Abhiraj took another slow, deliberate step back, raising his hands in exaggerated defeat. Placing a hand dramatically over his chest, he looked every bit the tragic hero in a terribly written historical drama.
"Fine. I respect the court's decision."
Riya snorted, clutching her oversized hoodie tighter around herself.
"Liar."
"I respect it..."
He released a long, incredibly tragic sigh that echoed through the room.
"...against my absolute will."
Ranchit dropped back onto the velvet sofa, looking thoroughly entertained by the spectacle unfolding in front of him.
"That is probably the most truthful thing you've said all day, Abhi."
Abhiraj aggressively ignored him. Instead, he folded his arms and stared at Riya with narrowed, calculating eyes, a slow, dangerously charming grin spreading across his face.
"You think you've won?"
She shrugged, a confident little smirk playing on her lips.
"I know I have."
Before anyone could ask what that meant-or prepare for whatever chaotic scheme had just entered his brain-his entire posture suddenly softened. His voice turned impossibly sweet.
"Doll..."
Riya immediately took a cautious step backward.
"...What?"
"You trust me, na?"
"No."
"...That was fast."
"You've earned it."
Ranchit coughed loudly into his fist to hide a laugh.
"Valid."
Abhiraj clicked his tongue, shaking his head in deep disappointment.
"Yaaaarrr, a guy makes one tiny mistake and people judge him forever. Where is the forgiveness in this house?"
"One?"
Maan looked up from his glowing tablet, pushing his glasses up his nose.
"You've made enough mistakes to fill a heavily classified file."
"A very thick, multi-volume file," Ranchit added helpfully.
Abhiraj raised both hands in a gesture of complete surrender, keeping his attention fixed solely on Riya.
"Okay. No searching. No chasing around the furniture. No stealing."
Riya eyed him warily before slowly nodding.
"Good."
His grin widened, losing some of its mischief and becoming genuinely warm.
"I just want a hug. Bas. Ek hug."
She studied him for several long seconds, searching his face for the inevitable trap. Her eyes shifted cautiously toward Lakshya, who was still standing near the window, hands tucked casually into his pockets.
He didn't intervene, quietly watching them with an unreadable expression.
Which meant it was safe.
Riya cautiously walked toward Abhiraj, half-expecting an ambush.
The moment she came close, Abhiraj opened his arms dramatically and looked triumphantly over her head at Ranchit.
"See? I am the favouri-"
Riya wrapped one arm around his waist.
And with the other, moving with the speed and absolute stealth she'd perfected over five brutal years of survival, she slipped the foil-wrapped chocolate from her hoodie pocket directly into his.
She stepped back as smoothly as if absolutely nothing had happened.
"There."
Abhiraj smiled proudly.
"See? I told you she loves m-"
He stopped.
His sentence died entirely halfway through.
Something felt... different.
A strange, solid weight brushed against his hip.
His brows slowly pulled together as his hand slipped into his hoodie pocket, fingers brushing against something crinkly.
"...Huh?"
He pulled it out.
The chocolate.
Absolute, pin-drop silence swept through the massive living room.
Riya folded her arms proudly across her chest and put on the most flawless, angelic expression she could possibly manage.
"You found the evidence, CID."
Ranchit froze for exactly one second.
Then-
He burst out laughing, throwing his head back against the sofa and slapping his knee violently.
"OH, THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL!"
Even Maan's lips twitched upward into a genuine, rare smirk.
Abhiraj simply stared at the chocolate in his hand.
Then at Riya.
Then back at the chocolate.
His brain visibly struggled to process the sheer audacity of the crime.
"...You planted evidence on me."
"Now you're the criminal."
Riya nodded proudly, rocking back on her heels.
"Caught red-handed."
"I'VE BEEN FRAMED!"
Abhiraj looked around wildly at his brothers in pure horror.
"You confessed," she pointed out smoothly.
"I DID NOT! I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT WAS THERE!"
He pointed accusingly at her.
"SHE HAS NINJA HANDS!"
Maan looked at Abhiraj over the top of his tablet, his expression mock-serious.
"The physical evidence is quite convincing, Abhiraj. I'm afraid we can't defend you in a court of law."
"Maan bhaiyaaaaaa..."
Abhiraj clutched his chest in agony.
"You too? Et tu, Brute?"
"I follow facts. The chocolate is physically in your hand."
"This family has failed me! The justice system is completely corrupt!"
Riya couldn't stop laughing.
It bubbled out of her, bright and uncontrollable, filling the massive room with a warmth that made everything feel instantly lighter.
Lakshya watched the entire exchange in total silence from the window.
But for the briefest, most fleeting moment, the corner of his mouth lifted.
