chapter 35

Chapters 36 - 42 are updated on ScrollStack.

Chapter start

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" Mom, the moon has appeared in the sky." Aaira comes and informs her mother as well as everyone else.

Everyone prepares to go up to the terrace so that they can do their puja and break their fast.

But as everyone starts going up, Aaira pulls Reyansh's hand and makes him stay at the back and before Reyansh understands anything, Aaira brings him to her room

" What happened ?" Reyansh asks her as she brings him into the room and closes the door and then she turns and looks at him and then his kurta which is really not looking good as its button got broken, ruining his whole look

" Sorry, because of me Ansh bhai behaved like that with you." Reyansh smiles at her words, she has brought him here to say sorry

" It's ok, I am used to it, I don't feel bad about his behaviour." He says but somewhere he feels bad but it is okay, he will bear this also for Aaira.

" By the way, come let me fix your button." she says, showing him the needle and thread and a button she has brought with her

Well, whether Aaira knows any other work or not, but being a fashion designer student, she has learnt a little bit of sewing.

She holds Reyansh's hand and makes him sit on her bed and then she sits in front of him and starts fixing the buttons of his kurta without saying anything, but he sees the buttons and thinks something.

" Where did you get this exact same button?" he asks her because Ansh had thrown the button of his kurta don't know where.

And there, on hearing this question, Aaira looks at him but after thinking a bit, she chooses to tell the truth.

" Papa also has same kurta: so I broke his button." He gets a little shocked, in order to fix his kurta, this girl ruined her father's kurta.

" Are you crazy? What if uncle has to wear that kurta someday?" he asks to which she smiles

" I will tell mom na, she will bring a new button for papa, And this way she will get a romantic moment with papa when she will sew his button." Aaira says smilingly on which even Reyansh cannot control his smile.

" hmm, Like we've got this moment, no?" He says to which she looks at him

" No, not at all, there is no such moment between us, I am just helping you because this happened because of me...Neither would I be with you nor bhai do this to you." she says and then starts sewing his button

" btw, right now you're giving me full wifey vibes." He says this to her in a teasing manner but immediately screams when Aaira pierces the needle into his skin which is visible due to his open buttons.

" Ahh, Why this?" asks Reyansh feeling slightly pain

" To talk nonsense." says Aaira glaring at him

" What nonsense ? I am telling you the truth, only wives do this for their husbands.

You know I saw mom with a dad like this once when I was a child and then I saw something that I shouldn't have seen." he says little shyly on which Aaira sees him weirdly

" So remembering that and seeing you doing this for me right now...I get wifely vibes from you." He says

" Aren't you ashamed of telling everyone about such private moments of your parents ?" She says to which Reyansh smiles.

" Why should I be ashamed, I am sharing it with their future daughter-in-law only." he says but she pricks him with the needle again on which he screams again.

" Ajib ho yaar...Are you helping me or taking revenge ?" he says to which she does nothing but suppresses her smile and then silently sews his button.

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On the other side, on the terrace.

Advaita, Avni, Simran, Shalini, Priyal, Neela and Shweta all stand in front of their husbands. Yes, but obviously Advaita stand in front to her soon-to-be husband.

Aarav, Aadhriti, Arjun and his grandmother are standing there watching everyone doing the puja.

Well, Ansh feels a little nervous standing here because all this things which he used to see at home is happening to him today, so he is unable to understand what to do, how to react.

He too will soon join the team of married people.

He gets a little scared just thinking about this.

But then there, everyone performs whatever method of puja, like doing aarti of moon and then of their husband, and then after looking at the moon through a sieve, they sees their husband.

After that everyone breaks the fast by feeding each other water and sweets.

Well, Neil and Raj have been observing this fast for their wives for a long time but everyone present there smiles when Advaita breaks Ansh's fast because he too had kept a fast for Advaita which Advaita comes to know from Simran as Simran had noticed that her son had not eaten anything today.

" Mannat kahan hai ?" After the puja is over, Neil notices Aaira's absence and quietly asks Avni to which Avni looks around.

But Priyal, standing next to Avni and Neil, hears all this and notices that her son is also missing.

" Haaye, kahin mera majnu beta meri hone waali bahu ke saath to nahi hai ? If Neil Jiju notices their absence together, then it will be a mess." Priyal thinks in worry.

