The household staff was working quickly, moving around with a sense of urgency. Sudha stood nearby, struggling to suppress her laughter as she watched them work so frantically. The way they were rushing around made it evident just how terrified they all were. At that moment, Rohit descended the stairs, observing the tense atmosphere in the house. He walked into the living room, stood with his hands on his hips, and slowly turned around, scanning every corner of the hall. Eventually, his eyes landed on his wife, Sudha. Walking straight to her, he sat down beside her and softly asked,

"Why does it feel like a storm just passed through here?"

Sudha gave him a knowing look, her smile widening slightly as she replied.

"Your beloved children had yet another fight last night. And you know very well what happens when those two start fighting; it’s nothing less than a full-blown earthquake."

Rohit groaned and held his head in his hands. Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed down the stairs, firm, steady, and a bit dramatic. Both Sudha and Rohit turned their eyes toward the staircase, hearing the heavy thud of shoes against wood. He was coming down, adjusting his watch, his face composed yet stern. Without a word, Sudha and Rohit quickly held each other’s hands and walked straight toward the dining table. They swiftly took their seats, smiling as he arrived and respectfully touching his feet. Both smiled gently and placed their hands affectionately on his head. He then silently moved to his seat at the head of the table. As he sat down, his eyes briefly flicked toward the chair beside Sudha, still empty.

Sudha followed his gaze and, with a deliberate wide smile on her face, looked at her son and said playfully.

“You already know your sister is mad at you, so of course, she’ll make you suffer today. Even if she’s awake, she’s going to come late just to irritate you.”

Just as he began to respond to his mother, Rohit interrupted, looking sternly at him.

“Dev, I really don’t like you scolding my daughter for no reason.”

His eyes immediately turned toward his father. Without breaking eye contact, he responded firmly.

“I didn’t scold her for no reason, Dad. I scolded her because it was necessary. It was already 11 p.m. last night, and she was still out partying with her friends. You’re well aware of the current environment these days. She should have been home on time. I’m her elder brother, this is part of my responsibility.”

“Only five minutes older…”

All three turned to see her standing behind them, arms on her hips, glaring at him. Pointing her finger toward him, she retorted sharply.

“Mr. Devraj Thakral, you are only five minutes older than me…”

“Miss Divyanshi Thakral, where are your manners?”

“They’re on vacation… Do you have a problem with that?” She snapped, turning toward her father with exaggerated disbelief. “And you, Dad—why on earth did you name this man after your father? He acts like a 50-year-old grandpa already…. Always sticking his long legs into every matter, just because he's 6’2 doesn’t mean he needs to poke his legs into everything.”

Rohit struggled to hold in his laughter, his shoulders shaking. Meanwhile, Sudha sat with her head lowered, trying her best to stay silent. Her eyes bounced between her twin children—Devraj and Divyanshi. They had been fighting like this since childhood. Eventually, Sudha had stopped trying to mediate between them, realizing it was useless. Now, she just sat quietly like a passive audience member, watching the show unfold.

Devraj looked at Divyanshi and, without saying anything further, began serving his breakfast. As he poured his coffee, he said sternly.

“Staying out late, wearing short clothes, partying at night, none of this is safe for girls. That’s the only reason I scold you. Even I, as a guy, don’t do these things.”

Devanshi narrowed her eyes and snapped.

“Because of your old age, Grandpa,…

Their parents burst into laughter but quickly compose themselves and listen further, Divyanshi quickly says.

"And have I ever stopped you from doing anything? Have I ever told you not to wear what you like? Or asked you not to spend time with your friends? Or questioned why you're out late? No, because I respect your freedom. And just like you, I have my own freedom too. I know exactly how to protect myself. So, please, stop poking your long nose into my business.”

Devraj stared at her, and she stared right back at him. Neither of them blinked or looked away, their eyes locked in a silent war. Finally, Devraj, breaking the tension, shouted loudly.

“Where is my coffee?!”

