Chapter 32

As the morning rays illuminated the room, Disha found Aryan still sleeping, quite distant from her. Feeling a bit disheartened, she chose not to dwell on it. After a quick shower, she picked an olive-colored saree from her closet, got ready with a simple makeup look, adorned herself with sindoor, and checked her appearance in the mirror. Satisfied with her look, she left the room, casting a final glance at the still-sleeping Aryan.

Disha, entering the living room, encountered Abhi and Ishaan. With a smile on her face, she greeted them, "Good morning, Abhi and Ishaan. Up so early, both of you?"

Ishaan and Abhi responded with a simultaneous, "Good morning Bhabhi."

Ishaan enthusiastically announced, "Bhabhi, we've planned an outing with friends today, so we got up early."

Abhi chimed in, "Join us, buddy. They're all my friends, and they're around our age."

Excited, Ishaan suggested, "Absolutely, Bhabhi. You should come too."

Disha politely declined, "I'm sorry, but I have some work today. Perhaps next time I'll join."

Ishaan innocently said, "Bhabhi, can you make those parathas? I praised them a lot to my friends, and now they want to taste them, pleeeease, Bhabhi"

Disha smiled at Ishaan's innocence and pinch his nose and replied, "Of course, Ishaan. I'll make those parathas for you and your friends!"

Just then, Vidyut entered with a smile, overhearing the discussion about parathas. He cheerfully remarked, "If Disha is making parathas, count me in too. I'd love to have some."

Disha smiled awkwardly at Vidyut and said, "Okay."

And then Disha went to the temple, offered a quick prayer, and immediately headed to the kitchen to start preparing the parathas.

Disha swiftly collaborated with Maya in the kitchen to prepare a variety of parathas, including aloo, paneer, and cheese. Once ready, she set them on the dining table and also packed a portion for Abhi and Ishaan to take with them.

As the family members praised the delicious parathas, Aryan, and Disha maintained their distance, avoiding any interaction. Aryan, after finishing his coffee, left for the office without acknowledging Disha. Despite feeling hurt by Aryan's continued ignorance, Disha remained steadfast in her decision not to yield this time, hoping that Aryan would have to confront and accept his mistake.

Disha spent most of her days either conversing with family or engrossed in her books. Occasionally, she exchanged words with her family and Kajal.

Aryan, in an effort to maintain distance from Disha, immersed himself in work, often arriving home after Disha had already gone to sleep. Yet, Aryan couldn't resist himself, and he knew that Disha sleeps soundly. Most nights, he would move closer to her, embracing her tightly in her deep sleep, only to leave for the office before she woke up.

The tension between Disha and Aryan was palpable to the family, but they refrained from intervening, trusting that the husband and wife would resolve their issues on their own.

2 MONTHS LATER

As the days passed, Aryan and Disha maintained their silence, not even exchanging greetings. It was Sunday, and while Aryan went to work as usual, Vidyut was on leave. After lunch, all the family members dispersed to their respective rooms except Disha.

Disha was sitting in the living room when Vidyut arrived and took a seat on the opposite sofa. Disha felt a bit uncomfortable seeing him.

Vidyut smiled and asked, "What's wrong, Disha? All good?"

Disha, forcing a smile, replied, "Yes, everything is fine, bhai."

Vidyut could sense from Disha's face that she was putting on a forced smile and wasn't entirely comfortable.

Vidyut, noticing Disha's distant behavior in recent days, directly addressed the issue with genuine concern.

"Disha, what's going on? You haven't been talking to me directly for quite a few days," Vidyut asked, genuinely worried.

Feeling the burden of unspoken concerns, Disha finally opened up to Vidyut about her apprehensions.

After a moment of silence, Disha responded in a stern voice, "Bhai, I unintentionally overheard you and Aryan talking, at the gym."

Realising the seriousness of the matter, Vidyut inquired, "And you thought I had an affair with Payal, leading her to cheat on Aryan?"

Disha, puzzled, said, "Bhai, you both were discussing the same thing, and Aryan blamed you for it."

Vidyut, in a somber tone, replied, "At least, Disha, you should have understood me. Even though we've known each other for a short time, you should have known me well enough by now to realize what kind of person I am."

He sighed and continued, "I didn't do anything wrong, Disha. Yes, in haste, I did something that I might have handled better, but at that moment, I did what felt right to me, without thinking about the consequences."

Disha was still not understanding anything and she said, "Bhai, what were you saying? I didn't understand anything."

Vidyut looked at Disha and said, "Disha, will you come outside with me for a little while?"

Confused, Disha asked, "Where, bhai?"

