"...What happens is of little significance compared with the stories we tell ourselves about what happens. Events matter little, only stories of events affect us."

― Rabih Alameddine, The Hakawati

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Dedicated to my dear @9953452634A who always keeps reminding me to write more and update more, who keeps me motivated by leaving messages and sweetly asks for updates when I am too late in updating...

Thank you for telling me and reminding me that you are always waiting for the updates! Thank you for appreciating my work and for always being so kind and supportive! :)

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"I think that's it for today, Mr Prashant would keep me updated with the progress of each case, but any complication, you can always reach out to me. The meeting is adjourned," Ramnaath Malhotra ended the weekly meeting with the lawyers working in his firm.

With a nod, each one of the lawyers stood up to walk away from the conference room.

"Mr Shravan, I want to discuss Mr Berry's new case with you," he said.

"Of course, Sir," Shravan agreed with a nod, knowing he couldn't object if it was related to work.

"Now that even Suman has relocated PTC, what are you going to do with that plot?" Ramnaath asked towards the end of their discussion yet the only response he got was a shrug.

"Do you not regret your spontaneous decision?" He then asked his son, knowing that he would get at least words now.

"I did what had to be done at that time," Shravan muttered, "Are we done?" He asked, closing the files.

But he should have known better, his father, after all, was the most cunning lawyer he had ever met, and it didn't take more than two seconds for his father to come to the point.

"You have been avoiding me," Ramnaath said, breaking the week-long silence between them.

And Shravan knew he couldn't avoid his father forever, yet he still had tried to delay any conversation with him. His trip to Mumbai had been a tiring one, it had broken something within him yet it had also given him the answers to the whys and what-ifs and had helped him solve a few dilemmas he had always faced ever since the day his mother had abandoned him. But it also had made him aware of how much he had been blinded by his love and devotion towards his father to recognize the flaws the man had. It made him aware of his father being something else and someone else than his father and made him realize that he had never known the husband that Ramnaath Malhotra had been to his mother or the man that he was for others. He had only seen him in his fatherly avatar and then, after working with him, in his boss avatar. And Shravan knew he needed time to accept his father's flaws, shortcomings and break out of his habit to blindly follow and trust his father, there was a lot to learn, to change, to relearn to love and respect his father without neglecting himself...

"I need some time," Shravan said with a heavy sigh.

"You can take all the time you need, you are staying back, and that's all I could ever ask for," Ramnaath muttered.

"I just want to ask you, if you have anything to say to me, anything to ask me," he asked, hesitant yet eager to eliminate any misunderstanding, any complaint.

"I just want to move on from the past, I have already wested more than a decade being haunted by it. I don't want to know anything anymore. I don't need to," Shravan said with a frown.

"Will you meet her again," his father asked him after a long silence.

Never. No. Maybe. Yes. One day...

"I don't know..." he whispered.

"What I have done right that she had done wrong, Shravan? What have I done to deserve your forgiveness?" Ramnaath asked after a long silence, his voice breaking in between.

"You stayed. Even if I was in London, so far away, you didn't forget me. You came to visit me whenever you could, you called me thrice a week, you made sure I didn't have to worry about financial matters, any other expenses. You made sure that I knew there was someone who loved me, who cared and was praying for me, who wished me well, and you never stopped being my father."

And that had been what his father had done differently and what his mother had given up on doing the moment she was denied access to him by her husband. She had thrown her hands up after the first and only attempt without even trying to reach out to him once. And he had lost his mother, but never his father. Even the distance hadn't reduced or changed the way his father's voice sounded warm and fond when he had talked to him over the phone.

"You were there, on bad days, on good days, the thought of making you proud made me fight back on days I wanted to give up, you were there to ask me how my exams went, you were the happiest when I graduated, you clapped the loudest. And I know you cried when I passed my Bar exam, and when I got my first job. You are still wearing the watch I gifted you with my first salary."

And maybe he had always been selfish because his father loving and caring for him despite all had always been what he had needed for him to favor his father more. His staying and not abandoning, not forsaking Shravan would always trump everything else...

"That's what you had done, and that's why I am biased, that's why I would always stay," he promised his father, and the way his father subtly hid away his tears made his heart so fond of the elder man.

"What else could I ask for more as your son than what you have already done?" He whispered as he smiled softly at his father.