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On the other side

In Aaira's room, Aaira is about to walk away from him after stitching buttons on his kurta but Reyansh stops her holding her wrist and he brings her to the window of her room telling her that he wants to see the moon in the sky along with his moon, which is obviously Aaira whom he called his moon.

Both of them have been standing there for about 10 minutes, looking at the moon.

Well Aaira tells him to move on but sometimes the feelings she has for him cannot be controlled in his presence and that is what happens right now.

In a different kind of intoxication which she always feels around him, so in that intoxication she is doing what Reyansh is saying, he asked her to stop so she stopped and now she is in his arms.

Reyansh is hugging her from behind while resting his chin on her head and both of them looking at the moon silently and when he does this, she is also unable to object at this moment.

And then there, Reyansh breaks this silence between them

" Well you know I can't wait anymore...I just want the time to pass as quickly as possible so that our college gets completed soon, After that we will build our career together and then we will get married." He says which she listens to silently, lost in the moon

" But yes, after marriage, time should stop and come to its slow pace so that I can live every moment of ours with you." He says which brings a smile to her face as everything he said comes before her eyes, both of them completing their college, having a successful career and then....

But then she thinks to tease him a bit.

"Don't you think your dreams are too big?" she says, to which he smiles.

" I know I have big dreams and I want to fulfill these dreams with you." He says to which she does nothing but smiles.

And after this, there is a silence between them again for a few moments, but this time, Aaira's words break this silence between them.

" The moon is beautiful, isn't it?" she says, imagining his smiling reflection in the moon

And Reyansh smiles because somewhere he understands the meaning of her words, She won't say it explicitly, but she has told him I love you in this poetic way of the Japanese language.

And even if she doesn't say it with this intention, to satisfy his heart he will consider his thought to be true that at last she said I love you to him.

" Yes my love, the moon is beautiful but not more than you." He says removing his chin from her head and then he leans forward a little and gives her a light peck on her cheek on which she smiles slightly.

Well at this moment she seems to have forgotten everything, she has forgotten that she had decided to stay away from him, she has forgotten that she had asked him to move on.

But soon her eyes widen and so do Reyansh's eyes when they both hear a voice from behind.

" Aaira ?" Avni opens the door of her room but she is shocked to see Reyansh in her room but she gets more shocked when she realizes that Aaira is standing in front of Reyansh and Reyansh is hugging her from behind.

And, On hearing Avni's voice, their heartbeat increases and both of them get scared and neither of them has the courage to turn back and face Avni.

Well Avni is her mother and there was no need for her to knock before entering her room as she comes to her daughter's room countless times throughout the day but she did not know that when she came here at this time, she would see something that she had not expected.

" Aaira ? Reyansh...." Avni calls out their names and first of all Reyansh leaves Aaira and takes a step back from her and then turns towards Avni without making eye contact with her.

And then Aaira also turns towards her mother, well before today she was never afraid of facing her mother but today

" Mom... Aaira tries to say something but Avni silences her

" Reyansh, go down, everyone is waiting for dinner." Avni tells Reyansh

But Reyansh does not feel like leaving Aaira alone in this situation where he doesn't know what her mother will say to her.

Well he knows that his Avni aunty is very sweet but what if she scolds Aaira now.

" Aunty... Reyansh also tries to give some explanation but stops at Avni's words.

" And you also come downstairs, Neil is looking for you." Avni says this to Aaira and Aaira is shocked why her mother did not scold her.

Well, she is able to read her mother's face that she is not happy at this moment, but what should she do now, It was not her fault, she had told this guy so many times to stay away from her, to move on.

But no, he never listen to her, now he trapped her in front of her mother.

But wait, whatever happened was half her fault too, she was the one who brought him to her room but how could she have known that all this would happen, she will get so lost in his words that she will be caught red handed with him by her mother, that too when there is nothing like that between them.

But how will she now prove wrong the circumstances in which her mother saw them both.

🦋🦋

Everyone is sitting at the dinner table, however Avni has not talked to Aaira at this time about what she saw in her room because she knows this conversation isn't one to rush into, First she will have to think about some things herself and only then will she ask something to Aaira.

And that is why at this time she neither asks any questions to Aaira nor to Reyansh and brings both of them directly to the dinner table.

Well that is a different matter, Avni sent Reyansh down first and herself come with Aaira after some minutes so that Neil or anyone else does not get suspicious after seeing them together.