“You’re always staring at me…” Divyanshi yelled back just as loudly. “Why don’t you take your precious eyes off me and look down at the table—it’s right in front of you!”

Her voice was so sharp and loud that everyone around, the staff and even their parents, instinctively covered their ears. Devraj, hearing her yell, shouted even louder.

“If you don’t stop with this nonsense, I swear, you have no idea what I’ll do next!”

Before Divyanshi could reply, Rohit snapped his fingers and said in a mock-stern tone.

“And what exactly are you planning to do?”

“I’ll get this girl married off…”

As soon as Devraj uttered those words, his parents and the staff standing nearby burst into laughter again, like he cracked a joke. Devraj glanced around, observing everyone's laughter directed at him. Even Divyanshi, after seeing everyone else laugh, finally burst into laughter herself. Devraj, however, didn’t say another word; he simply stood up and walked out of the room in silence. Still laughing, Rohit placed a hand on his daughter’s head and affectionately said.

“Your brother loves you far too much. That’s why he’s always so worried about you. And listen, the truth is, the world outside really isn’t very safe these days. I know you’re capable, you’re smart, confident, and can protect yourself. But he’s your brother. He gets a little too protective occasionally. You know, last night, until you got home, he was pacing around like a lost puppy. He called practically everyone you knew and asked them where you were. He was totally consumed with anxiety. I had to leave for a meeting, but by the time I left, he had already called all your friends, and none of them knew where you were. Can you imagine what was going through his mind?”

Rohit smiled after remembering last night's scene, shaking his head and continuing.

“Look, he might say he’ll marry you off, but we all know he would never even think about your marriage without your happiness being at the center of it. Your happiness means everything to him. In fact, I have a strong suspicion he’s planning to bring a son-in-law into this house; he’ll settle down only when you do!”

Devanshi, already aware of her brother's every mood, burst into laughter once more and glanced toward the door. She smiled warmly and looked back at her father.

