Tina

"Why do you want to come here? Your Maasi and that Balwinder will create problems for sure. I'll come there and do all the necessary things."

Papa ji, talks in a low voice and in English, so that Maasi doesn't hear him.

"Para unka pita ji tuhanu sariam nu sahi dhaga nala sada dena cahude hana." I stretch my hand out from the balcony of our room, playing with the rain to calm my nerves and look at Rudhran ji who is trying to put Taran to sleep. (But his father wants to properly invite you.)

"Well, from what you have said, they are affluent."

"They are billionaires, papa ji."

"Then they will want to check your genuinity. Even middle class people like us won't marry our child away to some stranger. Let them visit, I'll manage your Maasi and Bal..." The phone is plucked away from my hand and I turn in shock.

"Sat Sri Akal, Papa ji. Main aap ki daamad bol raha hoon." I look at Rudhran ji shocked as he speaks in hindi. "Aap befikre rahiye, main sab kuch samaloonga." He looks at me. "Day after tomorrow, around 11 am... Sure, papa ji... Now I'll hang up, we need to wake up early... Good night." (Hello, uncle. This is your son-in-law speaking. You please don't worry, I'll take care of everything.)

"Aap ko Hindi malum hai?" I blink at him in surprise. (Do you know Hindi?)

"Thoda Bahut." He smiled and lifted my jaw up, closing my mouth that dropped open when he spoke in Hindi. "Why are you and your father so scared of them?" He half sits on the balcony railing before giving my phone back to me. (I know enough.)

"As I already told you, they were planning to get me married immediately after I landed in India. Till now, they don't know that I have returned. " I look down and fiddle with my phone cover.

He lifts my face to look up at him. "How much does your father know about us?"

"As much as your parents know about us." I turn around and hold the railings, looking into the dark grounds of the mansion. "Before we left for our marriage, I informed him that I'm getting married. He tried to stop me as I have never mentioned about you. After we cooked up the story to say in court, I told him the same story."

"So he doesn't know about the deal?" He lifts his eyebrows and leans his head down a little to look at my face.

"How will a father allow his daughter to marry for a deal? First, He was not willing as I'm marrying an unknown person." I release a heavy sigh. "When I told him that you are Thea's family, he was relaxed. Still, he doesn't know that you are her uncle and you have a son Taran." When we were in college we barely used to call her by her real name as she revealed it only when we were in our final year, so my dad knows her as Thea.

"What?" He steps down from the railing and stands straight. "Why would you hide those factors?"

"No father will allow his daughter to marry an older man" He glares at me. "I mean a man who is older than the average age gap in this current generation." I turn my face away to hide the smile trying to creep up my face.

He snaps his fingers in front of my eyes. "Why don't you laugh at my face itself instead of turning around." He crosses his arms against his chest and his biceps bulge under his t-shirt which I try to avoid seeing. "And, initially, I was not ready for your deal proposal because you were younger than the average age gap. Since I couldn't find anyone until the morning, I agreed to the deal. Also, didn't I flag a green signal for Raj Thooriga's relationship?"

"Hailo ji, FYI, Thooriga is your niece and you are not her father. Also, you are friends with Raj bro so you know about him and their relationship is a true love." I take a step closer to him in anger. "But my papa ji doesn't know about you. And yeah, I proposed the deal because I had an instant connection with Taran and later realised our connection is because we are the same in a way and I don't want him to go through what I did."

"Don't point your finger at me." He holds my right hand and locks it behind me, making me fall against him.

I place my left hand on him to keep a distance between us but it lands against his heart which beats as fast as mine. I look up at him and he looks down at me. The cold weather around us turns warm while his hand leaves mine and touches the small of back. I don't know whether he leaned down or I leaned up but our lips reach just millimetres apart for our breaths to collide.

A thunderbolt strikes loudly and we both jerk back from our spots. "Amma." Taran sits up from his sleep and starts crying.

