Unedited

Part - 2

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Your tears will shorten my life span so if you want me to live long and happy then you always smile!"

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Yash woke up to see his beautiful wife nestled in his arms. He tightened his arms and kissed the top of her head making her grunt for disturbing her sleep.

Smiling, he tried to move her off him so that he could start off his day but she protested.

"Sleep with me" Naira grumbled, burying her face deeper in his chest.

"Your dad was right. You are not a morning-person." He chuckled.

"But I am your person so adjust yourself to my pattern." She said lifting her head up and looking at him with sleepy eyes.

He cupped her cheeks and planted a gentle kiss on her lips. "Sleep well?"

"I was sleeping just fine but you woke me up... Too early."

"It's 9 already, sweetheart." He said brushing her loose hair aside and tucking it behind her ears.

"I got sleep only at 4."

"Alright. Sleep. Once you are up, come and join us for breakfast."

"Will join you guys directly for lunch"

Yash laughed heartily before asking her "Don't you wanna go to your home for Pag Phera ceremony?" A small reunion with her family would definitely make her mood better.

"Oh yeah!" Naira sat up excitedly. "I will go get ready then."

"Sure. You use this bathroom. I will use the guest bathroom." Though he wanted them to shower together he didn't mention about it yet as he didn't want to freak her out.

"Cool. I love you." She wrapped her arms around his neck and smooched him.

"You love me for what? Letting you use our ensuite bathroom?" He teased.

"No, for already adjusting with me."

"Ahaan"

"Yeah, my mom always says small adjustments and compromises make huge difference in marital life."

"I see." He smiled.

--0--

After taking a quick shower and getting ready in record time, Naira headed to the kitchen to make some breakfast for them.

"Sorry, I am late." Naira said as she entered the kitchen and found her husband making dosa and her mom in law was standing next to him and eating.

"Oh dear, don't apologize. After the wedding we all were tired so it's fair to get up late. Even I woke up half hour ago." Shwetha said to make her feel better. "Come on, grab a plate. Give the next dosa to her." She told her son.

"I will do this?" Naira asked her husband.

"No, it's fine. You eat." Yash gave her a plate with a paper thin dosa on it and then put some coconut chutney on it.

Naira looked around to find a spot to sit and eat.

"Since it was just the two of us we never bothered to eat in the dining room." Shwetha said reading her mind. "We cook together and eat here itself. If you are not comfortable to eat like this, let's go out..."

"No, mom, I am fine. It kinda feels nice to eat here..." If they go out to the dining room, her husband would be left alone in the kitchen and she didn't want that. "Can I sit here?" She asked pointing to the countertop.

"It's your home. It's your kitchen. So you don't have to ask permission for anything." Shwetha said. "And btw, that's exactly where Yash sits and eats daily."

"Well, now that he is cooking, I hope he won't mind me siting here"

"Not at all" he said with a smile. She hopped up and settled comfortably before taking her plate in hand and starting to eat.

He offered the next dosa to his mom and asked her to feed him.

"Oh boy! I got you married for a reason. Go ask your wife and give me, your poor mom a break." Shwetha chided her son.

"C'mere." Naira called him. Giving a look of disbelief to his mom, he moved to his wife and she fed him.

Shwetha adored them with a happy smile. She always worried about her son's future but that worry no longer existed.

--0--

At Kundra mansion,

Rishab and Inayat cooked breakfast in utter silence. Both of them looked dull, upset, and tired and their hands worked mechanically.

One, missing his daughter.
And the other, missing her husband. Veer had gone back to Kashmir earlier that morning.

"Ahhh" Inayat softly yelped when she touched a hot pan with her bare hands. Thankfully she didn't drop it on her body.

"Oh God, dammit!" Rishab swore before dragging Inayat to the sink and placing her hands under the running water tap.

"Iss" Inayat winced in pain as her eyes blurred with tears. He let her be there for a moment and went to get some burn heal ointment.

"Oh darling, what's happened to you, today? You were not focusing." He asked as he gently applied the ointment on her palms.

"Veer and I had a fight last night." Inyat confessed hiccuping. "He didn't talk to me while leaving. He was very angry."

Rishab had noticed that there was some tension going on between the two. When Inayat had told him to be safe while departing, Veer just gave her curt nod which was very unlikely. At that time, he had let it go as he had other things in mind but now he wanted to know the reason for their fight and try to help them sort it out.

"He is still angry on me, I think, otherwise he would have called me as soon as he landed there." Inayat cried.

"Stop crying and tell me what happened, Inaya maa." Rishab asked as he stroked her cheek with the back of his hand.

"I wanted to go to Kashmir next month but Veer restricted me..."

"Why would he do that?" Rishab asked confused. His son had never done that before. He had let her visit him whenever she felt like seeing him.

"Izzaan first death anniversary is coming next month. I want to be there... but Veer said no. We had an argument and disagreement."

"How dare he say no to your wish? It's your right to be there for your brother, to pay him respect. Can't he understand that simple thing?" Rishab sounded disappointed.

