Page 272 of The Redemption
“Honestly, I miss them sometimes, but Meher and I only have to tuck them in now. After that, they’re perfectly happy in their own beds.” He lifts his glass with a smug grin. “Finally, we’ve got our room back.”
That earns another round of laughter from everyone. I smirk when Krish finally turns to me.
“What about your twins?” he asks.
“Rudra is still a problem,” I admit, taking a sip of my wine. “The boy somehow remembers he has a mother at exactly the moment I need his mother the most.”
Krish is the first to laugh as I continue. “He’ll spend the entire night sleeping peacefully in his own room. Then, out of nowhere, at two in the morning, he suddenly decides he misses Siya.” I shake my head dramatically. “And naturally, that’s when he comes looking for her. Bad timing.”
Krish nearly chokes on his drink, while Ayaan is openly laughing now. I point a finger at both of them.
“Keep laughing. Your situations weren’t any better.” I grin. “But Riya is different.” Immediately my expression softens. “My daughter is the sweetest. She sleeps through the night, just like her mother. So I don’t have to worry about her.”
“And there it is,” Krish says. “The proud father.”
“Absolutely,” I reply without hesitation.
We all look at Vishnu now. He immediately raises both hands. “What?”
“We’ve all shared,” Krish says. “Now it’s your turn.”
Vishnu sighs. “Veer is old enough now. Seven years old and convinced he’s already running the world.”
We all laugh.
“And Sanvi?” I ask.
The moment I mention his four-year-old daughter, a wide smile appears on his face. Yes, Vishnu and Simran have two kids now.
“Sanvi is just like me,” Vishnu replies with a sweet smile. “Very calm, quiet, and patient. Nothing like her mother.”
We burst into laughter again because everyone in this circle knows Simran. Chaotic is putting it mildly.
“Veer at least has some of Simran’s traits,” Vishnu continues. “When he’s angry, he becomes stubborn and a little dramatic.”
Just then, Haider joins us. I casually throw an arm around his shoulder.
“Haider, you don’t get to escape this either,” Krish says.
Haider raises an eyebrow.
“We have been discussing our children,” Krish adds. “And now, we want to know about your son, Rihaan. Who is he more like? You or Esha?”
That simple question changes Haider’s expression. The tough, intimidating man who still scares half the people in this room suddenly looks every bit the proud father.
A small smile appears on his face. Five years ago, I never would’ve imagined seeing it on him. After everything that happened, he and Esha took their time. They dated for a year before finally getting married, and I’ve never seen him happier than he is now.
He’s still protective, still watchful, still incapable of relaxing completely. Only now, his attention isn’t just on me. It’s on my children too. Rudra and Riya adore him, and Rihaan has practically grown up with them. The three of them are inseparable. Since we all live together at RK Estate, they’ve formed their own little gang.
Haider shakes his head before answering. “Rihaan is completely like me. He barely sleeps.” He takes a sip of his drink. “The boy is always alert. If a door closes somewhere in the villa, he wakes up. If someone walks past his room, he wakes up. If a leaf falls outside his window, he wakes up. So, yeah, it takes Esha and me forever to get him to sleep.”
“He’s very protective,” I say knowingly, looking at Haider. “Just like his father.”
Everyone agrees. Right then, Esha calls Haider over for something, and he excuses himself before heading to her. The conversation continues around us as the celebration carries on in full swing.
Five years ago, I wouldn’t have imagined a life like this… standing with a group of fathers, sharing stories about our children. Now I can’t imagine my life any other way or feeling this comfortable at a family gathering.
And that’s when Krish clears his throat and points towards the other end of the hall. Almost immediately, we all turn to see what has caught his attention.
