Shivay’s POV

The moment Ishan disappeared into the kitchen, the entire house exhaled.

Not loudly.

Just… collectively.

Like the storm had walked out for a few minutes.

Mayank followed him immediately, rolling up his sleeves like some loyal assistant chef. From the kitchen we could already hear Ishan shouting instructions.

“Mayank, pyaz kaat! Aur properly kaat!”

“Bhai main surgeon nahi hoon!” Mayank protested.

I leaned back on the sofa and looked at the others.

Virat was pretending to check his phone. Rohit was staring at the ceiling fan like it held the secrets of the universe. Manik and Abhishek were sitting suspiciously quiet.

And then—

I said the one thing everyone was thinking.

“Yeh thoda zyada thanda nahi hai?”

Virat looked at me.

“Thanda?”

Manik nodded immediately. “Cold hearted.”

Virat tilted his head slightly.

“Ohhh.”

Rohit scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Mujhe yeh woh lagta hai…”

We all turned to him.

Shivay: “Kya?”

Manik leaned forward. “Manhus?”

Rohit waved his hands quickly. “Na na! Woh nahi!”

Virat smirked. “Disciplined.”

Rohit snapped his fingers. “Haan! Sahi hai. Disciplined.”

I snorted.

“Disciplined? Bhai mujhe toh yeh jala hua kajur ka ped lagta hai.”

Abhishek suddenly looked uncomfortable.

“Mujhe bura lag raha hai.”

All of us turned to him.

Shivay: “Kiske liye?”

Manik raised a brow. “Shubman?”

Abhishek sighed dramatically.

“Of course. Humara Ishu acha thodi hai.”

We stared at him.

Rohit leaned forward immediately. “Explain.”

Abhishek rubbed the back of his neck.

“Arey… shaadi ke agle din na… Ishu ne mujhe subah breakfast pe bulaya tha.”

Virat nodded slowly. “Aur?”

Abhishek continued, trying not to laugh.

“Shubman ne mana kar diya.”

We all leaned closer.

Rohit: “Phir?”

Abhishek burst out laughing.

“Phir Ishu ne khana uthake uske muh mein thus diya.”

Virat froze.

Then sighed in relief.

“Accha. Mujhe laga khane mein usko hi na thus diya ho.”

Manik started laughing loudly.

I shook my head.

“Ish ne toh mujhe bola tha ki usko kut ke room se nikal diya.”

Rohit suddenly sat up straight.

“Usko bulao.”

Virat blinked.

“Shubman ko?”

“Haan,” Rohit said calmly.

Virat shrugged and stood up.

Across the room, near the balcony, Shubman was standing alone.

Hands in pockets.

Silent.

Observing everything.

Virat walked over, said something quietly, and a moment later—

Shubman walked toward us.

The room grew slightly quieter.

Not tense.

Just… cautious.

He sat down on the empty chair beside Rohit.

Rohit folded his arms like some royal father-in-law.

“Damad ji.”

Shubman looked straight at him.

“Call me Shubman.”

Virat nodded politely. “Theek hai Shubman.”

There was a pause.

Then Virat leaned forward slightly.

“Hai Shubman… Ish ne tumko zor se toh nahi mara na?”

Shubman slowly turned his head toward him.

The stare was so sharp that for a second even Virat looked guilty.

I quickly added, raising both hands defensively.

“Nahi bataya usne. We guessed.”

Complete lie.

But survival instinct is important.

Shubman looked at all of us one by one.

Then he answered simply.

“Haan.”

For two seconds nobody reacted.

Then—

Rohit coughed to hide his laugh.

Virat bit his lip.

Manik leaned back, whispering, “Respect.”

I kicked Manik’s foot under the table.

Rohit cleared his throat and tried to look serious again.

“Tum dono saath mein rehte ho na?”

Shubman nodded.

“Haan.”

Then he added calmly—

“But he didn’t let me enter the room at night.”

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Then—

Virat’s eyes widened.

Manik’s jaw dropped.

