In the evening, the Chopra mansion was beautifully decorated with flowers, welcoming the close family and friends for the Teej function.

"This is for you. Abhi pooja me pehen ke baithna." Ramya gifted her daughter in law a set of golden jewellery, followed by a saree, matching bangles and all the accessories a married woman adorns herself with.

"Oh my God! Itna sundar hai ye! Thank you so much aunty!" Shehnaaz replied, looking at the sleek necklace and its two small jhumkas.

"Are you okay? Kafi thaki hui lag rahi ho?" Ramya asked.

"Pehli baar vrat rakha hai na aunty, bas isliye. I'm fine." Shehnaaz nodded and excused herself so as to get ready. She dressed up in a red zari embroidered silk saree, paired with a red and golden blouse, hairs neatly tied behind to let her jewellery take the grace.

"How do I look?" She had asked her husband who showed up in a pretty golden shaded kurta himself.

As much as he was hungry, he was mesmerized seeing her in a saree. It felt like the first time all over again, she looked so elegantly gorgeous.

"Wow! Amazing!" Sidharth said, he wholeheartedly smiled and wrapped his arms around her.

"Thank you." She smiled and felt her cheeks heating up when he subtly kissed her cheek.

"Are you alright?" Sidharth was at her office the next morning, he was restless to be honest.

A, his wife was fasting and was supposed to renounce water and food for 24 hours for the longevity of their happy and prosperous married life.

B, she was told that she should take a day off from work but she didn't agree.

C, he had tried to talk to her to at least have water and fruits but she denied and wasn't feeling well since the afternoon. He came over to drop her home but she was busy in a meeting for one of her upcoming events and he waited outside for her.

"Sidharth, mai theek hu yaar." She went to her husband, making him sit and making herself comfortable on his lap.

"Kis kis ko call kiya tune mere peeche lagane ke liye? I see Ria ko tune abhi ek ghante pehle call kiya tha." She asked him.

"Ha, Ria ko bola tha, Mummy ko bhi, unse toh pehle maine yeh pucha ke vrat rakhne ka idea hi kyu diya unhone." He replied as he shook his head in defeat. She chuckled, hugging him and kissing his head in response to that.

"Mummy ne bola isliye vrat rakha, lekin humari shaadi ke baad yeh humari pehli pooja hogi sath me isliye mai yeh karna chahti hu. I'm not really the religious type, but wo pooja aur hawan karne se na mann ko shanti milti hai. Toh maine socha phir poora hi procedure follow karte hai vrat, full-fledged nirjal wala." She chuckled, telling him.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked her again.

"Yes, I am! Aur agar nahi raha gaya toh kha lungi! Okay? Will you please cheer up now!?" She replied, tugging on his shirt like a child. And then she showed him how beautifully the henna in her hands had turned out to be.

"If you say so." He nodded, giving in while caressing her hands. If she was going to stay hungry till midnight, so was he. Well, he had his protein shake in the morning because he had believed that he'd talk her out of this fasting but then when she didn't eat and hadn't touched even a drop of water, how could he eat?

The idols of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati were made using sand and black soil for the pooja. They were placed together on a small pedestal and during the course, the story of Hartalika was narrated. The tradition was to offer the shringaar items to Goddess Parvati and dhoti and angocha to Lord Shiva.

The next morning, another Aarti was done marking the completion of the Teej rituals and the couple had fruits and sweets as prasad and then headed for breakfast.

"Aap kitni lucky hain, sir ne aapke liye vrat rakha!" Pia told Shehnaaz while helping her out of the saree.

"Woh toh hai! Usko toh vrat karna hi tha, mai usey khane hi nahi deti apne samne!" Shehnaaz joked and the girls laughed. Just when she removed her golden earrings and bangles and carried them back to her drawer, she felt light headed and dizzy for second.

"Mam, aapki payal reh gayi." Pia said, forward the box of anklets to her but found her holding on to a chair for support.

"Mam? Mam, aap thik hain?" Pia rushed to her, holding her shoulders.

"Theek hu, mai theek hu." Shehnaaz immediately nodded, wondering why she was feeling so exhausted lately.

"Pani." Pia pushed a glass of water to her lips.

"Mai pi lungi khud se. Tu bas yeh boxes acche se locker me rakh de." Shehnaaz replied, watching Pia keep those jewelleries in their places nicely.

"Chal kuch kha leti hu toh theek lagega. Bhooki hu isliye chakkar aa rahe hai." Shehnaaz mentioned, so that Pia wouldn't worry and tell Sidharth about the same.

"Kya baat hai!? Biryani!" She chirped, serving herself with a plate full of the lavish dish.

"Lata, mujhe na tiffin me bhi yahi dena please. Bhar bhar ke dena, Nikhil aur Ria kabhi kabhi mujhe khane nahi dete thik se." She added.

"Tu office jayegi?" Sidharth asked, he had thought they could rest a little, for half a day at least, for fasting yesterday. Also, it was Ganesh Chaturthi today. They were supposed to welcome lord Ganesha to their place in the evening.

"I know aaj jana nahi chahiye, lekin ek meeting hai. Jab mai leave pe thi tab isko postpone kar diya tha humne." She informed him while finishing her meal.

"What about you? No office?" She asked him.

"Jaunga, but I'll be back soon. Shaam ki preparations dekhni hai." He replied.