"But you have to realize that I am no longer a child, I don't need your absolute protection, I can handle the truths of life and in return, I promise to put the past behind and accept that you are after all a human who can and has made mistakes. From now on, let's talk more and not hide things from each other, huh?" He said before patting and moving his father's hair away from his forehead in the same manner his father had always done to console him.

"Day by day, you are sounding like a father and doing the fatherly things as if it's I who is the son," Ramnaath commented with a half-smile.

And when his son laughed out loud, his eyes warm and nor longer carrying the always present conflict and sadness, Ramnaath just kept looking at him with a fond smile.

'Everything is going to be just fine,' he thought with a sigh of relief...

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"Mumma, please, we are getting late," Pushkar cried out impatiently.

All the members of the Malhotra clan except for Kamini were present in the hall, wearing the best of their clothes and ready for the Preeti Bhooj they had been waiting for, especially the four members of the ShraMan Fanclub, who have been anticipating the romance between their favorite couple and currently were busy with the WhatsApp chat group they had made to remain in contact with their fellow member and correspondent Tiwari Killa; Miss Preeti as she updated them on how the preparations were going on and how Suman had been preparing things from almost past few days, and with each information, their excitement increased. It was going to be such an amazing night, they just knew...

"Why did it take you so long to get ready when you are already so beautiful?" Lala Ji asked when Kamini finally walked out of their room tucked in jewelry and a designer Sari.

"Not in front of children," Kamini muttered with a blush.

Oh, her dear husband, no matter how bad her mood was, how bitter her thoughts were, how annoyed she was at the world, he just knew how to balance it all with his positivity and sweetness. Oh, how much she truly loved this man that now was looking at her with a soft smile, he had accepted her with all her flaws and bitterness, never failing to amaze her with his generosity and love...

"I am doing this only for you," she whispered to him, he responded with a nod and took her hand in his as others rushed out of the door.

She had rejected the idea of another dinner at Tiwari's when she had gotten to know about the invitation. Since day one, she had found the budding friendship between the two families disturbing, it hadn't matter when it had only Ramnaath Bhai Sahab, and it had been alright when occasionally even her Pushkar had interacted with Suman because it was in his friendly and sunshine nature to be kind and she had let him be. But ever since Shravan had come back, the Tiwari girl was found in their home every other day, and she found their presence bothering, and not only that, as soon as Shravan had come back, the two families have started to interact more and more with each other and she feared their middle-class mentality was affecting them. Especially as observed how even Vandy was giggling and chiming in ongoing the compliments session in the car about the Tiwari girl's oh-so-amazing cooking skills.

"What are you all getting excited about? Behave yourself. You are Malhotras, have eaten in five-star hotels, different continental cuisines. I don't understand what her Choole and Daal have for you all to go crazy for?" She asked, irritated.

The Tiwari girl was getting on her nerves, really...

"It's about the love she is putting in cooking that would taste different," Lala Ji said with a smirk that made Vandy giggle and their two sons snorted...

She didn't get the joke, asked them what they were on about but soon they reached the Tiwari Killa and no explanation was given to her.

'God, what's happening to my family?' She asked herself, bothered.

"Welcome, please, come in," the other Tiwari girl met them outside the door and rushed her in while the girl herself and the rest of Kamini's family stayed behind, talking about God knows what...

With an annoyed frown, Kamini entered, finding Ramnaath Bhai Sahab laughing his throaty laugh as Tiwari Sahab told him something with a fond toothless grin. But surprisingly, Shravan was nowhere to be seen, but before she could investigate, the Tiwari women flew in the hall, sweating with hot summer and probably due to working in the kitchen, welcoming her with way too cheery smiles and God, could she go home already? Tiwari's home was old, ancient even, no AC, just fans here and there, providing only a gush of fresh air before moving on the other side to grant someone else a momentary relief from the summer heat.

"Kamini Ji, cold drinks are here," the Tiwari elder daughter said as she presented her with Nimbo Paani.

"Don't worry, there isn't much sugar in there, Suman made it keeping in mind your diet," she told her with a smile.

Faking a smile, a bit too forceful, Kamini took the glass and as her hand touched the coolness of the drink, she couldn't resist the temptation and if she found the drink refreshing, she didn't have to tell anyone, right? So she continued with a twisted nose, indicating her distaste yet couldn't help but finish the whole glass.

