Luv (Un)Arranged (Luv Shuv #3)

Chapter 28

28

Song: Tere Bin

- Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Asees Kaur and Tanishk Bagchi

Kriti

I gnoring the signs was always pretty easy when you didn’t know someone’s secret. But once you knew the secret, every little action and conversation started to remind you of the secret you knew and were keeping from your husband.

Like right now. Aakar was leaving for a business trip for two weeks. So we were busy packing his bag in our room after dinner, whereas Abhi and Ria were chilling with us in our room eating ice cream.

Aakar brought three of his shirts from the cupboard and handed them to me as he turned to Abhi and asked, “Haven’t seen Karan in a while, Abhi. Something happen?”

My hand shook for a second as I arranged the shirts in the suitcase, grateful that Aakar was looking at Abhi.

I turned and met Abhi’s eyes, if only for a second. He gave me a smile, turned to Aakar, and very casually replied, “No, bhai. He’s just a bit busy. I’m sure he’ll turn up soon.”

Aakar nodded, but he still had a frown on his face. “And you’re still thinking about going to Mumbai?”

Aakar had mentioned that Abhi wanted to go to Mumbai for higher studies. I had always wondered what made Abhi decide on something like that when he had such a big family and their own business to run. But now, it made complete sense.

Abhi nodded slowly. “Yes, bhai. I really want to go.”

Aakar nodded, disappointment and sadness clinging to his shoulders. He then went back to his cupboard to bring more of his clothes as Abhi met my eyes and gave me a sad smile.

I gave him an understanding smile as Ria asked, “When do you want to go? You do know that you’d have to tell our parents, right?”

Abhi quickly polished off his ice cream as he nodded. “Yeah, yeah. I’m still looking and applying to colleges. I’ll let them know when I actually get an acceptance or have something looking up.”

Aakar brought his pants and handed them to me as he said to Abhi, “Do you want me or Ria to help you with something? I must have some friends working in business management. They could write a reference letter or something.”

Abhi was very quick to shake his head in denial. “Absolutely not. I want to do it on my own.”

I’m pretty sure he didn’t want to consider any of Aakar’s recommendations because he must not want anything he did in Mumbai to get back to Aakar. Word traveled fast here, and if Abhi wanted to live an out and proud life, he might not want to live near his brother’s friends.

I was starting to understand why Abhi did and said what he did, but seeing Aakar’s slumped shoulders at Abhi denying his help was heartbreaking. My poor husband loved his family, especially his little brother. And with Akira gone, he desperately wanted to feel needed. It killed me not to say anything about Abhi to him, to help him understand why Abhi wanted to leave. I was pretty sure Aakar would be cool with Abhi being gay. At least, I hoped he would be.

Seeing the disappointment in Aakar’s eyes, Ria piped in, “So Aakar, this will be the first time you’ll be living away from Kriti, right?”

Abhi, picking up on Ria’s change of topic, sang, “Aakar Bhai is gonna miss Kriti Bhabhi.”

Smiling, Aakar chucked his tie at Abhi. “Shut up.”

Wanting to make Aakar smile even wider, I gasped dramatically. “You won’t miss me when you’re gone? Have we lost the charm already?”

Ria and Abhi burst into laughter, whereas Aakar pinched my cheek with a big smile and said, “Of course, I’ll miss you.”

Abhi and Ria instantly started their awww s and oooh s, making Aakar put his head in his hand in exasperation and pointing a finger at the door. “Out, both of you.”

When both started wagging their eyebrows teasingly at Aakar, he quickly moved toward them, dragged them out of our room, and locked the door.

With a happy sigh, he looked at me and said, “What am I gonna do about them?”

Just to start preparing my husband for the inevitable goodbye, I gently said, “Nothing, baby. You’re gonna let them live their life without worrying so much about them.”

He let out a huff and moved toward me. He sat at the foot of the bed near me and laid his head on my lap. “Promise me you won’t ever leave me?”

I ran my hand through his hair and pressed a small kiss on his head. “I promise.”

