Anaya's excitement radiated from every pore as she leaped into the air, her fist punching triumphantly toward the ceiling.

'Yesss!' she exclaimed, a wide grin spreading across her face, 'It's done!'

Though she frantically waved her hands to quieten the excited girl, Ambika herself was unable to contain her joy, 'Hush Anu, dheere bol. Kisi ne sun liya toh.'

Anaya grinned, 'Kaun sunega mummy. Woh dono? I'm sure unka agla war already shuru ho chuka hoga. Aur bache ghar ke baaki log...' Her eyes moved around the room, '...baaki sab toh yahin par hain.'

Dadaji laughed heartily, 'Aur kya Ambika, ab kya dar hai. Ab toh shaadi ho gayi.'

Girish let out a relieved breath, 'Thank God! Mujhe toh har roz lagta tha ki yeh dono shaadi tak apna jhooth nahi chupa payenge. Koshish karte they lekin unka gussa zyada der control nahi ho paata tha. Kamaal hain dono.'

Ambika shook her head, 'Sabse kamaal toh papaji hain. Aapne kya idea lagaya papaji, February mein shaadi karne ka.'

Dadaji patted Anaya's head, smiling with pride and admiration, 'Is poori planning ko start karne ka credit sabse pehle hamari Anu ko jaata hai. Iski tez nazar ne pehle din hi pehchaan liya ki Sameer aur Naina ke rishte mein kuch gadbad hai. Jaisa shuru mein humein laga tha, ki shayad Naina isliye naaraz ho gayi hogi kyonki Sameer ne humse milne ka pressure daala hoga, aur issi baat pe dono ka jhagda hua hoga. Lekin waisa nahi tha. Aur yeh baat pata lagane mein bhi Anu ne hi help ki.'

Anaya smugly looked at all of them, 'It was easy. Jab bhai ne unse milwaya, mujhe shocking laga ki do saal se woh bhai ki girlfriend hain. Naina bhabhi meri dance teacher thi. Itne din tak unki classes attend ki maine lekin kabhi unhe phone karte ya kahin jaane ki jaldi dikhate nahi dekha. Woh saare signs absent they jinse lagta ki unka koi boyfriend hai. Hamari class ki kuch ladkiyan, jo married thi, bhabhi ko tease karti thi. Par unhone na kabhi blush kiya na confirm kiya. Dadaji, itne saalon se apni friends ki saari stages dekh rahi hun... proposal, courtship, heartbreak... sab dekha hai. Naina bhabhi toh kisi category mein fit hi nahi hoti thi. Mujhe tabhi doubt ho gaya.'

Girish was impressed, 'Achha, toh isiliye tune Sameer se pucha tha ki kahin woh Naina ke saath timepass toh nahi kar raha.'

'Ji papa.' Anaya nodded, 'Main bhai ka reaction dekhna chahti thi. Woh ekdum se defensive ho gaye. Bhabhi ke liye nahi, khud ke liye. Ab aap hi batao papa, jab mummy koi galti karti hain toh kya aap unki baat nahi chupate hum sabse? Unki hi side lete ho na?'

Ambika flushed, and swatted Anaya's arm, 'Humein kyon beech mein laa rahi hai? Sameer Naina pe focus kar.'

Dadaji let out a chuckle, watching his son rubbing the back of his neck, 'Waise baat toh Anu theek keh rahi hai.'

Anaya had always seen her parents teasing each other, yet their love was visible in the way they took notice of each other's most trivial needs. They supported each other, at times, even unknowingly. Anaya had always manifested such love for herself and her brother. But what she observed with Sameer was quite the reverse.

Girish walked upto Ambika and looped an arm around her shoulder, 'Haan toh apni biwi ki side leta hun na, kisi bahar wale ki thodi.'

Anaya clapped, as if to prove a point, 'Exactly. Mujhe bhai se bhi aisi hi expectations thi. But he was...' she thought for a while, wondering what would be the appropriate word.

Dadaji pinched her cheek playfuly, 'Saaf saaf bol na ki Sameer ko itna rukha sukha dekh ke tere andar ka Sherlock Holmes jaag gaya.'

Anaya wasn't sheepish to admit that she spied a bit on Sameer. And when she got to know that he wasn't meeting Naina that often, rather, he was still spending most of his time with Munna Pandit, she revealed her findings to her family. They were initially shocked. Dadaji was the first to discern how the drama must have unfolded... because of the pressure of his condition, Sameer had resorted to lying. But what they were not able to understand was how Naina agreed for this. Anaya had even asked Girish to get her background checked, but Girish refused, saying that he did not want to invade the private life of a girl.

