At present,

After finishing her class, Priya came to Rajat's house to pick up Aryan and Amaira. Seeing Priya, both kids ran to her hugging her knees with their tiny hands. Priya smiled seeing her kids warmly welcoming with flashing their bright smiles. She could forget all her sorrows just looking at their innocent faces.

"Mummaaa!" Aryan and Amaira called gleefully seeing their mother. Priya kneels down to their level before hugging them.

"Priyaaa...come here" called daijaa from the kitchen. "Ha, Daija coming." replied Priya.

"Kiddos collect your things; I will come in a jiffy and we can go to our home." Priya said to her kids who nodded their heads instantly. She planted kisses on their cheeks before walking towards the kitchen.

"Wow besan ka laddoo, my one of the favorites. Smells fantastic! Any special occasion today?" Priya said when the sweet aroma lingering her nostrils.

"Nothing special. I just thought of preparing your favorite dish today, have it and let me know how it tastes. '' said Daija, forwarding her plate full of laddos to Priya. Priya moaned enjoying the delicacy as soon as she took a bite of the laddoo.

"Daija, this is the best till date. I love it." Priya said complimenting Daija. Daija smiled at her.

"I have already packed some for you people." Said Daija, handing Priya a tiffin box.

"Thanks Daija." Said Priya, taking the box from her.

"I want to speak to you about something Priya" said Daija, not knowing how to initiate the topic which has been running inside her head for a long time. Priya looked closely at Daija who was fidgeting to speak further.

"Yes Daija. Tell me what is that?" asked Priya.

"This is about Rajat. After Deepti's death, he never wanted to remarry but now I think that Rajat should marry and lead a happy life with his wife and daughter. As Meher is growing up, she should have motherly love for her and have a smooth childhood like any other kid of her age. I want Rajat to get married and wipe out the loneliness from his life." Daija opened up to Priya.

"That's a good thought and don't worry, I will talk to Rajat and convince him to get married to someone." assured Priya pressing Daija's hand.

"I have searched a girl for Rajat already and she is perfect for him in all ways. " Daija squeezed Priya's hand gently, looking surprised.

"Oh really! That is great news. Who is that lucky one?" Priya asked instantly with a happy face.

"It is none other than you." Daija finally said.

Priya's jaw dropped in utter shock, not able to digest what she just heard.

"Priya, what do you think about it?" Daija asked curiously.

"What are you even saying? Rajat and I? No way Daija, we can't marry." Priya said with a disappointed look.

"Why not Priya? You know each other so well. Both of you have a great bond together; you both are sailing in the same boat. Why don't you get married to Rajat? Meher needs a mother like Aryan and Amaira needs a father in their life. I do not know what happened with you in the past but do not look back and move on, as it is best for you both and kids as well. I want you to look at the upcoming future. No one will ask about your past, neither Rajat nor me. I want you to think about this thoroughly and make a wise decision in your life." Daija expressed her feelings honestly to Priya while she stood numb not knowing how to react to Daija's words.

Priya felt suffocated to stay there even for a minute. Her kids are the only hope for her to be alive, the last thing she wanted to think is to move on from her past and marry someone. She decided that her complete focus would be on her kids alone, as she has no expectations on her life other than taking good care of her children's wellbeing.

"I do not expect you to answer me right away. Think about it thoroughly and tell me your decision later.," said Daijaa, hoping for a positive response from her.

"Mummaaa! Let's go home." Aryan came running to Priya breaking her thoughts.

"We need to go home now," said Priya, faking a smile. Daija smiled back at her saying. "I will be waiting for your answer Priya." Priya nodded simply before leaving the place with kids.

***********

Natasha looked visibly disturbed since the day she saw Priya in the park. She could not even sleep properly as the thoughts came swirling on her mind. Natasha could not even concentrate on her work.

"Now that I know Priya has moved on in her life, I can't let bhai live his life in distraught. He should move on as Priya did but it is not going to be easy to convince bhai in this matter." Natasha thought in her mind.

She collected her things, came out of her office, and headed to Kapoor Industries to meet Ram.

Without knocking the door, she entered Ram's cabin. Ram popped up his head from the laptop to find the person who was entering his cabin without even knocking.