"No, Veer worries that I will go into depression again and that's why he wants me to stay home." Inayat hurriedly defended her husband.

"You would feel worse if you couldn't go to your brother's grave and put some flowers and offer prayers."

"That's right. That's what I told him too but he wasn't listening to me. He said he might be camping in Siachen glacier at that time and he might not come to support me. I don't know what to do now. I badly want to go there. I wasn't in my senses when everything happened. Veer only took care of my brother's funeral. So at least now I want to go there and pray for my Izzaan's soul to rest in peace..." Inayat couldn't speak further as her painful cry choked her.

"Oh baby, please, don't cry." Rishab awkwardly wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him. He worried that he might not like it but she willingly accepted his comfortung hug.

"I want to go there, abbu." Inayat unconsciously called him abbu for the first time.

"What did you say?" Rishab stepped back but held her arms and gently shock them insisting her to repeat her words. He was so delighted that she had finally accepted him as her father and called him 'abbu'

"I want to go there" she repeated.

"Not that! You called me abbu." He said in disbelief.

"Um.. Did I?" She asked hesitantly.

"Yes, you did." Rishab grinned.

"You don't mind me calling..."

"I love it. Call me again, please, Inaya maa?" He asked earnestly.

"Abbu"

"Yes. Yes."

"I want to go there. Please convince Veer for me, abbu."

"I will. I will tell him I will take you there and take care of you."

"You will?" Inayat asked in surprise. Now she was sure Veer wouldn't object her.

And right then, Inayat's phone started ringing.

"It's Veer, abbu"

"Seems like he is not angry with you." Rishab said and gestured her to answer the call.

"Hello"

"Flight delayed and I just landed." Veer said without any preamble.

"Oh" Inayat felt relieved that he made it there safe but started worrying again as it wasn't a safe place.

"Inayaa... I am sorry I was rude with you last night."

"Veer..."

"You're right. You have to be here for your brother. And I will be there for you. We will get through this together."

"Oh, Veer..." She turned around and walked a little away from Rishab and whispered "...I love you"

"Baby, I love you too. Well, I gotta go now. I will call you sometime later. Take care."

"Be safe"

"I will" his reply reassured her.

"Issue sorted?" Rishab asked seeing her happy face.

"Yes, abbu." She smiled brightly. "Oh Allah, I forgot to tell Veer that I started calling you 'abbu'. He was badly waiting for that moment."

"So was I" Rishab smiled and gave her a fatherly hug. "Always be happy, my dear daughter." Inayat smiled hearing that.

--0--

"Mom, wake up, mom. Wake up. I have got something special to share with you." Arjun kepted shaking his mother's shoulder and tried waking her up but it was a hard task.

"Arjun... Please... Let me sleep."

"Mom, you hear this first and then go back to sleep. I won't disturb you."

"Tell, I am hearing." Madhu said sleepily.

"Mom, sit up first." He forcefully made her sit and she glared at him.

"You and your dad are so heartless." She scolded. "Last night he didn't let me sleep and now you..."

"Why didn't he let you sleep? Where you guys romancing? That too whole night? At this age?" He made a face at that thought.

"Idiot!" Madhu slapped his arm. "He didn't let me sleep because he was crying all night missing his Honeybee and I had to comfort him."

"Oh I see. Even I miss Naira di"

"Oh my baby, I know you do but we should only think about her happiness." She hugged her son and patted his back. "Now, tell me what's this good news you are dying to share with me?"

"Mom, I wanted to share my happiness with you since yesterday but you were busy with Naira di's wedding and with guests and later with Veer bro so I couldn't tell you much before..."

"What is it, Arjun?" Madhu asked impatiently.

"Kathryn confessed her love to me, mom." He said excitedly.

"What!? Really?" Madhu asked wide eyed.

"Yes. She said she loved me so much. She came here for me and she was never going to leave me."

"Oh that's wonderful to hear. I am so happy for you, Arjun." She hugged him again.

"It was so unexpected you know." He still couldn't believe his girlfriend finally accepted her love for him. "She stumped me with her confession mom."

"I have been noticing some positive changes in her but her confession is quite frankly shocking to me as well." Madhu chuckled.

"Yeah"

"Your dad kept saying that she loves you like crazy but I failed to believe him." She regretted now for not taking her husband's word seriously. She was waiting for a clear, open and honest declaration from Kathryn that she loved her son with all her heart.

"Maybe dad knows it already. Maybe she told him much before than she told me."

"Hmm. Point. Otherwise he wouldn't have tried to convince me with such confidence."

"Anyways, I am ecstatic. She made me feel more alive."

"Good" Mom slid back on the bed and dragged her duvet up.

"Mom, don't go back to sleep. Naira di and Yash jijz will be coming here anytime soon."

"Oh yeah. I forgot." She sat up again and shuffled her duvet aside.

"Oh and I have invited Kathy for lunch" he informed her.

"Good. I have some probing to do."

"Don't scare her off."

"I won't"

"Good. I love you, mom" he kissed her cheek and left her room.

... To be continued!

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