"Hi." - Shanaya started as soon as Avinash attended the call. He remained silent hearing her voice. 

"Avinash?"- Shanaya called him confidently this time. She had no second thoughts, She could only able to relieve herself when she gets everything clear from him. But he wasn't replying anything. 

"Reply, Are you there?" - She insisted him. 

"Hmm." - She heard a very low response from the other hand. Shanaya got irritated when he replied in monosyllabic.  

"Avinash. I am switching the voice call to video call. Please respond. I want to talk to you, It's very important." - Shanaya insisted and switched the voice call into a video call. The moment the voice call changed into a video call, She couldn't keep her heart in hold seeing his situation. His messed up state and his crushed t-shirt told her what he had gone through in these one week. She remained silent looking at him but he didn't even raise his eyelids and looked at her. 

"What. What you have done to yourself?" - Shanaya asked him after a long pause. He remained silent and didn't even match her eyelids with her. 

"Just because I called you, It doesn't mean I am not mad at you, I am still exhausted with whatever you did to me. Is this called love, Avi? Explain to me, Avi. You deserve an explanation from you. If you failed to give me an explanation, I will never ever able to trust anyone in my life. You tell me, Do I deserve that?" - She asked him in her rudest tone in welled up eyes. His eyelids focused her the next second. Words were spoken straight from her heart, Her motive was not getting back to him but tried to get to know about his point of view. Knowing him, She can give him a chance to explain everything to her.  

"I don't deserve you, Shanaya. I know it's difficult to get over from it. But you have to, Shanaya. Not everyone is like me, Go ahead and you will definitely find someone who deserves you." - He said, Shanaya signed disbelief. 

"Look, I didn't call you for my future wishes. I called you for an explanation. EXPLANATION, MR CHATURVEDI." - Shanaya lost her patience completely. 

"I didn't have any. That's the truth. I am feeling so disgusting." - He said in a calm tone matching her rude tone. It was like an equal amount of electrons and protons mixed together remain the state neutral. There was a balance in their tone. 

"OH SHUT UP, AVINASH. Stop cursing you and give me what I need from you. I need a fucking explanation from you. The Avinash I know never ever think about these kinds of acts. What happened to you suddenly?" - She asked him in the pissed off tone. 

"I don't know," - He replied calmly, Tears sparkled in his eyes while he said that. Shanaya noticed that. Taking a deep breath, She sat on the bed and faced the phone. 

"Avinash. You know right, I treasure every single moment we spend together. Being silent, You are making those moments value less, Avi. I don't know what kind of feeling is this. I still want to be in your life even after facing my worst nightmare. My mom used to scare me ever since I went into highschool. She told me every single negative outcome of trusting a stranger. But I crossed everything for you, And still, My heart finding hopes in it. For that sake, Please reply to me whatever I ask. Please." - She asked him with welled up tears. Tears crossed his cheeks, He kept the phone in the table, wiped off his face and took his phone in his hand. 

"The first question, Who made that video?" - Shanaya asked him. Hoping him that he should say his name, Her fingers were crossed but she looked deep into his eyes. 

"Raveena!" - He replied, Chills passed in her heart. 

"Raveena?" - She questioned.

"She sent that video the next day when it happened. She also said something to Syed. I left with no option other than blackmailing her back. More than my principles your dignity was important to me and blackmailed her with some images which she foolishly sent it to me years back. I had to dig it back." - He said looking at her straight deeply into her eyes. 

"What was that?" - Shanaya asked. 

"I can't say it to you, She proposed me two years before but I didn't reply anything positive to her because of the things I was facing. But she took it in a wrong way and did some foolish acts. I slapped her on that day." - Avinash said it to her. Shanaya know about his character, More matured, Straight-aligned person, Most promising quantities he had. And most importantly, He respects woman even he didn't witness any promising woman in his life. He was not saying anything to save Raveena's dignity even though she did much to them. But when he said he crossed his principles to save her from embarrassment, Her heart warmed up. But she didn't want to dig this issue. 

"Last question, Avi." - Shanaya asked. He looked at her straight.

"Why did you send it to me?" - She added, This time her lips trembled along with her tears. 

"I. I got scared. I wanted to stop from leaving me. The fear of leading my life without made me do that. I don't know, Shan. I never felt this kind of feeling with anyone. But when it comes to you, I can go any extent to make you stay with me and protect you. I can't stop it, Shan." - He busted it out. 

