"You know why I wear the burgundy colour saree so many times??", Amruta asked and Isha shook her head... "Abhyansh used to gift me a saree every birthday, when he was 3, Ma sa(Rajmata Devyani Devi) asked me to get a good saree for my birthday, after she left, I went to our chamber and cried, I thought Abhyansh's father would accompany me, but he hardly cared, my son saw me crying, he understood it without any words, he said he would come with me and from then, he got me a saree for my every birthday until he was 16, I have all those sarees with me, the burgundy saree was the last one he gave me before he stopped...", Amruta suddenly cupped her mouth unable to control her sobs...
Isha felt very bad for her mother-in-law, she hugged her tightly and consoled her... she didn't know what went wrong between her husband and mother-in-law but she decided to end itsoon... she never saw her husband expressing love or even a little consideration towards his mother but she felt he is not as indifferent towards his mother as he shows... she just needs something more concrete to act on it, not just her instincts... she is terrified of her husband's rage...
Isha served breakfast for her husband and Amruta served for other family members, Avyan frowned seeing his mother's red eyes...
"Amruta, why aren't you eating??", Rajmata asked
"Ma sa, I'll have breakfast later, with Isha...", Amruta said, Abhyansh noticed the hoarse tone of his mother and he understood she cried, he ignored it like always, but this time it didn't come out naturally, he blamed his wife for the emotions he is feeling now...
"Everyone sit and have their breakfast...Isha... you too...", Abhyansh ordered
"But who will serve you Maharaj??", Isha asked, Avyan shook his head slightly at his sister-in-law's courage to question back the king... whereas the other family members still got surprised at Isha's somewhat casual approach towards the BEAST but that's because of his behaviour towards her, they justified...
"Your left hand is not working??", Abhyansh asked and Devyani devi's eyes widened, Abhyansh didn't like someone serving him while eating or with their left hand...
"No, it's working", Isha said confused about why her husband is asking her that, and Avyan and Amruta smiled at her innocence...
"Then serve with it, now sit down", Abhyansh said, Isha and Amruta quickly settled on their seats and had their breakfast... he observed his mother isn't eating properly and for some reason, it didn't sit well with him, at times like this, he hated that he is hawk-eyed, Abhyansh finished his breakfast and got up to leave but the words that left his mouth gave his wife the concrete reason she is looking for...
"Everyone, cultivate healthy eating habits so that you don't fall sick, I hate any disruptions in handling your duties", Abhyansh said, Amruta didn't understand it was directed at her, until she observed her son's gaze on her for a milli-second before he looked away... her eyes widened in shock, surprise, and joy... Abhyansh walked away leaving his mother in tears... this is the most, she could call 'care' he showed in the past decade and a half or more...
While Isha understood her husband's words as she saw him looking at his mother's plate once in a while throughout the breakfast, Devyani devi got the meaning behind his words pertaining to her experience...
"Who is sick now??", Avyan asked
"He must have said it casually, leave it", Pratap said in his hard tone and continued having his breakfast...
"Ma, are you fine??", Avyan looked at his mother's teary face... "wait... did he mean...", he trailed with shock when his mother nodded her head furiously with happy tears running from her eyes...
Pratap did feel a sigh of happiness seeing his elder son considerate towards his wife before the past memories crushed his happiness and detest took its place.
"No need to be so happy, he would never forgive you for...", Pratap started...
"Pratap...", Devyani stopped her son before he committed one mistake that could make Abhyansh kill him without any remorse or second thoughts... "shut up and if you want to live for a few more years before you receive your death, naturally if I may add", she added surprising Isha and Avyan... they never heard her reprimand her son this harshly...
Pratap sighed before pushing his plate away and limped away with the help of his crutches... Isha sighed, finished her breakfast, and went to their room to check on her husband.
"Rana sa, you called??", Isha asked walking to her husband who is sitting on the couch in their room...
"Come and sit here", he called and she did... he held her hand in his, and pulled her to his arms kissing her head... she blushed looking down, she can never get used to his touch, warmth, or the open affection he shows towards her...
"The food was good, especially the dessert...", he said and her eyes widened...
"Did something happen?? Do... you need to tell me any bad news??", she asked and he frowned, why would she think like that?? He raised his brow asking her why would she think so?? "Um... you never really said that...", she said and he realized she is talking about him complimenting her food...
"I already told you, not everything needs to be expressed in words, and you know how I feel about your food, should I really say it out loud??", he asked and she smiled...
"I know, but appreciating people's efforts isn't bad at least sometimes if not daily...", she said and immediately regretted it, she thought she sounded desperate for appreciation, but honestly, she didn't want him to praise her food, she knew he liked it and she loved the feeling of satisfaction watching him eating contently... she said it generally for everyone...
"Okay then, I'll tell you every day if that makes you happy...", he said and she shook her head...
"No Rana sa, that's not what I want, I said it in general... what I meant is you should appreciate someone's efforts, they feel good, I'm talking about everyone that works for you or with you...", she said correcting her statement...
"That's their duty... having this job is their appreciation, they are having it because they are good at what they do, they are getting job benefits and pay rise frequently, that should be more than enough", he said and she sighed with a nod... "anyways, I have something to tell you...", he said and she looked at him with curious eyes, she wanted to know the reason he called her here when he should be heading to his office at this time... he never usually got late...
"Your brother needs to go to London, his office there is gonna have some serious trouble if he didn't", he said to her hiding his smirk...
"What?? How do you know??", she asked getting all worked up for her brother's company, he and Vikram really workedfor that company, and she can't see it failing, for a second, she reprimanded herself for thinking about Vikram even after everything he did...