1| Ulfat

🦢 Meri ulfat mei bikhar jaao,

Jalane do beheknao do 🦢

Arjun forwarded his handkerchief to his new bride who was sitting next to him in the backseat of the car.

"Aap theek hai?" He softly asks as he looks at her in tears.

Are you okay?

"Haan." Maya replied with her voice still quavering.

Yes.

"Aap jab chahein unhe milne jaa sakti hai." Arjun tried consoling her. She simply nodded her head at his sentence.

You may go and meet your parents whenever you like.

Arjun and Maya just got married in a small ceremony. It was Arjun's second marriage and he didn't want it to be as showy and extravagant as the first one. Maya always wanted a simple wedding herself so she was okay with it as well.

Maya was very aware about the wedding being just an arrangement for Arjun and his 4-year-old daughter, Aashna. She was in this relationship just so the little innocent girl can have a motherly figure in her life.

Zoya, Aashna's mother and Arjun's first wife passed away 3 years back due to a heart stroke. Aashna was being attended to by househelps these past years but the need of a nurturing motherly relationship in her life was always felt by the people near her.

The first time when Arjun's parents proposed this alliance to Maya's folks, they were against it. They didn't want Maya to marry so early and that too to someone who had already been married once before. They feared Maya would never get good treatment or the position of a wife from Arjun but his parents promised no such thing would happen.

When Maya met Aashna for the first time, she knew the girl was special and severely deprived of motherly love. The girl was extremely shy and didn't talk much to her, but the brief conversation with Aashna was all that Maya needed to know that she would be honoured to be a motherly figure for her. She met Arjun the same day and didn't talk to him much, but she realised that he was a dedicated father, whose happiness depended purely on his daughter's.

After pondering over it for sometime, she said yes to the alliance.

Convincing Arjun, for the marriage was a whole another task in itself. After Zoya, he had taken up all of Ashna's responsibilities upon himself. He dedicated his time towards his successful business and his daughter, keeping himself at the bottom of his list of priorities. He had given up his social life and all of his hobbies that he used to pursue before the unfortunate incident happened.

Even he himself had felt on more than one occasion, the need of a mother in Aashna's life, and he was fully aware how she will need a mother if not today, maybe in the near future, but the thought of marrying somebody for the second time, didn't sit quite well with him.

It took him some time and a couple of therapy sessions to overcome the loss of his first wife, but that didn't mean he was ready for that type of commitment with another woman.

Arjun wasn't mentally ready to burden another woman with a responsibility of a four-year-old child, that being said he was also afraid of how the woman would later turn towards Aashna. What if she did not gel well with his daughter and illtreat her after couple of years.

Another major reason for him not to invite somebody else in this life of his was the danger him and his family had to face due to his mafia background. There was a constant fear at the back of his mind regarding the safety of his family members.

Aashna was all he had, and he was extremely possessive of her. He didn't even like sharing her tasks with his parents, who were more than ready to help, let alone another woman who had zero connection with her.

When he visited Maya's house for the first time, he was running a bit late, and his parents and Aashna were already there. Upon walking into the garden, he observed Maya's behaviour with Aashna. She was extremely soft with his daughter, trying to be friendly, but at the same time, not pressurising her into making any kind of conversation. Maya took her time in understanding Aashna and her motherly soft behaviour towards his daughter was what convinced him in believing that she could be the mother Aashna was looking for.

He had done his background check on Maya and her family and they were all clean with no previous ties to anyone from underworld. He of course, didn't want to force Maya into any kind of relationship, but to his happy surprise, she herself said yes to the alliance and to being a mother to Aashna.

Six months since they first met, and after multiple meetings, which involved Aashna, they got married in a small ceremony a couple hours ago. They were headed towards his house now.

The car stopped in front of the Singhania Mansion. It was a big house, appropriate to the status of the Singhanias. Apart from the general specifications of a house, it had a large pool, indoor gym, a theatre room and a special kids' play area with an attached reading room. It had 6 king-sized bedrooms which Maya thought was pretty unnecessary.

She had been here once before when she had gotten a tour of the house from Arjun. Apart from his and Aashna's bedroom, the rest were kept lock and were only used when any relatives were visiting.

She was expecting to have a separate bedroom to herself but Arjun's parents requested her to share it with him. They didn't want Aashna to think the two were any different than her friend's parents.

In the span of last six months, Aashna had unknowingly started expecting the both of them to behave like a normal couple. She had seen how her friend's parents behave and was hoping Arjun and Maya did too.

Since the whole point of this marriage was for Aashna to have a normal childhood with a mother, Maya let go of her wish of a separate bedroom and accept Arjun's as her own.

The driver opened the car door for her and another house-help did the same for Arjun. They both got out of the car and Arjun started leading the way towards the entrance of the house.