He was very clear, 'Dekh Anu, Sameer pe nazar rakhna alag baat hai. Lekin Naina, woh kisi ki beti, kisi ki behen hai. Kal ko koi chupke se tere peeche peeche gumey toh kya humein bardasht hoga?'

Dadaji had been of the same opinion, 'Naina se maine jab bhi baat ki, mujhe woh galat ladki nahi lagi. Apni family ke baare mein jo usne bataya, khaas kar apne parents ke baare mein... nahi Anu, koi apne parents ki maut ke baare mein jhooth nahi bol sakta.'

Ambika had concurred, 'Aur woh Munna ke office mein hi toh kaam karti hai. Office mein uski saari details check hui hongi. Papaji, aap sahi keh rahe ho. Naina ki vibes kisi dhoke ki taraf ishara nahi karti. Abhi hum kisi pe shaq karne ki bajaye isey aise hi chalne dete hain. Dekhte hain Sameer ka kya plan hai.'

With time, they observed each and every move of their son. His attempt to keep Naina away from them strengthened their doubt. Four of them had not revealed to anyone that they were aware of the real situation. It was Dadaji's idea to push up the wedding date. They had expected Sameer to crumble under this pressure, and blurt out the truth.

Instead, he had met with an accident.

The accident changed entire family's perception. They always liked Naina, but seeing her concern in the hospital, which did not appear fake at any point, a new plan started to take shape in their mind. Sameer's eagerness to see her, the change in his mood whenever Naina was around, hushed discussions with Munna Pandit... nothing escaped their eyes.

Anaya smiled fondly, recalling the day in hospital, 'Aap logon ne dekha nahi, uss din jab bhai ne bhabhi ko hug kiya, toh unke face pe ek different hi look thi. He was smiling. He was happy. Aur woh definitely dikhava nahi tha. Kyonki room mein bas wohi dono they. Bhabhi ko toh unka face nazar tak nahi aa raha tha. Mujhe confirm ho gaya... sab kuch itna bhi fake nahi hai jitna hum soch rahey they.'

Ambika was elated as she remembered, 'Main toh itni khush ho gayi Anu ki baat sunke. Naina mujhe bohot achhi lagi. Mera mann usey apni beti banane ko kabse ready tha. Hospital ki stay mein jo dekha, sab confusion door ho gaye.'

Girish teased her, 'Tumne toh pehle se hi decide kar liya tha ki Naina Sameer ke liye perfect hai.'

'Bahu ki iss baat se main bhi sehmat tha.' Dadaji exhaled contently, 'Naina jaisi ladki hi hamare seedhe par nakchadhe bete ko control mein rakh sakti hai. Sameer hamesha se har field mein achha tha... padhai, sports, competitions, sab jagah usey shabashi mili. Yahan tak ki uski business sense bhi tareef ke kabil hai. Isi tareef ne usey arrogant bana diya hai. Naina uski takkar ki hai. Sameer ko khud ke banaye chane ke jhaad se utarne ka kaam Naina ache se kar sakti hai.'

Anaya giggled, her eyes twinkling at the prospect, 'Main ekdum ready hun iss show ke liye, dadu. You are great.'

Showing mock sternness, Dadaji commanded, 'Thoda control rakhna. Kahin Sameer ya Naina ko shaq na ho jaaye.'

Anaya vigorously waved her head, 'Don't worry. Jaise ab tak chal raha hai, bas utna hi enthusiasm dikhayenge.'

It was their plan to always bring up Naina in conversation in front of Sameer, praise her, talk about her wedding outfits. On purpose, they did not show him most of her shopping. They wanted to see his reaction to her each look. Ambika had overheard some parts of their argument on the day Sameer had been discharged from the hospital. She had gone to give him some soup when titbits of their nasty remarks to each other fell in her ears. Shaking her head in resignation, she went back, and sent Anaya a little later, on the pretext of calling Naina.

Among all these fake scenarios, there was only one thing that was wholeheartedly genuine... whole family's love for Naina. The attention and affection they all showered on her was from the heart. Ambika could feel the emptiness of Naina's heart and see the darkness of pain in her eyes at the mention of family. There was something majorly missing in her life, but it wasn't right to ask such questions yet. She wanted to fill that void, and give her a real family.

Thankfully, all had gone according to the plan. Naina was their family now.

However, none of them had any inkling about the contract.

