"Ragini when Laksh is coming home?" During dinner Durgaprasad asked to see his son's empty chair.

"Papaji, he called some time back. He is not joining everyone for dinner. He is going out with his partners for some business dinner with investors." Ragini replied while serving food on her own plate.

"Ok that's fine. Ask him to meet me. I want to talk to him." Swara heard her Bade Papa summoning. She and Sanskar shared a quick glance at each other from corner eyes before concentrating on their food.

Rest of the dinner time was spent with regular, routine chat.

It was late night when Laksh returned back to his home, Ragini informed him about Durgaprasad's message. But since it was too late he thought to talk to his father the next morning.

"Laksh, what is happening with the Badi Reconstruction project?" Durgaprasad interrogated when he asked his son to meet him in study after breakfast.

Shekhar accompanied them even though Durgaprasad's reluctance for his interference.

"Yes Papa, it's all going on well. We will start digging land for foundation in a week or two." Laksh answered confidently.

"What happened? Why are you asking this suddenly? Laksh..." Shekhar asked but he was interrupted in the middle with Durga Prasad's stern glare.

"Mr. Choubey and Mr. Verma along with a few other Badi's residents met me yesterday in our community gatherings, they were saying your company does not have adequate permissions to go ahead with the Badi Reconstruction project yet. Also there are some discrepancies and loopholes in the contract." Durga Prasad grilled his son with his back to back questions.

Yesterday, he was offended when he was questioned about his son's company's misdeeds during a social gathering.

"Ohh these two are pointing their fingers on each and everything from the start." Laksh tried to take it casually.

"Of Course they will be Laksh. It's a question of their lifetime savings." His father reminded him.

"Don't take me wrong Papa, but these two, previously as well, were instigating others against this project. Thanks to Shekhar Papa, he convinced others but these two did not agree. So finally we made a contract with them to pay money to get their NOC.  In exchange for money, they both gave up their rights from their badi's house." Laksh informed his father hesitatingly.

"And what about permissions? They said you don't have..." Again a cross question from Durga Prasad.

"Papa, I know, we don't have enough permissions. We have got the go ahead from the government to build 15 storey towers but we have agreed to build 20 as per latest contract but we have submitted an amendment to earlier permission. It will get approved soon." Laksh hoped his father would buy out the argument.

"But then, why did you demolish the Badi area when you did not have all required permissions?" Durga Prasad's voice raised a little bit along with his heartbeat.

"What's so great about these permissions? I am sure we will get it soon. You know Ashish, my partner's father is MLA of this area, it's a peanut task for them." His son and his over simplified way of looking at the business world frustrated Durga Prasad more and more.

"Laksh, my son, business does not work like this. One mistake and your years of hard work will be ruined." It was years of experience spoken in Durga Prasad's voice.

"Papa please don't worry about this. I know I have made a lot of mistakes in my life but this time, I am sure; I am on the right track." Laksh could understand the underlying concern of his father.

"Please talk to Sanskar, he is more experienced with all these dealings. He has professionally trained legal, architectural and technical team in Karma to look after. You can ask him, he will surely help you. He will be the perfect advisor for you in this..." Durga Prasad tried his best to persuade his son.

"Papa, Bhai is already busy with the Golden Connect Highway project. It's a big achievement for Karma and him. I don't want to disturb him." Laksh had his hidden motives not to involve his brother.

It would not take a day or two for Sanskar to know about violations his company had incurred over a few months if he started digging into his company affairs. Of course Laksh wanted to keep his brother a thousand miles away.

"He is right Durga Prasad ji, how long Laksh will walk while taking others supportive crutches? He has to stand on his own at some point of time. And today when he is trying the same thing, we have to encourage him instead of putting fetters on his feet." Shekhar intervened when it felt like Durga Prasad would not leave this topic any time sooner.

"We are always there to encourage our children Shekhar ji." Durga Prasad nodded his head in agreement but pointed out at his own son, "but we don't want him to repeat his mistakes due to his impulsive nature."

"Papa..."

"Be careful Laksh, this time there is no return. Hundreds of lives are dependent on your decision." Durga Prasad warned his son before leaving the study room.

"Why doesn't he trust me at least?" Laksh huffed annoyingly. "Papa, why can't you trust me the way you trust Bhai?"

