Mending Bonds

Sarika lowers her head and says, "I have no choice but to listen to you. After all, you won't listen to me, so I have to listen to you, right?"

Adrijay feels hurt by her words. He stands in front of her, lifts her chin, and looks into her eyes, asking, "Didn't you like me standing up for you?"

Sarika gives a faint smile and replies, "You stood up for me for the first time today. I don’t know whether I should be happy or sad about it. But one thing I do know is that I didn’t like the way you spoke to Maa Ji and Devrani Ji." (Then looking at Adrijay) "Look, I understand that you felt bad, but think about it—over the past nine years, you never even noticed all this. I have been doing all these tasks for so long, and suddenly, if you say that Sarika won’t do them anymore, how will things remain normal? We don’t live alone; we live in a joint family. And in a joint family, we can’t make decisions in haste. Before making any decision, we must think about every family member."

"You told Devrani Ji that she has to do all the work, but your tone was very harsh. If someone spoke to me like that, I would feel hurt too. She may have spoken rudely, but she is younger than you. She doesn’t have that level of understanding yet, but you do. What you said about her was very wrong. I saw tears in her eyes. She was genuinely hurt by your words. You shouldn’t have spoken to her like that. I don’t want any fights or arguments in this house. It has been peaceful for so many years, and I want that peace to continue. So please go and apologize to Devrani Ji. You are elder; show some maturity."

Hearing her words, Adrijay pouts like a child and complains, "But she also spoke rudely to me. You saw how she was talking, right?"

Sarika nods and explains patiently, "Yes, but no matter how she spoke, she is younger than you. She doesn’t have enough maturity yet, but you do, right? What you said about her was hurtful. I saw tears in her eyes. She was genuinely hurt. You shouldn’t have spoken like that. I don’t want fights in this house. We’ve had peace for years, and I want it to continue. So, please go and apologize to Devrani Ji. Show some maturity as the elder one."

Adrijay cuts her off and says stubbornly, "I won’t apologize to her. She also speaks rudely to both you and me. She should respect us because we are elder to her. Living in a joint family doesn’t mean that only one side makes all the efforts. A successful joint family functions when both sides put in equal effort. Anyway, I know I shouldn’t have said those things about her marriage, and for that, I will apologize to Dev. But I will never apologize to Vishakha." Saying this, he walks away.

Sarika watches him leave and sighs deeply, murmuring to herself, "And he was the one telling me to speak my heart out. Now that I did, he just walked away?" She then leaves the room to look for the children, who had been out of sight for quite some time.

On the other side, Devansh returns home a little later. Seeing him, Tanishk, who was playing outside, excitedly runs up to him and asks, "Chachu, did you bring chocolates?"

Devansh smiles and takes out a chocolate from his bag, handing it to Tanishk. He gives him an extra one and says, "Give this one to Adhik too." Then, gently touching Tanishk’s cheek, he heads inside the house.

Inside, Yamini Ji is sitting on the sofa, holding her head. Seeing her like this, Devansh senses something is wrong and quickly approaches her. "Maa, is everything okay?" he asks.

Yamini Ji, furious, bursts out, "How can everything be okay? Ever since that inauspicious Sarika came into this house, nothing has been right! First, she didn’t bring any dowry, and now she has started controlling my son. Look at him—he dares to argue with me now! He is giving me orders!"

Hearing her words, Devansh feels bad for Sarika and defends her. "Maa, you shouldn’t speak like this about Bhabhi. She is such a kind person and takes care of everyone."

Yamini Ji glares at him angrily and says, "Kind? Naagin hai wo! (She is a serpent) Even a witch attacks from a distance, but she is trying to break this house from within. She wants to separate the brothers!"

Devansh, now visibly annoyed, says firmly, "Maa, if you want to tell me what happened, then tell me. Otherwise, I am going to my room!"

Yamini Ji glares at him but then tells him everything from beginning to end. After hearing it all, Devansh’s face hardens with anger. He starts heading toward his room in frustration but stops when he sees Sarika standing there, having heard their entire conversation.