" Neil no, Everyone is here..." these are the words of Avni when Neil is trying to feed her with his hands

Well, Neil does not need any special day to feed Avni with his hands, he always feeds her with his hands on a regular basis but at the same time, on this day of the year, he especially feeds her with his hands and never forgets to do this.

But today Avni is refusing him because today not only their families is here but there are many other people too.

" Please wifey..." Neil says so to which Avni refuses him again.

And there Aaira who notices this thing of her father every year but today seeing him not feeding her mother, she says.

" Papa, won't you feed mom with your hands today?" Aaira says, well she knows her mother might be angry with her right now but she wants to make things normal again with her by talking like this...and there Avni sees her on this.

And there at the dinner table, hearing this from Aaira, everyone else also looks at Neil Avni

" Bachha, Papa is ready, Mumma is refusing, she is feeling shy about what everyone will say." Avni's eyes widen, why does this man do this to her, what was the need to tell in front of everyone that she was feeling shy.

She looks at him annoyed to which Neil gives her a teasing smile

" Arre, But what is there to feel shy about in this...and even if there is, there is a solution for it...Well, everyone's wives have kept a fast for them, so don't you all think that you all should feed your wives?" Aaira says this while looking at all the couples who are actually sitting in pairs.

" My baby is smart just like her bua." says Simran to which Aaira smiles

" Oh no no, Credit stealing bua, my daughter is smart like me, her bua is a dumb." Neil says to which Simran mouth hangs open.

" Huh, Obviously, since my brother is dumb, I was bound to inherit some of his qualities." Simran replies

" And now that's it, don't say anything further, show some respect in front of everyone, we will fight later on this topic." Simran says to which the others smile.

" hmm, so yeah, let's start, everyone feed your wives and yes all the wives should also feed their husbands." After the small fun fight between her father and bua was over, Aaira says this bringing again a different smile on everyone's face.

But in the midst of everyone, Aaira notices her shy brother Ansh.

" Bhai, feed Bhabhi with your hands..." Ansh hears her words, oh God, how can he do this in front of everyone?

" Don't be shy, and feed Bhabhi with all your love..." Aaira teases Ansh further and there Advaita smiles.

" And yes bhabhi, you will also have to feed bhai, bhai has also kept a fast for you." Aaira says to which Advaita gives her a look with a smile that she is ready, but only if this man takes the initiative.

But while Aaira is saying all this, Priyal looks at her son...well she knows this moment is still a few years away in her son's life.

She gives a consoling look to her son that it's ok, his time will also come soon when he too will feed Aaira with his hands in front of everyone with full right.

And understanding this look of his mother, Reyansh shakes his head in disbelief but at the same time, he is a little worried for Aaira that her mother might scold her and after that Aaira might distance herself from him even more.

" I don't know where she ( Aaira ) gets all these ideas from?" Ansh whispers while feeding Advaita

" Well she gets the best ideas, at least some people do something with her ideas, otherwise I don't see any hope." Advaita taunts him, putting a morsel in his mouth

" Now it seems that I will have to take Aaira's help to get you to do something for me in front of everyone." She says to which he raises his eyebrows.

To which she gives him a tight smile to show that she didn't say anything wrong.

But then their family dinner, full of love, laughter and fun, ends.

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" Do you know what will happen if Neil finds out about this? He told you to do everything you want except this thing, right ?" These words are from Avni to Aira who is currently sitting in her room and talking to her.

Well after dinner, after spending some more time having a great family time, Everyone bids goodbye to the Khanna family and goes back home, even the Mehra family.

So after everyone leaves, instead of going to her room, Avni comes straight to Aaira's room to talk to her.

" Mumma believe me, it is nothing like what you saw..." Aaira explains to Avni

" I look like a fool to you, even after what I saw, you are saying that there is nothing like that." Avni says to which Aaira looks at her

" Mumma, you yourself told me to befriend him, so...

" So? I told you to befriend him, not all this....And if really there is something like that then bachha you know I won't have any problem with it, but Neil....You know how he will react to all this..." Avni explains to her, to which Aaira looks at her.

Well Avni really doesn't have any problem if her daughter likes Reyansh because obviously Reyansh is a nice guy, but Avni is scared of Neil's reaction who has imposed a no boyfriend policy on his daughter since childhood.