We ran towards him. "Taran, what happened?" I rub his back but Rudhran ji pats on cheeks and tries to get his attention. "Taran, inga paru, appa va paru." Taran slowly settles down and looks at him before turning towards me and hugging me, "Mummy." (Taran, look at me. Look at dad.)

I hug him back, caressing his head and soothing his back. "I'm here only, Taran."

"Mummy, please enna vitu pogatha." He cries between his pants and I make him lie down on the bed. (Mummy, please don't leave me.)

"Mummy, inge thaan iruken. I'm not going anywhere." I lean next to him, kiss on his forehead and pat his chest. (I'm here with you, Taran.)

I look at Rudhran ji as he gets up from the bed and walks towards the balcony. I pat Taran until he stops crying and falls asleep. I tuck him under the duvet, place pillows next to him and go to check on Rudhran ji.

"Rudhra ji." I touch his shoulders and he immediately breaks down, kneeling on the floor.

I kneel next to him and hold his shoulders, trying to console him. "Why does this have to happen to him? Everytime it rains, he gets scared, remembering the accident."

"Was it raining that day?" I don't know whether asking him questions now is correct but he might feel better if he shares.

He nods his head. "It was raining continuously from the time the accident happened till we did her last rites." He shakes his head. "No child at this very young age should deserve seeing its mother dying in front of its own eyes."

My heart clutches in its socket as the memories of my mother taking her last breath flashes in front of my eyes, making it hard for me to breathe. "But some of us are born with that curse." My voice breaks down. "Yeh rab bi na, har waqt achchhe logon ko bahut jaldi hai apne paas bulata hai." I wiped the tears that escaped from my eyes. "Meri mummy ji ki atima sasakara din bi bahut barish ho rahi thee." I didn't know when he wrapped his hands around me or when I leaned against him but I buried my face and cried against his chest. (God always calls the good people sooner to him. Even on the day of my mother's funeral it was raining.)

"Once again, thanks for being there for him. I didn't know if someone else could have filled the shoes of Jeevs in Taran's life as loving as you." I pull back and look at him. "But please don't take him away from me in the end. I cannot stay without him." His eyes glisten at the mention of Taran staying away from him.

"Why would I do that?" My hands cup his face on his own. "Do you want me to stay away from him?" Even saying those words breaks me but I don't have rights on Taran.

"No. No. He needs you. But..." He struggles to form words. "After Jeevitha, when he gets scared, he usually hugs me to calm down but tonight, he chose you, leaving me and I couldn't handle it. His eyes were searching only for you." He looks at Taran who is now sleeping peacefully.

"What do you want me to do, Rudhra ji?" I force him to look at me. I can't stay away from Taran either but he is his father and I have to do what he says.

"Sorry. I'm already confused and Taran searching for you made me insecure. I just dumped it on." He stands up. "Be with him as always you are." He walks away removing his wet shirt that got drenched from the inclination of rain.

A knock on the door stops him and he goes to check on it, throwing the t-shirt in the laundry basket at the closet in his way. "Akka, neenga inga intha nerathula?" He opens the door wide and lets her in. (Akka, what are you doing here, at this hour?)

"Disturb pani iruntha, Sorry." Ilakkiya Anni enters hesitantly. "Thanni fill pannalam nu veliya vanthen paatha unga room la light on la irunthuchu. Konjam neeram munnadi idi vera idichathu athan Taran ethachem azhuvuran ah nu check pannalam nu vanthen." She avoids looking at us and stays awkward. (Sorry, if I have disturbed you. I woke up to get some water and saw the lights were on in your bedroom. A while ago, there were huge thunderstorms, so I thought of checking on Taran.)

"Azhuthan thaan ka aana ipo thoongitan." Rudhra ji replies and I look at him only to realise the reason for her awkwardness. (Yeah ka, he did cry but he slept now.)

Great, he is shirtless and my dress is also partially wet. Arrgh. She must be thinking otherwise.

