For those who don't know these Hindi terms:
Daadu means paternal grandfather
Naanu means maternal grandfather
Daadi means paternal grandmother
Naani means maternal grandmother
Bhaiyya means brother (usually elder)
Bhai also means brother
Di means sister (usually elder)
Chachi means paternal aunt
Chachu means paternal uncle/uncle married to your maternal aunt/uncle married to your paternal aunt
Mamu means maternal uncle
Mami means wife of your maternal uncle
Masi means maternal aunt

And for those who don't know:
Radhika- Aarohi's mother.
Reehaan- Aarohi's father.
Rana, Rishabh, Roshan, Rohan, Riddhima- Radhika's siblings
Prithvi, Vikram, Divya, Vidya- Reehaan's siblings
Lipi- Reehaan's cousin.
Rana married to Sayali: Yash- son
Rishabh married to Nafisa: Imran- son
Roshan married to Vidya: Vihaan- son
Rohan married to Divya: Hridaan- son
Vikram married to Samaira: Abhimanyu- son
Prithvi married to Kiara: Pari- daughter
Riddhima married to Noor: Meera and Aziza: daughters
Lipi married to Animesh: Saloni- daughter; Samrat- son
Saloni married to Siddharth
Vijay, Aryan- Reehaan's best friends
Vijay married to Mitali: Neil- son
Aryan married to Anamika: Maithili- daughter

Now on to the chapter. Enjoy!
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Aarohi's POV:

"Ouch mom", I mutter. "Can't. Breathe."

My mom immediately steps back and releases me from her bone-crushing hug. Her eyes search my face and travel the length of my body, as if surveying whether some damage has been done.

My eyes however travel past her and land on my dad.

I gulp.

He does not look too happy. He looks slightly disappointed. But the corner of his lips are twitching, as if trying to suppress a full-blown smirk.

Huh. Maybe the light is playing tricks on my eyes.

And then I muster the courage to look at the rest of my family.

Both the sets of grandparents look highly relieved that I am home. All of my uncles are busy staring at Karthik, as if sizing him up. All of my aunts are also busy staring at Karthik, but with glassy-eyes, as if he has a halo around his head. All of my cousin brothers are also busy staring at Karthik, not really sizing him up, but just grinning because of the trouble I am about to get into. And all of my cousin sisters are looking at me slyly, probably wondering who the guy next to me is.

Until Karthik's hand finds mine, and he squeezes it twice. I know he's trying to reassure me. And his gesture does not go unseen by anybody.

That's when the expressions of all the males, except dad, in the family, changes. They look furious.

And all the females, including mom, shoot us "awwww" looks.

That's why my family is legit crazy.

My dad speaks up, "Thank you, Karthik. Thank you so much for bringing Ro back home. Safe. I really do not know how to repay you."

I look at Karthik and he blushes slightly at my dad's words. I suppress a smile. He's so cute when he's blushing.

At my dad's words, all the men in the family relax a little. Damn these overprotective people.

"It's no big deal, uncle Reehaan", Karthik tells him. "Aarohi's my best friend. Ofcourse I would go to any lengths to make sure she's safe."

At this statement, Pari di, Aziza and Meera di, and Saloni di, actually go "awwww". Out freaking loud.

I look at my feet, embarrassed, and mom starts laughing.

And then Aunt Nafisa says, "So this is Karthik. I've heard so much about you."

Damn she's a trouble maker! I've never told her about Karthik. Ever.

"You have?" Imran bhaiyya, Aunt Nafisa and Uncle Rishabh's son asks. "What have you heard? Is he her boyfriend? Are they dating? Do we need to punch him?"

I roll my eyes. All of my brothers are way too protective of me. They think I am the weakest in the family, for some reason.

Karthik looks at me, alarmed. And I know why. Imran bhaiyya is a good 6 feet 4 inches tall. He towers on Karthik's six feet frame.

I try to convince Karthik with my eyes that it's all okay.

But to make matters worse, Yash bhaiyya (Rana mamu and Sayali mami's son) speaks up, "Yeah. I don't like the way he's looking at our little Rohi."

"Yeah", Vihaan (Roshan mamu and Vidya mami's son) adds. "I mean, just look at him. It's pathetic."

"Absolutely", Hridaan (Rohan mamu and Divya mami's son) agrees. "He looks so fucking whipped. It's gross."