Barely a millimeter.
Just enough to entirely change the shape of his face.
Riya caught it instantly.
"So..."
She pointed directly at the terrifying mafia boss.
"You smiled."
His expression snapped back to perfectly neutral before anyone else could even turn their heads.
"I didn't."
"You did. I saw it."
"No."
"I'm with Doll on this one," Ranchit chuckled, looking highly amused.
"Bhai totally smiled."
Abhiraj was still holding the chocolate in the air like it was a literal murder weapon.
"I don't care who smiled! I demand a retrial! This was entrapment! It's illegal!"
"No appeals," Riya said with a cheeky grin, waving one hand dismissively.
"Court dismissed."
With exaggerated dignity, Abhiraj slowly tucked the chocolate back into his own pocket, sniffing dramatically as he lifted his chin high.
"Fine. If this corrupt court has unjustly declared me guilty, then I shall accept my tragic fate with honor."
"You're accepting FREE chocolate, you idiot," Ranchit deadpanned.
"I am accepting INJUSTICE."
"With wrappers."
"Exactly. It's an incredibly heavy burden to bear."
Riya shook her head, laughing softly under her breath.
She was slowly beginning to understand something fundamental about the Singhania brothers.
These terrifying people argued constantly over absolutely nothing.
Lightbulbs.
Plants.
Chocolate.
Yet there was never any real venom in their words.
It was simply how they communicated.
A loud, chaotic safety net.
Suddenly, Abhiraj pointed directly at Lakshya, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.
"Wait. I have a formal complaint."
"Hm," Lakshya murmured, his intense gaze remaining fixed on the fading light outside.
"You confiscated my chocolate an hour ago, hid the entire box, and THREATENED me with bodily harm when I tried to look for it! You said, 'Touch her pocket and you'll be searching for your own teeth on the floor!'"
"I did say that."
"And then you SECRETLY gave her another chocolate behind my back!"
Lakshya answered without a single change in his stoic expression.
"Correct."
"...Why?!"
"Because she's thirteen. You're twenty."
"And?!"
Abhiraj opened and closed his mouth like a fish, pointing a shaking finger.
"That is blatant age discrimination! I was also thirteen once! I deserve equal treatment in this house!"
Lakshya gave him a single, dismissive nod.
"I survived it. Then you should too."
The words were delivered so calmly that Abhiraj almost missed their meaning.
But then Lakshya looked at him, and the entire air in the room violently changed.
The playful banter evaporated instantly, leaving a sudden, crushing gravity in its wake.
"No."
His voice hadn't risen a single decibel.
It remained soft, yet every word carried the kind of quiet, terrifying certainty that made the entire underworld listen.
"She has survived enough already."
Silence.
Thick.
Absolute.
Nobody joked.
Even Abhiraj's dramatic expression completely disappeared, his eyes softening as the heavy truth behind those words finally settled in.
Riya looked at Lakshya.
Her chest tightened so painfully that, for a moment, breathing itself felt physically difficult.
He wasn't looking at her anymore.
He had already turned away, picking up a thick business file from the side table as though he hadn't just exposed the rawest, deepest piece of his heart.
As if fiercely protecting her...
As if endlessly spoiling her to make up for five agonizing years of pain...
Was simply the most normal, undeniable thing in the world.
Something warm and impossibly heavy settled deep inside Riya's chest.
A profound sense of being entirely loved.
She quickly looked away, aggressively blinking back the sudden tears gathering in her eyes.
Abhiraj cleared his throat, the sound noticeably rougher than usual.
"...Okay. I'll stop stealing her chocolates."
A pause.
"...Most of the time."
Lakshya raised one dark, extremely threatening eyebrow without looking up from the file.
Abhiraj immediately sighed, throwing both hands into the air in surrender.
"Fine. ALL of the time. I'll buy my own damn chocolate."
"Write this date down, Maan," Ranchit grinned, leaning back against the cushions.
"Miracles are officially happening today in this house."
"Highly unlikely to repeat. Savor it," Maan replied faintly, turning back to his tablet.
"You people have absolutely no faith in my character development," Abhiraj clicked his tongue loudly.
Four voices answered together in perfect, brutal synchronization.
"NO."
For one magical, suspended heartbeat, the massive room went completely silent.
Then Riya laughed first.
A bright, beautiful, unrestrained sound.
The others followed immediately, their deep voices joining hers and completely chasing away the last lingering shadows of the storm outside.
And just like that, another ordinary, rain-soaked evening inside the Singhania Mansion turned into noise, loud laughter, and shameless bullying.
The kind only a family that had finally found its way back together could ever get away with.
To Be Continued...
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