Abhishek clutched the sofa pillow dramatically.

And I—

I almost choked.

“WHAT?”

Rohit blinked twice.

“You mean… suhaag raat pe?”

Shubman looked confused by the reaction.

“He locked the door.”

Virat slapped his thigh.

“Classic Ishan.”

Manik started laughing so hard he slid down the sofa.

Abhishek wiped imaginary tears.

“Bechara damaad.”

I leaned forward, studying Shubman carefully.

He wasn’t embarrassed.

He wasn’t angry.

He was just… stating facts.

Like he was giving a match report.

Which somehow made it even funnier.

“Phir tumne kya kiya?” I asked.

Shubman shrugged slightly.

“Sofa pe so gaya.”

Rohit looked horrified.

“Arre yaar.”

Virat shook his head.

“Shaadi hui hai ya hostel allotment?”

From the kitchen—

“MAAAYANK!”

Ishan’s voice echoed through the house.

“KADAI KAHAN RAKHI HAI?!”

Mayank shouted back helplessly.

“MUJHE KAISE PATA?!”

Virat sighed. “Kitchen bach jayega kya?”

Rohit suddenly leaned toward Shubman.

“But tell honestly…”

He lowered his voice slightly.

“Ishan pareshaan toh nahi karta?”

Shubman thought for a moment.

We all waited.

Then he said something that none of us expected.

“He talks a lot.”

Manik burst out laughing.

Virat nodded like a professor.

“Scientific observation.”

But Shubman continued quietly.

“Too much.”

Rohit grinned. “Welcome to our life.”

I studied him carefully again.

His face still looked serious.

Calm.

Disciplined.

But something had changed.

Earlier he looked like someone standing outside a glass wall.

Now…

He was at least sitting with us.

Maybe not inside the chaos yet.

But close.

From the kitchen we suddenly heard a loud metallic crash.

Everyone turned.

Abhishek whispered, horrified—

“Bhagwan.”

Then Ishan’s voice echoed proudly.

“Kuch nahi hua!”

Mayank yelled, “KADAI GIR GAYI!”

Virat covered his face.

“Insurance hai ghar ka?”

Rohit laughed loudly.

But beside him—

Shubman’s lips twitched.

Just a little.

I noticed it immediately.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Rohit leaned back again and looked at him with softer eyes now.

“You know,” he said casually, “Ishan bachpan se aisa hi hai.”

Shubman looked at him.

Rohit continued.

“Loud. Emotional. Drama king.”

Virat nodded.

“But dil ka saaf.”

Manik added quietly.

“Bahut zyada.”

Shubman didn’t answer.

But he listened.

And that mattered.

Because understanding Ishan wasn’t easy.

He was chaos.

Noise.

Emotions at maximum volume.

You either ran away from that storm—

Or you learned how to stand inside it.

From the kitchen Ishan suddenly appeared again.

Hair messy.

Apron tied badly.

Face glowing with excitement.

“Twenty minutes!” he announced proudly.

Then he noticed Shubman sitting with us.

His eyes widened.

“Ohooo. Meeting chal rahi hai?”

Manik smirked. “Character assassination.”

Ishan gasped dramatically and pointed at us.

“Betrayal.”

Then he looked at Shubman suspiciously.

“Tum bhi?”

Shubman looked at him calmly.

For a moment nobody spoke.

Then he said quietly—

“He cooks well?”

Ishan froze.

The entire room froze.

Did Shubman Gill just defend him?

Mayank appeared behind Ishan holding chopped onions.

“Chef acha hai,” he confirmed proudly.

Ishan puffed his chest immediately.

“Dekha?”

Then he pointed at us.

“Haters.”

Roh

it laughed loudly.

Virat shook his head.

And I leaned back again, watching the two of them carefully.

Maybe this marriage wasn’t as doomed as we thought.

Maybe—

Just maybe—

The burnt kajur tree

And the walking tornado

Might actually survive each other.

And honestly?

That would be the most chaotic love story ever.

Which meant—

Perfect for Ishan.

To be continue

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