Their parents and Aashna along with a small bunch of guests were waiting there for the grahpravesh of Maya.

Welcome

Arjun's mother kept a kalash of rice grains in front of Maya's feet and asked her to kick it gently with her right feet. She did what was asked of her.

Pot

After that, her mother-in-law kept a plate filled with kumkum water and laid a clean white linen cloth in front of her.

Vermillion

Maya lifted her lehenga up a bit and stepped onto the plate. She lifted her right leg first, as instructed by her mother-in-law but felt like she was loosing her balance. Arjun, who was standing on the left side of her, quickly grabbed her hand, proving her with stability. She carefully placed her right leg on the cloth, followed by her left one.

After all the rasams were done, all the guests, including Maya's parents started taking their leave one-by-one. After some more time passed, Arjun's parents got ready to leave as well.

Ceremonies

"Bahot late ho chuka hai, ab hum chalte hai. Tum dono ko aaram karna hoga." Arjun's mom said as she lightly cupped Maya's cheek and looked at the newlywed couple.

It's getting late now, we'll take your leave. You guys need to rest as well.

"Chalo Aashna." Arjun's dad said as he extended his hand towards his granddaughter.

Let's go Aashna.

"Nahi. Mujhe nahi jana." Aashna said as she shook her head negative.

No. I don't want to go.

"But beta aap kitne dino se nahi aaye dada-dadi ke ghar. Aaj aajaye." Aashna's grandfather said as he crouched down to her height and grabbed her hands in a delicate hold.

But my dear, you haven't been at your grandparent's place since such a long time. Come with us today.

"Mujhe mumma ke paas rehna hai." She said as she freed her hands and ran to hug Maya's legs.

I want to stay with mom.

Maya's eyes welled a bit at what Aashna had just called her. They were teaching her to address Maya as her mother since months but the girl didn't say the words but today, for some reason she did. Maybe seeing the both of them doing things together as a couple made her realise that Maya is officially her mother now. It was almost as if she understood the gravity of their relationship now.

Maya picked Aashna up in her arms and the little girl immediately hugged her. Maya caressed her hair and placed a small kiss there.

"Mumma?" Arjun questioned Aashna with a small tug on her hand.

"My mumma." Aashna said and pointed towards Maya. Aashna said the words with an innocent finality in her voice. After all she was Arjun's daughter, the traits of dominance and a strong personality was what she had directly inherited from her father.

"Please Aashna ko rehne dijye." Maya requested as she looked at her husband and then towards her in-laws.

Please let Aashna stay.

"Aree beta isme please kya. Ab to yeh officially tumhari bhi beti hai." Arjun's mother said as she caressed Aashna's head.

Don't say please, child. She's officially your daughter as well now.

After bidding the couple and their granddaughter goodbye, Arjun's parents took their leave. The three of them climbed upstairs and started walking towards Aashna's bedroom.

"Mujhe aap dono ke saath rehna hai." She said, still in Maya's arms.

I want to stay with you two.

"Jaise aap bolo." Maya said to Aashna and looked at Arjun who simply nodded his head.

Whatever you say.

Arjun took Aashna to her room to get her changed and get into comfy clothes himself. He then took her in his arms and walked towards his, which was theirs now, room. He knocked on the door and heard a small reply from Maya's side.

The father and daughter duo entered the room. Arjun laid Aashna on the bed and went towards his side. He switched on the ac and dimmed the lights. Maya who had now changed into a pair of pjs, sat on what was now her side of the bed and applied her hand cream. Aashna curiously looked at what she was doing and once Maya was done, the little girl forwarded both her hands towards her.

"Mujhe bhi." She innocently said.

Me too.

Maya looked at Arjun as of to ask his permission.

"Mujhse puchne ki zaroorat nahi hai. Tum Aashna ke liye khudse decisions le sakti ho." Arjun reassured her of his trust on her as a mother to his daughter. Maya smiled at his sentence and nodded her head.

You don't need to ask me. You may take decisions regarding Aashna by yourself.

Maya applied a pea-sized amount of hand cream on Aashna's little hands and taught her how to rub it in. After this, she laid her down and herself got into the duvet as well.

Arjun switched off the remaining lights and got into the duvet too.

"Good night papa. Good night mumma." Aashna sweetly wished the couple with a large smile on her face.

She was finally sleeping with both her parents, just like her friends do.

"Good night." Both of them wished her together. Arjun kept a hand on Aashna. The girl wanted her mother to pat her too just like her father was doing, so she silently took Maya's hand and placed it on top of her father's.

Maya retreated her hand back upon contact but Aashna once again brought it back to it's original position. Arjun softly help Maya's hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

With small smiles on each of their face, Arjun, Maya and Aashna surrendered to their sleep.

~ x ~

So, how was the first chapter? Let me know what do you guys think of the characters.