Chapter -17

Anaya  smirked looking behind Abhimanyu and said" Oh Aarushi you are here , control you husband dear sissy ". Abhimanyu eyes widen in shock listening her. He turned around and noticed Aarushi standing there with hurt expression.

Abhimanyu got little scared thinking what if she misunderstood him. Anaya was standing little close to him, does she misunderstood him that he was flirting with her.

Abhimanyu quickly stepped towards Aarushi and said softly " It's not wha–what you thinking jaan , i was–– he stopped inbetween when Aarushi showed his palm , gesturing him to stop speaking.

"Leave " she said in a stern voice without showing any emotion. Abhimanyu again pleaded softly as he don't want any type of misunderstanding between them " Atleast listen to me jaan , I was just –– " I said go inside hukum , I will be there in few minutes and then we will talk  " Aarushi again cutted him in between.

Abhimanyu sighed looking at her and asked " We will talk inside. Ok ?" Arushi nodded her head and said sure. Abhimanyu looked at her for some seconds and retreated inside the house.

Aarushi's  heart pounding in her chest, she couldn't decipher the look in his eyes. What was it...?

Jealousy, a venomous serpent, coiled within Anaya looking at her happy married life. She also wants to enjoy luxurious life like Aarushi . She hates her alot because she always have everything better than her.

Anaya wants to create misunderstanding between them to break her marriage but she didn't knew that Aarushi heard everything. A wave of dizziness washed over Aarushi when she heard Anaya thoughts about her. She was really angry on her how can she talk about her like that , she never expected this from her. The anger that had ignited within her at Anaya's words had quickly subsided when she heard Abhimanyu's furious defense.

Anaya, sensing Aarushi's confusion, leaned closer to . "Poor husband of yours, seems like he had lost his control infront of me."

Aarushi felt a surge of protectiveness towards Abhimanyu, a fierce need to shield him from Anaya's insinuations.

Aarushi stepped in front of Anaya, her eyes blazing with anger.

"What were you doing, Anaya?" she demanded, her voice low and dangerous. "Why were you saying such horrible things about me to my husband.Do you think me as a fool who will not understand your intentions. I heard everything, how can you say something this cheap about anyone , about your sister. I never said anything to you because i thought you are my elder sister but you and why the hell you were flirting with him like that?"

Anaya, taken aback by Aarushi's sudden outburst, tried to feign innocence. "Aarushi, I was just teasing. You're taking it too seriously."

"Teasing?" Aarushi scoffed.

"You were trying to undermine my marriage, to make Abhimanyu uncomfortable. Why?"

Anaya's smile vanished. "I don't know what you're talking about," she retorted, her voice rising. "I was just having a conversation with your husband."

"A conversation?" Aarushi's voice dripped with sarcasm. "That's what you call it? Let me tell you what you were doing, you are bad mouthing about me to my husband and you are trying to seduce him"

Anaya bristled. "Don't be ridiculous, Aarushi. I was just being friendly."

"Friendly?" Aarushi's eyes narrowed. " Stay away from him, Anaya. I won't tolerate this kind of behavior.... Let me go and tell everyone in the family ,they should know what you were doing with my husband. "

Anaya panicked listening her and said "Ok....ok I am sorry ,please don't tell anyone.I won't do anything like this again but please don't tell anyone"

"Good ,if you ever try anything ridiculous like this I won't think for a moment before telling anyone and let me clear one thing , stay away from my husband. Don't you dare to try something like this again. If I ever saw you going close to him , I will make you regret your life " Aarushi said putting pressure on every word.

Anaya, realizing she had pushed Aarushi too far, finally backed down. "Fine," she hissed, "but you're making a big deal out of nothing."

Aarushi ignored her. With one last, withering look at Anaya, she turned and walked back inside the house.

Aarushi gulped trying to compose herself, she always see her as her elder sister. She sometimes felt that she was behaving rude with her but shrugged off thinking she is like this from starting. Aarushi took deep breaths to control herself , she doesn't want to spoil her mood because of a person who doesn't care about her. Her thoughts wandered to Abhimanyu,her husband.

A satisfied smile came on her lips. The anger she had felt earlier had subsided, replaced by a warm glow of satisfaction. It felt good to know that Abhimanyu had her back, that he had defended her honor without hesitation. She doesn't want any type of attachment with him but still she felt a different type of warmth within her because of the way he defended her , the way he maintain distance from her , the way he explained his thought about her infront of Anaya.

" I guess my bad man is not that bad " she mumbled to herself.

As she reached inside she noticed everyone talking with Abhimanyu but he was not paying any attention to their talks. Aarushi's mother noticed Aarushi and She went towards her and said "Beta tell hukum to have lunch. I asked him already but he was not agreeing with me. You go and ask him . " Arushi frowned her brows and said " it's ok if he don't want to eat , why are forcing him ma "

Aarushi mother smacked her head said " Shut up Arushi , go and ask him. He first time came at his in laws house after marriage, how can I let him go without having anything. " Aarushi pouted and nodded her head.

Abhimanyu also noticed Aarushi and marched towards her. "Jaan listen –– he was saying something but Aarushi cutted him and said "Mumma has prepared lunch , please have it"

Abhimanyu nodded his head and said "okay I will but first let's talk " Aarushi looked towards her mother and said " I will take him to my room to freshen up , then we will have lunch " . Her mother smiled and left from there.

