi barbed and Kitty’s joy was blown off.

“Apni beti ki jeet ko celebrate karne ke liye mujhe kisi ki permission nahi chahiye, Parjayi ji. And if we are celebrating Yash’s success, who is not even joining us here, I am sure I can cook one dish to celebrate my daughter’s success who is sitting right at this table.” Gayatri replied tonelessly.

Bebo placed her hand on Kitty’s under the table and squeezed her fingers reassuringly. Kitty looked at her mother in awe and spotted her exchanging looks with Anokhi and Kanchan bhabhi.

“Congratulations, Kitty.” Tej Sabherwal said in a calm tone followed by her father, Shaurya and Shaan.

Kitty looked at Anokhi in admiration.

Things were changing in the Sabherwal Mansion.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A/N: Anokhi and the twins have always shared a bitter relation. Tried to keep it bittersweet keeping in mind the true nature of the sisters. Let's not forget, despite being privileged, the sisters had to be affected by the misogyny. I have no doubt that they were very pampered, while the D-I-Ls slogged in the kitchen... But a family who can differentiate between Daughters and Daughter-in-laws, can also discriminate between sons and daughters.

Also. as promised, all these story will have their own tangents but will essentially be woven around ShaKhi.

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Coming up next: Ahir and Babli? Or Kanchan and Yash?

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