Fucked up emotions

"Uncle, Aunty," Nayera said as their gaze settled on her.

"I—" before nayera could speak Kush held her hand.

"They are like your parents as well, you may call them maa and papa or maa-sa and Bapu sa like me," Kush said silently asking her not to break the real thing to his family.

He is so not ready to deal with rishtas (marriage proposals) right now.

"Kush is right beta," Ranaji said as he slowly caressed Nayera's head making her remember her fucked up family.

"I—I, I don't share a good relationship with my parents," she said as the smiles dropped from their faces.

"But—" Rani sa tried to console her but nayera shook her head.

"I have seen your relationship with Kush, I know you both are pretty close while Kush and Ranaji have some differences but they love each other as well, they respect the father-son line," nayera said whatever she observed in the little time she spent with them.

"My family is fucked up, if I had a choice I would have never been born to my mother," nayera said, her voice filled with her pain.

"My... My half-sister is in the same city, she may come over or not," she said looking at them with moisture in her eyes.

All that her mom did, the neglection of years came in front of her eyes in seconds, and her throat started to ache with so many emotions.

She felt choked over, it felt difficult to breathe in that second.

"Nayera," Kush grew worried as he held her by her waist.

"Nayera, look at me, look at me, breathe okay? Just breathe," he said as he quickly put her head on his shoulder.

He kept rubbing her back throughout her small panic attack.

"The doctor is here," Ranaji announced as Kush nodded.

"We'll be fine okay? Just a few more seconds," he said as he quickly picked her up in his arms and moved toward the nearest room.

"Careful Kush," his father said as he walked behind them.

"She got stressed, that's why this sudden small difficulty in breathing, otherwise she is fine," the doctor said as they nodded.

"I will make some soup for you," Rani Sa said as she moved out of the room pulling Ranaji along with her.

"Hey," Kush said as he held Nayera's hand.

"Hi," nayera said weakly, her face looked a little pale.

"Why did you do that?" He asked as his gaze settled on her.

"To break this roka," she said as his gaze turned soft.

"But using your pain like this, this was too much Era," he said still holding her hand.

"Wanna cuddle?" She patted the space beside her as he smiled.

Taking off his suit jacket and shoes, he loosened his shirt collar and cuffs before he settled on the space beside her.

"I wish you had not done this," Kush said slowly.

"I was here to help, this was just a small cost," she replied as he looked at her for a moment before he looked away.

Nayera dared to settle in his warmth, still with a distance between their bodies, she pressed her head on his chest, closing her eyes as her throat filled up at the warmth.

Even though Kush was not happy with her words, he slowly caressed her head.

Nayera enjoyed the warmth while it lasted, it was never in her fate somehow.

Unknown to them two people were watching their closeness.

"They love each other," Ranaji said as Kush's mother nodded her head.

"But she has baggage with her, I did not hear their talks but if a little mention can affect her this much then her family must have fucked up very badly," Rani Sa said, Kush's father nodded.

"I am not sure if I want a girl like that for my kush," Rani sa was not sure if nayera is a good choice for her son, yes they both love each other and want to spend their life with each other but this? Emotional unavailability can ruin them.

One way or another, it can fuck up their lives.

"But I do Rani sa, " Ranaji said as her eyes snapped to his.

"We can't forget our time, can we? I was emotionally unavailable, maybe fucked up even, it took us long to even bear each other's presence let alone be in love, at least she is trying, she is trying to pull herself out of that pain and focus on the good," he said trying to explain to his wife what he was thinking.

"I am hesitant, Rana ji, " she said stirring the soup.

"Remember the snake who bit me?" Rana Ji said a few seconds later as her hands stopped.

"Why do you still remember that dreadful incident Panaji?" She asked as her body shook with the memories.

"The fact that you fought for me, I can never forget it, Rani sa," he said as he placed his hands around her waist.

"But that was different, we had fallen in love until then, healed maybe even," rani sa said as he nodded.

"Nayera and Kush, they are in love as well, maybe it's deep to the point they don't even know themselves, " he said but Rani I just took a deep breath before adding some herbs to the soup.

"Tell me, if that night, instead of trying to heal that snake bite, wh you had tried to find the snake and prove that I did not deserve to be a bit, would that have made any sense?" He asked as she frowned and turned off the stove.

"Trying to prove you didn't deserve it, meant nothing, it would have been utter stupidity, especially with our kush in my womb," she said.

"Exactly Rani sa, naira is in pain and she is trying to heal like a wise person not run behind her family and trying to prove she did not deserve to be hurt by them," now when he put it like that things made sense to her.

Nayera was strong, stronger than any of them could ever imagine.