"Appo naan avana thookitu poi enga kooda paduka vechukiren." She moves towards the bed and lifts Taran off the bed. (Then, I'll take him with me to sleep.)

"Anni, we will take care of him." I try to stop her.

"It's fine, I have managed him for a lot of time. You both take some rest, you guys have to wake up early, don't you?" Rudhra ji nods at her and she leaves wishing us good night.

"Why didn't you stop her from taking him?" I block his way when he tries to walk towards the closet after closing the door behind her.

"After Jeevitha and until you, she was the one who was taking care of him when I was away. She also has rights on him as much as we do." I look at him taken aback. "If you excuse me, the balcony door is open and I'm shirtless," Though it's unintentional, my eyes travel down at his bare torso on its own will, taking in the ridges of his muscles. "So I'm freezing." He crosses his arms, rubbing his biceps and covering his body. I mentally slap myself for the abrupt act and turn away, giving him privacy and a way to enter the closet. "Thank you."

He returns in a few seconds and clears his throat standing behind me. "You too change your dress, I'll get us some water." He walks past me and leaves with a half empty water bottle while there is another bottle full of water.

I go to the closet and get changed into a fresh pair of night dresses before returning back to the bed. My phone chimes with an incoming message and I check it.

Thooriga's Uncle: I'm in the library and will be back after a while.

Me: Okay.

I almost keep my phone back on the bedside table but suddenly take it back.

What if someone sees his name like this?

I quickly edited his name from Thooriga's Uncle to Ru ji and saved it.

Name of the husband through love marriage without heart emoji?

I once again edit his name by adding double heart emoji and lie back, placing the phone on the bedside table. It's been a week since I shifted to this room but today is the first time I'm sleeping alone.

Moreover, he confused me before leaving. After our talks in the office with Raj bro and Thooriga, he was co-playing. But started behaving weird after his phone call with Raj bro when he didn't return. One time he is asking me to stay away from Taran and the next time he says we have rights on him

We... He said we have rights on him. This Ru ji is such an unpredictable creature.

