Priya's sleep got disturbed upon hearing the unusual sound which didn't seem to be stopping for a long time. Opening her eyelids lazily, she stirred, adjusting her position only to feel a hand around her tummy. Her eyes shot open when the last night's moments flashed in her mind. Priya turned her face to the side to find the source of the hoarse sound. There she found Ram snoring like anything while sleeping beside her.

Priya felt too shy when she realized about their naked bodies covered under the blanket. Even though she pulled the blanket till her neck, the chilling temperature in the room made her body shiver. Not just temperature, her body shuddered finding his grip on her bare waist. His body was slightly leaning on her body making it difficult for her to get up from the bed.

She made futile attempts to get up so that she could get up and slip into her clothes but Ram snuggled more towards her in his sleep. His hot breath was fanning on her neck sending jitters all over her body.

"Raam!" She called him finally when she couldn't move out of his grip.

"Raam, please wake up!" She added, jerking his hand lightly.

"Hmmm" Ram lazily opened his eyes only to find a pair of eyes looking at him innocently.

Ram smiled in content looking at her face.

"Good morning!" Ram wished her with a smiley face.

"Good morning!" Priya smiled awkwardly.

Sensing her awkwardness, Ram adjusted his position and quickly removed his hand around her, setting her free.

"Are you okay?" Ram asked out of concern.

"Yes!" She nodded, clutching the blanket on her body.

"What's the time?" Ram asked before trying to reach out for his wrist watch.

Looking at his watch, he said, "It's just 4 AM only. Sleep for some more time."

"No, let's go home before Pari wakes up." Priya said hesitatingly.

"Yeah, okay! Go get ready." Ram nodded in agreement.

"How can I get up like this?" Priya had a confused frown, fisting the blanket.

"Can you please get up first?" She added with a lot of hesitation.

"Alright!" Ram got hold of his boxers and slipped it on swiftly.

Priya closed her eyes tightly while he wore his clothes.

"Priyaaa!" with Ram's voice, she opened her eyes slowly to find him gazing at her. He leaned a bit forward, making her heartbeat faster than usual.

"You don't need to feel awkward about anything. Whatever happened between us is meant to happen." He said genuinely looking into her eyes.

He caressed her cheek, not leaving eye contact with her. "I love you!" Ram added before kissing on her forehead.

She closed her eyes for a second, feeling his lips touched her forehead. The next moment, her muscles relaxed when she heard the shutting noise of the bathroom door.

Composing the myriad of thoughts, she grabbed her clothes and slipped them on her body before Ram stepped out of the washroom.

"Let's leave in 15 minutes then. Is that okay?" Ram said.

Priya simply nodded her head in agreement.

While adjusting her saree, Priya noticed a few marks on her body. Running her fingertips on those lovebites, she reminisced the moments between Ram & her. She couldn't believe that they consummated last night on their first date itself. She looked at herself in the mirror and could clearly see her cheeks turn into pink shade. After a couple of minutes, she stepped out of the washroom once she was done.

Priya was too shy and awkward to face Ram. Ram too understood her feelings and was just glancing at her every now and then while he was driving back to their home.

***********

Sunita opened the door for Ram & Priya and was surprised to see them together around wee hours.

"Where is Pari? Did she trouble you?" Priya asked as soon as they walked inside the house.

"She is in the room and sleeping. No, she didn't trouble me." Sunita responded with a smile.

"Thanks for taking care of her." Priya replied with a warm smile.

Turning towards Ram, Priya said softly, "I will go and check Pari."

Ram nodded in agreement. He was hesitant whether to follow Priya to her room or go inside his room once Priya left from there.

Juggling between his thoughts, Ram decided to enter his room and freshen up first.

In Priya's room,

Priya kissed Pari's forehead, seeing her sleeping soundly.

Taking her clothes, Priya moved inside the washroom after adjusting pillows around Pari in the middle of the bed.

Priya felt too shy whenever the moments between her & Ram flashed in her mind. Running her fingertips on her lips reminded her of the kisses they shared a few hours ago.

Biting her lower lip, she lost in the sea of thoughts not knowing how their new found relationship would be going to be. Their equation took 180 degrees turn over night after they confessed their love for each other.

Dodging the thoughts away, she quickly dressed into comfortable clothes before stepping out of the bathroom.

On the other side, Ram freshened up and walked back and forth in his room. He was hesitating whether to go to Priya's room or not. He expected Priya would call him but was dejected when she didn't call by herself. He tried to sleep but couldn't. He tossed and turned on the bed but no luck.

Moments later, Ram slowly moved out of his room and walked towards Priya's room to see Pari and Priya. Standing at the entrance of her room, he peaked into the slightly opened door and saw the mother and daughter sleeping peacefully. Silently he slipped beside Pari without making any slightest noise. He stared at his sleeping beauties for quite some time before he drifted into slumber.

After two hours, Pari woke up and started crying instantly. Priya's sleep got disturbed when she heard Pari crying.

Upon opening her eyelids, Priya found Ram sleeping beside Pari keeping his hand over her hand resting on Pari's tummy. She didn't know when he came into the room and slept beside them.

Ram also stirred in his sleep with the noise of Pari's cry.

"When did you come here? I haven't realized." Priya asked.

"Just some time ago. First, take care of Pari. We can talk later." Ram replied, sitting on the bed while rubbing his eyes.

Priya took Pari in her arms and hesitated to feed Pari in front of Ram.

Ram looked at her for a moment and said "No need to feel embarrassed, I will look the other way while you feed Pari." Ram smiled at her before turning his face to the opposite direction.