Muttering one-word answers and a few fake smiles, Kamini continued to look around in hope that the Tiwari daughter would take the hint and leave her alone yet she seemed to talk on and on, supposedly being a good host...

"I will just come back," Rachna finally muttered after being called by her husband and finally left her alone.

With a sigh of relief, Kamini looked around her and found her family still huddled together with the Tiwari girl number two, whispering and giggling like school girls. With her eyes narrowed, she tried to understand what she had actually missed in the past few months. The last thing she remembered, all had been set to send Shravan away, all the way to London, she had played her cards perfectly, and had brought Ramnaath to Tiwari Killa at the right time to witness the epic reunion of Shravan and his mother yet that had not happened, and all her efforts had gone wasted...

But then she had seen the cold war happening between Ramnaath and the Tiwari girl, how irritated the man had been at her mention, and how he had snapped at his son countless times. And with that Kamini had hoped that Ramnaath himself would create drama and force his son to choose between him and Nirmala, but somehow that too didn't happen. Because before she knew, Ramnaath himself gave Shravan permission to go meet his mother, and for some unknown reason, everything worked out. And now the father and son seemed even more disgustingly fond of each other as they sat together talking with Tiwari Saheb, and now that the blinding fear of Ramnaath of losing his son to Nirmala was gone, Shravan was to remain in Indian with him, and even Suman's presence was welcomed by him.

'Ha, pathetic man,' she sighed in frustration.

And for some reason, Shravan was getting bolder and bolder, not any longer the naive foreigner boy she could emotionally manipulate, and not only, she feared he wanted to take over Malhotra Law Firm too. He was plotting something, something he only shared with that bloody Tiwari girl.

'God, how much I hate her,' she thought to herself.

But that aside, why was her own family getting way too friendly with the Tiwaris? Last time they had been here, although men had been enjoying themselves, at least Vandy had been on her side, clinging to her yet this time around for some unknown reason, she was standing near the Tiwari girl number two and whispering God knows what to each other.

"Vandy," she called out as soon as the Tiwari girl number two disappeared in the kitchen.

"Yes, Mummy ji," Vandy came to her in all her naive glory.

"What were you doing with that Tiwari girl number two?" She asked her, eyes narrowed.

"Her name is Preeti, Mummy ji, and she is super sweet, we have so much in common, and she knows the art of nail paint and knows so much about fashion," Vandy gushed on with her eyes wide and even a wider smile.

"Vandy, how many times I have told you to not mingle with these stupid middle-class people," she scolded her and when her daughter in law pouted like a child, she made her sit next to her and patted her hair.

Vandy just knew how to melt her heart, Kamini thought with a fond smile.

She had met Vany in one of the first kitty parties when the Malhotra family had finally entered in the big rich families circle thanks to what seemed Ramnaath's overnight success. With Kamini still new to high-class ways, Vandy's mother, with the same trademark naivety yet giving nature, had been her savior, teaching her the ways of high society and enhancing her natural grace. And that's how Kamini had met Vandy; naive and dumb, easily controlled, not to forget that from a very affluent family, a perfect wife for her workaholic and business-minded Varun. But with years, Vandy had wormed her way inside her heart and even though she was of no use to Kamini's for her cunning mastermind plans, Vandy was one of her own and she must protect her from these tacky Tiwaris.

"Please, come, Kamini Ji, Vandy beta, dinner is ready," the Tiwari son called them.

And thinking that she would now have Vandy by her side for nitpicking, Kamini walked towards others yet somewhere in between, Vandy abandoned her and left her surrounded by Tiwari women. Controlling her frustration, she forced a smile on, continuously pushing away the offers to eat this or that. And when the Tiwari women let her be, she observed the strange things that were happening around her. Her family along with apparently 'Preeti' were engrossed in a playful conversation that had them giggling like teenage fangirls. Ramnaath Bhai Sahab, Tiwari Ji, and the rest Tiwari men were having discussions on various political and social topics, the Tiwari women, now that they have given up on including her in their middle-class discussions and gossip, were talking with each other. But what caught her attention was the soundless communication happening between Shravan and Suman. An interesting banter with eyes, hand gestures, shy smiles, and smirks, they seemed like in a world of their own like two love birds...

'Now that's a new development,' Kamini thought with a smirk.