Seeing him pause, Sarika takes a deep breath, walks up to him, and stands right in front of him. "Devar Ji, I know your brother spoke harshly in anger, but you know how he is. When he gets angry, he speaks without thinking. But he doesn’t have any bad intentions toward you or Devrani Ji—you know that, right? So please don’t make any decisions in anger. On his behalf, I apologize to you. Please, don’t take any wrong decisions. As for the household chores, I will continue doing everything behind his back. He won’t even find out. Just please don’t take any drastic steps, Devar Ji." Saying this, she folds her hands and starts crying.

Devansh, seeing her in such a state, lowers her hands and says, "Bhabhi, what are you doing? I know that this is Vishu’s fault. I was going to scold her. As for Bhaiya, Bhabhi, I have known both of you from the beginning. I understand both your natures very well. I will never doubt your intentions, nor will I make any wrong decisions. Please stop crying. I’ll go talk to Vishu."

Sarika wipes her tears and stops him, saying, "Wait, Devar Ji. Your Bhaiya just scolded Devrani Ji. If you say something to her now, it could lead to an argument between you two. Please explain things to her calmly and try to make sure she doesn’t hold any resentment against Bhaiya."

Devansh smiles slightly and says, "Sure, I will try my best to make Vishu understand soon. And don’t worry—I will talk to her properly and convince her to take up her responsibilities. You don’t need to stress so much, Bhabhi. After all, Bhaiya is right. You have already taken care of my responsibilities for so many years. Now that she is married, she has to take up her own duties. Anyway, I’ll go talk to her now. And please stop crying."

Sarika wipes her tears, nods, and says softly, "Thank you, Devar Ji. You know how temperamental he is. We all need to handle things with patience if we want this family to stay united."

Devansh agrees and says, "You’re absolutely right, Bhabhi. By the way, the kids are playing outside—I hope you know that."

Sarika shakes her head and says, "No, I was just looking for them. No worries, I’ll go check on them. You go talk to Devrani Ji."

Devansh smiled slightly, nodded, and walked towards his room. Meanwhile, Sarika took a deep breath and looked ahead, only to see Adrijay standing at a distance. His face held an expression she couldn't quite understand.

Before Sarika could say anything, Adrijay turned and left. Watching him go, Sarika shook her head and went to check on the children.

On the other hand, Devansh opened the door to his room and found it completely dark. He sighed deeply, walked in, and turned on the lights. Placing his bag on the couch, he looked at Vishakha, who was sitting on the bed with her knees drawn up and her face buried in them.

Seeing her like that, Devansh pulled back the curtains and asked, "Vishu, why have you kept the room dark? You don’t even like darkness, so why have you closed the curtains and turned off the lights?"

Vishakha didn’t respond and remained in the same position. Devansh sighed again, walked up to her, and sat beside her. Placing his hand gently on her shoulder, he asked with concern, "Vishu, what happened? Why aren’t you saying anything? Tell me, what’s wrong?"

He wanted to understand her feelings so he could comfort her accordingly.

As soon as Vishakha heard his questions, she threw herself into his arms and started crying.

Devansh, worried by her sudden breakdown, stroked her head gently and asked, "Vishu, tell me what happened? Won’t you share it with me? Please, talk to me."

Through her sobs, Vishakha said, "Dev, I can’t lose you. First, I lost my mumma and dad… Then, when my sister-in-law came, my brother also became distant… If I lose you too, where will I go? Dev, I love you so much… Please, don’t leave me… Please, Dev…"

Hearing her words, a sharp pain pierced Devansh's heart. He gently pulled her away, cupped her tear-streaked face, and wiped her tears.

"Shhh… No one is taking you away from me, Vishu. We will always be together. Our marriage is not a joke, and no one can break this sacred bond. So please, stop crying; you’ll make yourself sick."

Listening to him, Vishakha sniffled and said, "No, Dev… Your brother… He said that he would get you married to someone else—"

Before she could finish, Devansh placed a finger on her lips and hushed her, "Shhh… That’s not happening, Vishu. Bhai just said it in anger. You know how you say anything when you're mad? Bhaiya is the same way. Don’t take his words to heart."

