Fateful Contract

The Soup of Discord

The entire family had gathered in the dining hall, prepared to dine. Shivangi was leisurely sipping warm water when Karan came up to her.

"Shivi, I apologize for being rude earlier. It was uncalled for," he said with sincerity.

"Cough, cough......." Shivangi coughed hard and sprinkled water on Karan's face.

The room was filled with shocked faces, all eyes fixed on Shivangi and then Karan, their expressions a mix of horror and disbelief.

Tejasswi quickly got some tissues and carefully wiped Karan's face. "It looks like you gave her quite a shock." She tried to defuse the situation, worried about Karan's possible anger.

"Even we are taken by shock." Sanjay commented.

"Oh, I am sorry. I don't mean to startle you."

"Anju, I am certain he is possessed by a good spirit who's forcing him to keep apologizing," Sanjay said dramatically, provoking laughter from the group.

"Shut up, Sanju..." Anjana scolded Sanjay, but she couldn't suppress her laughter.

"Karan, what's brought on this sudden wave of apologies?" Anjana asked.

"Why are you guys overreacting? I apologized because I realized I was wrong." Karan got irritated.

"This is unfamiliar territory; you are offering an apology." Rajesh said.

The way Karan's family knows him, he is barely wrong, and if he is, there is no way they can enable him to grasp his fault, much less convince him to apologize.

"He hadn't taken the vows of marriage back then." Sanjay couldn't hold him but teased him again.

"My bhabs has the power to get my brother on his knees. Impressive." Kunal said.

Karan fixed penetrating looks on the bustling faces of the family and sighed.

"Fine Tejasswi made me realize I was conservative and orthodox, and she was right. This is not for you guys, but Shivi." Karan spoke with his customary sternness.

He faced Shivangi, choosing to ignore his family's theatrics. "Shivi, drop by my office with Vicky."

Shivangi nodded. "Thank you, Tejasswi; you're a good egg. I owe you."

"Teju, you won an uphill battle."

"Awesome Tejasswi....."
Tejasswi embraced the compliments after working on restoring her frayed relationships. Everything is back in its place.

"All is well when the end is well. Let's have dinner then." Kunal said this and promptly perched in his chair.

"Where is Shamita?" Sudha looked around and asked.

At the mention of Shamita, Shivangi was on the brink of offering a strong rebuttal, but Tejasswi stepped in, grabbing her hand and signaling for her to stay calm.

"She's somewhat weary, so she is recharging in her room." Tejasswi cooked up a story.

"Fine, I will have someone send her dinner to her room." Anjana said that and motioned for the butler to take care.

Shamita watched the harmonious family moment from the railing of the second floor and felt outcast.

The server brought out the soup initially, but Karan surprised everyone by swapping his bowl with Tejasswi's.

"Karan, that soup was meant for Tejasswi's nutrition. You can't take it," Anjana said promptly, clutching his hand.

"Tejasswi loves spinach soup." Karan directed his thumb at the soup bowl before Tejasswi.