"If you would have talked to me, We both never would have reached this situation. You know?" - Shanaya asked him teary-eyed. He remained cried. She immediately wiped off her tears. 

"Avi. But whatever you did was very wrong. You must not have done that. You deserve punishment, Avi." - She said taking the pillow from the right side and hugging it. He looked ahead. 

"Forget it. Just forget it. Okay." - She asked him. He was shocked to hear those words from her. 

"You are not mad at me?" - He asked her again in a low tone. 

"Not anymore. Hesitations and confusions always need to be clear as soon as they arise. My dad told." - She said chuckling. 

"Wait. I can't understand what you're saying." - He asked her again. 

"REMEMBER YOUR PUNISHMENT, MR CHATURVEDI. You are not allowed to ask me anything. You have to do this punishment till your last breath." - She double-crossed him and immediately chuckled off in front of the camera. 

"It's better to talk than doing any stupid things, Avi. Keep it in your mind." - She said smiling at him. 

"Sorry, Yeah." - He said to her with teary eyes. 

"It's okay, Yeah. Let's move on." - She said smiling. He remained silent looking at her. 

"You look terrible. Did you eat anything?" - She asked him. 

"Not yet. You?" - He asked her. 

"Had idlies for breakfast, Roasted chicken for lunch and Spaghetti for dinner. Just before had ice cream." - She replied smilingly.

"Woww..." - He exclaimed with a smile. 

"Then what do you expect, Staying in hunger, Thinking about you all the time?" - She asked him. 

"And you were speaking something, Right. Will you say it to me, Now?" - He asked her. 

"Yeah, I thought of leaving everything. Now I think there's no need for that." - She replied. 

"Why?" - He asked her in a low tone. 

"Because everything finally got into its own place. Previously it was misplaced and in a very trembling state. But now, things are different. Why should I give up little moments in my life thinking about the future? Let it be in its own place." - She said, Avinash kept his hand on his forehead and heaved out the stress. 

"Let's see how long it goes." - Shanaya said. 

"Wait, Am I speaking with the same impulsive shanaya?" - He asked her. 

"Not an impulsive one, Anymore." - She said chuckling. He smilingly looked at her. 

"And your rival, Anirudh Singh Oberoi is my brother, Now." - Shanaya said chuckling. 

************

"What Avinash did for his mother's fault?" - Anika asked shivaay when he opened up about Avinash's past to Anika. He felt very important sharing that with her when she gave Shanaya real freedom and started trusting her completely. Both didn't directly give permission but indirectly gave her the solution to come out of her depressed state as they can't see her like that anymore. But now knowing about Avinash, Anika couldn't resist herself from feeling for him. 

"I got fed up asking him this question. Neither his mom was ready to take his responsibility, He had to stay with his father. He said he will go to the hostel once he joins the college. You know I never saw any perfect child like him. He raised good-mannered even in that situation. Mark my words, Ani. He will definitely reach heights in his life." - He said to her with assurance. 

"I wish all the happiness for that child. If everything goes good, Let's invite him for any upcoming functions." - Anika said. 

"Talking about the functions, Air voice 20th year anniversary still in due. Let's invite him for that. Also, Prashant won't mind." - Shivaay said with a confirmation. 

"But for that, Everything should go well, Right. One part of my mind asking me to sneak into her room but at the same while, It's stopping me." - She said.

"Good. It's okay to give them some privacy if we have trust in them." - He said holding her crossed toes to his lap. She was shocked when he did that out of sudden. 

"What are you doing?" - She asked but soon he took a box from his blazer pocket which was lying next to them in the bed. 

"Married women will wear this, Right?" - He asked opening the box having two toe rings in that. She chuckled when he put it on her index toes of each foot. She couldn't stop herself from adoring him. 

"You're a bag full of surprises." - Anika whispered but soon stopped when he moved close to her. 

"And you're my only painkiller." - She whispered before taking her lips into his lying above her, His hands caressed the bare part of her stomach which was visible in the saree. She cupped his face and broke the kiss.

"I never knew I will explore love at my early forties. Love has no ages, Right." - She whispered to him. 

"Of course, There's no age. And our Love is beyond ages." - He whispered back and kissed her again. 

****************

(Are you guys ready for an epilogue?)