Chapter 31 - One Day at a Time

“Surprise!”

“Purvi? Tu yahan?” Arjun stared at her.

“In the flesh!” Purvi grinned at him.

Arjun walked forward and hugged her tightly in his embrace. Purvi too hugged him back with the same fervor.

“Call kyun nahi kiya?” He walked her into the house.

“Kyunki surprise dena tha!” She simply stated.

“Aur tujhe chutti kaise mili? Don’t tell me you asked Rey for it.” He eyed her.

“Nahi yaar, usse trouble nahi kiya. Mansi ma’am ko bola ki family emergency hai.” She replied tongue-in-cheek.

“And she agreed to it?” He narrowed his eyes.

“Yeah, when Taani told her that she wouldn’t mind taking up a little extra work.” Purvi looked away embarrassed.

“Chal abhi freshen up and join us for dinner.” Arjun told her, shaking his head.

“Us?” Purvi asked.

“It’s done! Where did you disappear?”

“Parul?” Purvi looked at her.

“Hi?” Parul replied unsure.

“Parul, that’s Purvi.” Arjun introduced them.

“Oh right! Hi!” Parul smiled at Purvi. Purvi smiled back. “The chicken is done, by the way.” Parul informed Arjun.

“Oh great! Tum dono baitho yahan, I’ll serve it.” Arjun went to the kitchen.

“Arjun ne bataya nahi ki tum aa rahi ho.” Parul started a conversation with Purvi to avoid silence.

“Maine usse bataya nahi tha. I wanted to give him a surprise.” Purvi answered.

“Oh that’s..” Parul stopped as her phone rang. “Sorry. I’ll just take this.” She picked up the call. “Mom, I’ll call you later.” She spoke into the phone. “Arre? Itna kya important hai?” She asked. “God! Will you stop? Kya shaadi shaadi laga rakha hai? Arjun se abhi tak baat nahi huyi hai meri iss topic pe. Aur abhi na main thodi busy hoon. Baad mein baat karte hai!” Parul disconnected the call.

Purvi looked at Parul with knitted brows. Arjun walked out of the kitchen and joined them.

“All good?” He asked Parul.

“Haan voh bas mom ne phir se shaadi ka topic start kiya. Itna patience kaise hai unme pata nahi.” Parul huffed.

“Abh umar ho gayi hai shaadi ki, toh she will pester you na.” Arjun replied tongue-in-cheek.

“Chup reh!” Parul sneered at him.

“Tu kyun itni shaant hai?” Arjun looked at Purvi.

“Abh main iss sabke baare mein kya bolu?” Purvi replied unsure.

“Yeh topic close hogaya hai. Tum yeh batao ki chicken kaisa bana hai?” Parul asked Purvi.

“Tumne banaya hai?” Purvi asked her.

“Yeah, he is too lazy to cook. Toh main kabhi kabhi aake bana leti hoon kuch dono ke liye.” Parul responded with a chuckle.

“Yeah, she lives upstairs and hum week mein do ya teen baar toh dinner saath kar hi lete hai.” Arjun told Purvi.

“It’s good.” Purvi took a bite and appreciated it.

“Last week wala was better.” Arjun passed a comment on eating.

“Jyada udd mat ha. Next week se aana hi band kar dungi!” Parul glared at him.

“Meko baadme dhamki de, pehle yeh utha le.” Arjun chuckled, looking at her flashing phone.

“I can’t believe she called Arjun!” Parul flared her nostrils and excused herself to answer the call.

“Arjun?” Purvi was confused.

“Her boyfriend.” Arjun clarified.

“Oh!” Purvi connected the dots in her mind. “Ohh!” She shook her head as she got a clear picture of everything.

“Tu theek hai na?” Arjun looked at her with concern.

“Kuch nahi, bas aise hi. I’m really hungry!” Purvi went back to eating dinner.

Parul left after dinner. Arjun and Purvi settled on the couch in the living room.

“Why did you come here unannounced?” Arjun asked.

“Tujhe surprise dena tha.” Purvi replied.

“Sirf wahi reason tha ya aur bhi kuch?” He raised his brow.

“Kya matlab?” She furrowed her brows.

“You sounded too relieved after learning about Parul’s boyfriend. Which got me thinking ki yeh surprise visit hai ya aur kuch?” He questioned.

“Are you trying to say ki main yahan tum pe nazar rakhne aayi hoon?” She asked back.

“I wasn’t implying that. But kya yeh reason hai tere yahan aane ka?” He looked at her and sighed. “Merese toh jhoot bol hi rahi hai tu but at least khud se mat bol. You have some doubts about me. I can clearly see it on your face.”

“Arjun that’s not true. I was missing you and certain things started annoying me and the only way to feel better was to come and meet you.” She held his hand.

“It’s getting late. Soja abhi. You must be tired from all the traveling.” He got up.

“Do you want me to go?” She got up behind him.

“No!” He turned to face her.

“Toh aise kyun behave kar raha hai tu?”

“I don’t know! Let’s just sleep on it and talk in the morning.” He walked to her and placed a kiss on her forehead.

…

“What the hell are you doing?” Armaan walked into his room and found Sid going through his suitcase.

“Was checking if you’re carrying any suit.” Sid replied, still going through his clothes.

“Seedhe pooch na. Yeh kya harkat hai?” Armaan closed the bag and glared at Sid.

“Dekh mere paas time nahi hai toh tu jaldi ready ho ja!” Sid pulled out a three piece suit.

“Sid, your phone is ringing.” Tyler yelled from outside.

Sid went to the living room and Armaan followed him out.

“What’s up with you?” Tyler asked Armaan, noticing the confusion on his face.

“Has he lost it?” Armaan scoffed looking at Sid.

“What did he do?” Tyler asked with a chuckle.

“I’m not sure.” Armaan answered. “But, I’m pretty sure that he has lost his mind!”

“Thank you so much. I’ll submit it tomorrow itself. Have a good day.” Sid ended his call and turned to Armaan. “Why aren’t you dressed yet?” He yelled.

“I am!” Armaan looked at his sweats.

“God Armaan! Just get dressed in that f*cking suit and pose for me. I have an assignment due which I had completely forgotten about!” Sid pointed Armaan to his room.

“Photoshoot?” Armaan raised his brow.

“Yes!” Sid replied.

“Go find a model for yourself!” Armaan rolled his eyes.

“I don’t have time nor do I want to spend money on this stupid assignment.” Sid sat on the couch.

“Then why are you bothered about it?” Armaan sat across him.

“Because I have to do it!” Sid said between gritted teeth.

“So you want me to dress up in a suit and you’ll click a few pictures of me?” Armaan asked.

“Yes and then you’ll have to undress as well.” Sid replied tongue-in-cheek.

“I’m not putting up a show for you!” Armaan sneered.

“Shut up!” Sid rolled his eyes. “It’s a project which shows that men can be equally appealing whilst clothed and otherwise.”

“So you want me to model in underwear?” Armaan cocked his brow at Sid. “Dream on!” He got up.

“Armaan yaar!” Sid got up behind him.

“Why are you bothering him? I can do it?” Tyler butted in.

“I can’t afford paying you at this point?” Sid scrunched his nose at Tyler.

“And you can afford me?” Armaan narrowed his eyes at Sid.

“Who’s paying you anyway?” Sid bit back his smile.

“Wow!” Armaan shook his head in disbelief.

“You don’t need to pay me.” Tyler told Sid. “Plus I’ll get to use those clicks for my portfolio.”

“Great! You two work together and spare me!” Armaan smiled at them and went to his room.

“Armaan!” Sid ran behind him.

“Why am I always the second choice for him?” Tyler sighed and went into his room with his coffee.

“Sid, tu pagal hai? You have a model phir bhi mere peeche kyun pada hai?” Armaan questioned.

“Yaar dono ki kheench lunga na. Tu please haan bol.” Sid pleaded.

“You didn’t even ask him.” Armaan pointed out.

“I will but pehle tu haan bol!” Sid persuaded.

“Ask him if he is okay with it.”

“Usse kyun problem hogi?” Sid wondered.

“Are you seriously this dumb?” Armaan widened his eyes at Sid.

“What?”

“He is clearly not happy with me being here. Upar se tu aise seedhe aake mujhe yeh sab karne bol raha hai when it clearly is his cup of tea! Do you even realize what you’re doing?” Armaan tried to put some sense into him.

“I thought of him first, but I can’t spare the fees for it. Photos print karwane mein mera aadha budget khatam ho raha hai!” Sid sighed.

“You couldn’t spend thirty bucks out of your own pocket?” Armaan scoffed.

“It’s going to take longer than an hour. Aur mujhe uss se free mein kaam nahi karwana tha. Samajh na yaar. He is literally surviving on his paychecks.”

“And why can’t you f*cking spare some money?”

“Hai kuch reasons. Tu please haan bol. I just have today to get all this done!” Sid pleaded.

“Fine!” Armaan agreed.

…

“Hey.” Taani greeted Purvi, answering the call.

“Hi.” Purvi replied back with a curt smile.

“Itna sad hi? Mujhe toh laga tha ki wahan jaake you’ll be more enthu!” Taani chuckled.

“Main yahan aayi tabhi Parul yahin thi.” Purvi told her.

“Dekh Purvi..”

“Poori baat sunn!” Purvi stopped Taani and continued. “Hum dinner ke liye baithe tabhi uske boyfriend ka call aaya. Uska naam bhi Arjun hai. Main hi faltu ka dimaag chala rahi thi. Voh party wale din sab uss Arjun ko cheer kar rahe honge.”

“Toh abh kya problem hai?” Taani was still confused seeing her sullen face.

“Arjun feels ki main yahan uspe check rakhne aayi hoon.”

“Did you talk to him?” Taani asked.