"It's human tendency, people have faith in the one who is successful. You become successful, you will automatically win people's trust." Shekhar patted his back.

"I am happy when at least you and Ragini are trusting me." Laksh was grateful at his father-in-law's gesture.

"What happened? Why did Papa call you?" Ragini asked the first thing when her husband entered the room. She knew something was surely wrong, because of this only she had asked her father to accompany her husband.

Laksh slid down on the nearest couch while narrating.

"Why does he want you to consult with Sanskar? What does he have to do with our company?" Ragini twitched her nose.

"Ragu, Bhai has much more experience in this. You or I cannot deny it. He built Karma at a very young age and see where it is now? Sky's the limit for Karma's growth." Laksh knew his brother's capabilities, and somewhere his brother's growth in his professional life, his respect, his aura as hard core businessman inculcated inferiority complex in Laksh over the years.

"Yes, yes I know." Ragini rolled her eyes.

"And that's why Papa wants me to take his advice." Laksh could not deny the squeezed feelings in his heart remembering his father's praise and trust over his cousin.

"Huh, advice? He will only pinpoint problems. Didn't you observe, he did not even congratulate you for your company or for grabbing this new project. And such a guy will think about our betterment. Wow!" Ragini could not suppress her insecurity over her sister's husband's success.

"Ragini, what are you talking about?"

"So much time has passed but still has there been any change in the behaviour of Sanskar? Has he talked to you these days as before? I am telling you, he hasn't forgiven you yet."

"My mistake was too big." Somewhere some part of Laksh confessed.

"You didn't tell Swara that she should leave Sanskar. That decision was her own. And now she has come back, everything is fine between both of them but the anger on you is still there. He can forgive and accept his wife but not his brother." Ragini started blurting out her own Grandmother's words.

Her words started sinking inside his brain.

"Laksh, I am telling you, he won't interfere or help us in any manner. And why do we even need his indebtedness in everything. Can't we make our own decisions? This is our life." Ragini went on bursting out her frustrations, hoping to knock some sense into her husband's mind.

"You did the right thing Ladoo." Next day, Ragini discussed the same with her Grand mother, her assurance boosted up her confidence.

Over two days, Durga Prasad tried to broach the same topic a lot of times in front of Sanskar, but his nephew had his own reservations around which were not missed by his analysing eyes. He knew his nephew would not look into his son's matter because of his past experiences.

He knew the best person to reach out to convince Sanskar, it was none other than Swara. His nephew would never say no to his beloved wife, till today, she had become a handy convincing tool for all Maheshwaris when it comes to their stubborn son.

"Swara, I need your help?" Durga Prasad found a perfect opportunity to confront Swara when she had come with his tea after his return from office.

"Ji Bade Papa."

He asked her to take a seat on a nearby couch.

"I am worried about Laksh. He is naive in business. He does not know the nitty gritties of this world." Durga Prasad took a sip of his tea, but his worrisome tone gave a pang to Swara's heart.

But another part of her heart alerted with a mere mention of Laksh.

Durga Prasad's experienced eyes did observe changes in her facial expressions, from curious to perplexe to nervousness. He understood why she would slip in her nervous mode with a recently broached topic of discussion.

"I tried a lot to broach a topic in front of Sanskar asking him to look into Laksh's company matters. But..." He did not move his analysing glance from her anxious face.

"Sanskar is a busy Bade Papa. He was saying there are few important deals going on which need his attention." Swara replied urgently. 'No Bade Papa, please no. Don't drag us into this mess.'

"I know, but please Swara. I know why he is reluctant to come forward, but till when this will go on. One day or the other we all have to move on. After all, we are a family." Durga Prasad knew the weak point of Swara, he cursed himself to use it in his favour.

Swara stared into his eyes which were filled with helplessness. Her heart sank looking at the vulnerable face of her Bade Papa.

She thought a bit before answering.

"You are absolutely right, Bade Papa. We are a family,  the family will be able to live together under one roof with happiness, only when all of us stay within our limits even after being together. Every relationship has a boundary, if we all respect that range then it will be easy for all of us to understand each other."

"You are saying this because of what happened last time..." It was not at all expected of Swara, his mind connected dots between their present and the past.