"Okay, I'll try to make it quick." She nodded, it was her responsibility to look after what all was going to take place in the mansion as well.

"Shaam ko milte hai." She got up, hugged him and kissed his cheek.

"Hm." He replied.

"Acche se bola karna yaar, kya itni sharam aati rehti hai tujhe har waqt?!" She frowned, holding his hand.

"Alright, bye." He corrected himself, keeping his hand on the small of her back.

"Sidharth sahi se bol, jaise maine bola. Warna nai jane nahi dungi tujhe!" She warned him, tightening her grip on his hand.

"Zyada mat kar, hath chhod." He replied, feeling eyes on them.

"Nahi chhodungi. Pehle pyar kar, acche se bol ke tu mujhe miss karega aur shaam ko mera wait karega." She kept her condition in front of him as she continued to glare at him.

"Abbe yaar!" He sighed, took a quick glance of their surroundings and then looked back at her.

"Fine.." He hugged her quickly, pressed a kiss on her head and then parted.

"Chal bhaag yaha se." He added and walked away. She giggled, making way towards her car. She waved at him from a distance and so did he, she then blew him a kiss in the air as well and he kept staring at her, it made her laugh.

Adith came to Sidharth with a small file in his hand and knocked.

"Morning sir, kuch zaroori baat karni thi aapse." He said.

"Ajaa." Sidharth nodded.

"Sir, Sukhbir sir ke kafi sare contacts hain, acche aur kafi purane. Unme se hi ek company se wo raw materials ka consignment mangwate hai aur bohot hi kam rate pe. Lekin sir iss Punjab based Guri cements naam ki company ke sath kaam karne ka koi official record nahi hai unke paas. Officially wo sirf ek Mumbai based industry ko humesha mention karte hai." Adith informed him.

"So, that means Dhillon sab apne paise bachane aur time pe saman supply karne ke liye yeh sab karte hai." Sidharth concluded.

"Exactly sir, supply kam na ho isliye wo low quality aur cheap raw materials main items me mix karte hai." Adith said.

"Unke bheje hue mixed materials humare pass aaye hai, ye pata lagana padega. Labourers can help, right?" Sidharth asked.

"Bilkul sir, saman dekh kar quality pehchan jate hai wo log." Adith answered.

"Thik hai, unke naam se quality complaint file kar, test aur inspection karne wali team ko bula. Tests se ek proper insight milega." Sidharth replied, taking the file and going through it.

He was going to question his business partner who also happened to be his father in law, it was going to be difficult if they were to argue about Sukhbir's misconduct. He wondered if he should talk to Shehnaaz about it before talking to her father behind her back.

"Sir?" Adith pulled him out of his reverie.

"I understand ke wo mam ke father hai. Mai unke manager se baat karta hu ek baat." He suggested.

"Aur tu kya karlega baat karke?" Sidharth asked.

"Adith, meri banayi hui ek bhi building yadi gir jayegi na toh mera career khatam ho jayega. I have been working with him for so long, I even married his daughter! And he's still supplying those to me! I tried talking to him the moment I met him lekin usne dhyan nahi diya." Sidharth told him, dismissing him. He sighed, he had to talk to his wife about it now.

He came back home, had lunch and looked after the preparations for Ganesh Chaturthi. She arrived early in the evening as well and the duo went to pick up lord Ganesha's idol with Ramya. The media was flashing cameras on their faces, capturing their each and every moment while they carried the idol into the pandal set up in their living area. The pandit did all the necessary rituals while Sidharth and Shehnaaz did the aarti, welcoming the lord into their lives and praying for the happiness and prosperity of their family.

The festival celebrates Ganesha as the God of new beginnings, the remover of obstacles as well as the God of wisdom and intelligence by the entire nation. The ladies went in once the aarti was done and prasad was being distributed, Sidharth stayed back to ultimately welcome the guests, his business associates and colleagues and friends.

"Mr Chaddha! Namaste, aaiye!" He smiled at one of his clients and his family, joining his hands and welcoming them in.

"Andar kuch kaam nahi tha toh mai yahi aa gayi. Namaste. Aaiye." Shehnaaz joined him outside, as the two greeted their guests and guided them in.

"Pani?" She forwarded him a small bottle of water followed by some tissues when she saw him sweat.

"Yeah." He nodded, taking the bottle from her.

"Yeh speakers kitne loud hai na!?" She mumbled, she could expect a headache due to the high volume.

"Ha, band karwa deta hu." He replied.

"Nahi, abhi abhi pooja hui hai. Rehne de." She suggested and the two got back to work.

"Look at these two, mere bacche!" There they heard Sukhbir, entering the premises with his wife and Sidharth's face hardened but he decided to keep everything for later until he discussed everything with his wife first.

"Mummy!" Shehnaaz came forward and hugged her mother, all of them posed for a couple of pictures in front of the media before making their way in.

"Sab thik hai? Kaha khoya hua hai?" She asked him, standing next to him. He smiled looking at her, she could read his face like anything lately.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And here we are.. with another chapter.. capturing sidnaaz celebrating another festival.. I'd request you all to be liberal with me regarding the pooja-path descriptions.. I've vaguely mentioned the things I know..

Anyways, how about Sidharth losing his patience with Sukhbir and his fraud!! What should he do? He hasn't talked to Shehnaaz yet.. what if anything goes wrong?!

Also, what's wrong with Shehnaaz's health??