“I tried to explain. But voh sunne ko ready nahi hai. He seems to be really mad at me. And I don’t know what to do.” Purvi closed her eyes to stop herself from crying.

“Okay listen, tujhe wahan jitne din rehna hai reh le. Yahan ki tension mat le.” Taani told her.

“I can’t! Ek week ki chutti leke aayi hoon. I can’t extend it. I don’t want to take my job for granted.” Purvi denied.

“Arre par..” Taani tried to oppose.

“Nahi Taani. I’m not gonna ask Rey for a favor. Aur tu bhi usse kuch nahi bolegi!” Purvi warned.

“Theek hai, I won’t. Par tu Arjun se baat kar please. Kyun misunderstandings badha rahe ho tum dono?” Taani looked at the screen and sighed. “Abhi voh kahan hai?”

“He went to sleep. Kal office hai uska.”

“Ek kaam kar, tu bhi abhi soja. Kal fresh mind ke saath uss se baat kar. I’m sure he’ll listen. Okay?”

“Hmm.” Purvi nodded.

“Good night.” Taani ended the call.

Taani threw her phone aside on her bed but kept looking at it. She picked it back up after a few minutes and started typing.

‘Kyun usse alienate kar raha hai tu? Already voh itni upset hai, why are you avoiding her? Tujhse hi toh voh milne aayi hai wahan. Ek do din ki chutti le job se and just go out somewhere. Dono ke mood thikaane aajayege!’

Taani’s phone rang and she smiled seeing Rey’s name flash on it.

“Hello!” She chirped.

“I have a question.” Rey pressed his lips together and had a serious look on his face.

“What?” She asked, narrowing her brows.

“Why did you run away from here?” He asked innocently, but the playful glint in his eyes gave away his real intentions.

“Rey stop!” Taani looked away from the screen and blushed.

“Kya hua? Maine bas pucha ki tu aise achanak kyun chali gayi?” Rey repeated in the same tone.

“Abhi ussi wajah se phone bhi rakh dungi haan main!” Taani warned him.

“Yaar!” He pouted making her laugh.

“Itni masti kyun sujh rahi hai?” Taani asked.

“Toh aur kya karu main? Tu yahan aane se rahi and I have nothing else to do!” He shrugged his shoulders.

“Go hang out with your friends.” Taani suggested.

“Haan voh thodi der mein milne hi jana hai. Bhai aur Riri ki shaadi jo plan karni hai.” Rey rolled his eyes.

“Aren’t you excited for it?” Taani furrowed her brows seeing his reaction.

“I am! But agar kisi planner ko hire karte toh soch kitna grand hota sab kuch. This just feels like some event.”

“Tum bhi toh kuch grand kar sakte ho. You know the two of them and have all the insights on them to make it special. Kyun kisi third party ko involve karna hai?”

“I know, but wedding planning is a task re. I feel awful for troubling Sneha now.” Rey let out a soft chuckle.

“Did she agree to help you guys?” Taani asked.

“Haan usne sab contacts diye hai and she has also told us to reach out if we need anything.” Rey informed.

“Toh hogaya na sab sort. Abhi jao and make this wedding memorable for them.” Taani grinned.

“Tu bhi aa na yaar, please.” He scrunched his nose.

“Kal subah na meeting hai meri. And I don’t want to be late!”

“Shit!” Rey pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Kya hua?” Taani furrowed her brows.

“Kal Mansi has called for an urgent meeting and I know it’s gonna be something bad.” He answered.

“Why so?”

“Chod, I don’t want to talk about it right now. Abhi wedding planning pe focus rakhna hai.”

“Okay..” Taani narrowed her eyes at him. ”All good na?” She asked.

“No.” He shook his head. “You ran away from here luv, how can anything be good?” He smirked.

“Rey!” She glared back, gritting her teeth to stop herself from smiling.

“Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.” He chuckled.

“You’re pure evil!” She sneered at him.

“Well..”

“Aur kuch mat kehna. Bye!” She stopped him.

“Bye!” He chuckled.

“See you tomorrow.” She smiled shaking her head and disconnected the call.

Taani looked at the long message she had typed for Arjun and deleted it. She thought of a lot more things to say but every time she ended up deleting it. Frustrated, she gave up on it and went to sleep.

…

“What happened to your white suit?” Sid asked Tyler.

“It’s at the dry cleaners.” Tyler replied.

“Why?”

“Because you had spilled drink over it, remember?” Tyler sneered.

“Right.” Sid looked away and scratched his hair. “Now what?”

“Don’t you have one?” Armaan asked Sid.

“He hates formal wear!” Tyler chuckled.

“Wait a minute! We have your jacket!” Sid rushed into his room and got Armaan’s jacket with him.

“You hate formal wear, but you kept this for yourself?” Armaan sneered at him.

“Firstly, this isn’t formal. Secondly, I wore it once to an event because I didn’t have anything else. And lastly, I was going to send it with Taani, but she forgot!” Sid explained.

“Usko blame mat kar!” Armaan glared at him.

“Can we get done with this quickly? I have to get them printed as well!” Sid hurried them.

“Sure! Gimme the jacket!” Tyler picked up the jacket.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Sid stopped.

“Now what?” Tyler asked annoyed.

“Why don’t you wear his suit, and Armaan you make this jacket look formal with those crème colored pants you have!” Sid suggested.

“Let’s hope it fits me properly!” Tyler picked up Armaan’s suit and went to his room.

“It will. You both have almost the same build.” Sid yelled behind him.

“Voh maan gaya na. Spare me now!” Armaan picked up his jacket.

“You agreed to it. Abhi tu mana nahi kar sakta. Please jaldi change kar le!” Sid pushed him into his room.

“It fits perfectly!” Tyler walked out after a while.

“Wow, you look hot in it!” Sid smirked.

“Thanks! That’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me today.” Tyler mocked.

“You can’t be still mad at me for not asking you. I told you I didn’t want you to model for me for free. That was the only reason.” Sid explained.

“Sure! So where are we shooting?” Tyler asked as he heard Armaan come out of his room.

“How the hell can you make this look formal?” Sid widened his eyes at Armaan.

“This thing reeks of your cologne. I tried to mask it, but it didn’t work. So let’s just get done with it quickly!” Armaan sneered.

“Okay then! Let’s go!” Sid picked up his camera bag and a shopping bag kept next to it.

“Where?” Tyler asked.

“To the penthouse!” Sid grinned.

“Don’t tell me you spent your budget on renting it?” Tyler widened his eyes at Sid.

“A part of it.” Sid replied meekly. “I want the pictures to look good okay!” He justified himself.

“Sure!” Tyler left shaking his head.

They went upstairs to the penthouse and Sid quickly started setting his camera. Armaan looked around the place and was surprised to see the mini sets set up throughout the place.

“Is this a photo studio?” Armaan asked.

“The guy who owns it has made this place into a studio and he rents it out. It is pretty expensive to be honest.” Tyler informed Armaan.

“No wonder you couldn’t afford paying a model.” Armaan shook his head.

“Don’t you worry. I’m going to completely exploit him. He is going to shoot a complete portfolio for me.” Tyler smirked.

“Get multiple done!” Armaan chuckled.

“Okay enough you two.” Sid rolled his eyes at them. “Now do as I say.”

Sid instructed them to pose in certain places using different backdrops and props. After he was satisfied with the clicks, he reached into the shopping bag and pulled out some underwear for them.

“Now change into this.” He handed a box to each of them.

“Here?” Tyler cocked his brow.

“I mean you can.” Sid replied slyly.

“Don’t come behind me!” Armaan left to find a washroom to change.

“I’ll change and come.” Tyler too left.

Sid adjusted the lighting till the time they came out. Tyler was the first to come out. Sid scanned him from top to bottom.

“Done staring?” Tyler asked him.

“You can’t look this hot and expect me not to stare.” Sid scratched the back of his neck.

“Why haven’t you started yet?” Armaan walked out wearing a T-shirt over his boxers.

“Remove that T! You have an amazing bod. Learn to flaunt it!” Sid yelled at him.

“Tu uske photo kheench na. Behes mat kar.” Armaan rolled his eyes at Sid.

“Fine, observe how it’s done as you are next.” Sid winked at Armaan and then looked at Tyler. “Ty, ready?”

Tyler started posing for Sid. He gave brooding looks to the camera. Sid had a constant smile playing on his lips as he clicked the photos. He looked through them and was satisfied. He then looked at Armaan and asked him to come in front of the camera.

“Now what?” Armaan asked.

“Stop playing dumb and remove that God damn T-shirt!” Sid yelled at him.

Sid gave him instructions on how to catch the light and stand on his mark. He suggested a few poses which Armaan opposed.

“How about I lift it up my abs and pose?” Armaan asked and posed for Sid.

“It’s good, but maza nahi aa raha.” Sid made a face.

“Fine!” Armaan huffed and started to remove his T-shirt.

Sid was clicking continuously just to annoy Armaan, while Armaan had a stoic look on his face. He removed the T-shirt and posed for Sid. After some time they packed up and came down to their apartment.

“This is the first and the last time I’m doing this for you!” Armaan warned Sid. “And get this thing washed. It has your stench all over it!” Armaan threw the jacket on his face and walked into his room.

“He seems mad!” Tyler pointed out as he sat next to Sid at the dining table.

“He is fine. He is just pretending like he has done some favor for me.” Sid rolled his eyes as he imported the photos into his laptop to select the final four.

“Wow, these look really good!” Tyler praised him.

“You were doubting my ability?” Sid turned to look at Tyler.

“Kind of.” Tyler replied tongue-in-cheek.

“F*ck off!” Sid scoffed.

“Don’t you have a deadline to finish this?” Tyler reminded him.