"Language!" Samrat bhaiyya (Lipi chachi and Animesh chachu's son) admonishes in a high pitched voice, grinning at Lipi chachi slyly.

"Yeah don't embarrass the poor guy", Abhimanyu (Vikram chachu and Samaira chachi's son) says. "It's bad enough that he can't wipe the drool of his face 'coz he's so busy ogling at Rohi di."

"Alright that's enough now", Naanu speaks up, sternly. "Atleast let them get inside the house."

"Then you can tease them as much as you want to", Daadu smirks at me and I blush slightly.

My family has always made it a point to embarrass me.

We are ushered inside and immediately Daadi and Naani grab me in a hug, and start attacking me with kisses all over my face. Daadi covers the left side of my face and Naani covers the right side.

Karthik stands in front of me, absolutely amused. I wish I could knock that expression off his face.

"Alright, now, ladies, stop killing our granddaughter with saliva", Daadu says and Naanu laughs along with him.

Daadi and Naani let go of me and then turn around to face Karthik. They then proceed to hug him as well, and he barely manages to look dreadful, when he is showered with grateful kisses as well.

"Welcome to the family, pighead", I grin at him.

I then hug Daadu and Naanu.

"You okay, kiddo?" Daadu asks.

"Ofcourse Daadu", I assure him. "I'm your strong girl."

He smiles at me and then Naanu says, "She gets her strength from me."

"Here we go again", I mutter under my breath.

Daadu rolls his eyes. "Are you serious? Those strong genes are from me!"

"You guys aren't even related directly", Naanu points out.

Daadu crosses his arms. "So? I'm genetically her grand-uncle. She is strong because of the Royal blood in her."

Daadu and Naanu have this habit of getting into a friendly fight over all of my traits.

I look at dad, who is now standing next to me, watching the two old men in amusement. He then looks at me, and smiles slightly.

I hug him tightly, tears in my eyes for some reason, and whisper, "I'm so sorry, dad. I'm really sorry. You were right. Mayur is a horrible person."

Dad pats my back, soothing me, and pulls me even close, as if trying to protect me from the whole world. "It's okay, Ro. It's okay. You made a mistake, and you learnt from it. Such experiences are important in life. I'm just glad you're safe."

I hear somebody sniffling next to me and turn to look at mom, who's crying.

"Oh mom, don't cry", I hug her tightly, meanwhile crying myself. "I'm sorry. Really."

"You're safe", mom says. "I'm just so happy that you're safe."

Dad then hugs both of us from behind.

And then I hear lots of sniffling noises. I break away from my parents' hold and look up to see all the women in the family crying and hugging each other.

Except Aunt Nafisa who is shooting them bewildered looks.

If Jaya Bachhan from Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham were here right now, she would be very proud of all these crying ladies.

Then dad's phone rings. He picks up and promptly hands it to me, saying, "It's for you."

I think I know who it is.

And my guess was proven correct, as an irate voice speaks up, "Are you fucking mental, Aarohi? What the hell were you thinking? I was about to leave and come after you, but Maithili stopped me. I was going insane."

"Hello to you too, Neil bhaiyya", I wince slightly at his furious tone.

Amongst all of my brothers, I'm closest to Neil bhaiyya (Vijay chachu and Mitali chachi's son). Although he's not really my brother, I love him like a sister would. He's the best. He's my go-to guy for everything and anything. He gives the best advice ever. And Maithili di (Aryan chachu and Anamika chachi's daughter) is his girlfriend of almost eight years. Both of them are absolutely adorable and have always given everybody relationship goals.

"I heard Karthik got you home safe", Maithili di speaks up.

Guess the phone must be on loudspeaker.

I can almost hear a teasing tone in her voice. "He's just a friend, Maithili di."

"Yeah, no touching my sister", Neil bhaiyya adds threateningly. At times, he's even worse than dad and Karthik when it comes to protecting me.

Maithili di laughs. "Ignore Neil, Aarohi. He's got a stick up his ass."

Neil bhaiyya says, enraged, "You did not just say that."

"What are you going to do about it?" Maithili di challenges and she immediately starts screaming and laughing.

Maithili di is very ticklish, but I can't be too sure of what he's doing to her, so to be safe, I say, "I gotta go now guys. I'll call you up later."