“This volcano has now erupted in the office. I better call Mantra to come pick me up quickly; at least one of us can handle him!”

~~~~

When Mantra enters the room and sees his little sister Mishthi still asleep in bed, he grins and quickly walks in, sitting beside her and starting to tickle her stomach.

“Bhaiya, stop... Bhai.…”

“It’s almost time for me to leave for work, and this girl is still sleeping? You were the one who told me last night that you’d go to the gym with me in the morning, and then jog, and God knows how many plans you made. And look at you now—still fast asleep.”

He continues to tickle her, and her laughter begins to echo through the entire house. In the living room, hearing his daughter's infectious laughter, Varun immediately tosses aside the newspaper and starts running toward her room. Seeing him rush like that, his wife, Vibha, yells out loud,

"If your back gives out while running like this one day, you’ll be the one needing help."

However, Varun ignores this and quickly makes his way to their daughter Mishthi's room, pausing at the door to observe their playful antics. Mantra keeps tickling his little sister’s stomach, and Mishthi, who is eight years younger than him, is laughing non-stop.

Varun gazes lovingly at his daughter. After having a son, he had desperately wished for a daughter and had to wait eight long years for that dream to come true. Since Mishthi came into their lives, she has been the light of his life. Mishthi notices her father at the door and shouts out dramatically,

“Papa… help…”

Varun instantly springs into action, rushing to her side and beginning to tickle Mantra’s stomach instead, causing him to let go of her. Seizing the opportunity, Mishthi jumps on her brother and starts tickling him back. Mantra tries to stop her by grabbing her, but Varun quickly holds his son’s hands and signals to his daughter that she’s free to do whatever she likes. Mishthi continues mercilessly, tickling her brother until he’s rolling all over the bed trying to escape. He clearly can’t bear it anymore, and Mishthi shows no signs of mercy. He pleads.

“Sorry... I’m out.”

As soon as Mantra surrenders, Mishthi stops. Varun gently kisses her forehead and lovingly asks,

“Did you sleep well?”

Before Mishthi can reply, Vibha enters the room and yells at them all loudly.

“It’s 9 in the morning, and this girl is just waking up, actually not even waking up, she’s being woken up, and on top of that, her dear father is lovingly asking whether she slept well. And look at the brother, if he didn’t have to speak to her before leaving for the office, he wouldn’t have even bothered waking her up… I’m the only ‘villain’ in this house who actually gets annoyed by her careless habits. I keep telling all of you to try and discipline her a little, but it’s useless because neither of you ever says anything to her, and she’s not going to change either.”

Mishthi pouts dramatically, pretending to cry. Mantra places a comforting hand on her shoulder, and their father puts his arms around both children, turning to Vibha and saying,

“Come on, don’t start this every single morning. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with my daughter; she’s just a little mischievous and a little bubbly, and I love her just the way she is.”

“Varun, maybe you like it, but you never say how she’s spoiled from all the pampering. Do you even know this girl came home at 1 a.m. last night? Ask her what she was doing at that hour.”

Mantra immediately looks at Mishthi. She looks back at him with an innocent face and says softly,

“Party…”

Without hesitation, Mantra turns to their mother and casually says,

“She was at a party, Mom. You worry too much.”

Vibha lets out a long sigh, staring at the three of them. They all look back at her with straight faces, and she knows deep down that whatever she says is pointless, they won’t listen. So, she walks out of the room. The trio exchange looks and silently start chuckling. Mantra turns to Mishthi and asks,

“Why were you so late? Why didn’t you call me?”

“First of all, it wasn’t my fault. The birthday party went on really long. And second, I wasn’t alone. All of us friends left together, and the boys made sure to drop off all the girls before heading home themselves.”

“Then it's fine. Now hurry and get ready, I’ll drop you at college on my way.”

Mishthi looks at him quickly, then turns to her father, who hides his face behind his hands, already knowing what she’s about to ask. Mishthi immediately puts on her most sugar-coated tone and says,

“Bhaiya, I know I drove rashly that one time, and I shouldn’t have. But I’ll be more careful from now on. Please give me my car back.”

“No arguments. No car for a month. Now hurry and get ready. I’ll drop you on my way.”

Mantra walks out of the room, and Varun turns to see Mishthi pleading silently with her eyes. To distract her and lift her mood, he climbs onto the bed in a cross-legged pose and chuckles as he asks,

“So tell me, what did you all do at the party? How much fun did you have? And who gave you what?”

Mishthi lights up and starts chattering excitedly.

“Oh Papa, we had so much fun! We opened all the gifts one by one, and we even wrapped one gift box inside another to confuse people. It took forever just to open everything…”

As Mishthi continues sharing stories with a big smile, Mantra watches from outside the room. He stands with a hand on his mother’s shoulder, listening to their conversation and grinning. Then he says with a laugh,

“Look at them; these two best friends have started chatting again. I don’t think this girl is going to college today.”

“I think so too,” Vibha replies with a sigh. “You better come and have your breakfast quickly. I’m sure your friends will be calling any minute now. I don’t know what their issue is—both siblings keep complaining about each other. One tells you to explain things to his sister; the other asks you to talk sense into her brother. My poor son is caught in the middle of these two idiots, and who would believe they are 28 years old?"

Mantra bursts into laughter, but a subtle smile lingers on his face as soon as Vibha mentions Divyanshi. The three of them had been friends since ninth grade, and he shared a profound bond with both brother and sister. But with Divyanshi, it was something more—he liked her a lot. He had never told her, though. He had thought about how to confess many times, but the right moment just never seemed to arrive. Just then, his phone starts ringing. Vibha immediately snatches it and says sternly,

“No calls until you finish breakfast. You can sort out their fight afterwards.”

“Mom, if I waste time on breakfast, I swear my whole office building might blow up by the time I reach it!”

Mantra laughs and rushes out while answering the phone with a bright smile.