“Yeah help me please.” Sid pleaded.

They went through the pictures and selected the final ones for both the looks. They finalized on three and were confused at Armaan’s underwear picture.

“We just agreed on this one!” Tyler pointed out.

“I know. But I can’t get this pic out of my head. It is a candid shot, but he looks so f*cking good in it!” Sid pointed at the one he liked.

“Then go ahead with it.”

“He’ll kill me if I don’t pick the one in which I made him take his shirt off!” Sid scoffed.

“In this one he is technically taking his shirt off!” Tyler pointed out. “So he shouldn’t be mad about it.”

“Yeah, you're right!" Sid nodded. "I’ll touch them up and leave before that place closes.” Sid immersed himself in his laptop.

Tyler called Armaan out for dinner.

“Where’s Sid?” Armaan asked him.

“He has gone to get the photos printed. He should be back anytime now.” Tyler informed him.

“Are you going somewhere?” Armaan asked as Tyler was dressed up.

“My job starts in an hour. I was just leaving.” Tyler told him.

“Where do you work again?” Armaan furrowed his brows.

“I’m a bartender.” Tyler answered.

“Right!” Armaan nodded. “You had dinner?”

“I eat light before my shift. But I’ve cooked for the two of you.” Tyler informed.

“Thanks!” Armaan smiled.

“Thank God, you’re still here!” Sid entered in, out of breath.

“You alright?” Tyler squinted at him.

“Yeah.. just look at.. the pictures.. before you go.” Sid fell back on the couch and panted.

Tyler pulled out the prints and his eyes sparked up looking at them.

“These are f*cking amazing! I wish I had the time right now to appreciate you, but I have to leave now! So..” Tyler quickly pecked Sid. “See you tomorrow!” He left.

“Zara main bhi dekhu itna kya khaas hai.” Armaan walked to him and looked at the photos on the table.

“You’re good!” Armaan appreciated it.

“Toh ek aur photoshoot?” Sid wiggled his brows.

“Sochna bhi mat!” Armaan glared at Sid making him laugh out loud.

“That’s it! Let’s all get back to work!” Mansi ended the meeting.

“Naveen.” Swayam called him.

“Yes?” Naveen walked up to him.

“Is Rey’s cabin done?” Swayam asked.

“Sorry?” Naveen squinted.

“Sharon was telling me about the wallpaper..”

“Oh that, yes it’s done. They’ll be putting the final layer of paint today.” Naveen informed.

“Sounds great.” Swayam turned to leave.

“Excuse me?” Taani almost bumped into Swayam who stopped on their way out.

“Tujhse baat karni hai.” Swayam turned to face her.

“Kya?” Taani furrowed her brows.

“Rey ko aaj busy rakhegi?” Swayam whispered to her.

“Kya?” Taani widened her eyes at him.

“Subah se bhadka hua hai, toh usse thoda busy rakh na aaj. It’ll buy Sharon and I some time to finish up some pending work.” Swayam explained controlling his urge to smirk.

“I have my own work to finish. And don’t forget hum office mein hai!” Taani sneered, looking around.

“Okay! Cool! See you at lunch!” Swayam stepped aside and held the door open for Taani.

“Bye!” Taani quickly ran off from there. She felt Ayushman was listening to their conversation and she just wanted to exit the room.

“Swayam.” Ayushman approached him after Taani left.

“Yeah?” Swayam turned to face him.

“I.. uh..” Ayushman hesitated.

“Ayush, I know what went down between you and Sharon and she is pretty upset about it. So uss topic pe baat karni hai toh you both need to find a way to resolve it. Merese baat karne se kuch nahi hone wala. If there is something else, then shoot!” Swayam told him.

“Thanks for being rational about it, unlike Rey!” Ayushman chuckled.

“See you around.” Swayam left shaking his head recalling Rey’s reaction.

“La la la..”

Swayam entered the cabin to find Rey and Sharon twirling around humming a tune.

“You two look extra cheerful. What’s wrong?” Swayam squinted at them.

“We’ve decided that we are going to be happy today!” Rey grinned at him as he twirled Sharon around.

“Great!” Swayam gave them a thumbs up and went to his desk.

“Tu kyun wahan jaake baith gaya? Come join us.” Sharon grinned at him.

“Unlike you two, I have a ton of work to complete.” Swayam rolled his eyes at them.

“Stop being a b*tch about it. We were just getting to it!” Rey got to his desk. Sharon followed suit.

“Accha sunn, lunch ke baad Mansi ke saath meeting hai.” Swayam reminded Rey.

“Can’t you tell I’m trying to block it off?” Rey sneered at him.

“I know!” Swayam smirked and got engrossed in his work.

Rey and Sharon too got busy with their work. Sharon left after a while to visit the academy site.

“Excuse me?” Taani knocked on the door and opened it.

“Hey!” Rey grinned at her making her glare back at him as she opened the door wide revealing Ayushman, Mansi and Naveen behind her.

“Look at you, so happy to see us!” Mansi mocked Rey, making him roll his eyes.

“What are you doing here?” Rey asked them.

“Supplier ka issue solve ho gaya hai. We won’t be going over budget.” Ayushman informed.

“Yeh batane ke liye tu poori paltan leke yahan aaya?” Rey raised his brows at him.

“Well, kuch puchna tha..” Mansi spoke and gave a light smile.

“Kya?” Rey furrowed his brows.

“Kya!” Swayam screamed looking at the message from Sharon.

“About that..” Mansi looked at Swayam.

“Have you lost it?” Swayam glared at her.

“Let me explain.” Mansi said.

“What’s going on?” Rey asked them.

“I’ve decided to pause all other projects for a week and putting in all the man force on this college project. That’s the only way we can complete this by the next week.” Mansi informed them.

“Academy work is not stopping!” Rey glared at her.

“Ussi pe baat karni hai Rey. At least teen din wahan kuch kaam nahi hone wala. Iske baad I swear I’ll get it done in no time.” Mansi tried to persuade him.

“I’m heading out for lunch, we’ll talk about this later!” Rey left the cabin.

Swayam looked at Taani and asked her to go behind Rey. Taani looked around and hesitated running after him.

“We’ll meet up after lunch.” Mansi dismissed them with a sigh.

Taani took the opportunity and quickly left the cabin. She saw Rey heading out of the office and ran to him.

“Kahan ja rahe ho?” She asked him.

“I don’t know.” He answered.

“Can I join?” She smiled.

“Sure!” Rey let out a dry chuckle and got into his car.

“Ghar pe baithe baihte tum meditation karne lag gaye the kya?” Taani asked.

“What?” He asked, confused.

“Aaj bilkul bhi gussa nahi kiya?” She asked tongue-in-cheek.

“I’m trying to cut back on my anger.” He replied.

“I understand. It’s good for your health you know.” She nodded.

“Kya kar rahi hai?” He laughed.

“Bas issi smile ka wait kar rahi thi.” She smiled.

“Tu flirt karne ki koshish mat kar.” He chuckled.

“Main genuine compliment de rahi hoon aur tujhe masti sujh rahi hai?” She frowned.

“Accha sorry. Bol.”

“Kya?”

“Aur de compliments.”

“Aise forcefully nahi deti ghumti hoon main.” Taani scoffed.

“Accha tell me one thing, yeh Purvi ko kaunsi emergency aagayi hai?” Rey asked.

“Usse Arjun se milne jana tha.” She informed.

“Oh that’s great! I was worried for a second there.”

“Tum batao.”

“Kya?”

“Come on Rey, I know you’re trying to keep it in. Just let it go!” Taani placed her hand on his.

“Who do you think I am, Elsa?” Rey squinted.

“What?” She asked, confused.

“Sorry voh Muskaan background mein yeh Disney songs play karti rehti hai full day. So, it’s stuck in my head now.” Rey shook his head.

“Awe, that’s so cute.” Taani pulled his cheeks and started laughing. “Favorite mamoo banne ke liye kya kya karna padta hai, nahi?” She mocked.

“Tu mera mazak udaane mere saath aayi hai?” He pouted.

“Tum khud ek mazak ho, usko aur kitna uda sakta hai koi.” She bit her tongue.

“Woah!” Rey hung his mouth open.

“Sorry, I was just..”

“I know! Mazak uda rahi thi tu mera!”

“Rey come on, I was just messing around. I didn’t mean it!”

“I know you didn’t. But that was a burn I didn’t expect!”

“Expect the unexpected my luv!” Taani giggled.

“Okay, you’ve officially lost your mind!”

“I had lost it the day I fell in love with you!” She looked at him lovingly.

“No wonder, this does sound empty!” He knocked on her head.

“Hey!” She swatted his hand away.

“Pizza khayegi?” He asked stopping in front of Smokin’ Joe’s.

“Sure I guess.” She got out after him.

They ordered for their pizza and waited for it to arrive.

“I need to be back soon.” Taani reminded him.

“Haan toh yahan thodi kha rahe hai hum.” Rey told her.

“Toh office mein hi order kar lete na. Yahan aane ki kya jarurat thi?” She frowned.

“Maine tujhe nahi bulaya tha. Tu khud aayi.” He reminded her.

“Focus on your breathing Rey, you’re losing your cool.” She sneered at him.

“Listen, I know what you’re trying to do, so please stop.” He sighed.

“What’s the matter?” Taani asked in a serious tone.

“The academy should have opened by now. Bohot delays hogaye hai and mainly because of me. I kept pushing it forward then aur abhi dekh..” Rey pulled his hair in frustration.

“Yeh college ka kaam hone ke baad poora focus uspe daal ke khatam kar sakte ho na.” She suggested.

“Do you..”

“I know what I’m saying. It’s just that the colleges have reopened and we have been asked to get it done in a week or two. Isiliye Ayushman suggested that to Mansi ma’am. Even he has put all his other projects on hold for the time being.” Taani informed him.