"Bye!" Both of them say.

I give the phone to my dad, who shakes his head in amusement.

"I'm starving", Saloni di says, massaging her baby bump. Saloni di is married to her long-time boyfriend, Siddharth, and they're currently expecting a daughter. She's five months along already. She's the only one among the kids who is married.

Siddharth is a really cool guy, and sometimes, he acts like a brother to me too.

Told you the men in the family are overprotective of me.

"Should we get some dinner?" Siddharth asks dad, putting his arm around Saloni di.

"Sure", dad says. "I have already booked a table at Taj; I was thinking we should eat outside as a welcome home celebration for Ro. Karthik, I have invited your parents and elder brothers along for the dinner as well, so you have to come too."

"Yes, uncle Reehaan", Karthik smiles.

"And oh, Ro", dad faces me, his smile slipping slightly from his face. "You're grounded. You have lost all your privileges. You can have your cell phone, but you won't be allowed to go out of the house for any reason. And Karthik is going to pick you up for college and drop you home."

I drop my head in shame. "Okay. I deserve that."

"Lover-boy must be so happy", Samrat bhaiyya says loudly and Saloni di reprimands him, "Samrat! Please ignore my brother, Karthik. He has no filter on his mouth."

Samrat bhaiyya rolls his eyes. "C'mon, let's go. My little neice is hungry", he gestures towards Saloni di's protruding stomach, causing Lipi chachi to hit him on the head.

"Wait, before that", Naanu announces and looks at Daadu, who nods his head.

"On behalf of the whole family", Naanu looks at Karthik. "I would really like to thank Karthik here, from the bottom of my heart, for bringing Aarohi home, safe and sound. Karthik, we are indebted to you. You have our eternal gratitude."

Karthik goes slightly red and mutters, "It's not a big deal, sir. Please don't thank me."

"Awww, he said sir!" Meera di gushes.

"He's so cute!" Aziza di agrees.

"Calm down now, girls", Pari di grins at me. "Rohi might not like you guys going ga-ga over her boyfriend."

"So he is her boyfriend?" Imran bhaiyya asks, breaking his knuckles.

"Who else would be stupid enough to date Rohi di?" Vihaan adds.

"Give him some credit, Imran bhai", Hridaan pipes up. "And cut him some slack. He is so in love with her."

"That's disturbing", Abhimanyu says. "Dude, don't lose your manliness in the process."

Karthik looks like a glowing beacon right now.

"Alright, stop it, you guys!" I call out. "Seriously! We're not dating. We're just best friends."

"But if you want to date her, you have our permission", Daadu jokes.

"He touches her, and he's history", Yash bhaiyya says, menacingly.

"I bet ten bucks that they would end up together", Roshan mamu tells Rohan mamu.

"Ten bucks says Yash would end up hitting Karthik by the end of this dinner", Uncle Rishabh pipes up.

"Ten bucks says he wouldn't", Rana mamu adds. "My son would never embarrass us like that."

"Can I get some of that action?" Sayali mami asks. "Ten bucks says Imran would harrass Karthik throughout dinner."

"Yeah nobody would be stupid to bet against that", Aunt Nafisa snorts.

"I bet twenty bucks that Karthik and Aarohi would end up together by the end of this year", Riddhi masi says.

Noor chachu laughs. "I bet twenty bucks that Karthik and Aarohi wouldn't end up together at all."

Lipi chachi laughs. "You're blind, Noor. Riddhima, count me in your bet. I bet fifty bucks that Karthik and Aarohi would definitely end up together by the end of this year."

"Me too!" Saloni di adds.

"Count me in", Meera di says and Aziza di nods her head enthusiastically.

Pari di grins slyly. "I'll bet a hundred bucks that they would end up hooking up by the next two months."

I blush deeply and Karthik is just looking at me, dumbfounded. "Alright guys, seriously, stop betting on me and Karthik-"

"How about we make this into a males versus females bet?" Animesh chachu pipes up. "We bet against Karthik and Aarohi ending up together, and you can bet for."

"But we'll make this interesting", Vikram chachu says. "If we win, you would have to let all of us go on a males trip only."

"I love this bet", Daadu tells Naanu excitedly.

"I can't, I have work-" Prithvi chachu says, but is interrupted by Vikram chachu glaring at him.