Vishakha stared at him with an upset expression and said, "You’re still defending him, Dev! He said such a big thing, and you’re just ignoring it? You know what? You used to talk big before marriage, but now I know my real worth in this house. People are right—men are all the same!"

Devansh sighed deeply, took her hands in his, and gently explained, "Look, Vishu. After your parents passed away, your brother took care of you, right? Just like that, after my papa passed, Bhaiya took care of me. He supported me, educated me, and made me capable enough to be with you today. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be here with you. He is like a father to me, just like your brother is to you. Now, if your brother ever says something hurtful in anger, would you take it to heart?"

Vishakha shook her head.

Devansh smiled and continued, "Then don’t take my brother’s words to heart either. Our families are one now, Vishu. He’s my brother, but he’s yours too. So, don’t let his anger upset you, okay?"

Hearing his words, Vishakha rested her head against his chest and whispered, "I only need you, Dev. No one else. I’ve seen enough of this world to know that people don’t truly stand by each other. I just need you, and no one else…"

Devansh sighed again, wrapped his arms around her, and said, "Where am I going? I’ll always be with you! By the way, I wanted to tell you something."

Curious, Vishakha pulled away and looked at him questioningly.

Devansh cupped her face, traced his finger over her dried tears, and said lovingly, "You know, I had imagined that after our wedding, when I’d come home from the office, you’d be waiting for me. When I’d return, tired, you’d welcome me with your beautiful smile and hand me a glass of water, washing away all my exhaustion. Then, you’d bring me tea and some snacks you’d made and feed me with your own hands. I had so many dreams… But it’s okay. They can still come true. I just want you to do things for me only if you truly want to. And don’t worry—I won’t leave everything to you. When I’m free, I’ll help you out. In fact, Sundays will be your day off—I’ll cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner for you. I know I’m not the best cook, but I’ll try, for you… for my Vishu. So, will you do this for me? Please?"

Vishakha gazed at him for a moment and then pouted, "Fine, I’ll do everything for you. But you have to help me when you’re free, and especially on holidays."

Devansh smiled and said, "Of course!" Then, teasing her mischievously, he added, "By the way, can I tell you something? You look just like a red monkey when you cry."

Vishakha gasped in outrage, "You!! I’m not talking to you anymore!" She turned her face away in mock anger.

Devansh chuckled and started humming:

"कैसे तू गुनगुनाए,

मुस्कुराए, छोटी मोटी बातो

पर मुंह फुलाए,

ये नजाकत, तेरी आदत…"

Pulling her close, he continued:

"पास मुझे लाए,

नादानियां, नादानियां,

खींचे मुझे नादानियां...."

Hearing him sing, a smile crept onto Vishakha’s lips. Seeing her smile, Devansh beamed and suddenly lifted her in his arms. Then, setting her down, he pulled her close again and hummed:

"आजा पास मेरे लिखे सौ कहानियां,

तू जो साथ मेरे लगे जहां पा लिया,

तेरे सांसों में बीते हर पल मेरा,

तेरी आखों में देखूं हर कल मेरा,

कभी होना नही दूर हो जानेजान...."

Spinning her around, he sang:

"दिल के सारे इशारों पे,

बस तेरा ही नाम हैं,

नादानियां, नादानियां,

खींचे मुझे नादानियां...."

Holding her in his arms, he gazed at her with pure love as they danced together.

Vishakha, caught off guard by his sudden dance, burst into laughter. Devansh, however, stopped humming and simply stared at her. A few moments later, realizing his intense gaze, Vishakha blushed and hid her face in his chest.

Wrapping his arms around her, Devansh took a deep breath and thought to himself, "I can never let this family fall apart, no matter what it takes. I won’t let my bhabhi’s years of effort go to waste. And as for Vishu, she just needs love. She’s been insecure ever since her parents passed away. All she needs is the right guidance… And I know one day, she’ll understand. I just have to give her some time."

With that thought, he gently stroked her head.

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