“Usse jo karna hai kare. Academy ka kaam nahi rukne wala!” Rey glared at her and went to collect the pizza when he heard his name being called.

“Rey, meri baat toh sunn..” Taani ran out behind him.

“Can we not talk about this for now? Abhi office jaake wahi karna hai.” He sighed.

“Okay, but I’ll still say that you should think about it.” She smiled weakly at him.

“Taani!” He looked at her with a straight face.

“Okay sorry. What should we talk about?” She raised her hands.

“I don’t know. I have nothing to say.” He started the car.

“There is something you can help me with.” Taani paused to frame her words.

“Go ahead!”

“If you learn that I came here to keep a watch on you, how would you react?” She asked carefully.

“Why would you need to keep a watch on me?” He squinted.

“Presume kuch hai reason. Abhi bata how will you feel?” She asked.

“Pehle toh I’ll be mad ke tune seedha kyun nahi pucha. I would have answered truthfully.” He replied.

“Agar maine seedha puch liya hota toh tumhe jyada gussa aata. So I couldn’t. But now you found out. So what is your reaction?” She was adamant on her question.

“Yeh tera stupid question meko jyada gussa dila raha hai!” He glared at her. “Ask whatever you want to ask me!”

“Forget it! Ek simple question ka answer maanga tha bas!” She huffed.

“That wasn’t simple!” He looked at her dumbfounded.

“Maine bas pucha ki agar tujhe pata chalta ki main tum par nazar rakh rahi hoon toh tumhe kaisa lagega?” She gritted her teeth.

“Plain and simple answer, I won’t like it. Because it implies that you don’t trust me enough to ask me.” He answered.

“See! It was simple!” She pointed out and got out of the car as they reached the office.

“You’re sounding really dumb!” Rey picked up the pizza from the back seat and locked the car.

“That was a hypothetical question!” She sneered at him.

“Okay ma’am abhi please get back to your normal self. Let’s enjoy lunch together!” Rey snaked his arm around her waist and walked to his cabin.

“Taani.” Ayushman called her as he spotted her in the hallway.

“Yes?” Taani turned back to look at him.

“I have to discuss something with you.” Ayushman said, smiling weakly at Rey.

“Lunch time hai. Give her a break!” Rey sneered at him.

“I know and I’m really sorry, but it’s urgent.” Ayushman looked at Taani.

“Sure, I’ll join you guys in the canteen.” Taani told Ayushman.

“Kaam hote rahega. Please kuch kha le!” Rey squeezed her in his arms and left her.

“Yeah.” Taani nodded at him and walked with Ayushman to the canteen.

“You didn’t tell me that you were dating Rey.” Ayushman looked at her.

“Yeh topic kabhi aaya hi nahi.” She smiled at him. “I mean it’s not a secret that I’m engaged to Rey.”

“His engagement still seems like a secret.” He chuckled.

“Matlab?” Taani squinted.

“Rey uske Instagram pe sab post karta hai aur usne engagement ka kuch nahi dala. So, this news is a little surprising to me.” He explained.

“We had decided to not post anything about it.” Taani cooked up a lie. She didn’t want anyone to know what turn their lives had taken on the night of their engagement.

“Congratulations man!” Ayushman smiled warmly at her.

“Thank you.” She returned his smile.

…

“Good morning.” Arjun chuckled as Purvi got out of her room.

“Tu aaj office nahi gaya?” Purvi asked, checking the time on her phone.

“Yes it indeed is afternoon.” Arjun shook his head. “Tu itni der tak kaise so rahi thi?”

“Kal raat ko neend nahi aa rahi thi.” Purvi replied and walked to the kitchen counter.

“Chai?” He asked.

“Yeah!” She nodded.

Arjun walked to the dining table with two cups of tea. Purvi followed him and sat in a chair opposite to him.

“I’ve taken a leave for three days.” He informed her.

“Kyun?” She furrowed her brows.

“Tu tera kaam chodke merese milne aa sakti hai toh main office se chutti toh le hi sakta hoon.” He smiled at her.

“Mujhse yeh long distance nahi handle ho raha tha. Voh toh yahan aake pata chala ki I was terribly missing you.” She looked away and took a sip of the tea.

“Aur teko lagta hai ki main zara bhi miss nahi karta tujhe?” He looked at her.

“I’m sorry. This last month felt really lonely. We were barely speaking with each other aur wahan Taani bhi Rey ke saath busy thi. It all just creeped up on me.” She sniffed.

“Main iska blame tere pe daalunga.” He said, making her look at him. “Tu roz bas ek cheez ki ratt lagaye baithi thi ki meko vapas Mumbai aana chahiye. It started getting annoying!” He said truthfully.

“I know par tu mana karta tha aur mujhe lagta tha ki you are happier here aur tujhe kabhi vapas hi nahi aana hai.” She frowned.

“I am happy here but that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to be with you. This is just a phase and it will pass!” He held her hand and assured her.

“I know. I realized it the moment I hugged you yesterday.” She smiled at him.

“Matlab maine aaj faltu mein chutti li?” He bit his tongue and let out a soft chuckle.

“Abh chutti le hi li hai toh mujhe thoda Pune ghuma.” She replied tongue-in-cheek.

“Haan abhi tourist guide banna hi baaki hai mera.” He rolled his eyes.

“Toh aur kya kare?” She pouted.

“Ghar pe bohot kuch kar sakte hai.” He replied arching his brow.

“Arjun!” She glared at him.

“I meant..”

“I know what you meant!” She sneered, making him laugh.

“Accha theek hai ready hoja, kahin chalte hai.” He smiled at her.

“Great!” She jumped up in joy.

“Also, before I forget. Sorry for being an assh*le last night. I was mad at you.” He scrunched his nose and apologized.

“Don’t be.” She walked to him and gently pecked his lips. “And you’re not an assh*le.” She gave him a warm smile and left.

Two weeks passed by in a blur. Mansi had managed to convince Rey to postpone their academy project by a few weeks. Rey had reluctantly agreed to it and would always crib about it to Mansi and even Taani. Taani had learnt to ignore his rant. Whenever she did that Rey would purposely tell her that just because she was working on the college project he had agreed to it, which in turn would make her feel guilty and he would walk away saying that she shouldn’t have ignored his rant in the first place. Purvi returned back to Mumbai after spending some quality time with Arjun. They both made a promise to each other that they will meet every two weeks and spend the weekend together either in Mumbai or in Pune.

One evening Rey had come to a mall to buy headphones for himself where he saw Shivam in the billing line. He walked up to him.

“Hey.” Rey greeted him.

“Hi.” Shivam replied back. “Kaise ho?”

“I’m good. When did you come back?” Rey questioned.

“Bas kal hi. Bangalore gaya tha kaam ke silsile mein aur wahan maasi ne ruka liya for legit two weeks!” Shivam shook his head.

“Haan Taani bata rahi thi ki abh tak toh aajana chahiye tha. Why is he delaying and stuff?” Rey chuckled.

“Main jab yahan tha nahi tab toh tu roz hi ghar aata hoga, nahi?” Shivam mocked.

“Now that you asked..” Rey smirked.

“I don’t want to know the details!” Shivam rolled his eyes and walked to the counter.

“Alright, I won’t go into the details, but I did enjoy staying over for a couple of days.” Rey laughed seeing his annoyed face.

“F*ck off man!” Shivam groaned and gave his credit card to the cashier.

“You asked for it!” Rey asserted.

“Sir your card is not working.” The cashier told Shivam.

“Try swiping it. Chip ka kuch problem hua hai.” Shivam told him.

“Voh bhi try kiya.” He replied.

“Really? Shit! I’m not even carrying cash on me. Can you try again?” Shivam asked him.

The cashier tried again but the card wasn’t being identified by the machine.

“Here take this and headphones ka bhi saath hi bill kar dena.” Rey handed his card to the cashier.

“Rey, it’s fine. Main online order kar lunga.” Shivam opposed.

“Tu pehle card replacement ki order de.” Rey shook his head at him and asked the cashier to go ahead.

“I should have done it when the chip gave up. Par socha Mumbai aake karta hoon, but it completely slipped my mind.” Shivam chuckled.

“Tu kya wallet mein ek hi card leke ghumta hai?” Rey narrowed his eyes at him.

“Here you go.” The cashier handed them their separate bags.

“Thank you.” They both replied.

“Cash toh bohot kam hota hai and mera dusra card bhi damaged hai. So can’t use that.” Shivam looked away embarrassed.

“Kar kya raha hai tu apne cards ke saath?” Rey removed his wallet to put his card back in.

Shivam happened to look at him and he noticed a square wrapper in his wallet.

“Tujhe kya hua?” Rey asked, seeing his eyes wide open.

“Nothing!” Shivam looked away, trying to forget what he saw.

“Huh?” Rey squinted at him and closed his wallet. “Shit!” Rey closed his eyes shut as realization hit him.

“Don’t say anything. Let’s just forget that happened.” Shivam stopped him from saying anything.

“It’s not what you think. I mean it is, but..” Rey fumbled with words.

“Rey, honestly I’m trying to forget that I saw it in your wallet.” Shivam told him.

“Stop acting like you don’t carry one.” Rey sneered.

“Uh excuse me?” Shivam widened his eyes at him.

“Mere saamne ban mat. I found a packet of condoms in your room the other day.” Rey stated.

“Why were you snooping in my room?” Shivam squinted.

“Aunty ko kuch chahiye tha and she was sure it was in either of your rooms. Be glad ki Taani didn’t go to look in your room!” Rey mocked.

“Yeh knowledge apne tak hi rakhna.” Shivam told him.

“Yeah chill!” Rey chuckled.