Samaira chachi snorts and looks at Kiara chachi, who grins widely and says, "Fine. But if we win, you will pay for whatever we want to shop, without any complaints. Which means, that if I want something worth lakhs of Rupees, you're gonna buy that for me."

"Damn your wife is evil", Vikram chachu hits Prithvi chachu.

"Now I love this bet", Daadi tells Naani with a blissful expression on her face, and they both end up giggling like teenage girls.

"So, do we have a deal? Ladies? Gentlemen?" Vikram chachu asks.

"Deal", both the parties agree.

"Just to be clear", dad calls out. "I'm not a part of this bet."

"Why not, wuss?" Rana chachu sniggers and dad glares at him.

Mom loops her arm around dad's and shoots daggers at Rana chachu. "It's because both of us already know what's gonna happen. Now can we get going? We're gonna be late. We have an hour to get ready."

Everybody agrees and mom tells me to freshen up. I pick my bag and start towards the stairs.

Karthik lifts my bags as well, but Imran bhaiyya stops him. "You can go freshen up over there", he points to a bathroom at the end of the living room. "And leave the bags to us."

"Quit hassling him, Imran bhaiyya!" I say loudly but Karthik just follows his instructions and leaves.

Ha. Wuss.

This might actually be fun.

"C'mon, men", Yash bhaiyya says. "Hridaan and Vihaan, you take care of Rohi's bags and keep them in her room. Samrat and Abhimanyu, you follow Karthik to the bathroom and make sure he does not do anything funny. Imran and I will stand at the bottom of the stairs and shield Rohi from Karthik's puppy-eyed gaze."

"Seriously, Yash bhaiyya, it's not funny!" I yell.

"Quiet, Rohi, you don't know what you're talking about", Imran bhaiyya silences me.

Pari di rolls her eyes. "You know it's no use talking to them. C'mon, let's go to your room."

Saloni di says, "I'll stay here if you don't mind."

We nod and Siddharth leads her to the couch.

Meera di and Aziza di follow myself and Pari di into my room.

As soon as I'm inside, Pari di locks the bedroom door and says, "Spill."

I roll my eyes. "Let me get freshened up first, atleast." And then I remember. "Crap I forgot to tell my friends that I'm home." I grab my phone and send them a quick text saying that I'm home and I'm okay.

I then go into the washroom and take a quick shower.

I come out, my towel wrapped around my body, and find all of my dresses on my bed, and Meera di saying, "No, not this one. It's a family dinner, not a frat party."

Aziza di says, "Yeah, nothing too revealing."

Pari di says, "Something which grabs attention instantly, but which screams beautiful and not slut."

I cross my arms and narrow my eyes. "What are you guys doing?"

"What do you think? We're searching for the perfect dress for you- Aha!" Pari di pulls out a Royal blue dress which reaches my knees. There's a hole at the back of the dress, but it's not too big.

"Wear this", she forces the dress in my hand. "I'll take care of your make-up."

"I'll do your hair", Meera di says.

"I'll clean this mess up, supervise, and search for a pair of matching shoes", Aziza di adds.

"But, why?" I whine. "Can't I just wear what I normally wear?"

"Nope", they deadpan.

"Keep your contacts on", Pari di says.

I give up. It's a losing battle anyway, and I don't have the strength to put up a fight.

I sit on my chair in front of the dresser after putting my dress on and my sisters get to work. Meanwhile, I tell them about the whole trip in short. They're not pleased. But the sweet part is, they're not pleased with Mayur.

Well, needless to say, neither am I.

After they're done, I scrutinise myself in the mirror. They've done a fantastic job. My hair is cascading in waves behind my back, and my eyes are framed with thick lashes. My lips are cherry red and I have blue pumps on my feet. I do look good.

"You look so pretty!" Aziza di gushes.

"We're good", Meera di tells Pari di who agrees.

"But why this sudden need for me to look good?" I ask them.

"We're gonna have dinner at Taj", Pari di rolls her eyes. "And you are not going to walk there looking like a B-grade actress. You are part Royal. And now you look every bit a Princess."

I roll my eyes. "Fine."

"And, Karthik won't be able to keep his eyes off of you", Aziza di says.

"Karthik?"

