And then… quiet. Too quiet. The soft sound of hands on clothing. Slow. Intimate.
Then, the sickening, wet sound of a soft kiss. Mmm-mwaah.
Vyom sat up instantly, his blood boiling. “Tu late hai,” he said, his voice hard and deeply annoyed.
Karan jumped physically at the sudden voice in the dark, just as Urvin quickly turned on the dining room light. “Oh, hey, man,” Karan said, stepping back nervously.
Urvin looked half-embarrassed and half-irritated. “Hum bas–“
“Baat kar rahe si. Haan, maine sun leya,”
Vyom stood up to his full height. He rubbed his neck as he attempted to ease the ache that came from sleeping on the couch, but mostly to calm his own violent temper. “Gyarah baj chuke ne. Inni der kithay lagg gayi? Tu call kyun nahi kitta? Aur eh banda kaun hai mere ghar vich? Waheguru, Urvin, mainu laga kisi creep ne teri drink vich kuch mila ditta hoyega!” he said sternly, his dark eyes flashing.
“Mainu nahi pata si ki mainu har pal tainu report karna painda hai,” she fired back, her Punjabi temper flaring up.
“Hey, um… main Karan haan. Nice to meet you,” the man said, taking a step forward and offering his hand to shake.
Vyom didn’t even look at him. His eyes remained locked straight ahead, burning into Urvin.
Karan’s hand slowly dropped to his side. “Okay, uh… mainu nikalna chahida. Subah jaldi class hai.”
Vyom chuckled darkly at the fake lie of a Sunday morning class. “Haan, zaroor hovengi,” he said sharply.
Karan awkwardly squeezed Urvin’s shoulder and quickly saw himself out.
The heavy door closed, and the two siblings stood there, looking at each other with intense, blazing eyes. The silence in the room was completely deafening.
Urvin crossed her arms tightly over her chest, pushing her cleavage up, and shifted her weight aggressively to her right hip.
“What the fuck was that, Vyom?”
“Main bas usde naal baat kar reha si.”
“Eh interrogation si! Aur main dass deyan, tu mere guest de naal bohot rude si!”
“Urvin, main pareshan si! Tu is tarah tayar hoke bahar jaandi hai… looking like… that…, aur tu ek ghanta late aayi hai! Aur oh vi ek aise ajeeb bande de naal jisse tu theek naal jaandi vi nahi, aur main toh usnu kabhi mileya vi nahi!”
She opened her pink lips to shout something back, but stopped short. Her younger brother actually had a valid point.
“I–… I’m sorry, Vyom.” She let out a heavy breath, giving a weak yet apologetic smile. “Maine is baare vich socha nahi.”
Neither of them moved. Urvin felt genuinely guilty. Vyom did, too, but for a completely different reason—he knew he was acting out of raw, burning jealousy more than brotherly concern.
“Waise, date acchi si,” she added softly, breaking the heavy tension. “Par… tu shayad sunna nahi chahta hovenga,” she said quietly, turning her body toward her bedroom.
“Main nahi sunna chahta, nahi,” he replied, his voice coming out a bit more harshly than he intended.
“Well, then, goodnight. Main thak gayi haan.” She offered a small half-smile and walked away, the sharp click of her heels fading as she closed her bedroom door behind her.