“Thanks.” Shivam replied.

“Yeh kya double standards hai? Tere liye allowed hai but main nahi rakh sakta?” Rey squinted.

“You are engaged to my sister and that implies ki..” Shivam made an uncomfortable face.

“Sorry!” Rey understood. “But we haven’t. Yet!” Rey smirked making Shivam glare at him.

“I’m leaving!” Shivam turned.

“Arre ruk please.” Rey stopped him. “Mujhe thodi help chahiye.”

“Kya?” Shivam asked.

“I need to collect some stuff from Hamleys. Bohot jyada boxes hai so if you can help me carry them to my car, that’ll be great.” Rey requested.

“Sure!” Shivam nodded. “Waise itna kya order kiya hai?”

“Kia ka birthday hai in three weeks toh uske liye gifts liye hai. Online hi karne wala tha order but delivery ke liye aadhe items unavailable the.” Rey rolled his eyes.

“Tu birthday ke liye Melbourne nahi ja raha?” Shivam asked.

“Of course ja raha hoon.” Rey replied back.

“Toh wahan jaake bhi you can buy gifts for her.” 

“I know. Isiliye bas thode hi liye hai which I can carry. Baaki sab wahan lene wala hoon.” Rey grinned.

“You are going to spoil her.” Shivam shook his head.

“I’m allowed to!”

They walked into Hamleys and Rey gave his order details to the person at the counter. They were asked to wait till he fetched all the boxes. They both nodded and started walking through the store passing their time.

“Mummy please. Chahiye mujhe yeh.” A kid wailed in the distance.

“Yuv, dono mein se ek hi milega. Aur agar chillaoge toh kuch bhi nahi buy karungi main.” His mother warned him, making him cry more.

Shivam walked in the direction of the voice and reached the last aisle where this four-five year old boy was arguing with his mother. Shivam looked at them and his eyes widened in shock.

“Sneha?” Shivam looked at her.

“Oh hey Shivam.” Sneha smiled at him.

“Mumma please na.” Yuv walked behind her carrying both the toys in his hand.

“Yuv, zid mat karo.” Sneha told him.

“Tumne kabhi bataya nahi that you have a kid.” Shivam asked Sneha.

“This topic never came up.” She smiled back.

“What’s his name?” Shivam looked at him.

“He is asking you your name.” Sneha looked at Yuv.

“Yuvraj Kapoor.” Yuv replied with a grin.

“Hi, I’m Shivam, nice to meet you.” Shivam forwarded his hand. Yuv shook it.

“Tum yahan?” Sneha asked.

“Rey ke saath aaya hoon. Pata nahi kahan chala gaya vo.” He looked around.

“You look for him. Main isse leke chalti hoon warna isko kuch aur dikh jaayega.” Sneha chuckled lightly.

“Sure.” Shivam smiled at her and waved a bye to Yuv.

“Yahan kya kar raha hai?” Rey walked up to Shivam.

“Nothing.” He hung his head low and sighed.

“Isn’t that Sneha?” Rey squinted to see if he was correct. “And who is with her?”

“That’s her son.” Shivam replied.

“I didn’t..” Rey stopped as he realized something. “Oh shit. I’m sorry man.” He looked at Shivam.

“What?” Shivam looked up at him.

“You like her na?”

“Yeah.” Shivam confessed.

“I wasn’t expecting you to agree.” Rey widened his eyes.

“She is our age aur uska chaar saal ka bachcha hai. How was I supposed to know that?” Shivam sulked.

“At least you didn’t go out on a whim and ask her out. Imagine voh kitna awkward hota.” Rey tried to show him the bright side.

“Are you done? Mujhe nikalna hai.” Shivam asked.

“Haan, isiliye teko bulane aaya tha main.” Rey replied.

Shivam helped Rey carry the boxes to his car and then got in his car and left. Rey too drove off. On reaching home, he called Taani.

“I’ve been waiting for your call.” Taani answered.

“Tu bhi kar sakti hai call.” Rey squinted at her.

“Tum bahar the. I didn’t want to call you when you were driving.” She explained.

“Hmn..” He nodded.

“Got all that you wanted?” She asked.

“Yeah!” He replied.

“What’s up with you?” She could tell that he was hesitating to ask something.

“Shivam ghar aaya?” He asked.

“Bhai bahar gaye hai to buy a hard drive I guess.” Taani thought.

“Yeah I met him there.” Rey answered.

“Toh kyun pooch rahe ho unke baare mein?” She furrowed her eyes.

“Wahan hume Sneha mili..”

“I have a feeling that bhai likes her. He is not admitting to..”

“He admitted!” Rey interrupted her.

“Really?” Taani’s eyes sparked up.

“But..”

“But?” She frowned.

“We saw her with her four year old kid.” He informed her.

“What? She’s married?” She widened her eyes in shock.

“Yeah!” He nodded.

“Bhai?”

“He didn’t tell me much, but he looked upset. Toh tu uss se baat kar lena.”

“Haan, but I don’t think ki voh abhi tak aaye hai ghar.” Taani informed.

“Must be on his way then.”

“I still don’t believe this. Usne kabhi bataya bhi nahi.”

“She was working with us. Apni personal life kyun share karegi voh?” Rey made her understand.

“Haan par..” She sighed. “I feel bad for bhai.”

“Same. Upar se engagement ke time se usse bohot tease kiya hai Sneha ke naam se. And now I feel horrible about it.” Rey held his head.

“Don’t! None of us knew about it. Khud ko blame karke kya hoga abh?” Taani shrugged her shoulders.

“You’re right!” He nodded.

“When are you leaving?” She asked.

“Probably next week.” He answered.

“Okay.”

“Kal office mein milta hoon. Abhi Maa dinner ke liye bula rahi hai.” Rey heard Juhi call him.

“Main nahi aa rahi kal. Sirf Ayushman aa raha hai to complete the paperwork.”

“Oh..”

“Haan abhi yeh project khatam toh SRS mein mera aana jana bhi khatam.”

“I’ll miss seeing you around.”

“Excuse me?”

“In the office re.” Rey chuckled and shook his head.

“Rey!” Juhi called Rey.

“Abhi jao, warna aunty upar aake hum dono ko chillayegi.” Taani chuckled hearing her voice.

“Yeah. Bye!”

“Bye!”

…

“Bhai?” Taani knocked on his door.

“Kya hua?” Shivam answered from inside.

“Mumma ne call kiya tha. Unhe late hone wala hai. She has asked us to have dinner.” She informed.

“Tum kha lo mujhe bhook nahi hai.” He told her.

“Fine. I’ll wait till she comes.” Taani walked away and went to her room balcony.

Shivam shook his head and got up from his bed and went to the balcony knowing very well that she would be there.

“Kya hua?” He asked her.

“Mujhe akele nahi khana.” She sulked.

“Theek hai chal.” He asked her to get up.

“Par bhook nahi hai. Mumma aane tak ruke?” She looked at him.

“Sure.” He sat in the bean bag opposite to her.

“Aapki Siddo se baat hoti hai?” She asked.

“Nahi kyun?” He furrowed his brows.

“Voh bata raha tha ki usne ek project ke liye Armaan bhai se modelling karwayi. Aur bhi bohot annoy kar raha hai voh unhe.” She laughed.

“Pagal hai yaar voh poora. No wonder voh humesha bolta tha ki he misses his college best friend a lot.” Shivam smiled.

“Oh yeah, I completely forgot about that.” Taani nodded. “Inn sab ki life kitni happening thi yahan Mumbai mein.”

“Tu humesha books mein khoyi rehti thi warna Jodhpur mein bhi life was pretty happening.” Shivam smirked.

“Aapko bada experience hai.” She squinted.

“Tujhe Juno ki cousin yaad hai?” Shivam asked.

“Elakshi?” Taani furrowed her brows together.

“Haan.” He nodded.

“She was very annoying. Juno humesha usse gaali deta rehta tha.” She chuckled.

“Well, I dated her for a while back then.” He said scratching the back of his neck.

“No way!” She widened her eyes in surprise. “Why?”

“I agree she was a little high maintenance, but I was young. And naïve, to think about logical things.” He explained himself.

“Chee yaar bhai, such a bad choice!” Taani scrunched her nose in disgust.

“Hey don’t judge now. I had met her two years ago jab main Delhi gaya tha. She had really changed.” He smiled at the memory.

“Bhai no! You’re not getting back with her!” She warned him.

“Relax, I’m not.” He chuckled.

“So, are you seeing anyone right now?” She questioned.

“No.” He sighed, pressing his lips together.

“Really?” She raised her brow.

“Really!” He nodded.

“You know I thought you were interested in Sneha.” She looked at him.

“I was, but I can’t do anything about it.” He shrugged his shoulders.

“Bhai you dated Elakshi, you can certainly do something about this!”

“She’s married!” He told her.

“Ohh! Are you sure though?” She coaxed.

“I saw her with her son today!”

“Isiliye mood down hai?” She asked.

“Tujhe pata tha na?” He questioned.

“Huh?” She looked at him surprised.

“Rey told you that we met Sneha today, right?” He squinted.

“He might have said something.” She confessed meekly.

“Seedhe mujhse aake baat nahi kar sakti thi? Itni baat gol ghumane ki kya jarurat thi?” He rolled his eyes at her.

“Seedhe aake puchti toh Elakshi ke baare mein kaise pata chalta.” She bit her tongue.

“Pagal!” He shook his head.

“Aap theek hai?” She genuinely asked him.

“I’ll be fine.” He smiled.

“Taani? Shivam? Kahan ho tum dono?” They heard Tanya’s voice and came out to meet her.

“Kya hua?” Shivam asked her.

“Tum dono ne dinner kyun nahi kiya abh tak?” She frowned at them.