The following day, Aakar left early in the morning, but not before fucking me slow and deep in the middle of the night, grunting I’m gonna miss you so much in my ear. He had been so frantic and needy and desperate as he’d pounded into me, it had me burning up for him. I’d wanted him over me, around me, just living inside me. And when I’d told him I’m going to miss you so much and that The bed is gonna be so empty without you , he’d growled and painted my ass, my back, and my pussy with his cum. He’d rubbed it on my skin with his large hands, marking me and making me groan.

My legs squeezed at the thought of our night as I got ready for school. When I came down to the dining area, Maa caught me and asked, “Kriti Beta, would you drop this breakfast box for your pappa and uncles at the office on your way? They left way too early today since Aakar had to go, and they had some important meeting.”

I had some time to spare and quickly nodded.

After packing my breakfast in my purse, I climbed on the two-wheeler I sometimes used to go to school or for some chores and started toward the office. I’d been there a few times to drop off lunch or an evening snack if Maa had cooked something nice.

The moment I made the final turn to the small building that was the office, my hand automatically hit the brakes at the sight before me.

Was that Pappa? It was still a little weird for me to address Aakar’s dad as Pappa. But I couldn’t believe the man smoking a cigarette against the side of the building was Pappa.

I never knew he smoked. I didn’t even know if Aakar knew that he smoked.

I absolutely did not want to be here right now. My mind was pulling me in the other direction to just leave this breakfast tiffin right on the road and drive at full speed to the school.

But what if everyone knew that he smoked, and I was the clueless one?

I was teetering between reversing my vehicle or pushing forward when Pappa took a slow drag from his cigarette, and his eyes met mine. Instantly, his eyes widened, and he started hacking out his lungs.

Decision made: I accelerated and stopped my vehicle right beside him. “Pappa, are you okay? Do you need something?”

I quickly pulled out the bottle of water from my purse at the footrest and handed it to him.

Still coughing lightly, he opened the bottle and took a few sips.

His face had the same guilt as my students who hadn’t done their homework but claimed to have “forgotten their completed homework at home.”

Before I could even ask him if Maa or Aakar knew, he said the exact words that his youngest son had very recently said to me, “Please don’t say anything to Aakar.”

“Aaah, Pappa. Not this,” I groaned and hung my head. “How can I not tell Aakar? Does Maa know?”

I glared at that offending little stick of death when he cringed and was about to put his cigarette to his mouth. He sighed and threw it on the ground instead. “Umm. She knew.”

I frowned and asked slowly, “What does that mean?”

He shook his head. “Ah, beta, umm, I might’ve promised her seven years ago that I’d quit, and I might’ve failed in keeping that promise. So if you don’t mention this to her, that would really not break her heart.”

This just kept getting worse. “Pappa,” I groaned. “You actually not smoking would not break her heart. It really is injurious to health, you know. And you know how much Aakar worries about everyone. How doesn’t he know?”

He gestured for me to park my vehicle, and we took the breakfast tiffin and went inside the office, me following him. He pulled out a piece of gum from his pocket and put it in his mouth. He went into the office cabin where both his brothers sat, their eyes widening in surprise at seeing me there.

“Umm…” the younger uncle, Sunil, started to say.

But Pappa shook his head and said, “She knows.”

Oh no, no, no. Aakar was going to pop a vein. I turned to both the uncles and gasped, “Kaka, you both know too? And you didn’t stop him? Do you guys smoke too? Does kaki know?”

Questions came bursting out of my mouth, shock making me pace the cabin as the three brothers sat on their chairs, shifting uncomfortably.

My mind kept swirling at the consequences of hiding something like this from Maa and Aakar. “What am I gonna do? Aakar would kill me if I hid something like this from him. Maa and kaki would be so disappointed in me if I didn’t tell them.”

“I only smoke if I’m really stressed,” claimed Navin Kaka, the oldest of the three brothers, as if that made everything all right.

My eyes widened as Pappa put his head in his hands in defeat.

“How?” I whispered. “How does Aakar not know?”

Sunil Kaka rubbed his face and looked at me. “Well, we don’t smoke when he’s around.”