Vidyut replied, "We can't talk here. We'll be back soon. Don't worry, Disha."

Although hesitant, Disha trusted Vidyut enough to know that he would never intentionally hurt her, so she agreed.

Disha and Vidyut sat in the car, and after a 10-minute drive, they reached a cafe where Sameer was already waiting for them.

Disha, surprised, asked, "Sameer bhai, why are you here?"

Sameer smiled and said, "Yes I am here because Vidyut called me."

After placing the coffee orders for all three, Vidyut sat next to Sameer, opposite to Disha.

Sameer, starting the conversation, said, "Disha, Vidyut told me that you heard some things about Aryan's past, but you also misunderstood Vidyut like Aryan."

Disha replied, "Bhai, I didn't perceive anyone as wrong; I just heard some things, and after listening to all that, it became quite awkward for me to talk to Vidyut bhai normally."

Sameer nodded understandingly and said, "Disha, sometimes misunderstandings happen, but it's important to clear the air. Vidyut genuinely cares about you and Aryan, and I'm sure he'd appreciate a chance to explain."

Disha nodded understandingly.

This time, Vidyut took a sip of his coffee and said, "Disha, let me tell you from the beginning, Aryan and Payal were dating since college days. Even our family knew about it, and everyone had met Payal. She was a nice girl, and we were all happy for Aryan and Payal."

Disha felt inexplicably hurt listening to Vidyut's words, even though it was about Aryan's past.

Continuing, Vidyut said, "Aryan used to be a very cheerful person, just like you see Abhi now, having fun and joking around. And when Payal came into his life, they became friends first, and later they started dating."

Sameer added, "Payal came from a normal background, and she was a very simple girl. However, Aryan loved her so much that he started taking care of all her needs, and gradually, Payal got used to that lifestyle. Even then, things were okay. But Payal took advantage of it in the wrong way. She began treating Aryan like an ATM machine."

Now Vidyut continued, "About four years ago, Aryan officially joined Singhania Group. He started investing all his time into work, hoping that Payal would understand his hard work and support him. However, due to Aryan's busy schedule, Payal started double-dating, and we had no idea about it."

Vidyut continued, "About a month before Aryan and Payal's breakup, I went clubbing with some friends, and Sameer was with me. There, we saw Payal with her new boyfriend. Still, to clear any doubts, I did a little background check and found out that Payal had been dating that guy for a few months."

Vidyut went on to say that he confronted Payal and advised her to break up with Aryan by revealing everything. However, she was arrogant and said she wouldn't do anything like that.

Disha, who had been listening attentively, asked, "Why didn't you directly tell Aryan about this?"

Then Vidyut said, "I tried to tell him. When Payal didn't confess her deeds, I informed Aryan about it, but he didn't trust my words. Because, before that, Payal had filled his ears with stories that she had gone for clubbing with her friends, and I misunderstood her and threatened her."

Sameer said, "So, we came up with a plan. I sent a text to Payal from Aryan's phone, asking her to meet at a cafe. Simultaneously, we invited her boyfriend Rony also."

Disha inquired, "What happened then?"

Vidyut taking the lead continued, "When Payal got suspicious, she sent her boyfriend away, and Aryan arrived at the cafe."

Vidyut, continuing, said, "I couldn't understand what to do next because the next day Aryan was about to propose to Payal, for which he had made all the preparations. And in a moment of haste, I made a decision. I went to Payal's table before Aryan could see her, I kissed her."

Sameer said, "When Aryan saw Payal and Vidyut kissing, he was so shaken that instead of confronting them, he just left. Fortunately, it worked in our favor. Otherwise, if he had talked to Payal, she would have fabricated some other story."

Disha, after hearing everything, sighed and said, "You both are indeed great friends of Aryan, Vidyut bhai, what you did is really a big thing, but still, you should have handled this situation in a different way. In all this, you lost the brother you love so much."

Vidyut, in a somber tone, responded, "Yes, I know, Disha. But the situation was such that Aryan's entire future was on stake, and I couldn't see Aryan's life to be ruined. Payal would have completely destroyed his life."

Disha said, "But now what, bhai? You should let Aryan know about this; he is still blaming you and drowning in Payal's grief, as if he's not at fault himself." Disha added the last line sarcastically, which Sameer and Vidyut noticed.

Vidyut said, "I tried many times, and every time Aryan just got angry. So now, I've left explaining these things because as long as Aryan is away from that Payal, I am happy. And now you are here to take care of him too."

Disha simply nodded and under her breath said, "Yes, bhai, if only he talks to me."

After chatting for a while, Sameer lightened the mood with his jokes, and then the three of them left the cafe to head back to Singhania Mansion.