Wait. what? Ru ji ... what Ru ji when you are alone? It's Rudhran ji.

~~~~~~~~~

Tanya

I wish the rain could wash off all my fears.

When most of the states in the nation feel the hot summer, here in Ooty the land is getting wet with the rain. I lean back and lift my legs as I swing, feeling the light showers from the sky falling on me.

"Seems like someone is having fun in the rain." Saby leans his arms against the swing balancer and crosses his right leg behind his left ankle.

"Is there any rule that someone should not have fun?" I look at him as I continue swinging.

"Nope." He steps behind and pushes me to swing a huge leap.

"Hey, what if someone sees us?" I ask him when I swing back to him.

"Where did this thought go when you kissed me in this very same place?" He holds the chains to stop the swing.

"That was late in the night, all lights were turned off." I turn in my sitting position. "But now, lights are still on in many houses at the quarters."

"Even now we are away from people's eyes." He looks at the three sided slide for primary school goers. "This will hide us. Did you see me standing there and admiring you?" He leans down and pecks on my lips.

"Saby..." I look around, as the mansion lights and quarters light are still on.

"Okay, come with me." He holds my hand and drags me to the underside of the slide. "Now, we are more safe." He leans against the medium sized circular concrete pillar that balances the centre of the slide and pulls me against him. "Or do you want to go under the toddlers' slide house?"

I look at the slides on the three sides and steps on the fourth side "This would do." I nod in agreement and he tickles me.

"This would do." He tickles me more and I struggle to stand straight, controlling not to laugh loud.

"Ok stop. I was just teasing you." I try to hold his hand for him to stop but he wraps his hands around me. "I know."

"Okay. Why did you signal me to meet now?" I wrap my hands around his neck, pushing myself to be close with a man. Yes, we made out on Saturday night but still my heart beats fast in a man's proximity in a weird way.

"Well we are in some sort of relationship..." He removes my hand from around his neck and twirls me around. "And we didn't get a proper chance to talk in these two days, that's why." He slides down to sit, tugging me along with him.

"Ohh... Sorry, I was excited as we are going to Punjab tomorrow. In the excitement, I missed responding to you properly." Though it's just a casual fling, I should have given him the attention he deserves.

"It's okay. Yesterday, I was busy too, as my boss didn't return to the mansion last night." He rests his chin on my shoulder. "So, all set for tomorrow?"

"Yes, when I left India, I never thought I would ever return. But thanks to Thooriga, I not only return to India but also have an independent life now." I turned to my right to face him. Immediately, he bent his left leg up and placed his left arm on it, so that I could lean back. "I met Thooriga's family. I met you and now have a romantic life, which I thought I would never experience. Now, we are going to meet Tina's family too."

"When are you going to meet your sister?" He caresses my hair and tucks it behind my hair.

"I'm speaking with her through video call and also saw my new born nephew but I'm not yet ready to go there." I lean closer to his chest needing comfort and he wraps his arms around my shoulders.

"If you want to meet your sister and nephew, I can accompany you." He kisses on top of my head. "If you wish, you can introduce me as your friend. Else I can stay away but keep you safe."

I lean up and hug him. "Thank you. I would never hesitate to introduce you to my sister. When you are there, I feel protected and cherished." He kisses behind my ear.

But I don't want her to have any hopes for us.

"But for now, let's just focus on Tina and Jiju's wedding." I pull back to look at him.

"Ohh, yes. Speaking of their wedding, I'll be leaving early tomorrow with Mohan. To check the security in the place we are going to stay." A thunder strikes across the sky and his body trembles.

"Saby, are you okay?" His body jerks and he starts to breathe heavily. Without knowing how to handle him, I kiss him like I did on Saturday night.

The rain picks up and he hugs me tighter, kissing back. The calming kiss soon transforms into an urgent kiss and his hands travel down my body, squeezing my waist. I shift in my position, straddling him and he slips his hand inside my top, moving up to cup my breast.

"You are so addictive, Tanya. The addiction that gives peace to mind." He leaves my lips and kisses my neck. "Missed your warmth. I hope the room allotments in the hotel will be in our favour."

I lean back, giving him more space. "I'm planning to move out after Tina's wedding. After that you won't miss me."

He stops his kindling and pulls back to look at me. "Do you think Thooriga bro and Tina Ma'am will allow you?"

"I do love their company and eating with the family. But I cannot move freely here. Even if I want to go out, I have to inform and take one of the guards with me." I move down from his lap and sit on the ground. "Also, I don't want to keep on sneaking away to spend time with you."

"There is a reason for all the protocols. You are a friend of Thooriga bro and the person behind the conspiracy of the Harshavardhan Estate is still out there. What if they use you as a liability?" He shakes his head. "Thooriga bro can be running behind Boss now but as far as I know her, she would go to any extreme to save her loved ones. And Boss wouldn't want it."

"But Saby..." He silences me with a kiss.

"Staying within the mansion is safe for you. Also..." He takes a deep breath. "As a Deputy, I have to be on call any time. If you move out, I won't be able to meet you often. Just a few more weeks, everything might be sorted out."

"What do you mean, a few more weeks?" I look at him confused but his answer shocks me.

"Even I don't know, but after the memorial shootout, don't you think the conspirator will be outed soon? My Boss is sure of it and I'm just waiting for that day to arrive."

~~~~~~~~

Hey Lovelies,

Hope you all have liked this chapter, kindly let me your views through the comments.

See you all very quick in the Chapter 14 of TS, this evening around 7-8pm.

PS: For those who are confused with the spot Raj mentioned in previous chapter, please refer Raj's POV in Chapter 66 of The Lion and the Rose.

Love

RK Tejaswi

~~~~~~~~