"If you are worried about who is coming, well, Parth and Mom are currently in the US, which leaves only Randhir and Dad. Now you know who's joining us, and they will be here any moment!" Vidushi could see from Sanyukta's expression that her thoughts were racing rapidly.

"Vidushi, if you don't mind, I need a few minutes to freshen up! Akka will take care of the tikkis and tea." Sanyukta instructed.

"Of course, go ahead. We'll be just fine!" Vidushi smiled. Sanyukta cared about how she presented herself before the visitors. There was still hope.

"Abby, who are you talking to?" K2 appeared in the room. The conversation between Vidushi and his mother had woken him from his slumber.

"Suketu, this is Aunty Vidushi and her daughter! Please look after them, I will be back in a jiffy!" Sanyukta rushed back to her room to change.

"Hello Suketu, nice to meet you! I am your Chachi. Meet my daughter, who happens to be your cousin!" Vidushi' s tone was warm and accommodating. Suketu felt encouraged by her and approached the baby girl who looked excited to see someone close to her age.

"Hello Chachi! What is your baby's name?" K2 sat next to Megami and threw his arms around her.

"Her actual name is Meghranjani, which is a bit long. So we call her Megami!" Vidushi clarified.

"Chachi, why is her name so long? And what does Megami mean?" K2 was a typical preschooler, Vidushi knew he had many more questions for her.

"Oh, that was the name chosen by her grandfather. Meghranjani is a raga in Indian music and he is a music buff!  Megami means Goddess in the Japanese language."  Vidushi had barely spoken when someone entered through the main door. 

"Hello, my beautiful babies!" A cheerful voice called out and K2 immediately rushed into Harsh's outstretched arms.

"Dadu!" K2 eyes sparkled gleefully as he acknowledged the only relative he had known besides his own mother. He refused to let go of Harsh even when Randhir walked in through the door.

Seeing K2 clinging to her grandfather Megami began to wail to draw attention to herself. She was not used to sharing her grandfather with any other child. Vidushi tried to calm her down.

"What is this, baby? Princesses don't cry!" Randhir took Megami from Vidushi' s arms and rocked her until she was distracted and she rewarded him with a happy gurgle.

"Attagirl!" Randhir kissed her forehead, his eyes carefully studying K2's expression at the same time.

"Hello!" K2 greeted him, puzzled to see his swimming coach in his home. He knew nothing about Harsh's family, they had never been introduced before.

"Hello, young man! Haven't seen you for over a week!" Randhir's tone was friendly. He was quick to observe that Sanyukta was missing from the room.

"She's inside, gone to freshen up!" Vidushi whispered. 

"Dadu, are you her grandfather too?"K2's possessiveness was evident as he wistfully eyed Megami nestlling in Randhir's arms.

"Yes, my dear boy! Megami is my grandchild just like you are!" Harsh replied. 

"Who is her Daddy?" K2 asked.

"Her Daddy is Parth, my husband and your chacha. Parth and Randhir are your Dadu's sons!" Vidushi could see confusion in K2's eyes.

"Then is Coach Sir my chacha too?" K2 tried to make the connection between Randhir and himself.

"We are definitely related since your Dadu is my Dad! Come Megami, let's get to know your cousin better!" Randhir sat down and placed both K2 and Megami next to each other. 

The bedroom door opened and Sanyukta walked in. Her eyes met Randhir's just for a moment. 

"Hello dear! I know I should have called ahead to say Vidushi and Randhir will be joining me! I see that you have met our little Princess already!" Harsh greeted Sanyukta warmly.

"Yes, I did. She is a beautiful child!" Sanyukta's smile was genuine as she saw her son trying to bond with Megami.

"Abby, why did you not tell me that Coach Sir is my chacha?" K2 asked. Even at his age he could sense that his mother had withheld information about his relatives.

There was an awkward silence for a few moments. Sanyukta did not know what to say, stress was writ large on her face.

"K2, I was away in the USA for many years, that is why we never met before and I did not recognise you as Abby's son. But now that things are different we can all be a happy family. And now the real reason why we are here. We came to invite your Mom and you for the inauguration of our new venture WaterLemon Infotech! We cannot have the opening ceremony without your presence, after all, you designed our logo!" Randhir came to the rescue. He did not have to look at Sanyukta's face to see that she was battling with the conflict inside her.

"Hey, these tikkis look delicious! And I am dying for some ginger tea!" Vidushi saved the moment. Sanyukta helped Akka serve the snack and the piping hot tea. 

"Here's your cardamom coffee!" She offered Harsh his favourite warm beverage.

"Bless Anju for passing on her kitchen secrets to you!" Harsh took a sip of the aromatic beverage.

"Nothing to eat, I'll just have the tea. Dad and I have a business meeting in a few minutes! Something came up at the last moment!" Randhir declined the offer of the snack. 

"Don't worry about me, I'll call a cab!" Vidushi said to Randhir.