Oh, Preeti Bhoojs were a blessing, weren't they? Even last time, when she had thought she had no card left, and she had been running her mind a mile to find a way to send Shravan away, she had found one; it had been as if the sky had answered her and dropped the perfect solution right in her hands. Even now, knowing the romantic development that has happened between Shravan and Suman, and knowing how much Ramnaath hated women like Nirmala, independent and headstrong, it would be easy to paint Suman in the same colors and present her as the perfect villain to Ramnaath. And Shravan of course would have to choose between Suman and his father. If it's Suman he would choose, he would have to leave Ramnaath, and therefore Malhotra Law Firm and if it's Ramnnaath that he would choose, he would come to resent his father and wouldn't be able to find happiness in India and would leave and go back to London. So, really, whoever Shravan may choose, in the end, it's her, Kamini Malhotra, who will win...

With a smirk, Kamini observed them to find a window of opportunity in which she could strike and win the game.

'It's just a matter of time now,' she thought, her eyes fixed on the two love birds.

But Kamini wasn't the only one who had their eyes set on the interesting voiceless conversation happening before their eyes, the five members of ShraMan Fanclub too were invested in decoding the smiles and the talking their eyes were doing. And even though the dinner before them was delicious, and they did savour each bite, their attention was dedicated to the couple only, that and of course, in gushing about them.

"I absolutely love the fact that they both are smiling at each other as if they are the only one in the room," Preeti gushed with a heavy sigh, her eyes not leaving the duo.

"And they are once again color coordinating, they somehow always are wearing the same colors, so cute!" Vandy commented with a smile.

"I wonder if it's intentional," Varun thought out loud.

"Oh, I am just so happy to finally have someone to share my ShraMan with," Pushkar said, emotional and proud.

"I don't know about you guys, but this choole bhature is to die for," Lala Ji chimed in, breaking the ongoing gushing and making the rest of the members groan.

"What? What's wrong?" Lala Ji asked, confused.

"Lala Ji, you sure know how to ruin the mood," Pushkar complained, snapped out of his sentimental confession.

"What? We should actually mind our business, enjoy the food and let them enjoy this phase," the wise man told them before suggesting the two couples to try this or that dish to keep them distracted.

And when everyone was done with dinner, they moved outside, hoping the fresh air from the garden would be enough to give them relief from the hot summer. With men's laughter and loud discussions to the forced and awkward smiles from women, and of course the gushing of members of ShraMan Fanclub, everyone seemed divided into three groups, and Daboo, the only child between the adults was sent to sleep and that meant the way was clear. Overlooking the three groups, Shravan sighed in boredom as he waited for Suman to be freed from serving the various desserts she had made for them. He had tried to help her, several times, but had been shooed away by her who had told him to wait for her on the rooftop once she signaled him to. With his eyes never leaving her as she went inside and came out with various dishes and plates, he observed Suman Tiwari in her element...

And the more Shravan observed, the more he found something disturbing about it. She was overworked, overburdened, and consumed not only her job as the owner of PTC but as a daughter of the Tiwari family too. His mother's words still fresh in his mind, he now could see what he previously had ignored due to his own fears and selfishness. Before he had thought Suman's going out of her way, sacrificing her own time, and making her family her priority was a clear indication of how good she would be in the role of a wife, mother, and a daughter in law, but now there was also something else he was noticing. Something he had ignored and tried to overlook before because he had been hell-bent on making her, so unlike his mother.

He had found it highly disturbing when Suman had first handed him her mother's jewelry, her refusal to any kind of help, and all the casual insults Mami had thrown on various occasions, but now that he was paying everything attention, he could clearly see why Suman was the way she was. And how wrong it was for her to be so self-neglecting and overburdened...

But did he have any right or say in the matter? Probably not. He was sure Suman would mind and take his concern for her as him interfering in her life...

Yet it was glaringly obvious; Suman was being treated unfairly by the rest of the Tiwaris and it was so normalized that not any one of them batted an eye on how Mami kept taunting her or how she was being shouldered almost every responsibility inside and outside the home.

And as he saw her running around while the rest of the Tiwaris sat around comfortably, Shravan couldn't help but feel uncomfortable, his heart aching and his frown deepening. Standing up once again, he followed her on her trip back to inside to bring God knows what to who...

"Shravan, just five minutes more," she sighed and smiled guiltily when she saw him standing in the middle of the kitchen.

"Why can't I help?" He asked with a frown.

"Because you are one of the guests," she answered once again what she had told him when he had offered first.

"And why can't others help?"

"Because you guys are my guests."