"Yes Bade Papa, I am sorry but I am not going to repeat my mistakes again. I have always been the one who took decisions single handedly in my and Sanskar's relationship. But if this time Sanskar is not showing any interest in meddling in Laksh's life, then I am not going to force him to do anything against his wish." She admitted honestly.

Durga Prasad gaped like a fish for the first time in his lifetime to find words.

"As the elder daughter-in-law of this house, is it not your responsibility to take care of the happiness and wellbeing of every member of this house?" He tried his last resort.

"I am also his wife, I have promised to support him in every step of life. And anyway, Laksh and Ragini have always considered our concern, our advice as unnecessary interference. Whenever they fell into deep shit they came to us for help but before that they had always ignored our plea." Swara gave a reality check, shrugging her shoulders.

Durga Prasad kept on staring at Swara, he understood her point of view. Because of his son and his wife, these two had suffered the most in the last two years. He nodded his head reluctantly agreeing to her request.

"My security team has passed a message to Badi's few residents who were initially objecting to this reconstruction project. I don't know how Laksh's company convinced them." Both were on the terrace for their 'Me Time.' Swara was giving details of her afternoon talks with Durga Prasad.

"Bade Papa is getting suspicious over his activities." She concluded.

"But just a suspicion won't help them. He needs to confront Laksh. There is still time to figure how to sort this out. But once this news is released to the public it will be difficult." Sanskrar gave her insights.

"What will happen?"

"There is a chance his investors would back off. And finding new investors for any new company is always a headache."

"Did his company bribe them to keep their mouths shut?" she speculated.

"Chances cannot be ruled out." he shrugged his shoulders knowing his brother in and out.

"Bade Papa requested me to convince you to interfere." Sanskar jerked and stared at his wife with raised eyebrows.

"Don't worry, I told him no." She held his hand in assurance. She left a deep sigh.

"We both know Laksh and Ragini will not appreciate our interference and this time they will have support from Ma and Baba as well." Sanskar could not move his eyes from her gloomy face. She shook her head,  "As usual."

"What do you want us to do next?" He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. He knew her parents' partiality towards their other daughter.

"We can just hope Laksh won't make any fuss now. We did what we could, now it's up to them to decide." She snuggled in his arms.

Few days passed, and one morning, Swara was helping Sanskar with a tie, and both heard some hustle bustle from downstairs. They both rush outside to see Durga Prasad confronting his son holding some newspaper.

"Laksh, what is this?" They heard loud voice from living room while climbing down stairs

There was breaking news about the Badi Reconstruction Project lacking required permissions and approvals. Mr. Choubey and Mr. Verma reported about the misdeeds and negligence to one of the leading news agencies when they could not get satisfactory answers from Durga Prasad over last week.

"What happened, Laksh?" Annapurna asked from behind.

"Nothing Ma. Papa, don't worry. I will handle this." Laksh took it casually while reading a news article.

"I am sure this is done by Choubey ji and Verma ji, they were always against this project." Shekhar joined the crew to save his son in law.

"Both of them? Don't know what they want? Both have taken the money, still are not leaving  any chance to ruin our project." Ragini huffed in annoyance.

"I am telling you Durga Prasad ji, don't worry about this. These two are the kind of people who could not see any one's success." Parvati seconded.

Gadodia's request fell on deaf ears of Durga Prasad.

"I don't care who is behind this news leak Laksh but if this is true; trust me son you are going to face a huge setback for this project. One question, just answer me with yes or no." Durga Prasad took a few seconds of pause, "Do you have all required permissions in your hand RIGHT NOW  to start Badi's reconstruction?"

His demanding tone shut all mumblings in one go.

"Papa we are in proce..." Laksh could not complete.

"Yes or no Laksh?" It was straightforward.

"No... not yet." Laksh fumbled.

"And how are you going to get all those permissions? by bribing government officials?" Durga Prasad questioned.

"No Papa, please listen to me. We will be getting permissions in a month." Laksh knew his father, he was a man filled with extreme morality and ethicality.

"Last time when I confronted you, you said in a week and now you are saying in a month." Again a cross question from his father.

"Papa, it takes time to get permission. You can ask Bhai as well." Laksh was aware his father would trust his brother's word more than any other one at this point of time.

All eyes turned on Swara and Sanskar. They both were standing at the end of stairs with slightly open mouths. Laksh's direct ask was unexpected for both of them.

"Yes Bade Papa, sometimes it takes time." Sanskar could hardly mumble.

