CHAPTER 4

Ekanksh groaned as sudden light hit his eyes. He reached out for his blanket to cover himself up again. But he felt a strong tug and the blanket slipped out of his hands. He cursed silently and turned the other way.

Turning away, Ekanksh realized that there was no one living with him. He lived alone in his big mansion all by himself.

Oh wait. I came home yesterday with Parth. We both are at my parents place.

Ekanksh turned when he felt a small nudge on his back.

'SURPRISE!'

Ekanksh's brother Ansh was standing by the end of his bed.

Ansh scrambled onto Ekanksh's bed and snuggled next to him, fondly rubbing his brother's head and messing up his already disheveled hair.

'Oh. It has been so long, my baby brother', Ansh cooed and continued cuddling his brother.

'Ansh, please stop. You ruined my peaceful sleep. That's unfair'

'Oh my little brother, everything is fair in love and war. You still have a long way to go'

Ekanksh seemed uninterested.

'Little brother, you are hurting my feelings right now', his brother pretended to feel hurt and clutching his heart dramatically.

'How about I breathe in your face? I've just woken up', Ekanksh said grinning and made a move towards his brother.

'That's really gross Ekanksh', his brother retorted, stepping away from him.

They stared at each other and suddenly burst out laughing. The two brothers embraced each other. It had been a long time since they had met in person.

Though Ansh lived miles away, he made it a point to check in from time to time. He was protective of his little brother. They shared a healthy bond.

'It has been long dada', Ekanksh said breaking away from the warm embrace.

'Hmmmmm yeah', Ansh responded as a matter-of-factly, patting Ekanksh' head fondly.

'You've grown thin Eksh'.

'Not you too, dada', said Ekanksh rolling his eyes.

'Well, I'm guessing Ma said the very same thing to you. Am I right?', Ansh smirked. He loved watching their mother fuss over Ekanksh.

Ekanksh narrowed his eyes in mock disapproval and nodded.

Ansh rolled on the bed laughing hard.

'Ok. I think that it is a bit of an over-reaction dada'.

Ekanksh got out of his bed and walked in the bathroom to freshen up.

After getting dressed, Ekanksh and Ansh, walked downstairs. The house maids were bustling around attending to different household chores.

'So, did you tell Ma and Baba that you'd be coming?', Ekanksh asked raising his eyebrows.

'Yes, of course I did', answered Ansh.

'So I was the only one in dark', Ekanksh muttered unhappily.

'Don't feel bad little brother', Ansh ruffled Ekanksh's neatly set hair. This really annoyed Ekanksh.

Before he could say anything, their father walked in. He had just finished his morning prayers.

'Oh Ansh, you are home already?', their father asked smiling.

'Baba', Ansh ran out to embrace their father.

Suryansh Rathod held his elder son tight. They broke from the embrace after what felt like an eternity.

Sushmita Rathod walked in after finishing her prayers only to find her elder son arm in arm with his father. Her eyes lit up when she saw her elder son.

'Ansh', she breathed.

'Ma', Ansh called out and ran to embrace his mother.

The mother-son duo held each other.

Ekanksh lingered in the back for a while before walking in and greeting his parents.

'Ekanksh, why are you up so early?', Sushmita asked surprised, after breaking apart from the embrace. She had assumed that Ekanksh would sleep in longer since he had travelled just the previous day.

'Ma, I wanted to sleep. But, Dada woke me up', he complained.

Their father laughed out loud and was soon joined by their mother.

'These two haven't changed a bit, have they, Sushmita?'

'No ji. Not a bit',

'I thought the corporate world would change my sons for good. But no, they still haven't grown out of their childhood years'

Their parents laughed and began bringing up stories of their childhood. Ekanksh and Ansh could feel their faces getting hot.

'Ma, stop it. We both are very hungry', whined Ansh. This caused their mother to laugh out even more before walking into the kitchen to bring out the breakfast. The three men followed her. Their father had taught them very well how to treat a woman with respect, admiration and lots of love.

Sushmita always received the queen treatment that she deserved from her husband and her two sons. They respected her.

Soon, the family settled down for the breakfast.

'Oh no, we forgot about Parth', Sushmita exclaimed and she stood up to go and call Parth down for breakfast.

'Don't worry, Ma. He'll come down when he's hungry', Ekanksh said calmly, digging into the parathas.

His usual breakfast included bread or toast along with a big mug of black coffee. It had been long since he had had a proper breakfast.

The family settled and began eating with the helpers hovering alongside helping them with second helpings.

After the breakfast, Ekanksh and Ansh took over cleaning the dishes, to give the helpers a chance to eat. Today was a hectic day for them too. The two young masters were home after a long time. Usually it was just seth and sethani as both Suryansh and Sushmita were fondly called.

Ekanksh and Ansh understood this well. Suryansh had made sure that not only their mother, but also the other women around them.

About an hour later, Parth walked down fully dressed. He thought he was in time for the breakfast only to realize that it was done.

Ekanksh greeted him and made sure that he ate to his full unhesitant. He wanted to make sure that Parth felt home.

Once Parth was done, the three men walked around in the garden.

'So, Eksh when are you going to get into a relationship?', Ansh teased nudging Ekanksh.

Parth sniggered as he watched his boss and best friend being bullied by his elder brother. He stopped when Ekanksh shot him a glare.

'I'm not interested dada'

'How about I introduce you to someone?'

Ekanksh suddenly stopped in his tracks. Ansh turned around and looked at his brother grinning.

'Dada, you are the one who needs to be worried about that. You are older than me. You need to get married first and then it's my turn'

'Oh Eksh, you don't have to worry about your brother. For your information I already have a woman I cherish'

'Whatever'

'How about this – I'll sign you up on a dating app?'

'No one will be interested in a cold and domineering man dada. You shouldn't waste your time on me', Ekanksh sneered.

Both Ansh and Parth sensed the shift in his tone.

Ansh jogged to catch up with his brother who had walked ahead gazing at the flowers.

Parth lingered behind. He knew why this topic made Ekanksh uncomfortable. He had seen his friend suffer and cope from his last relationship a few years ago. Clearly, Ekanksh was not over the relationship though he said he had moved on.

'Eksh. Let me just sign you up'

'I don't have time for it dada'

'Alright I'll manage it. I'll pretend to be you and keep an eye out for girls'

Ekanksh stopped again.

'I want women. Not girls', he emphasized on each word. 'And don't you dare upset Bhabhi'

'Wow. Look at you little bro. You haven't even met your soon-to-be sister-in-law and you are already protective of her. Trust me. I'll have her in on this too'

'Alright, do whatever pleases you. When are you going to get Bhabhi home? Do Ma and Baba know about her?'

'I'm planning on that. It'll be soon though. How long are you staying here?'

'I'm not sure. It's been a while so I want to spend more time here', Ekanksh shrugged.

'Great. I'll talk to her and see when she's ok with visiting'

'That sounds great, dada'

'I'm waiting for the day when you introduce me to your woman', Ansh said with a grin.

Parth hovered nearby. He too hoped to see Ekanksh in healthy, happy relationship.