"Hope to see Suketu and you at 6 pm next Saturday. Vidushi will pick you up on the way!" Randhir looked into Sanyukta's eyes. He sounded so assertive she dared not decline.

"We'll be there!" She muttered. She did not want her son to notice any awkwardness between Randhir and her.

"Right then. I will see you soon. Dad, are you ready? Vidushi, I'll call as soon as the meeting is over. And I'll come back to pick you up, you don't need to call a cab." Randhir said, just as he stepped outside along with Harsh.

"Abby, I wanted the launch to coincide with Anju's birthday. We need her blessings, especially because K2 is linked unwittingly to WaterLemon Infotech. Don't you dare make an excuse" Harsh knew Sanyukta could not avoid the event now that he had made a reference to Anju and her birth anniversary. 

Sanyukta relaxed visibly as soon as Randhir and Harsh left. K2 and Megami were busy playing with some of his toys by now.

"Relax, Sanyukta! Dad told me everything!" Vidushi motioned Sanyukta to sit down beside her.

"Do the others know too?" Sanyukta asked anxiously.

"Randhir knows because Dad had to tell him. And I told Parth. Mom knows nothing!" Sanyukta had made a pact with Harsh to keep her existence a secret from his family. She had not counted on bumping into Randhir at the Sports Academy.

"We had no idea where you were, and how dangerous your situation had gotten!" Vidushi expressed her empathy for the harrowing circumstances Sanyukta had endured.

"Mercifully I was barely conscious through the ordeal, I had been tranquilized. I did not know about Vishad's links with the drug mafia and about his problems with them. They held both of us captive and I was the collateral to coerce Vishad to reveal the location of the stashed money. Somehow Vishad contacted Arvind uncle in Karwar before managing to smuggle me out of there. When I asked him to join me he refused, saying that the mafia would kill us both if they succeeded in tracking us down. I have not heard from him since, but I am grateful that he had the sense to give our son a chance to come into the world. I have been in hiding for over four years, having changed my identity and address." Sanyukta reiterated what Vidushi already knew, Harsh had revealed everything about Sanyukta to Vidushi and Randhir. Randhir made it impossible for Harsh to deny the knowledge about Sanyukta's whereabouts after he traced the trail of conversations on Harsh's phone.

"Did Vishad know that you were pregnant?" Vidushi asked her.

"He found out after I told him as soon as we were kidnapped. Somehow his demeanor changed with the knowledge of my pregnancy. He shielded me, and would not let any harm come to me, no matter how much they hit him. And then as soon as he got the opportunity he showed me how to escape and contact Arvind uncle. Look after yourself, and please take care of Tanya if possible, those were his last words to me before I fled." Sanyukta had never spoken about her circumstances to anyone after Suketu was born. Only Arvind, Suniti and Harsh knew about her escape and they had  kept her secret to ensure her safety.

"Do you think Vishad may be alive still?" Vidushi asked, taking care not to draw Suketu's attention.

"Nobody knows, Vidushi. I am still waiting to get news about him!" Sanyukta had a distant look in her eyes.

They continued to chat for some time before Sanyukta left Vidushi alone with the children to help tidy up after the tea.

"Chachi, what are you doing?" Suketu asked curiously.

"K2, I am cleaning Megami's mouth. Do you want me to clean yours too?" She gave K2 some water to sip and then proceeded to carefully swab his cheeks before replacing the buccal swab sample into the sterile container, taking care not to be noticed by anyone. As if on cue, her phone rang, it was Randhir.

"Hi Vidushi, we are on our way to pick you up. Did you get the sample?" Randhir was sure Vidushi was resourceful enough to get the job done.

"Of course I did. No, nobody caught me in the act. I'll come downstairs with Megami!" She disconnected the phone. 

She said goodbye to Sanyukta and K2 and left with Megami. Mother and son saw her off till the elevator.

"I'll see you both at the launch party!" Vidushi told Sanyukta just before leaving.

Megami was fast asleep when they reached home. Vidushi asked the maid to tuck her in.

Vidushi helped Randhir seal K2's DNA sample in the secure envelope. As Harsh was the boy's legal guardian his consent and signature was necessary on the paperwork before the lab ran the test. The mother's consent was inconsequential. They did not want to tell Sanyukta about the test.

"Do you really need to know, Randhir?" Vidushi asked him just before the courier picked up the package. 

"Sanyukta knows nothing! Vidushi, she just assumed the baby is Vishad's. Despite what Tanya claims I cannot take a chance. If K2 is Vishad's son and if Vishad is alive I have to step aside. But if K2 is mine and Vishad continues to be untraceable after seven years of having gone missing, things should proceed differently." Randhir confessed.

"Is it not enough to know that the boy is a piece of her?" Harsh questioned his son's wisdom.

"I thought you would be glad to find out that K2 carries both Anju's genes as well as yours, assuming he is really my son. I explained the complication about his inheritance, did I not?" Randhir cut the discussion short. He was going to count the days before the lab mailed him the test results. He hoped it would turn up as he had anticipated.