"God, you're dumb", Meera di sighs. "Now give us ten minutes, we need to get dressed as well."

They all change quickly, each of them wearing equally pretty dresses and looking so damn gorgeous, that it makes me proud to have beauties like them as my sisters and sad at the same time because I am no match to them.

"C'mon, let's get going", Pari di grabs my hand and we make our way down the stairs.

I am actually quite conscious of the way I look. I touch my hair nervously, and descend the stairs slowly, not wanting to fall down because of the treacherous heels.

As our family comes into view, I can see everybody looking at us, wide-eyed and appreciatively.

Especially Karthik. He keeps staring at me for some reason, until Imran bhaiyya and Yash bhaiyya stand in front of him and block me from his line of vision.

I roll my eyes at their immature behaviour.

"My, my, you girls look absolutely pretty", Saloni di says in appreciation.

Samrat bhaiyya rolls his eyes. "That's just great. Now we have to try to keep you guys away from lecherous creeps who would be staring you up and down all night."

"I've got Karthik", Imran bhaiyya says. "Yash, you keep Rohi far away from him."

"C'mon now, boys", suddenly mom says. "Let the poor guy go. You should feel ashamed of yourselves. He brought her home safe and this is how you're thanking him?"

"But, Radhika chachi-" Imran bhaiyya begins, but then huffs and sighs like a child after seeing my mother's austere expression.

"Alright fine", Yash bhaiyya cedes, and Imran bhaiyya tells Karthik, "We're watching you. No funny business with our sister."

Then all the guys leave and head outside the house, and Karthik heaves a huge sigh of relief. Everybody soon makes their way outside, leaving me and Karthik alone.

"Your family is frigging mental", he murmurs and I laugh.

"C'mon Karthik, let's go have dinner", I nudge him slightly in his ribs and he grins.

I turn to leave but he grabs my hand.

I turn around. Karthik looks at me, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Er- what?"

"Nothing. Let's go", he says but does not leave my hand. I don't protest.

I grab the keys and lock the door.

"You're coming with me in my jeep", he informs me and I nod.

"Sure."

We sit inside and he drives off. We don't speak much, mainly because it takes hardly fifteen minutes to reach Taj from my home.

But every few minutes, I can sense Karthik's gaze on me, as if he wants to say something.

We reach the grand, magnificent hotel and he lets the valet take over the parking of his jeep. We get down and Karthik guides me inside like a gentleman.

"Hey squirt!" A voice calls me and I look to my left and squeal. My entire family is already there but my eyes are trained on the two idiots grinning at me.

"Atharva! Shivam!" I launch myself at them, squealing all the way, and Karthik laughs. They bear-hug me and Atharva ruffles my hair.

"Atharva!" I slap his hand away. "Don't spoil my hairstyle!"

"Why are you all dressed up anyway?" Shivam grins at me and I just poke his ribs.

Karthik's parents then enter my line of sight. Karthik's mom hugs me tightly. "Thank God you're safe, Aarohi. We missed you so much, honey."

"I missed you too, Nisha aunty", I tell her. "How are you guys?" I ask Nisha aunty and Raj uncle (Karthik's dad).

"We're good, now that you're safe", Raj uncle grins and hugs me too.

Karthik's family is amazing. They are the kindest people I've ever met.

Dad clears his throat. "Shall we?"

We all step inside one of the luxurious hotels at the Taj and the ambience stuns me as usual. So much so, that I don't realise why my entire family is standing in front of me, their backs to me, and suddenly Karthik is by my side, his arm on my waist a little protectively, his jaw tight.

"What's going on?" I ask and remove Karthik's hold from mine and make my way to the front. I can feel Karthik following me.

And I am suddenly very glad that he is.

"Dev", mom says to the man standing in front of us, his eyes cold as he looks at her, and I can see dad wrapping his arm around mom's waist. There's a woman next to him whom I can only assume to be his wife.

"Radhika", he greets her and then looks at dad and sneers. "Reehaan. What a pleasant surprise."

He reminds me of Lucius Malfoy.

"Hey, dad, the table is rea-" a familiar voice calls Dev and my blood turns cold.

The familiar face of my ex-boyfriend stares at me. And I can see Karthik mirroring my dad's action, as he wraps his arm protectively around my waist and pulls me closer to him.

"Aarohi."

"Mayur."