I clutched my hair, my head spinning with one revelation upon another. Since when did I become a secret keeper of the Mishra family? And how did all of these people manage to hide such important things from Aakar? And why, oh why, did I have to find out?

Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck.

Pappa raised his head and looked at me with pleading eyes. “You won’t say anything to anybody, right, beta?”

Oh god. My legs refused to keep holding me at his plea, and I dropped on my heels right on that floor, now clutching my head in my hands, mirroring Pappa’s pose. “How could you ask that of me, Pappa? It’s about your health. I cannot encourage you guys to put your life at risk. No, not on my watch.”

Sunil Kaka sucked in a breath, his voice dropping as if I’d kicked his dog. “So you’d tell Aakar and our wives?”

Pappa piped in, “Could it not be our little secret?”

Did I have a choice? Nobody liked to be a tattletale. But this wasn’t a secret like Abhi’s. Now that I couldn’t share with anyone. That was my duty to keep it to myself.

But this?

I looked up to find all three men staring at me with pleading eyes, weakening my resolve. Fuck.

I sighed and sat on the floor, folding my legs. “Okay, first, you’ve made me extremely late for school. And second, I won’t tell anyone…”

Three yeses rang in the air before I could even finish my sentence.

I raised my finger, silencing the three of them, and continued, “If you guys promise to stop smoking. And no, you don’t get to smoke behind my back. You don’t get to give me a false promise. You need to quit. That’s the only way I can keep this to myself.”

Navin Kaka, who apparently only smoked occasionally, was the first to break. “But, beta, I only smoke occasionally. Only when Aakar is out of town.”

Sunil Kaka quickly nudged him with his elbow while Pappa shook his head in defeat. “Beta, we’re trying. We used to smoke every day a few years ago. But we’ve really reduced it since Aakar joined the business.”

No wonder. “You mean, Aakar made you stop.”

They just shrugged in the affirmative.

“You know it would break Aakar’s heart if he found out that you guys still smoke behind his back. I really shouldn’t start my new marriage with a foundation of lies. And that too about something that would affect your health severely at your age.”

That got them all puffing their chest, grumbling I’m not that old . I’m pretty healthy for my age .

I rolled my eyes and dramatically started to get up. “Ah, well. I tried. Might as well call Aakar.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Pappa said.

The three of them looked at each other and sighed. “Fine, we’ll quit.”

Instantly, I held my hand out.

At their raised eyebrows, I said, “Cigarettes.”

“Umm. Can I have a last one?” Sunil Kaka asked. Holding a lone cigarette, he turned to both of his older brothers as if they would support him.

And, of course, they did and turned their pitiful eyes on me. They were starting to look so much like my students I was tempted to bring out a ruler or tell them to get out of my class.

But I was the one in their office holding them hostage. Or maybe they were the ones holding me hostage.

God, this power play was going to make me faint.

“Absolutely not,” I said and waggled my fingers, asking for their packs.

Pappa was the first one to empty his pockets. With a grumble, he picked the cigarette and the packet from Sunil Kaka’s hands and dropped them in mine.

Navin Kaka was the only one in possession of his cigarettes, who, by the way, “only smoked occasionally.”

When the three of us pointedly looked at him, he got up and put his packet in my hand with the saddest, most dejected face.

I opened my purse and dropped everything inside to throw it all out later and turned to the three of them. “I really don’t want to break Aakar’s heart, and even more than that, I really want you guys to stay healthy for our family. So I can only hope that you guys will truly quit.”

Their gazes softened, and Pappa patted my head softly. “Thank you, beta. We’re so glad Aakar found a nice wife like you.”

Tears clouded my vision, but I quickly shook my head and gave them all my teacher glare. “Regardless, I’ll still be keeping a very, very strict eye on you all. So don’t think you can hide from me.”

The three sighed dramatically as Pappa looked up and said, “Oh god, please let Abhi’s future wife be kinder to us.”

Oh, dear Lord. Poor Abhi. The lies and the secrets were gonna be the death of me.

With a universal sign of I’m watching you , I left the three of them and rushed to school, ready to forget today’s events.