" Mom, papa will say something only when something happens, really there is nothing...we are just friends, and at that time we were just standing there and talking." Aaira says

Well she knows that her mother will not believe her if she says such a thing considering the condition in which both of them were standing because it is obvious that the kind of relationship she and Reyansh share, they will never stand together like that in that friendship

" Bachha, If you don't remember, I am your mother, I clearly understand the difference between friendship and something else...The way you two were talking, it wasn't just friendship." says Avni

" Mumma, it's just friendship from my side." at last, Aaira chooses to tell the truth

" I have told him many times that nothing can happen between us, but he is not understanding, so what is my fault in this ?" Avni looks at her confused after getting this new information and in a few seconds, understanding the meaning of her words, she comes to the conclusion whether all this is one-sided from Reyansh's side

" This means Reyansh...

"Yes, he said we should give each other a chance but I refused..." Well, Aaira is so comfortable with her mother that she doesn't lie to her much and chooses to say everything clearly.

Because she also knows that there is no use in lying now.

" And please mumma today is a special and happy day for you and papa, please don't tell all this to papa, his mood will get spoiled.

I always spoil things." Aaira speaks the last line in some disappointment to which Avni looks at her and cups her face

" It is not like that at all so don't say all this again...You didn't spoil anything." she says to which Aaira looks at her

" Sorry mumma." She says feeling really sorry for whatever she did.

" There is no need to say sorry, but bachha, I'm sorry, I can't hide all this from Neil..." Avni says on which Aaira sees her mother

" If Neil found out about all this from somewhere else and if he comes to know that I hid all this from him despite knowing everything, he will be very angry with me..." says Avni

And no, she will not let anything happen between her parents because of her, Aaira thinks.

" That's why I am saying Mumma please don't tell anything to Papa today, if you want to tell him something then tell him tomorrow or some other time but not today...please." Aaira requests

Well now Avni is not able to understand what she should do, even though this is not a big deal, all this is common at this age, but at the same time for Neil it is a big deal.

🦋🦋

" Ansh, Aarav you both wait." These words are of Simran, When Ansh and Aarav reach home and are about to go to their respective rooms, Simran stops them before that and Raj is also with her.

" Ji mom." Ansh says to which Simran sighs

"What happened?" Simran says leaving them both confused

" What happened between you three? Why was Aaira not talking to both of you...well not to both of you, Aarav why was Aaira not talking to you....And Ansh she seemed a little upset with you too. Did something happen between you three?

I did not say anything there but now tell me the truth, what has happened?" Simran, who noticed the indifference of these three siblings towards each other in the Khanna house, did not say anything, but now she questions both of them.

" Mom, only Aarav can answer this question of yours." Ansh says to which Aarav looks at him but then seeing Aarav not saying anything, Ansh replies

Ansh tells Simran and Raj everything about how Aarav behaved with Aira and what he said, well, Ansh tells everything except about Aadhriti topic and Simran and Raj get shocked knowing all this, their Aarav can never do this.

" Mom, it is true that we are cousins ​​but you, papa, Mamu, bua never taught us to differentiate but Aarav hurt her by telling her about this that she's just our cousin sister, Aaira feels that her importance has diminished due to the new relationships coming into our lives and the only reason she is keeping distance from us is because she feels that we consider her only as our cousin." Ansh says

And Simran and Raj are not only disappointed with Aarav for his actions but also get angry with him.

" Mom, dad, I'm sorry, All that came out of my mouth in anger." Aarav says after seeing the disappointment on his parents' faces.

" So will you say anything nonsense in anger? Who taught you to say all this nonsense even when you are angry...?" Simran tells him

" Well, it is useless to say anything to you about this thing of yours." Simran says this and goes away from there.

" Papa... Aarav tries to say something to Raj but Raj interrupts him

" Don't say a word, I am really disappointed that with increasing age your immaturity is increasing instead of decreasing. You did not do the right thing to him." Raj says this to Aarav.

And Raj who always forgives even the biggest mistakes of his children and always stays calm.

He too is disappointed with Aarav today because Aaira is not only the happiness of the Khanna house but her presence also brightens up this house and he has hurt her precious daughter by saying god knows what nonsense.

For him, Aaira is not just his sister's daughter, not just his niece, but his own daughter and he will not tolerate anyone hurting his daughter, even if it is his son's.

And it doesn't matter how she is, how stubborn she is and what her nature is, no one has the right to say anything to her.

Raj also leaves from there leaving Aarav full of guilt.

To be continued.......