Author's pov 

"Please welcome. " Mrs. Rajvanshi greeted the neighbors who came for the puja which was held in their house. 

Arthit's chachi  looking after the last-minute  preparation of puja. His Chachu was looking after the guests.

Mehak's mother and her brother couldn't come as they both went on a short trip . It was Manik's surprise for her mother.

Aanshi was in her room as she had a fever. Arthit was with her. It pains him to see his little girl so weak and red due to the fever.

Soon Sameer entered the house and as soon as he came to know about Aanshi's illness, he went straight towards her room.

"Hey," entering inside the room, he greeted his friend. 

Arthit nodded with a small smile. 

"How's she?" Sameer asked . He sat down on the other side of Aanshi and patted her head.

" 102 ⁰ F ...I just gave her the medicine. She fell asleep just some time ago." Arthit said as he kissed her hand. 

"Dadda…" she mumbled in her sleep and held his hand tightly.

Knock knock

He turned around to see a maid entering the room.

"Ma'am is calling you downstairs for the Puja." She informed him. 

Arthit looked reluctant as he didn't want to leave his daughter. 

"You go..I am here." Sameer assured him which brought relief to Arthit.

He smiled softly at his friend and went out of the room.

On his way ,he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He dialed her number but it went unanswered. 

"Maybe she was busy shooting." He thought. 

A painful chuckle left his mouth as remembered in the past he knew everything about her --- her whereabouts, her schedules, in fact her plan for the day . She herself  used to share everything with him. After all that, she considered him as her friend. 

But  now knowing about her is far from reality. 

Why did they go wrong? He just couldn't find the answer to this question.

He sighed and went downstairs. 

"Arthit beta, where is Mehak? It's time for the Puja…." His mother said to him in a worried tone. 

"Mom...she will come,  don't worry. Maybe she is late due to the traffic." Arthit said to her .

His mom nodded and by seeing her face, he could tell that she didn't look convinced by the answer.

"Bhabhi...when will the puja start? Pandit ji (Priest) is asking me." Arthit's chachi asked as she came near the mother-son duo. 

"Chachi, tell him to wait for sometime. ..Mehak will be here soon." Arthit said to her confidently and went out to call Mehak.

He believes that maybe Mehak was doing everything to annoy him but she won't do something which would be disrespectful for their family. 
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Mehak was sitting near the beach by covering her face with a scarf so that people couldn't recognize her.

Sighing  She looked at her lap where her phone was. She took the phone and switched it on. As the phone switched on ,she noticed the time.
 Seeing the time, her eyes widened as she remembered about the puja all of a sudden. 

"Oh shit shit shit!!!!" She got up in haste and ran towards her home.

"Take me home...fast fast." She said in a hurry .

The driver started the car ,getting startled.

On the way she got  calls from Arthit but didn't pick up .
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Arthit let out a frustrated sigh as Mehak cut the call for the fifth time.

Before he thought due to the shooting she wasn't picking his call up but when the call was being cut continuously, he got tensed thinking about the worst.

He called the driver who had gone to pick Mehak up.

As soon as the driver picked the call up ,he asked, "Where are you?" 
He couldn't ask him directly about Mehak as it may give some hints to others about the state of his relationship with his wife.

"Sir, I am coming to your home to drop Madam." He replied ,making him sigh in relief. 

"Okay, Drive safely." He said and cut the call. He went inside to inform his mother to delay the puja a bit. 

"Mom...just wait for some time...Mehak will be here soon." He informed his mother who nodded without an expression. 

"Mrs. Rajvanshi, where is your daughter-in-law? Isn't she home?" An olderly lady asked her.

"She has gone for her shoot...but she will be here soon ,don't worry." Arthit replied to control the situation. 

"That's why I always say, Don't choose a celebrity as someone's daughter-in-law. They don't have any interest in household matters...they are more attracted towards the outside world." That same lady commented with a mocking smile.

Arthit looked at his mother to see her getting offended with this remark.

"Aunty, I don't know about others but my wife is very responsible about the household stuff. 
She is perfect in her professional field as well as in her role of wife,daughter and daughter-in-law.
Remember that she is the only bread-earner of her family...maybe she is a girl and film star but she knows how to maintain and complete  the boundaries and responsibilities respectively. 
So please comment on her after knowing the whole background.
I won't tolerate anyone insulting my wife." He said ,keeping a stern face.

The lady looked embarrassed so chose to be quiet. 

Before anyone could say anything, Mehak entered in a hurry.

Seeing her, Rajvanshi's family sighed in relief.

"Mehak, go..get freshen up and join soon." Arthit's mom said to her. Mehak could understand the disappointment in her voice which made her heart drop in her stomach. 

Mehak nodded and ran towards her room.

After some time, she joined everyone wearing a saree as instructed by her mother in law.

"Pandit ji, start the puja." Mrs Rajvanshi said and the puja started.
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The puja ended on a happy note except for the tension between the family members. 

"Aunty,  I am sorry...I wasn't late intentionally. Mehak apologized to her mother in law honestly. 

"Mehak..I know that you won't do that but you should have been careful. I know you remain busy shooting but it's not so impossible for you to inform us that you will be late or not. I don't have any problem with your profession. It's just to let any of us know about you being late or not.

 I didn't like the fact that our neighbors pointed their fingers towards you...our family.  You are our pride beta and I won't tolerate that somebody tries to insult that. You shouldn't give them the space. " Mrs Rajvanshi said in a calm voice .

Mehak gulped and nodded. 

"This won't happen again ,Aunty. I promise. " Mehak promised them.

From the time she is staying here, every time she does something which Arthit's family doesn't like ..just to annoy Arthit. But today when entering the house she heard the insulting words which the neighbor lady threw at her and now when her mother in law told that she is their pride so her insult is their insult, these words hit her somewhere deep within her.

"It's okay...I believe you. From next time please inform one of us, then we don't have any problem. " Mrs Rajvanshi said with a soft smile.

Arthit sighed in relief as everything turned out to be okay.
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Next Day   

Mehak was sitting on her bed as she decided to take an off day when someone knocked on her door. She woke up late due to her headache.

"Yes." She replied.

Soon Arthit's chachi entered with Mehak's breakfast. 

"Here is your breakfast, beta. Finish it before it gets cold.." she said with a smile ,placing the plate on the side table.

She was about to leave the room when Mehak stopped her.

"Chachi,  thank you. Everyday you come to serve my breakfast before me saying anything to you.  " Mehak said to her genuinely. 

Chachi looked at her with  furrowed eyebrows and said, "Well then Thank your husband who makes your breakfast plate ready everyday. I just serve it to you. " 

She wanted to put some sense in Mehak's mind about their marriage but chose to remain silent as she didn't want to make things more complicated for them.
She just smiled and left the room. 

Hearing her, Mehak was shocked. She had heard how Arthit shut that lady up who was talking behind her back. Now this information about him from his chachi shocked her.

"Maybe he is doing this to show people how supportive and caring husband he is." Her mind said to her.

She believed her but that nagging feeling in her heart didn't leave her.

How's the chapter?

Let me know.

Next update will be after 14 th August.
As I have my exam from 7th this month.  I need to study.

Happy Friendship Day to you all.

See you soon.

Stay safe and Healthy.

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