"And what happens when their guests come for dinners?"

"Then they help me out, Shravan, why are you asking all these questions?" Suman asked, confused.

"Sumo, I just..." he left his sentence unsaid and sighed heavily.

It was difficult, telling what was wrong. Hadn't he himself had been so defensive and in denial when the flaws in him and his own family were pointed out? So why wouldn't she? And he already couldn't communicate better anyway, always had to be careful in voicing his emotions and thoughts, so how could he tell her what he wanted to without messing up? And before he could find the correct words, they were interrupted.

"Suman, where are Pan and Mangos? Everyone is waiting and here you are both chatting," Rachna Mausi scolded.

"I am just washing them, Mausi, just two minutes," Suman apologized as her hands worked at a faster pace.

"And you can find Pan in the fridge," she answered.

"Okay, bring them out," Rachna commanded and turned to walk out but before she could, Shravan stopped her.

"Mausi, will you mind taking Pan on your way out?" Shravan asked, forcing his irritation out of his voice.

"Suman will do it," she answered back hurriedly.

"You are going back there anyway, so..." he objected.

"Huff, okay, only because it's you, Shravan" the eldered woman sighed before moving to do what was asked.

'What did that mean?' he asked himself, confused and shocked.

"Di, Lala Ji wants to taste the new Ladoos you have made," Preeti entered in the kitchen right after Mausi and Shravan couldn't help but glare at the new arrival.

He didn't know if it was the effect of his glare or the goodness of Preeti's heart, but she next suggested;

"Actually, Di, why don't you take a break? I will take care of the rest?"

"That's actually a very good idea," he jumped into the conversation before Suman could replay and moved towards her to grab the tray of Mangos and handed Preeti everything and with Suman's hand in his, Shravan was on his way out of the Kitchen.

"Shravan, wait," Suman protested.

"I need to tell her a few things," she told him before instructing Preeti where to find what.

"Don't worry, Di, I will do everything as you said and even personally deliver Kheer to you guys on the rooftop, now shoo you both," Preeti told them and sighed dreamily when she saw the duo walking hand in hand with Shravan leading their way to their destination.

And after delivering the Mangos and the Kheer to everyone, she reported everything to her fellow ShraMan shippers, giggling along with them.

"Okay now I am off to give the Kheer," she informed them but before she could move, Lala Ji stopped her by removing one bowl from the tray she was carrying.

"Offho, you guys still have so much to learn, this way they would share from the same bowl and with only one spoon," he responded to them with a wink when he was asked about his action.

"Indirect kiss," Vandy whispered to Preeti and both giggled with blush painting their cheeks.

The commotion happening between the five members of the ShraMan Fanclub had attracted the attention of the rest but while they had ignored or overlooked the matter, Kamini had her eyes fixed on them ever since the start and as she saw Preeti moved towards the rooftop and noticed how both Shravan and Suman had disappeared from the scene, she knew the window of opportunity she was trying to find was right before her eyes. With a strange glint in her eyes, she smirked, her eyes moving towards Ramnaath who was talking to the Tiwari men with a content look on his eyes.

'Oh, this is going to be so much fun,' Kamini thought with a smirk.

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A/N:- I am so late and I apologize for that... T____T

I think I should just give up on writing social gatherings because it seems like my socially awkward self can't even write one social gathering without pulling my hair and not knowing what to write, do research, try to find, and read how other writers write about dinners and parties yet nothing helps... T____T

But I still really hope you, generous & lovely people, liked this chapter... T__T

So, yes, Kamini is up to something... What and if she will gain something out of it? To find out you will have to wait for the next chapter... ;D

And yes, yes, yes...You guessed it right. We are going to explore the promised track of "Shravan helping Suman realize her how she is - in EDKV's own words; 'contrastingly submissive each time she is found within the boundaries of her home' and more..." ;)

So, yes, now that Shravan's own healing process has started, he can finally see the world around him without the consuming haziness of pain, fear, and worries. And of course, the first person that he would reach out and help heal is his Sumo as she had done for him. So who else is excited for us exploring the original premise of EDKV? ^__^

Please comment to let me know your thoughts and feelings, and if you are liking the story so far, and anything you want to tell me... :)

Thank you for always being so sweet, kind, and patient, for being so supportive and motivating me to continue writing and keep going. Thank you for everything you do! <3 <3 <3

Thank You! :)

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