Even though Ram had turned the other way, she still felt a little awkward to feed Pari when he's around but she did. Casually she looked in Ram's direction while feeding Pari and gasped sharply when he turned to her side mischievously.

"Raaam! This is cheating!" Priya began to whine while trying to cover herself.

Clutching her hand, he stopped her from covering herself.

"Call it whatever you want but I would like to see when you feed Pari." Ram responded.

"But..." Priya hesitated.

"Come on, Priya. I have seen you from top to bottom and there is nothing to feel shy in front of me. Do you understand?" Ram side hugged her, planting a gentle kiss on her temple before facing her.

Biting her lower lip lightly, she continued to feed Pari while Ram was gazing at them dearly.

Once she was done with feeding, she placed Pari back on the bed after adjusting her dress.

Ram was leaning on the bed on his elbow looking at Priya.

"What about me?" Ram asked out of nowhere when she was about to leave the room. She stared at him in shock.

"Stop it!" She mutted while he was giggling at her shocking reaction.

After sometime when she came back, she saw Ram was playing with Pari. Priya went to Pari and changed her nappy.

********

Priya stood on the balcony to enjoy the rainy weather. It was drizzling outside, she stood there while fidgeting with her ring. Glancing at the ring which Ram has slipped on her finger, Priya lost in her own set of thoughts while a soft smile played on her lips.

She recollected how Ram proposed to her and the moments they shared. Lost in her own world, Priya didn't realize how long Ram was standing and gazing at her.

Hugging her from behind, Ram rested his chin on her shoulder. Priya shuddered under his sudden hold.

"Liked it?" Ram asked. Priya had a confused frown.

"I asked, do you like the ring?" Ram said, pointing at the ring she was fidgeting with.

"Yes, this is very beautiful. Nice selection!" She appreciated it, glancing at the diamond ring.

"Enjoying your favorite rain?" Ram asked, pulling apart from the hug.

"Of course! But you don't seem to like it much." Priya responded.

"Hmm, actually I fall sick when I drench in the rain. Even when I kissed you for the first time, I got a fever, cold & cough after we drenched in the rain, remember?" Ram explained.

"But I kind of started liking the rain from that very moment." He added, making her blush when she got what he was referring to.

"I want to ask you something." Ram said.

"Yes, go on!" Priya looked at him.

"Actually, I want to ask whether I can shift to your room or will you shift into my room." Ram waited for her response.

Ram was impatiently waiting for her response while Priya thought for a moment before saying, "Anything is fine by me."

"Perfect!" Ram gave a gleeful chuckle.

Priya smiled softly seeing his excitement.

"Let's go and have dinner!" Priya said and Ram nodded.

As the days passed, slowly Priya & Ram's relationship went on smoothly as they became more comfortable with each other. Ram being Ram doesn't leave a chance to annoy or tease her. Priya's world roams around Ram and Pari only. Both of them are very precious to her. Ram & Priya relished every moment of their parenthood and their live-in relationship too was in full swing. Their bond grew stronger with the passing time.

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

Once Priya put Pari to sleep, she joined Ram on bed who was working on his laptop.

"Pari slept?" Ram asked, keeping his laptop away.

"Yes, finally!" Priya replied, adjusting her back on the headrest of the bed.

"Listen, I have to leave for Mumbai tomorrow." Ram said, pressing his lips together.

"Oh!" Priya's face fell off suddenly. She doesn't like staying apart from Ram since she developed feelings for him.

"I would have cancelled the trip if it's not important but I have to be there for sure. I came to know about this today only." Ram explained, lacing his hand with her hand.

"It's okay." She nodded in understanding, glancing at him.

"How many days?" She couldn't help but ask him. He adjusted his sitting position to face her.

"One week but I will try to come as quickly as possible, okay?" He replied, taking her palm to his lips before kissing on it.

A lone tear escaped from her eyes without her notice but he noticed and kissed her eyes softly. Priya felt very sad just by the thought of staying away from him. He started gazing at her quivering lips and eyes, she closed her eyes in anticipation and he moved further and kissed on her parting lips.

Ram cupped her face while his thumbs brushed on her cheeks as they kissed. Her hands rested on the back of his neck as the kiss turned into a passionate one.

Soon their clothes piled up around them as they were busy showering their love to each other. Once again, they explored the depth of their craving for their partner.

One thing led to another and they ended up solving the love puzzle that night one after the other. They relished their blissful moments.

Moments later, Ram wrapped his hand around her while stroking her hair gently. Priya hugged him possessively, resting her head on his heart after they made love.

They stayed in that position for a good amount of time.

Next morning,

Priya packed his bag for his trip to Mumbai. She felt heavy but suppressed her emotions not wanting to make Ram feel bad.

Ram kissed Pari's cheeks before placing her in the cradle.

"Bye. Take care!" Ram pecked on Priya's lips.

A lone tear escaped from the corner of her eyes as she was not able to send him off. She didn't know when she became very possessive about Ram. She knew that Ram travels regularly between Mumbai and Pune but this time she felt too emotional since that's the first time he's travelling after their consummation.

"Hey! Don't cry! I won't be able to leave seeing you like this." Ram took her in his tight embrace.

Priya shut her eyes, wrapping her arms around his body, hugging him as tightly as possible. If not Vikram had vacation plans with his family, Ram would have managed everything from Pune itself with the help of Vikram.

Kissing her hair, Ram patted her back gently.

Seconds later, Ram cupped her face in his palms and wiped her tears with his thumbs.

"Try to come soon!" Priya managed to utter.

"Of course, I will!" Ram said and they kissed each other like their life was dependent on it.

Ram left for Mumbai after bidding bye to Priya and Pari.