*****

Sameer felt a sharp pain in his hand, which made him wince and open his eyes. The room was filled with soft morning light. He lifted his hand, and flexed his fingers. The pain shot from the finger, upto his elbow.

'Ahh!' He groaned, as he realised that he had been sleeping with the hand under his head, 'Kab theek hoga yeh pain? Doctor ne kaha tha three weeks. Ab toh ek mahina ho gaya. Aaj fir se dikha ke aata hun.'

Slowly, placing the other hand on bed for support, he dragged himself up, and rubbed his face. It was then that his gaze fell on the pile of flowers and floral strings in one corner.

'Oh!' He stared at it in confusion for a moment, then his eyes widened as realisation struck him, 'Oh!'

With a swift jerk of neck, he checked the other side of the bed, then scanned the room. There was no sign of Naina. The bed appeared as if it hadn't been slept in... all clean and made up.

'Bhaag gayi kya?' He muttered, craning his neck to check the balcony door, which seemed locked.

Throwing the heavy quilt aside, he got off the bed, his face scrunched in anxiety, 'Din shuru hua nahi ki iske diye hue tensions sar pe dance karne aa gaye. Ab kya ek saal tak main roz nayi puzzles solve karta rahunga. Maharani ko kahin jaana tha toh bata ke jaati. Kahin sachmuch toh bhaag nahi gayi? Aaj chorunga nahi usey. Aakhir mera ghar hai, yahan meri chalegi. Usey meri baat manni padegi...'

He had almost reached the closet door, which led to the washroom, when it slid sideways, and out stepped Naina.

'Waah!' A deliberate smile played on her lips as his rants reached her, 'Uthte hi tumhara main, main, mera ghar, mera yeh, mera woh... puraan chaalu ho gaya. Kya dedication hai Mr Maheshwari, apni love story ke Salim bhi tum ho aur Anarkali bhi.'

She patted her hands, in slow clap, 'Amazing.'

He gritted his teeth, 'Aur tumhare paas subah subah meri tareef ke alava koi kaam nahi hai. Haina? Kahan thi tum? Bhaagne ki planning kar rahi thi?'

Her brows shot up to mock him, 'Main toh tumhari pasand ka hi kaam kar rahi hun... tumhari tareef. Apni tareef sunna bohot pasand hai na tumhe!'

When he glared at her, she sighed, 'Dimaag ke saath saath tumhari aankhen bhi kharab hain kya? Main ready ho rahi thi. Dikhta nahi hai?'

When she waved her hands at herself, his eyes glanced down to her form. For a moment, he did not believe what he saw. Dressed in a red saree... or was it pink, he was not sure... with a full sleeves blouse, she looked different from all previous times. Her hair were tied at the back, leaving her neck bare, which was making it look slender and long. Her only ornament was a pair of heavy earrings. There was a pinkish glow on her cheeks, and a shine on her lips. No doubt, her makeup game had gone up many notches, because she did look... better than before. (Image in media box)

'Tum... tum subah se hi makeup karke baithogi?' He stuttered.

'Huh?' She eyed him awkwardly, 'Kya ghar pe bhi makeup karke rehna padega?'

So she wanted to hide from him. Ha, she had no idea how erudite and well informed he was. Just because he was a guy did not mean that she could fool him about makeup. She was, for sure, hiding tons of it in her cupboard. Else, how could her skin be so luminous.

Absent mindedly, he crossed her and went ahead to push open the sliding door of closet. Only when his finger throbbed again did he come back to his senses.

'Damn.' He jerked the hand immediately, hissing in pain, 'Yaad kyon nahi rehta mujhe.'

'Kyonki tum idiot ho.' Naina chided him in frustration as she grabbed his hand, pressing it carefully between her palms to give warmth, 'Khud ki chot ka khyal toh rakh lo kam se kam.'

'It's okay. Main manage kar lunga.' He tried to pull back.

She did not let go, 'Dikh raha hai, kitne ache se manage karte ho tum. Ointment kahan hai? Raat ko lagani chahiye thi na. Pictures achhi nahi ayengi isliye splint toh hatwa diya par doctor ki instructions follow karne mein tumhari shaan mein kami aati hai.'

'O hello?' He scowled, 'Tum koi doctor nahi ho jo aise daant rahi ho. Aur raat ko ointment lagana bhi tumhari wajah se bhoola tha. Lecture dete dete soyi thi ab uthte hi fir se shuru ho gayi. Tum kya masterni thi pehle?'

She tilted her head and blinked rapidly, whispering in a hoarse voice, 'Nahi, main toh Annabelle hun, bhool gaye kya?'

