Changing Emotions

Before starting this chapter I want to tell you something that I had started a new story named "Falling For My Husband". That story is totally different from this one and also the male protagonist is not like Adrijay. So, do check it for once.

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The next day,

When Sarika wakes up early in the morning, completes her prayers, and enters the kitchen, she is startled to see Vishakha there because Vishakha never wakes up this early.

Before Sarika can say anything, Vishakha hesitantly approaches her and said, "G...good...morning, Bhabhi!!"

Sarika looks at her in surprise, then composes herself and said, "Good...morning, Devrani Ji!! You are here so early? Did you need something?"

Hearing her question, Vishakha feels embarrassed and said, "No, um... actually... (not knowing what to say, she thinks for a moment before speaking again) Oh yes, I thought I should check if there’s any work, otherwise Bua Ji will scold me when she wakes up!"

Sarika lets out a deep sigh after hearing her and said, "Oh, I see. Well, there’s nothing special, just the usual work. I will handle it, so you can go and rest!" Saying this, she opens the freezer to check the leftover food from last night.

Just then, Vishakha looked at her and said, "Bhabhi, Dev said he will bring dahi jalebi and khasta for breakfast today, so you don’t need to prepare breakfast!"

Sarika looked at her and said, "Alright, but we still need to cook lunch, right?"

Vishakha immediately said, "There’s so much leftover food from yesterday, it’ll be enough for lunch. Otherwise, it will all go to waste, right?"

Sarika nodded in agreement and then put a pot on the stove to make coffee.

Seeing her making coffee so early in the morning, Vishakha asked, "Are you making coffee for someone?"

While adding milk to the coffee, Sarika said, "For you, Devrani Ji. You like to have coffee in the morning, right? You don’t feel good without it, so I made it for you."

Hearing this, guilt filled Vishakha’s heart, and regret showed in her eyes. However, she controlled herself and softly said, "No need, Bhabhi. I can make it myself!"

Sarika looked at her in surprise, then brushed off her thoughts and said, "It’s alright. It’s just coffee, after all. And besides, there isn’t much work today anyway..." She trailed off and focused on watching the coffee boil.

Meanwhile, Vishakha looked at her and thought, I don’t know why, but I can’t seem to believe anything Mummy Ji said anymore. Why would Bhabhi try to separate me from Dev? And anyway, Bhabhi doesn’t have much say in front of Bhaiya, so how could she have convinced him to stay away from Mummy Ji? As for Dev, when he needed Mummy Ji’s support, she didn’t understand him or stand by him. Back then, Bhabhi was the one there for him, which is why he is more attached to her... If I think about it, Bhabhi isn’t at fault at all. But still, Mummy Ji made herself look like a victim in front of me and blamed Bhabhi for everything, just so I would behave the same way towards her. But what will she gain from this? Why does she dislike Bhabhi so much? Is it just because Bhabhi isn’t highly educated? But I have seen her teaching Tanishq and Adhik, so she can’t be completely uneducated! Then why does Mummy Ji hate Bhabhi so much? What is the real reason?

Vishakha was lost in these thoughts when Sarika handed her a mug and said, "Here, your coffee is ready!"

Hearing her voice, Vishakha snapped out of her thoughts, took the mug from her hand, and said, "Oh, thank you so much, Bhabhi..."

Sarika looked at her in surprise. Vishakha seemed quite different today, but she didn’t know why. Shrugging off her thoughts, Sarika said, "No problem," and then walked out of the kitchen.

Vishakha followed her. Feeling her presence behind her, Sarika turned around and asked, "Do you need anything else?"

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Vishakha quickly composed herself and said, "No... um... I was just following you because... oh, because I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d sit with you for a while!"

Hearing this, Sarika asked in surprise, "Are you feeling alright?"

Vishakha nodded in confusion and said, "Yes, I’m fine. But why did you ask?"

Sarika shook her head and said, "No reason... Anyway, tell me, what do you want to talk about?"

After thinking for a moment, Vishakha said, "Anything... like your family. I met them yesterday. They are all very nice, and your brother is really talented."

Sarika smiled slightly and said, "Yes, he is. I met him after nine years yesterday. He has grown so much. The last time I saw him, he was just a little boy, and now he even has a job..."

Hearing this, Vishakha asked in shock, "Nine years? You hadn’t met your family before this?"

Startled by her question, Sarika quickly said, "No, it’s nothing like that. I just said it like that... Um, actually, I need to check on Tanu and Adhu since they wake up early. And today, they won’t be going to school, so I should go see them." Saying this, Sarika hurriedly walked towards the stairs.

Meanwhile, Vishakha watched her leave and said to herself, "Did Bhabhi really not meet her family for nine years? But why? Did Bhaiya never talk to her about this? Did he never ask why she doesn’t meet her family? The only one who can answer these questions is Devansh. Yes, I’ll go ask him…." Saying this, she walked towards her room.