"Natasha you here! Is everything alright with you?" Ram asked, both worried and concerned seeing Natasha tensed. He stood up from his seat.

"Bhai I want an answer, right now". Natasha kept her both hands on the desk. She is determined she will convince her bhai for marriage at any cost. Ram's eyes widened in shock seeing angry Natasha.

"chotti, what happened to you, sit down and relax first then we can talk." Ram tried to calm her down. Natasha agreed to sit down before Ram take his seat opposite to her.

"Bhai I want your final decision, are you ready for the marriage or not?" Natasha asked this time calmly but her face clearly showed how much worried she is.

"Chotti we already discussed about this plenty of times. I don't want to talk about the same old topic over and over again." Ram said, in a little angry voice. Natasha was forcing him to get married for the past few days and he was getting a little irritated at her behavior.

"It means you are not going to get married, right? I got my answer and you understand one thing that I am also not going to marry until you do. I will marry only on one condition and that is you have to marry someone first. I have made this very clear to you a lot of times." Natasha stated her decision.

"How come your marriage comes in between my marriage, choti. If you do not want to get married, then it is your decision. Do not compel me with your stupid conditions. If you are pestering me because of Peehu then let me tell you chotti, Peehu is my responsibility and I know very well how to take care of my daughter. As you know, I am her father and mother both. Don't think too much for her, I can handle her so you please focus on your marriage." Ram yelled in a bit louder voice.

Natasha shivered seeing his blood shot eyes. Ram knew he went too far shouting at Nuts but he had to make her understand.

"It is ok bhai, if you don't want to marry then I won't force you anymore. I understand but my decision is firm and you cannot force me either. Just think about Peehu and yourself, Peehu needs a mother right now." saying this Natasha came out from the cabin. Ram slammed his hands on the desk out of anger. The last words Natasha told echoed in his mind.

"Peehu needs a mother right now."

Gulping down a glass full of water, he tried to calm himself down. He closed his eyes resting his head back on the chair thinking about his past.

Flashback,

Ram is sitting in the office chair working on his laptop when Vikram enters the cabin. Ram looked at him in confusion. Vikram throws a bunch of photos on the table.

"What's all this Vikram?" Ram asked in confusion.

"These are photos of a few alliances for you, your mom told me to tell her beloved son to see and select a suitable match." Vikram said. Ram took a deep breath.

"First sit and relax" Ram said, forwarding the glass of water to him. He always had to go through this. Everyone around him is trying their best to convince him to get married but he was stubborn as always and skipped each and every time the marriage topic came up.

Vikram had enough of Ram's escaping habit in this matter. This irritated him, and this time Vikram decided to become louder on Ram.

"Ram, how long will you avoid this? Why can't you marry and settle down?" Vikram is not happy the way Ram takes this matter so lightly.

Ram relaxes on the chair and looks at him smirking. Vikram looked at him angrily.

"Ram, do you care to explain why you don't want to get married?" Vikram asked, loudly this time.

"You want to know why I'm not interested in marriage, that is because I'm Mr. Amarnath Kapoor's son." Ram replied. Vikram was confused and wanted to ask him what he meant but chose to be silent when Ram continued further.

"I have a huge name in this country; I am a billionaire and a successful businessman. My father taught me that money is everything; you can get anything you want. He taught me to be a successful businessperson and I followed his footsteps. That is why I am now in the position where I can get anything I want with the money and power I hold in the society. I don't think I need a wife to fulfill my desires and I really don't believe in the concept of marriage." Ram explained his point to Vikram.

"You are wrong Ram; you can't get everything with money. You can have a big name and run a lot of industries but you can't get love with this money and power." Vikram replied trying to make some sense to Ram.

"Then why do I have so many people calling my name every single day. I am all over the media anyday." questioned Ram feeling proud of his accomplishments.

"They love your money Ram, not you" Vikram replied. Ram was a little shocked but he shrugged it off.

"My father also had a family but he did not give a damn and I am his son following his footsteps!" Ram loudly said. Vikram was furious the way Ram was acting.

