Love by Destiny

At breakfast, Karnika looked at Rajveer and said indifferently,"Brother… will you drop me to college today?"

Rajveer heard her, but chose to ignore it.

"Why? Is the driver away somewhere?" Vairagya asked.

"What, brother? You can't even do this much for me?" Karnika pouted.

Vairagya checked the time on his watch and said, "Okay, come quickly..." and before leaving, gently patted Sarangi's cheek and walked out.

When Karnika came out and saw that it was only Vairagya, her smile faded.

"Get in…" Vairagya said, opening the door.

"You're going alone, brother?" Karnika asked as she got inside.

"Yeah, Raj had to submit an assignment today, so he went with Rudraksh to college," Vairagya explained.

"You could've told me earlier, I would've gone with them too..." Karnika said, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"But just a while ago you were complaining..." Vairagya reminded her.

Karnika lowered her eyes, realizing her own contradiction.

Meanwhile, Rudraksh was riding the bike, but his eyes kept glancing at Rajveer sitting behind. For a few days now, he'd been suspecting that something had happened between Karnika and Raj, but today he was sure—especially when Raj had insisted on going with Rudraksh even though Vairagya had offered to drop all three of them together. But he didn't want to trouble Raj by questioning him, so he tried to keep things normal.

"Raj… don't you get bored? College, office, then home... I mean, you do everything yourself, even house chores..."

"What's there to get bored of in that, Rudr…" Rajveer rested his head against Rudraksh's back.

"You okay?" Rudraksh asked again.

"I'm fine..." Rajveer replied.

"If you ever feel like talking, you can. My secrets never leak…" Rudraksh assured him.

"Shikha... Shikha Didi..." After a long silence, Rajveer finally spoke up.

"What happened to her?" Rudraksh asked.

"I've been calling and messaging her for days, but she hasn't replied even once. She was already quite disturbed before leaving... I even tried from Didi's phone, but she didn't answer... Didi's worried too..." Rajveer shared his concern.

"But you never really liked her, right?" Rudraksh asked.

"Yeah, I didn't like her flirting, but I still respect her just as much as I respect Didi..." Rajveer replied.

"Try from my phone," Rudraksh said, handing it over to him.

Rajveer hesitated for a moment and then dialed Shikha's number. On the other end, a faint, weak voice answered, "Hello..."

"Shikha Didi..." Rajveer said, startled. Shikha, too, seemed shocked, "Raj..."

"Didi..." Rajveer started to speak, but Shikha disconnected the call before he could say more.

After that, Rajveer tried calling countless times, but Shikha never answered.

"I think you should go meet her," Rudraksh said, seeing how disturbed Rajveer looked.

"But Saru... what would I even say to her?" Rajveer asked.

"Our college has organized a trip… we'll just tell Bhai that we're going on that," Rudraksh suggested.

"Lying like that isn't right, Rudr… What if we end up in some trouble? Then even Vairagya won't be able to help us... Before going anywhere, we should give the family complete and correct information..." Rajveer said, smacking Rudraksh on the head.

"Yeah, perfect obedient child..." Rudraksh muttered, rubbing his head.

That evening, Rajveer and Vairagya were in the study room. Rudraksh was hiding behind the door.

"So, you want to go to Shimla to meet Shikha, right?" Vairagya asked. Rajveer nodded.

"And who else is going with you?" Vairagya raised an eyebrow.

"Rudraksh… and me," Rajveer replied plainly.

"Well, at least you're not corrupted by him yet… otherwise, instead of being straightforward, you'd be asking for permission to go on a college trip," Vairagya teased.

Rajveer glared at the hidden Rudraksh. If I had taken his advice, I'd have been caught red-handed.

"You go ahead, I'll send you the tickets… and keep an eye on that monkey too. He tends to hurt himself jumping around..." Vairagya said.

"Yes, Vairagya..." Rajveer said and left the room, punching Rudraksh first thing he saw him.

"Ouch… Raj, come on man…" Rudraksh groaned in pain.

"Shut up, you idiot... If I had listened to you, I'd have been humiliated just now... Enemies are better than you... Moron..." Rajveer punched him again.

"Sorry, bro… My bad..." Rudraksh clung to him, apologizing.

Rajveer walked off with him, still chatting. Inside, Vairagya smiled. Slowly but surely, Rajveer was becoming comfortable with the family.

The next day, Vairagya informed everyone that Rajveer and Rudraksh were going to Shimla—but didn't mention the real reason. He didn't want to stress everyone unnecessarily, especially when the matter could be handled quietly.

Karnika also asked for permission to go but was denied—Vairagya said it was a boys-only trip.

By evening, both of them had left for Shimla. When Vairagya entered the room, Sarangi was sitting with her arms crossed and a pout on her face, staring straight at him.

Vairagya thought for a moment, wondering what mistake he might have made. After running through his thoughts, he still couldn't figure it out.

He walked over to her and gently touched her nose and said, "Is my darling upset with me…?"

"Where has Raj gone…?" Sarangi asked, glaring at him. Her voice was sharp.

"I told you, Shimla..." Vairagya replied calmly.

"What for?" Sarangi asked again, still firmly.

Vairagya closed his eyes. This brother's pet can't keep her mouth shut—spilled everything.

"To Shikha..." he finally answered.

"And why didn't you tell me?" Sarangi snapped back.

"I just didn't want to worry you..." Vairagya started to explain, but Sarangi cut him off.

"Or maybe I don't even matter enough to be told things..." Sarangi said with sarcasm.

"What are you saying..." Vairagya asked, confused.

"I'm saying it clearly… you make all your life decisions yourself, even mine… do I even have a say in anything, Mr. Rajvansh?" Sarangi said angrily.

"I don't understand what you're trying to say… please say it clearly..." Vairagya replied.

"Then listen clearly… who gave you the right to enroll me in a literature course?" she asked, flaring her nostrils. Vairagya squinted and started to pick up his clothes to go to the bathroom.

"Now you're going to ignore me?" Sarangi asked in frustration.

"Yes, I am… and I've decided—you will study further, and that's final..." Vairagya said firmly.

"I won't! I absolutely hate studying…" Sarangi shot back.

"Then just say it straight—you're running away from studies!" Vairagya taunted her as he walked into the bathroom.