I was busy reading one of my favorite author’s romances at night in the lounge area on our third floor two nights later when Abhi walked into the open area. Ria was out for dinner with her friends, so it was just the two of us.

“Hey, bhabhi. What’re you reading?” he asked, sprawling on the couch beside me.

“A romance book,” I answered, giving him a smile.

His eyebrows raised, and he waggled them like a fool. “Are these those sexy books?”

I chuckled and gave him a wink. “They could be.”

He twisted his head, trying to peek at the cover of the book. “Is that why you’ve got these ugly brown paper coverings on your books?”

I chuckled. “Kinda. The covers aren’t exactly family friendly.”

He laughed. “Does Aakar Bhai know?”

“Yes, of course.”

“You gotta give me one of these to read, bhabhi,” he said, his face completely serious.

“Hmm. I might have something of your interest.”

His eyebrows raised. “My interest?”

With a small smile, trying to gauge his interest, I said, “I don’t read just straight romances. I do have queer romance books too.”

Instantly, he straightened up from his sprawling position. “No way.”

“Yes way, dear brother. You wanna borrow one?”

He was up on his feet, ready to dash to my bedroom. “Hell yeah. Let’s go.”

Chuckling, I walked inside my bedroom and scanned my shelf of queer romance books. When all your books are covered in brown paper, it gets difficult to remember which book is where. So, for my own mental sanity, I have shelves assigned by tropes.

After surfing through some books, I gave him my favorite MM romance, the romance that got me reading more of MM romance— Him by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy.

“Here, this one got me reading more queer romances,” I said, handing over my book.

He was about to take it from my hand when I pulled it back, warning him, “Remember, it gets spicy. You okay with that?”

He rolled his eyes with a smile. “We’re all adults here, bhabhi. And we’ve all done these spicy things.”

“Ekta Kaki said the same thing to me,” I said and gave it to him.

“Ekta Kaki is reading your romance book?” Abhi shrieked, his face round with shock.

“Umm…can’t she?” I asked.

“I guess. You do realize that she might talk all about it with Maa and Radhika Kaki, right?”

Horror washed over me. “Noooo.”

“Yeeeessss,” Abhi sang.

I clutched my hair and dropped onto my bed. “She can’t, Abhi. The book has sex scenes in it. I gave it to her because she insisted she used to read Mills and Boons books when she was younger and loved them. And that she wanted to read more modern romance books. I warned her that it has spicy scenes in it. And she was all cool about it. And what if she talks about the book with Maa and kaki? Oh my god, what if Maa reads those scenes? No, no, no, no, no. What if Maa judges me and doesn’t approve of my books? Oh my god, what if she asks me to throw away all my books?”

“Bhabhi. Bhabhi. Bhabhi.” Abhi sat at my knees and said, “Calm down. No such thing’s gonna happen. Take a deep breath.”

I took a few calming breaths, then asked, “You sure?”

He visibly gulped, and that gave me all the answer I needed. “I’m almost sure.”

“Oh god.”

And then, it suddenly dawned on me. “What if Aakar finds out that Maa might read my spicy books? What if he stands with Maa when she’s asking me to throw out all my books?”

At that, Abhi chuckled. “I’m sure Aakar Bhai wouldn’t let Maa throw out your books. He might get really mad that you let your naughty books get in Maa’s hands.”

At the expression of horror etched on my face, he quickly added, “But he won’t. Aakar Bhai would react that way if it were me that let something like that happen. He would never get mad at you.”

“I guess. We’ll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it.”

He fist-pumped at that. “That’s the spirit. You’re starting to follow my mantra of life, bhabhi.”

That did not make me feel better.

“Anyway, I’ll let you know how I like this book,” he said, waving the book in his hand and bouncing out of my room.

Shaking my head, I closed the door to my room and got on my bed with my book to find a text message from Aakar.

Husband: I miss you, jaan.

Me: I miss you too.

Instantly, he texted back.

Husband: All good at home?

Well, I caught your dad and uncles smoking behind your back. Your aunt is reading a spicy romance book and might possibly share it with your mom. And your brother is gay.

Me: Everything’s great!

Fuck my life.