“Hum aapka wait kar rahe the. Hai na bhai?” Taani smiled.

“Chalo abhi garam karo khana. Main fresh hoke aati hoon.”

“Yes mom!” They gave a fake salute and ran to the kitchen before Tanya could say anything.

“What in the world is all this?” Muskaan looked in disbelief at the three large bags Rey was carrying with him.

“Kia kahan hai?” Rey asked her.

“Hi. Hello. Kuch bolne aata hai?” Muskaan sneered at him.

“Hi Muski. Kaisi hai tu? Dikh toh theek hi rahi hai. Abh bata mera baby kahan hai?” Rey asked.

“Chal!” She gestured him to follow, muttering a curse under her breath.

“Tu akeli hi aayi?” He placed his bags in the car.

“Tere liye baaraat lau abhi?” She sneered.

“Gussa kyun ho rahi hai? Main bas puch raha hoon.” He pouted.

“Itna kya saamaan lekar aaya hai?” She asked.

“Ghar jaake dikhata hoon.” He got in the passenger’s seat.

“Waise tu itne jaldi kaise aagaya?”

“Meri favorite niece ka birthday hai. Main kyun late aau?”

“Only niece!”

“Only toh aise bol rahi hai jaise tera dusra baby aane hi nahi wala kabhi.” Rey chuckled.

“Tujhe bada interest hai. Khud apna kyun nahi banata?” She sneered.

“Main akele toh nahi bana sakta na.” He gave her an innocent look making her laugh.

“Toh, teri fiancée ka kya kehna hai iss trip ke baare mein?”

“Thodi gussa thi. But she knows how much I love Kia, toh maan gayi on one condition ki main usse roz call karunga!” He smirked.

“Kitna harami hai tu. Usse bhi saath lata.”

“Chutti milni chahiye na usse behen.” He retorted.

“Accha one heads up, mom is going to bombard you with questions related to Armaan ki shaadi ke preparations. So be ready!”

“Arre yaar.” He groaned. “Bola tha maine pehle hi ki lagne wali hai hum sabki.”

“Good luck bro!” She patted his shoulders.

“Oh, tera pati ghar pe hoga iss waqt?”

“It’s nine in the night. Obviously ghar pe hai!”

“Great! Usse do chamat lagane hai! Uss idiot ke wajah se sabne mera jeena haram kar rakha tha.” He cursed Rahul.

“Well uss idiot ki wajah se tera pair completely theek hua hai.” She glared at him.

“Chup reh, tu meri side hai!”

“Tera kuch nahi ho sakta!” Muskaan shook her head.

“Kia! Mera bachcha!” Rey ran to her and picked her up as soon as he entered the house.

Kiara started laughing on recognizing him.

“You recognized me?” He cooed at her, making her giggle.

“Humse bhi miloge?” Rahul mocked.

“Tu toh durr hi reh!” Rey sneered at Rahul and walked to Ananya.

“Yeh aaj kisi ke bhi paas nahi ja rahi thi.” Ananya said in awe.

“Uska favorite mamoo hoon main. Mere se kya problem hogi iss piddi ko.” He lightly pinched her nose.

“O bhaisahab apni bags lao gaadi mein se. Main nahi lane wali.” Muskaan entered and shouted at Rey.

“Bua, yeh bohot harami ho gayi hai.” Rey complained at Ananya.

“Rey language!” Muskaan and Rahul retorted at the same time.

“Isko kya pata chalne wala hai?” Rey pouted.

“We are trying to get her to say her first word.” Rahul told him. “So be careful with your words when she is around.

“Tum dono tension mat lo, yeh kaam main kar dunga! Kia ka first word hoga mamoo!” Rey wiggled his brows at Kiara.

“Bilkul bhi nahi! First word will be mumma!” Muskaan retorted.

“Muskaan, tera first word bhi mamoo hi tha. Rann had made sure of it. So I won’t be surprised agar Kiara ka bhi first word same nikle.” Ananya chuckled.

“Kya party change karti ho yaar aap! Kal tak toh badi gaali de rahi thi aap isse aur abhi uski side ho gayi?” Muskaan narrowed her eyes and flared her nostrils.

Kiara started wailing in Rey’s hand and looked at Muskaan.

“Bhook lagne pe hi mere paas aana hota hai na tujhe?” Muskaan picked her up and went to her room to feed Kiara.

“Rey tu bhi jaake jara haath muh dho le. Dinner lagati hoon tere liye.” Ananya told him.

“Haan bua bags lekar aata hoon.” Rey smiled.

“Rahul lekar aajayega. Tu ja upar.”

“What the hell?” Rahul protested.

“Serves you right for making my life hell!” Rey mocked Rahul and ran up to his room.

“Tu ruk beta tujhe batata hoon!” Rahul sneered looking at Rey.

…

“What the hell?” Taani looked at her phone in disbelief. “Ruk main bhi dekhti hoon phone kaise nahi uthata!” Taani cursed and called Rey again. “Kiara ke saath photo upload karne ka time hai, but ek call nahi kar sakta!” She muttered as the call was not answered again. “Arre?” She flared her nostrils and redialed.

“Oh my God! Can you just chill?” Rey finally answered the call.

“No I won’t!” Taani retorted. “Kabse call kar rahi hoon main!”

“Naha raha tha.” Rey placed his phone on the table and walked a few steps back to pick the towel he had dropped on his way out of the bathroom.

“Itni raat ko..” Taani stopped mid-sentence as her eyes landed on his pelvic region, which if he took a step back, she could see in all its glory.

“Mann hua. Koi problem?” He fastened the towel around his waist. “Oh hello?” He waved his hand in front of the camera when she didn’t respond.

“Haan?” Taani got out of the trance. “Voh main bol rahi thi ki..”

“Tu chilla rahi thi mere pe. Twenty missed calls kaun deta hai?” He glared at her.

“Ek story daal dete mujhe ki call raat ko karoge.” She said.

“What?” He furrowed his brows.

“I mean message.” Taani shook her head.

“Tu theek toh hai na?” He squinted.

“Not after what I just witnessed.” She mumbled to herself.

“You’re acting weird!” Rey shook his head and walked to the bed to empty his clothes from the bag to the wardrobe.

Taani’s eyes were glued to him as he moved to and fro from the bed and the wardrobe. She scanned his body neck down to the towel around his lower waist. It accentuated his V-line and she gulped as her mind started painting graphic imaginations.

“Can you put on some clothes please?” She whispered.

“Kyun, meko aise dekh kar kuch ho raha hai?” He smirked.

“Rey!” She glared at him while maintaining a straight face.

“Oh come on, you’re clearly enjoying looking at this.” He pointed at himself and posed.

At that very instance, his towel fell down and her eyes popped out seeing him naked. Her phone slipped out of her hand and fell flat on the bed. Rey quickly pulled the towel and fastened it back, around his waist. He walked to his phone and picked it up. He saw that the call was still on but all that he could see was a pitch black screen. He kept the phone back down and quickly got dressed.

“Taani, you there?” He asked after a while.

She picked up the phone and nodded at him.

“Did your new project start?” Rey asked diverting the topic.

“Haan voh abs.. tract room ke liye designs banane hai.” She managed to say.

“What exactly is an abs-tract room?” Rey smirked.

“Shut the f*ck up!” Taani covered her eyes with her hand and started laughing.

“Liked what you saw?” He wiggled his brows at her.

“Have you been working out? Lean ho gaye ho.” She replied ignoring his implication.

“Yeah, I’m finally getting those abs right!” He said proudly.

“Abs ke chakkar mein don’t exert yourself.”

“You clearly liked ogling at them and God knows what else!”

“Now I feel ki you purposely dropped the towel.” She sneered at him.

“If I had to do that on purpose I would do it in person.” He retorted back.

“Rey stop it!” She gritted her teeth.

“Sorry.” He apologized. “Dinner kiya?”

“Abhi kahan? There’s still time. Tera ho gaya?”

“Haan kabka. Abhi sone hi aaya tha room mein toh socha shower le loon aur tere calls chalu huye!”

“You promised me ki roz call karoge and yahan first day pe hi mere calls ignore kar rahe the tum. Toh mujhe gussa aaya.” She pouted.

“Yaar mann kar raha hai phone mein ghus jau.” He looked at her face.

“Tere iraade kuch theek nahi lag rahe hai mujhe.” She squinted.

“Abh kya bolu. Akele sone pakta hai.” He pouted.

“Why did you have to go so early? Kia ka birthday is almost a week and a half away.” She sulked.

“Don’t make me feel guilty about it now. Tu Geetika ke birthday ke liye jayegi tabhi I swear I won’t complain even a bit!”

“I’m not mad at you for going. It’s just..”

“I know.” He smiled.

“Rey?” Rahul knocked on his door and entered.

“Haan?” Rey looked up at him.

“Yeh le tere ear plugs. Use kar lena, if needed.”

“Thanks.”

“Good night.” Rahul left.

“How sweet of him.” Taani smiled.

“Isme sweet kya? He just doesn’t want to be woken up in the middle of the night when I look around for these.” Rey chuckled.

“Tujhe kisiko acknowledge karne mein kya problem hoti hai?” Taani sneered at him.

“It’s Rahul yaar. Uss se agar do din normally baat karu toh voh saamne se aake puchta hai if I’m okay.”

“Enough now! Abh soja. You look exhausted.” She told him.

“Not at all.” He stifled a yawn.

“Yeah I can see that.” She shook her head.

“Bye. I’ll call you tomorrow.” He smiled.

“Bye. Love you!”

“Love you too!”

“Say mamoo. Ma-moo.” Rey enunciated.

“Kiara, say mumma.” Muskaan coaxed her.

“Mamoo!” Rey glared at Muskaan.

“Mumma!” Muskaan glared back.