"Your mother is not like your father, she recognizes the importance of family and love in one's life. She is ready to do anything to see your happiness. Can you just think about others feelings' and not only yourself? You can't be so selfish all the time Ram." Vikram vents out his anger. Ram was silent and lost in deep thoughts as soon as he heard Vikram's words.

"Ram, you are afraid of relationships, admit it. You are just afraid that you will not be able to take care of your family. You will understand the importance of family when there is someone in your life looking out for you. Neha and I fight many times but deep inside, we both know that we love and care for each other. You do not know how it feels like when someone is waiting for you and hugging you tightly, that feeling is pure love Ram. When Neha and I look at our kids, we forget all the tiredness and worries, and the only thing we want to do is snuggle near them." Vikram explains to Ram the importance of family.

Ram feels something crushing inside his heart.

"Who told you that I don't want a family? I want my own child but for that I don't need to get married and I don't want to carry the responsibilities," Ram said. Vikram let out a deep sigh. Vikram knew it was useless to convince Ram.

Then suddenly Ram gets a call.

"Yes Doctor, Ok. Yes I am coming there soon" Ram replied in excitement as he hung up the call.

"Doctor? What happened?" Vikram asked all the questions at once.

"Doctor called me to answer your questions," Ram said, smirking at Vikram who stood clueless.

"Ok but I am coming with you" Vikram said and stood up from his seat.

"No need" Ram replied and he left.

Vikram stood there looking at Ram's retreating figure.

"What is going on in Ram's mind? I need to find out what he is hiding from me. He is definitely up to something this time." Vikram thought

At the hospital,

Ram enters the doctor's cabin. She asked him to sit. With lots of expectation and faith, Ram sat on the chair.

"Mr. Ram Kapoor from last one year you have been rejecting girls with one or the other reasons but two ladies have finally agreed with your demands. You please go through their profiles and if you like one of them we will continue the process further." The Doctor said. She handed Ram 2 files and he looked at both of the files carefully.

"So, Mr. Kapoor what do you think?" asked the Doctor curiously, to find out Ram's answer. Ram narrowed his eyes in dissatisfaction looking at the doctor showing the files to her.

"Are you sure about these profiles?" Ram asked, his face clearly showing that he did not like it.

"Yes, Mr. Kapoor. What is wrong with them?" doctor asked, confused.

"I'm sorry just look at them and tell me, do they look as if they are ready to do this work?" Ram asked, a little irritated.

"What is wrong with them?" She asked.

"They look as if they are going to participate in a fashion show. I don't think they will take good diet and take care of my child until delivery." Ram said disappointed.

"Mr. Kapoor, they accepted your offer with your unique demands, otherwise no one is ready even though you give them a huge amount of money. I am not supposed to say this but they accepted the offer seeing the money you are offering in return." The Doctor said.

"Exactly doctor. They accepted just because of money and I do not think they will be careful with the process. I want someone whom I can trust and believe in them. I cannot risk my child's health by selecting a biological mother without much information. I want my child to be healthy and safe. That is only possible when the woman is responsible and trustworthy. I don't get that feeling when I look at these two profiles so I am rejecting them right away." Ram explained his point clearly to the doctor. She sighed seeing how much stubborn and selective Ram is.

He had been coming to the hospital for at least one year and still no progress. The doctor has suggested a few profiles to him but none satisfied him.

"Mr. Kapoor. You cannot get a girl who fits your criteria. That's really hard to find anyone like that." The Doctor tried to explain Ram.

"Can you help me or not?" Ram asked sternly.

"No, Mr. Kapoor, I am sorry I can't help you with this." Doctor finally said. Ram looked visibly unhappy and disappointed.

"I mean, we have been doing everything we could from the past one year but you have been rejecting each one of them. I was trying to help you out personally, as I know for a long time now. This time you select a girl matching your criteria so that we can continue the further process." Doctor said clearly.

"Ok fine. I will find a girl of my choice," Ram confidently said before leaving the cabin. He was a little dejected but still had his hope to find the right woman who can fulfill his demands.

P.S:

Hi All,

Okay, no Raya scenes in this but these scenes are needed to build up the story so hope you guys understand.

Regards,
Jo