Before he could react, she removed one hand and blew onto his finger, taking him by even more surprise. First the warmth of her hands, then her breath... together, the magic spell seemed to be working, because the pain was lesser now.

He drew in a breath as she blew again, repeatedly, talking in between, 'Nutty kehti hai aise karne se dard gayab ho jaata hai. Hum dono ek dusre ko chot lagne pe aise hi karte hain. Sach batao, tumhe better laga ki nahi?'

When he did not answer, she looked up at his face. His eyes were on her, stuck. Without a word, he dragged his hand away and entered the closet area, shutting the door with his other hand.

Naina twisted her mouth, 'Akdu kahin ka. Thank you sorry toh iski vocabulary mein hi nahi hain.'

Inside, Sameer leaned against his cupboard. He was shocked at the direction of his mind. What was this sudden urge few seconds back? She had her head lowered, and he could see the bare parting of her hair. And suddenly, he wanted to fill it up with sindoor. Why? The sindoor ritual was done previous day, at the wedding. Then why he wanted her to wear it again?

Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself, 'Shayad isliye jisse woh Annabelle ka bhayanak chehra mere dimaag mein na aaye. Pata nahi Naina ko bhoot ka kya bhoot chadh gaya. Pagal ladki.' He pushed aside all thoughts and entered the washroom.

When Naina went down, Ambika was surprised to see her dressed this early, 'Arey Naina, itni jaldi kyon uth gayi? Abhi toh nau hi baje hain. Beta, tum chaho toh thodi der aur so jao.'

'Good morning mummy.' Naina said brightly. Since the moment she got up, she was eager for the feel of rolling out this word again from her mouth... and it was highly gratifying.

Ambika took her in a warm embrace, smiling, 'Good morning beta.'

For a few seconds, they remained that way, neither saying a word.

Them Ambika moved back, but kept her hold on Naina's arms as she looked her from head to toe, 'Arey waah, yeh saree toh tum pe bohot achhi lag rahi hai. Yeh humne saath mein li thi kya? Mujhe toh yaad nahi.'

Naina looked down at her saree, 'Nutty ne gift kari hai. Usey dikhane ke liye pehni hai. Kya main... aaj thodi der ke liye usse milne jaa sakti hun?'

Ambika patted her cheek, 'Uski choice bohot achhi hai. Usey zarur dikhana. Tum jab chaho usse milne, ya kisi se bhi milne jaa sakti ho. Permission ki zarurat nahi hai. Par haan, bata dena ki kahan jaa rahi ho, aur kab tak aaogi. Agar mujhe pata na ho ki mere bachhe kahan hain toh mujhe bohot ghabrahat ho jaati hai.'

'Ji mummy.' Naina was more than happy to share it with her. She and Natasha always looked out for each other, but this concern of a mother was something she had never experienced.

Ambika started to tell her about the breakfast menu that was being prepared in the kitchen, and asked her for her choice. Naina was surprised that so many different dishes were being made for one meal. She usually had a breakfast of oats or, if she was in a hurry, she would just grab a fruit.

"Mummyyy. Mohan ko bhejna.' Sameer yelled from his room, putting a halt to their conversation.

Ambika glanced in the kitchen, then nudged Naina, 'Mohan busy hai. Tum dekho usey kya hua. Kuch choti si cheez chahiye hogi. Puch ke call kar dena, main bhijwa dungi. Tab tak main zara breakfast check kar lun.'

Having no option, Naina went up the stairs, muttering under her breath, 'Kya nawabgiri hai. Pehle Mohan inse puchne jayega, fir jo chahiye woh deke ayega. Khud phone karke nahi bata sakta ki mujhe yeh cheez chahiye. Ya neeche aakar le le. Par nahi, inhe toh saari duniya ko apni ungliyon par nachana hai.'

She entered the room, only to find it empty. He eyes went to the closet. The door was slightly ajar. She stepped ahead, and knocked on the door, about to announce her arrival.

Before that, Sameer pushed apart the sliding panel. She was frozen to the spot. Apparently, he had just come out of his bath. His hair were tousled, and wet. A white towel tied around his waist reached only till knees. He was wearing a shirt, actually, it was more like a shirt was swaying on his shoulders, as he had put only one arm in it, the other sleeve was devoid of life. And the buttons were open. He was unaware of Naina's presence, because his entire focus was on the sleeve that he was trying to maneuver.

Naina immediately shut her eyes, and turned her back.

Next update on Friday