The both started arguing amongst themselves. Kiara wailed getting their attention back to her.

“Enough you two!” Rahul shouted at them and picked Kiara up. He pacified her and finally she stopped crying.

“Kya hua?” Ananya came out of her room on hearing the commotion.

“Inn dono se poocho!” Rahul glared at Rey and Muskaan.

“Tum dono phir se jhagad rahe the?” Ananya folded her arms.

“Isko na tum sabne sar pe chadha rakha hai!” Muskaan cursed Rey and sat down on the couch in the living room.

“Main bas Kia ko bol raha tha to say mamoo. Isko beech mein apni taang ladani thi!” Rey huffed and sat across Muskaan.

“Bas karo yaar tum dono. Bachche nahi ho abh.” Ananya sighed as she saw them shooting daggers at each other. “Accha Rey abhi do din ke liye kahan ja raha hai tu?” She asked him.

“Haan voh thoda kaam hai.” Rey answered.

“Aur tere yeh jo parcel aa rahe hai unka kya karna hai?” Rahul asked.

“Mere kaha hai. Voh sab Kia ke liye hai.” He bit back his laughter on seeing their horrified faces.

“Ek saal ki hai voh. Iss sab ka kya karegi?” Ananya scolded him.

“Bua yaar please. Aap chillao nahi.” He pouted. “First birthday hua toh kya hua. She can definitely play with a lot of the things in it.”

“I’m so glad ki tu yahan nahi rehta. Warna kya bigaad ke rakhta tu isse.” Rahul chuckled and Kia too started laughing seeing his face.

“Idhar la.” Rey asked Rahul to hand Kiara to him. “Mamoo ko daant pad rahi hai aur teko hasi aa rahi hai?” He pinched her nose and wiggled it making her laugh more.

“She really loves listening to your voice.” Muskaan smiled at him.

“Itni jaldi kyun badi ho gayi tu?” He laid her down on his lap.

“Aa aa.” Kiara stretched her hands towards Rey asking him to play with her.

“Iss waqt khelna hai?” He sneered making her giggle.

“Tum dono khelo, main chala sone. I have an operation scheduled early morning tomorrow.” Rahul turned on his heels.

“Dekha Kia, abhi mamoo aagaya toh papa ne saari responsibility mere pe daaldi.” Rey moved her hands around.

“Ma-ma.” Kiara said, gaining everyone’s attention.

“Did she just?” Muskaan looked at them.

“Yes she did!” Rey grinned back at her.

“Her first word is mumma!”

“Her first word is mama!”

Muskaan and Rey yelled at the same time.

“She said mum-aa!” Muskaan argued.

“Mama boli voh!” Rey retorted.

“Kiara, phir se bolo. Mumma!” Muskaan coaxed her.

“Mama bolo Kia.” Rey looked at her.

“Ma-ma.” Kiara repeated.

“See, mumma boli voh!” Muskaan jumped up with joy.

“Chal nikal yahan se. Mama boli voh!” Rey argued with Muskaan.

“Tum dono ka hogaya ho toh hum khushi manaye ki she finally said her first word?” Ananya glared at them and took Kiara in her arms.

“Tujhe aur koi word nahi mila tha na.” Rahul placed a kiss on her forehead. Kiara giggled in response.

“Her first word is mama. And you’re not taking that away from me!” Rey said with gritted teeth to Muskaan.

“Chal nikal! Everyone heard mumma!” Muskaan looked at Ananya and Rahul.

“Mom I’m off to sleep. Good night.” Rahul quickly exited from there.

“Mujhe bhi bohot need aa rahi hai. Tum dono bhi jaake so jao. It’s getting late.” Ananya handed Kiara to Muskaan and quickly went to her room.

“What the f..” Rey stopped himself. “Good night bachcha.” Rey kissed her hands. “Aur teri mumma kuch bhi bole, but we both know that you said mama!” Rey went up to his room.

On reaching his room, he quickly pulled out his phone and started typing.

Rey posted a story on Instagram.

Armaan took a screenshot and posted on his story.

Muskaan reposted on her account.

Armaan put up another story with a poll.

“Oh my God! This is gonna be fun!” Taani replied to Armaan and shared the story with Rey.

“Rey I’m late for work. Abhi baat nahi kar paungi.” Taani rushed out of her house.

“Main baad mein nahi baat kar sakta.” Rey told her.

“Then we’ll talk tomorrow. Bye. Love you.”

“Bye.” Rey disconnected the call.

“When are you returning?” Ananya asked Rey.

“Kal raat ko.” He informed.

“Aur kahan ja raha hai?”

“Bua kaam se ja raha hoon. I swear Kia ke liye aur gifts nahi buy karne wala hoon main.” He chuckled.

“Theek hai. Dhyaan rakh apna. Bohot patla hota ja raha hai.” She scolded.

“Bua not again yaar." Rey wailed. "I’m leaving. Meri Uber bhi aagayi hai.” He quickly left the house.

Rey got in the Uber and left for the airport. On reaching, the first thing he did was turn on flight mode on his phone. He sat in the waiting area after completing all the boarding formalities.

“Taani ko call kar diya. Baaki kisika bhi koi message tha nahi. And phone is also on flight mode. I’m set!” He muttered to himself.

“All passengers traveling to Sydney please proceed to board the plane.” Rey heard the announcement and got up

“Time to shut the drama once and for all!” Rey boarded the plane.

…

“I’m happy to meet you again Rey!”

“Let’s not beat around the bush and just get to the point Steve!” Rey eyed him.

“Okay!” Steve nodded. “I assume you’ve got the money then?”

“Have you signed on those papers yet?” Rey asked.

“You haven’t agreed to my condition yet.” Steve told him.

“You had the audacity to send another notice to D3 knowing very well that you will lose the case if we decided to fight it. I offered to settle it between us. What else do you want?” Rey glared at him.

“I had to take back the previous case because of what you guys did. SSD had to face public humiliation because of your stunt. The money that I’ve demanded is for all the loss we have suffered. And don’t act like you are doing some favor. If a case is filed, you won’t be able to launch your academy until the end of next year!” Steve sneered at Rey.

“So it’s in both our interest to settle it out. What else do you want to sign those papers?”

“You need to do a workshop with our instructors and teach them one of your routines which is not out yet.” Steve pulled out the contract papers. “You agree to do that. And I’ll sign these papers.”

“Fine! Just sign those papers. I just want to get done with it.” Rey agreed.

“So a workshop in thirty minutes?” Steve asked.

“Right now?” Rey furrowed his brows. “It’s late. Plus I’ll have to dig one routine up for you.”

“Okay then tomorrow morning?”

“Sure.” Rey agreed.

Steve signed on the papers and handed them over to Rey. Rey checked the clause on it which said that SSD faced losses due to resignation of five of its instructors who joined D3 and has agreed to accept the monetary compensation from D3.

Rey checked into a hotel room feeling awful for keeping this secret from everyone. He had managed to hide the calls he made and the emails he sent to Steve from Sharon and Swayam. And wished for this to stay buried. He even paid Steve from his personal account to keep the transaction concealed. He just wanted the next day to get over as soon as possible and return back to Melbourne.

Rey woke up the next morning and went to SSD to conduct the workshop. As the session progressed his love for dance took over all the other emotions he was feeling and he gave his hundred percent to it. He was enjoying dancing after a long time. He just wanted to keep doing this.

“It was a great session. I hope you all enjoyed it.” Rey concluded.

“It was amazing mate!” One of them high-fived Rey on his way out.

“Oh God I’m winded. I need to build up my stamina. Ek workshop ne meri halath kharab kar di. I feel so out of form.” Rey muttered to himself while breathing heavily.

“All I heard were praises for you.” Steve entered. “Do you want to join us?” He smirked.

“What I want is to never cross paths with you ever again.” Rey was blunt.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m done with you guys!” Steve retorted.

Rey forced a smile and walked out from there.

“I have six hours on my hand. Kya karu?” Rey wondered, getting into a cab. “Hotel jaake ek ghanta gym mein bhaagta hoon. I have to get back in shape!”

He reached his hotel in some time and directly went to the gym. He went on the treadmill and started running. His guilt of lying to everyone was creeping up to him. He increased the speed to just run away from it.

“Ah f*ck!” Rey slipped off the treadmill and lay behind it.

The trainer present there rushed to him.

“I’m fine.” Rey sat up straight and took in deep breaths to calm his racing heart.

“Do you want me to call a doctor for you mate?” The trainer asked him.

“No I’m good. I didn’t get hurt.” Rey told him.

“Okay.” He walked away still keeping an eye on Rey.

Rey picked himself up and went to his room. He hit the bed as soon as he entered.

“I regret coming here!” He sighed. “But I had no other choice.” He explained himself and fell asleep in no time.

He woke up to the phone ringing in his ears.

“Hello sir, your ride is here.” The receptionist informed him.

“Ride?” Rey got up and sat at the edge of his bed.

“You had asked to call for a ride to the airport at six.” She told him.

“What’s the time?” He looked around.

“It’s five fifty.” She informed.

“Thanks. I’ll be downstairs in five minutes.” Rey kept the phone down and sprinted out of the bed.

He splashed water on his face to get rid of his drowsiness. He swiftly packed his bag and rushed out.

…

“Hi Kia. Kya badmaashi chal rahi hai?” Taani waved at her.

“Yeh itni shaani hogayi hai ki jab Muski aur main saath hote hai tabhi bas ma-ma ma-ma karti rehti hai. Akele mein kabhi kuch nahi bolti. Mujhe toh lag raha hai ki isse maza aata hai jab hum jhagadte hai.” Rey shook his head.

“Tum kya poora din Kia ke saath khel rahe the?” Taani squinted at Rey.