On the other hand, Sarika sighed in relief as she reached upstairs and said, "Thank God I Saved! What’s wrong with Devrani Ji today? First, she wanted to talk to me, and now she’s asking me so many questions? She’s behaving strangely. Is everything alright? Maybe she’s not feeling well; that’s why she’s acting like this…." Shaking her head, she was about to walk towards the children’s room when suddenly someone grabbed her hand and pulled her inside a room. Startled, she was about to scream when Adrijay quickly placed his hand over her mouth and said, "Shh! It’s me…"

Sarika looked at him with her big, innocent eyes, and seeing her like that, Adrijay gently moved his hand away from her mouth and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, saying, "Don’t look at me with such innocence, or I might just get a heart attack!"

Hearing this, Sarika immediately placed her hand over his mouth and said, "You shouldn’t say such things early in the morning! Mornings are for saying good things…."

Adrijay looked at her lovingly and asked, "So, am I that important to you that if something happens to me, you won’t like it?"

Hearing his words, Sarika moved her hand away from his mouth, turned to the side, and said, "You are important to me, but even more than me, you are important to this family because this house stands on your shoulders. Without you, this home is nothing. That’s why you must stay. The one who should leave is the person whom no one wants in their life…." (Then, in her mind, she added, "Like me. But even I can’t leave because now my children are attached to me.") Taking a deep breath, she turned to leave the room.

But just then, Adrijay held her wrist and asked, "Can you give me some of your time?"

Without turning back, Sarika pulled her hand away and said, "My time is not valuable. Only those with valuable time are asked for it, not people like me…." Saying this, she walked away.

Adrijay watched her leave, feeling guilty, and his mind drifted to the past:

Adrijay was sitting in the room, working on his laptop when Sarika hesitantly walked in, nervously twisting her fingers, and softly asked, "Can you give me some of your time?"

Without looking up, Adrijay coldly said, "I don’t have time to give you! I have an important meeting at the office tomorrow. Should I prepare for that or waste time with you? Get out of here and let me work. And listen, before you leave, shut the door, and don’t come into the room unless it’s to sleep. I don’t want any disturbances. Understand?"

Hearing his words, Sarika struggled to hold back her tears and walked away.

Remembering that moment, Adrijay’s eyes filled with regret, and he clenched his fists, saying angrily, "How could I have been so rude? I just hate myself!" He held his head in frustration and sat down on the bed.

Days passed, and the distance between Sarika and Adrijay remained the same. Earlier, Kishori Ji’s presence had stopped Yamini Ji from saying anything to Sarika, and then the Diwali preparations kept Yamini Ji too busy to confront her. Meanwhile, Vishakha started behaving normally with everyone, including Sarika. At first, Sarika hesitated, but gradually, she got used to Vishakha and even started enjoying spending time with her.

However, Yamini Ji didn’t like how close Vishakha and Sarika were getting. She wanted to say something, but she knew that Vishakha was not like Sarika—she wouldn’t stay quiet and tolerate everything. If Vishakha turned against her, it would be a problem. So, Yamini Ji had no choice but to remain silent and suppress her anger.

Finally, Diwali arrived.

Since morning, everyone was busy with Diwali preparations.

Sarika was outside, making a rangoli with Tanishk sitting beside her, helping.

After a while, the rangoli was finally complete, and Tanishk excitedly said, "Yay! We finally finished the rangoli!"

Seeing him happy, Sarika smiled, kissed his forehead, and said, "It’s all because of you! You helped me, and look, everything got done so quickly!"

Hearing this, Tanishk beamed with joy. Sarika picked him up and went inside the house.

As soon as they entered, Tanishk ran up to Adrijay and said, "Papa! Papa, come with me! I want to show you the rangoli we made!"

Smiling at his excitement, Adrijay lifted him in his arms and walked outside. Tanishk pointed at the rangoli and said, "Look, Papa! Mumma and I made this! How does it look?"

Adrijay looked at the rangoli and smiled, saying, "It’s beautiful, just like your Mumma!"

Hearing this, Tanishk burst into laughter. Just then, Sarika came over to check the colors, and as soon as Tanishk saw her, he excitedly said, "Mumma! Papa also liked our rangoli! He said it’s as beautiful as you!"

Hearing this, Sarika looked at Adrijay in surprise, but when she saw the mischief in his eyes, she blushed and quickly walked away.

Watching her leave, Adrijay smiled to himself and thought, "Tomorrow, we’re going to your home. This will be our first trip together. Just wait and see, Sarika, I will take the first step to mend our relationship. And after this trip, even if just a little, the distance between us will surely lessen. I promise you, Sarika… this trip will be unforgettable for you."

With that thought, he smiled and followed her inside.

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