"And can any construction company start any development work before acquiring permissions?" Durga Prasad countered in the same tone.

Sanskar chose to keep his mouth shut. Being neutral, the best escape plan is not to take anyone's side in the war when chances of getting burned from either side are high.

Durga Prasad started sweating anticipating the dark future of his son in a moment.

"Papa, hold on. Please please sit down here." Laksh made Durga Prasad sit on a nearby couch. "Ragu go and get some water for Papa."

"Papa, trust me. Everything is going well. I have scheduled a meeting today with the Chief Minister, Ashish's father is also coming with us to fast track this process. We are on the right track. Please don't take any tension. It's not good for your health." Laksh kneeled down in front of his father.

"Exactly Bhai sahab, I know these two Choubey ji and Verma ji. It's a conspiracy by both of them. Both of them were bribed with more money by some other builder. But that builder was a goon of our area. That's why we all Badi's residents were reluctant, thanks to Laksh Beta who came forward with this proposal. Now they are just taking their revenge by doing such things." Shekhar provided additional insights.

It took a long time for Laksh to convince his father, thanks to the rest of the Gadodia's who provided a helping hand.

Annapurna and Ragini also pulled up their sleeves to save their beloved son and husband from his father's further questioning.

Ram and Sujata were silent spectators.

Sanskar shook his head in exasperation looking at his uncle trapping himself in the web knitted around him with periphrasis.

He clenched his fist. It was not his usual self, he knew his brother was standing on the edge of the cliff. One part of his heart urged to save his brother but the other part was stopping him, reminding his brother's past blunders.

'At the end, I will be on the losing side after everything settles down.' his mind gave full stop to his thoughts.

For Swara, as well, it was contradictory to her inherited nature. She was a girl who sacrificed everything, stayed strong for others' wellbeing. But today, she stood silently, because she knew, one step and she would be at the loss of her own self.

Sujata was left amazed by two people's stand, one her own husband and other her daughter in law. When Ram did not intervene in the convincing session safeguarding his nephew or in support of his elder brother, she raised her eyebrows unexpectedly.

Her thoughts lingered around, her daughter in law, she should have taken a long leap to jump in as saviour for her brother in law but now. After all it was about her sister's wellbeing we were talking about here. But here she was silently standing beside her son folding her hands..

Ram, passed a glance and at the same time Swara's eyes met with him. Both passed an assuring blink to each other confirming their silent support to their life partners.

After long session, when finally Durga Prasad was convinced, the family went back to their routines.

It was night time when Swara returned to their room with a water jug, today she observed her husband he was silent over their 'Me Time.'

"Are you not sleepy yet?" she asked from behind, he was standing in front of the window looking out at stars.

"Are we doing right?" he asked out of nowhere.

"I know it is for the first time we are trying to go against our usual self." She hugged him from behind.

"But this is needed, Sanskar."

He nodded his head in agreement.

"I am just worried about those Badi residents who will be impacted with Laksh's impulsive decisions. It's their hard earned money. I hope he will sort out this soon." Sanskar was concerned. He turned to face her and envelop her in his embrace.

"I hope so." she mumbled against his chest.

"Let's not worry about this." She pulled herself out of his embrace.

"By the way... my friend Akansha is getting married next week. It's like a destination wedding. She has invited both of us. Wedding is on the weekend, can we please go?" Swara made a puppy face.

"Next weekend?" He thought for a moment before replying, "Swara... I have"

"Sanskar please... Please, please, pretty please." She turned crabby.

"Swara at least listen to me." He tried to interrupt.

"It's been a long time since we have not gone outside." Swara was not in the mood to listen to his negative reply.

"Swara listen..." He tried again.

"I mean it will be for the first time..." She was engulfed in her own thoughts.

"Swara, I said, I have no issues. We can go." He finally voiced out.

"Can't you take at least one day for your beautiful wife?" She was still hooked.

"Swara, I said we can go." He pulled her on himself.

"We can go." She repeated herself.

"Yes we can go. Where is the wedding?" He asked inquisitively.

"Huh?" Swara opened her mouth to reply back but somehow her brain could not find out the words.

"Wedding is at .... I have... I have to check the invitation card." She turned immediately.

Sanskar narrowed his eyes looking at Swara's flustered, fumbled face.

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