Arushi and Abhimanyu both made their way towards her room. As soon as they reached Abhimanyu stepped in front of her and said desperately " Please listen to me love , it's not what you are thinking. She was blabbering nonsense and irritating me. I was giving warning to her . I really didn't flirted with her "

"Oh...so it's not what I am thinking " Aarushi said glaring at him and started taking slow steps towards him. Abhimanyu gulped and said "Yes , I– i was not flirting with her. Heck i hate her for b–blabbering nonsense. I swear " and stepped backward getting intimated by her. She was glaring wildly at him.

" Really but I saw something else " Aarushi added further acting angry with him. She was enjoying teasing him , he is looking like a scared little baby. " Nahi sacchi jaan , mai to bas usko bol raha hai ki vo chali jaye mujhe usse koi baat nahi kerni. " Abhimanyu said looking all innocent as he didn't knew that she was just teasing him.

"Sachhi " Aarushi asked continuing her act. Abhimanyu nodded her head and quickly said "pakka sachhi"

Aarushi stepped backward and said " Ok as you say but you know i was thinking that you were not flirting with her. You were just talking with her but now as you said that it's not what I am thinking so it means you were flirting with her "

Abhimanyu eyes widened listening her. He shook her head and opened his mouth to say something but stopped when he noticed Aarushi giggling softly. "Don't tell me that you are you teasing me "He asked her.

Arushi couldn't able to control herself  and started laughing at him. She was laughing shaking her head not knowing that someone was  observing her intently , captivated by her vibrant energy and infectious laughter.

For Abhimanyu her laughter is like a symphony of sunshine and wildflowers. It's effortless, genuine, and utterly captivating. It makes him want to smile, to laugh with her, to lose himself in the sheer joy of it all.

Aarushi composed herself and said " You really thought that I would misunderstood you. Oh..hukum i am not a fool . I was just teasing you " Abhimanyu smiled a little and said "You scared me , i thought you will believe her "

Aarushi sighed softly and said " I am sorry that you had to go through that thing. I am really ashamed of saying that she is my cousin sister, I am really sorry on behalf of her and thank you for defending me . I am  thankful that you took a stand for me"

Abhimanyu stepped forward and said softly" It's my duty love. I am your husband how can I let anyone say something rubbish about you . Don't feel bad because of her . You are the best person in the world. You are my wife , strongest , kind and perfect. I don't give a fuck about anyone, only you matters to me . No matter how many differences we have but third person can never enter between us , I won't let that happen . Always remember your husband will be there for you , just take a step forwards I won't let you fall. Don't let anyone's rubbish thoughts impact you , you are my stronger women. Just be yourself, i will handle everything "

Aarushi's heart swells listening him. His words, spoken with such sincerity, wash over her like a comforting wave. She feels seen, truly seen. She felt a surge of warmth spread through her.  His unwavering support and encouragement were acting like a balm to her soul, a reminder that she was enough, just as she was. How will she continue to hate him if he behaves like this.

Aarushi smiled softly and whispered feeling overwhelmed" Thank you " Abhimanyu shook her head and said " Never say thank you to me baby. Your smile is enough for me "

Arushi sighed softly trying to control herself. Suddenly she remembered something and asked " Why do you have gun and do you always keep a gun with you" Abhimanyu hesitantly nodded her head and said " Yeah , i m–mean for safety purpose, i have to keep gun with me always" He knows that she didn't like all this violence stuff.

Aarushi shook her head and asked " Are you really going to kill her " She was scared what if he really do something with her. She knows that Anaya hates her but still she was her cousin sister. She didn't deserved this punishment just because she bad mouthed about her.

"Do you want me to" Abhimanyu asked sensing her inner turmoil. " No.... please don't do anything with her. I know she did a wrong thing but forgive her. If you do something with her ,it will give pain to bua and fufaji. Please...." Aarushi requested softly praying that he would listen to her.

" Ok if you say so , I won't kill her "He said agreeing with her. Aarushi nodded her head smiling softly and said  " Great , now please freshen up quickly, we have to go downstairs for lunch "

Abhimanyu nodded at her and went inside the bathroom. He took out his phone and deleted a message saying "I want Aarushi's cousin sister, in basements in two days "

He typed another message saying " I want details about my wife's cousin sister. She should be fired till morning otherwise you will face consequences." How can he let her go like that after talking rubbish about his wife , his queen.

He won't kill ker because of his jaan but he won't hesitate before making her life hell. No one can bad mouth about my wife and walk away, whoever will try to disrespect her , they had to pay for that mistake.

Abhimanyu came outside after few minutes and noticed Aarushi packing a suit case. He went towards her asked " what are you packing "

She closed the suitcase and said " Just random things of mine , I will take them with me ,by the way let's go downstairs" he nodded at her. They both made their way outside , going downstairs.

Suddenly Aarushi stopped and said " you know you were looking so cute when I was teasing you . I didn't expect you to be cute in real life. Mujhe ek photo le leni chahiye thi " She said and left from there leaving flustered Abhimanyu.

He can't believe his ears . Did he heard correctly. She called him cute .

His cheeks flushing crimson.

He felt a surge of unexpected joy. It was like a jolt of electricity, coursing through him. Cute. She thought he was cute. The word, simple and ordinary, held a power he hadn't anticipated. It felt like a secret shared between them, a quiet acknowledgment of a burgeoning connection.

"She called me cute really. Am I cute? My baby thinks I am cute " Abhimanyu whispered to himself . He was standing in middle of corridor with red face . He was blushing hard at her compliment. If anyone saw him like this they won't believe their eyes.

He walked downstairs with a lightness he hadn't felt in years. The word "cute," echoing in his mind, felt like a precious treasure, a reminder of a magical evening and the intoxicating possibility of what might come next." She thinks I am cute " he murmured to himself with a sly smile.

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