“Kyun?” He furrowed his brows.

“Look at your eyes. Aisa lag raha hai ki soye nahi ho do din se.” She shook her head.

“Haan voh kal neend nahi aayi barabar.” He told her.

“Kyun?”

“Pata nahi.” He shrugged.

“Aaj office mein kya mazze kiye humne.” She smiled recalling it.

“Aisa kya kiya?” He asked.

“Meri ek colleague hai Adah..”

“Jaan leva ada, na na na na ada, maar daale na.” He sang absentmindedly.

“Bade gaane sujh rahe hai.” She sneered.

“Sorry. Tu kya bol rahi thi?” He asked her to continue.

“Forget it. It’s nothing.” She sulked.

“Arre?”

“You spoiled my flow!” She pouted.

“Kya kiya Adah ne?” He coaxed her.

“Kuch nahi. She was ogling over Ayushman and he caught her.” She replied disinterested.

“Kya hua?” He narrowed his eyes at her.

“I don’t know. You seem different today.” She replied.

“Probably. I’m sleep deprived.” He made something up.

“Toh go to sleep. We can talk tomorrow.” She smiled.

“I’m fine.”

“Dekh Kia ko bhi neend aa rahi hai.” Taani said when she saw Kiara yawn. “Usse bhi sula aur tu bhi soja.”

“Yes ma’am. Aur kuch?” He curled his lips into a smile.

“Haan.” She nodded. “I miss you.”

“Taani!” He groaned.

“Sorry. I know we decided that we won’t talk about this par..” She sulked.

“I’ll see you soon luv.” He assured her.

“It has been so long since you said that!” She gave him a dreamy smile.

“Remember the time when you hated it.” He chuckled.

“I never hated it. Bas weird lagta tha. But I grew into it.” She smiled.

“Kia!” Rey scolded her when she suddenly pulled on his dog tags.

“She is demanding your attention.” She chuckled.

“Isko neend aa rahi hai.” He informed Taani when he saw Kiara rub her eyes.

“Main kabse bol rahi hoon so jao!” Taani shook her head.

“Yeah! I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Bye!”

“Happy birthday Kia!” Armaan shouted, entering into her room.

“Bhai yaar!” Rey ran behind him. “Main yahan do week se ruka hoon. You can’t just swoop in and wish her.” He glared at Armaan.

Kiara started wiggling in her crib as soon as she heard Rey’s voice.

“Mere wish karne pe yeh itni khush nahi huyi jitni abh ho rahi hai.” Armaan frowned.

“You deserve it!” Rey sneered at Armaan and picked her up.

“Rey put her back down.” Muskaan glared at him.

“You can’t be still mad at me.” Rey frowned.

“Chalo neeche, everyone is waiting.” Rannvijay walked into the room.

“Mamoo aap chalo main Kiara ko lekar aati hoon.” Muskaan told him.

“You’re still upset about the poll?” Armaan asked her.

“Everyone voted for him!” Muskaan glared at Rey. “Mamoo and maami were the only ones who voted for me!”

“That’s not true!” Rey countered.

“Poll results pe tu hi sabse jyada uchla tha!” She sneered.

“Bhai posted the results. Agar voh nahi karte toh hume pata bhi nahi chalta. In fact, he put up the poll in the first place. So he should be the one who you should be really angry at!” Rey pointed at Armaan.

“Muskaan, Rahul, what’s taking so long?” Juhi called from downstairs.

Muskaan walked down with Kiara in her arms. The rest of them followed her down the stairs. She walked into the living room where a zoom meeting was set up. She could see everyone on the TV screen.

“Happy birthday Kiara.” They all wished in unison

Kiara got startled hearing their voices and snuggled into Muskaan’s arms.

“Muskaan, yeh toh tere se bhi jyada darpok nikli.” Sid chuckled.

“Your voices sounded like a loud disturbance!” Muskaan rolled her eyes at his comment.

“Tum sab baate karne mat baith jao. Pehle cake cut karo!” Sara yelled.

“Ruk main lata hoon bahar.” Rey went to the kitchen.

“Before we cut the cake, we have a game to play!” Muskaan handed Kiara to Rahul and walked to the laptop which was connected to the TV.

“Oh great! I’m excited!” Sharon chirped.

“Pehle sun toh le.” Muskaan smirked.

“Itna footage mat kha. Tera birthday nahi hai.” Nikki giggled.

“I have a question for you guys.” She looked at the screen. “Which one of you voted for me on the poll that Armaan had put up?” She asked.

“Cake is here!” Rey walked out of the kitchen. “Itni shanti kyun hai?”

“Come on Sharon, you answer first.” Muskaan smirked.

“That was just a stupid poll.” Sharon looked away from the camera.

“I voted for you!” Taani said proudly.

“Dhokebaaz!” Rey muttered.

“Me too!” Sid replied.

“We as well!” Abhi and Nikki grinned.

“I didn’t vote for anyone. Does that count?” Riri asked.

“Traitor number two!” Rey sneered.

“Yes it does! And the rest of you?” Muskaan smiled sweetly at them.

“Rey!” The entirety of the D3 gang and Sara replied softly.

“See you all in ten minutes!” Muskaan smirked at them and kicked them out of the meeting.

“What was that?” Rey widened his eyes.

“Armaan, Rey and mom, tum teeno bhi OUT!” She pointed at the door.

“Tu bahar nikal ke dikha meko!” Rey challenged her and sat on the couch.

“I’m not kidding!” She sneered. “Yeh jo glass door hai, uske opposite side rahoge tum teeno!” She pointed to the door.

“Serves you right!” Sid burst out in laughter.

“What the hell was that?” Rey picked up Sharon’s call and soon everyone joined that call.

“Muskaan, yeh koi tareeka hota hai guests ko treat karne ka?” Vicky mocked.

“Exactly!” Simmi agreed. “Kiara ko kaise lagega when she’ll learn that her mother kicked out all the guests from her first birthday party?”

“Accha? And how will she feel when she comes to know that all of you thought that her first word wasn’t mumma?” Taani countered.

“She’ll be happy!” Sharon said.

“Haan! Kyunki uska first word was for her favorite mamoo.” Swayam said. “Sorry bhai.” He added.

“Meri toh value hi nahi hai!” Armaan sulked and sat next to Rey.

“Kiska idea tha video call ka?” Ananya slapped her forehead as they all started bantering amongst themselves.

They all stopped when they heard loud wails of Kiara crying hysterically.

“Enough yaar. Birthday ke din kya rula rahe ho meri princess ko.” Rey picked her up and pacified her.

“She is probably hungry.” Muskaan tried to pick her.

“No she’s annoyed because of the drama you created here!” Rey didn’t let her.

“Muskaan sorry. Hume toh laga tha ki Armaan bhai ne voh aise hi mazak mein dala tha. If you believe that she said mumma, then so do we.” Rinni apologized sweetly.

The others followed suit. Rey hung his mouth open in disbelief. He huffed and disconnected the call. Muskaan added everyone back on the main zoom call.

“Rey come on, be a sport. Abh aise muh phoola ke mat baitho.” Taani teased him.

“Tujhe toh main wapas aake dekh lunga.” He sneered at Taani.

“Uann.” Kiara wiggled in his arms.

“It’s way past her bedtime. Jaldi cake cut kar do and let her to sleep. Phir jitni marzi chahe lad lena!” Rannvijay lit the candles on the cake.

Muskaan forwarded her hand towards Rey. He rolled his eyes and handed Kiara over to her. Muskaan blew on the candles and held Kiara’s hand in hers and cut the cake. The rest of them sang happy birthday to her. Muskaan fed her a tiny bit of the cake and then went on feeding everyone. She reached Rey and he looked away making a face. Muskaan made Kiara hold the piece of the cake and forwarded her hand to Rey.

“Happy birthday.” He accepted it and kissed Kiara on her palms.

“Mamoo ke paas jana hai?” Muskaan looked at Kiara.

Kiara rubbed her eyes and rested her head on Muskaan’s shoulder.

“She is very sleepy. Usko sula upar jaake.” Rey told her.

Muskaan nodded and left with Kiara.

“Chalo abhi niklo yahan se sab. Party khatam!” Rey announced.

“Aise kaise? Party toh abhi shuru huyi hai!” Sid said.

“Haan na. Kia ka bedtime hua hai. Tera nahi!” Aashi retorted.

“Main tum logon ke liye apni neend nahi kharab karne wala!” Rey sneered.

“Voh tu bas Taani ke liye karta hai, nahi?” Swayam taunted. The others agreed to it.

“Maine kya bigaada hai? Why are you pulling me in the middle of this?” Taani frowned.

“We aren’t pulling you babah. You are right in the centre.” Nil pointed at his heart. “Right Rey?” He smirked.

“Rey was right. Party khatam ho gayi hai.” Taani sneered.

“Guys let them go yaar. Marre ja rahe hai ek dusre se baat karne ke liye.” Sara teased them.

“Kyun mere bachchon ko tang kar rahe ho tum sab?” Rannvijay stepped in.

“Thanks Paa!” Rey looked at him.

“Itne dino se ek dusre se mile nahi hai yeh dono. Cut them some slack!” He smirked shocking Rey and Taani.

They all burst out laughing at Rey and Taani’s expense.

Hello!

Firstly, I'd like to thank all of you for being patient with me. Last two months were truly hectic for me due to varied reasons. But, that doesn't mean ki aage ke nahi honge. So please aise hi supportive rehne
Secondly, I'd like to thank Amar for updating us with that amazing pic. That is such an apt one for this banner. I've never been so happy to see an image posted by him

Question of the update:

What was your first word as a baby?

Also, Mumma or Mama? What do you guys think?

: @taarey1025

Hit Like and Comment down below!

Posted: September 25, 2020

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