Shehnaaz and Sidharth had wrapped up their work early in the evening, "Kuch lete chale ghar? Aunty ke liye?" He said, raising his brows.

"Kuch meetha." She suggested.

"Okay, kya pasand hai unko?" He asked, taking a short right towards the market area.

"Hmm.. Chachi ko.. laddu ache lagte hai." She recalled.

"Pata ek baar na, Chachi ka 30th birthday sab ne bade jor shor se manaya ghar pe. Actually uss time Chachu ka business bada sahi chal raha tha. And he used to say- in fact he still believes ki Chachi unki life me wo prosperity leke aayi.. she's his lady luck and all!" She told him.

"Aw that's so nice." He replied.

"Haina.. Toh unke 30th pe ek path kiya aur kuch 30 kilo ke laddo gareebo ko diya." She added.

"Great!" He replied, pulling over to a store and picking up some besan ke laddo for Harjot. She was a nice lady, he had begun to realize that she was only old school and strict and maybe not that bad after all.

They reached her building and were about to enter the apartment when they heard Harjot and Amrit quarrelling out loud. "Sana, Sana, Sana! Pehle toh aapko bilkul pasand nahi thi wo, ab toh aap har waqt  uski baatein karti rehti ho? Aisa kya kar diya usne?" Amrit asked.

"Kuch nahi kiya usne, maine hi usey galat samjha tha! Aur tu apni galti uska naam lekar mat chhupa!" Harjot replied.

"Uffo Maa, bola na mai bhool gayi thi ke aap aane wale ho! Ab toh ghar chalo mere sath! Ya apni dusri beti ka ghar zyada pyara ho gaya hai? Apne boyfriend ke sath rehti wo yaha, pata hai na aapko?!" Amrit replied.

"Dono se mujhe koi problem nahi hai! Sana ne sab bata Diya hai mujhe, Sidharth aur uske gharwalo se mil chuki hu mai. Janti hu ache log hai, tu uss din aati toh tujhe pata lagta. Lekin nahi, tujhe tere doston se fursat kaha hai? Tune milwaya aaj tak apne kisi dost se?" Her mother asked her back, angrily.

Sidharth looked at Shehnaaz while they were standing at the other side of the door listening to the conversion, she was in tears because her aunt was defending her.

"Maa yaar! Milwa dungi na, itni si baat pe gussa kyu ho rahe ho? Acha sorry. Bas." Amrit tried to calm down her mother.

"Bohot naraz hu mai tere se! Tu bigad gayi hai! Ab apne Papa ko jawab diyo tu! Sana ko aadhi raat ko tune ghar se nikal diya tha?" Harjot asked.

"Nikala nahi tha, wo khud chali gayi thi. Kya galat galat bata rakha hai usne aapko?" Amrit immediately corrected.

"Toh tune roka kyu nahi? Usne tujhe apne ghar pe bulaya, khana khilaya aur tune ek ladai me uske sath aisa kiya?" Harjot questioned.

"Gusse me thi.." Amrit shrugged.

"Maafi mangi tune?" Harjot asked her daughter.

"Maafi mangu? Sana se? Kis baat ke liye?" Amrit chuckled, asking.

"Bataya na wo khud chali gayi uss raat! Come on, maa. It's not a big deal." Amrit tried to explain.

"Ye- yehi teri problem hai! Tu sab kuch lightly leti hai, har kisi ko lightly leti hai. Behen hai wo teri, ek baar me maaf kar deti tujhe yadi tune usse baat ki hoti toh." Harjot replied instead.

"Khair mai kon hoti hu bolne wali, ja apne doston ke sath. Party kar. Yaad aaye Maa ki toh call karna." Harjot was fed up with her daughter's attitude.

"Aap uske liye mujhse aise baat kar rahe ho? Uska kiya sab maaf, lekin meri ek galti itni zyada lag rahi hai aapko!?" Amrit mentioned.

"Apni galti maan le phir!" Harjot countered.

"Wow! You know what Maa, mai nahi mangne wali maafi apki Sana se! Aur sirf property kyu, sab dedo na Sana ko. Mujhe nahi chahiye kuch!" Amrit retorted and got slapped in return.

Shehnaaz's eyes widened and she pushed the door open, "Chachi!" She gasped shockingly and so did Sidharth.

"Apni Maa se tameez naal baat kari, har cheez ki ik limit hundi hai!" Harjot scolded Amrit, disappointingly.

The girl wiped a lone tear that trickled down her cheek and ran out of the apartment immediately.

"Amrit nahi-" Shehnaaz followed her out but Amrit was in the elevator and she closed the door before anybody could reach.

"Chachi hath uthane ki kya zarurat thi?!" She asked her aunt, walking back in.

"Mujhe iss bare me baat nahi karni, hath muh dho ke aa chheti." Harjot replied, dismissing herself into the kitchen again.

Sidharth stood there, not sure if he could console Harjot about what happened but he still followed her into the kitchen.

"Kya hai packet me?" She asked him.

"Laddo hai, aapke liye." He replied, forwarding it to her.

"Thanks." She nodded with a smile.

"Tum dono ne kuch suna toh nahi?" She asked him.

"Suna, kafi kuch suna." He shrugged helplessly then.

The dinner was was silent again, Harjot was really upset with her daughter's behaviour and how Amrit was beginning to act and react impulsively these days. Her words would turn into her beliefs and she'd start hating people around her if she continued to do that.

"Chachi!" Shehnaaz pulled her out of her reverie.

"Aise chup reh ke hum baat ko jane nahi de sakte na! Aap aise gussa karoge toh Amrit toh naraz hogi hi." She added, making her aunt smile.

"Amrit ki baaton ka bura na manna. Matlab usne jo kiya galat hai, mai maanti hu galat hai. Mai baat karungi usse, samajh jayegi, tu dil pe na le." Harjot said, thinking about it.

"Hmm." Shehnaaz held her hand across the table.

"Property ke baare me kya bol rahi thi wo?" Shehnaaz asked.

"Tere Chachu apni will bana rahe hai, unn papers pe sign karne ke liye tujhe Punjab chalna hoga mere sath." Harjot answered, it was quite a surprise for the other two people at the table.

"Tabiyat toh thik hai na unki?" Shehnaaz asked worriedly.

"Unki tabiyat naram garam chalti rehti hai, isliye unhone ye decision liya aur mujhse kaha dono bacchiyon ko lekar aau." She continued, caressing her niece's hand.

"Tujhse milna chahte hai wo!" She smiled, adding.

"Tune suna Sidharth? Iska matlab unhone meko maaf kar diya!" Shehnaaz was surprised, she had not at all seen it coming.

"Isn't it great!" He replied, smiling equally.

"Haaye Chachi, ye badi achi khabar sunai aapne! Kab jana hai Punjab wapas? Aur dekho, meko property voperty nahi chahiye! Bas Chachu se milna hai, apne ghar wapas aana aur sabke sath rehna hai meko." Shehnaaz asked her aunt in one go.

"Tu bata kab chale? Kal mai Amrit se baat kar lu phir chale parso? Tu packing kar le." Harjot replied.

"Oh hello?! What about me?" Sidharth butted in, fearing he'd be missed out.

"Tu bhi chal Punjab? Sana ke chachu waise bhi travel nahi karte, unse milne toh tujhe hi jana hoga. Humare sath hi chal." Harjot asked him.

"Aunty, aap do second me sab decide kar rahe ho! Mujhe time toh do!" He pleaded while the ladies chuckled at his response, he was confused and surprised at the turn of events at the table.

Later in the night, Sidharth was supposed to leave for his place so that the two ladies could share the room.

"Tu mat aa Punjab, it's okay. You don't have to." Shehnaaz told him while walking him out till his car.

"You don't want me to come with you guys?" He asked.

"No! I just, I mean it's okay. We're anyway taking it slow right? Waha sab ne vaisi react karna hai jaise Chachi ne pehli baari kiya tha. I don't want you to feel any kind of pressure or anything." She explained, taking a hold of his hand.

"Hm." He shrugged, nodding.

"And I'm sorry about all the drama back there. Aise-" she was silenced with a lip smacking kiss.

"Paka mat." He replied then and she chuckled, leaning against his car and wrapping her hands around him.

She sealed her lips with his again, slowly and lovingly pulling him closer. It was a simple kiss, carrying a good night my love and sweet dreams message for the two of them. She held him tight, "Do minute hug karne de, tujhe yaad karungi jab Chachi ke sath cuddle karungi abhi." She said and he laughed like hell broke loose.

"Kitne din ke liye jayegi?" He asked once he sobered up.

"Socha nahi hai, 1-2 weeks most prob." She replied.

"Oh!" He seemed surprised. She smiled, he'd miss her and she knew she was going to miss him terribly as well.

"Sanaa! Aaj kala de bacche!" Harjot called out from the balcony and gasped when she saw the two hugging on the road in the middle of the night.

"Aayi." Shehnaaz replied, pecking him one last time before leaving.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Strings Of Love
Chapter 63

Hello all! Happy Holi guys.. may this festival of colours bring you all lots of happiness and love.. forget what all happened in the past and forgive the person you've been mad at.. that's what it is all about isn't it ..

Anyways.. how's the sequence in the chapter? What do you guys think of the situation?

Well, it's not all about the age isn't it? How Amrit being close to Shehnaaz once couldn't understand her whereas Harjot did? It's about understanding!

Let's pack up for a trip to Punjab guys! Aur thode sa sidnaaz me distance as well!