"Yeh mera ghar hai, tumhaara nahi." Rita Maa said firmly. "Aur shehnaaz meri beti hai."

Sidharth blinked, stunned by his mother's words. Rita Maa had wrapped his Naaz into a tight hug and Shehnaaz had, as if melted into her arms.

"I don't know tu kyon aise react kar raha hai. I know tu pareshan hai, stressed hai lekin ek baat dimaag mein rahe, stress, pareshani ya koi bhi mess-up, personal or professional, tujhe yeh haq nahi deta ki tu Shehnaaz se itne bure tareeqey se behave kare. Woh patience se handle karne ki koshish kar rahi hai toh yeh mat samajh ki woh tere jaise gussa nahi kar sakti." Rita Maa said sternly.

"Maa.."

"Chup raho tum." Rita Maa snapped at the younger girl, ready to defend her man, even after everything that he'd said. "And you, Sidharth. Apologize to her."

Sidharth looked at his mother shocked

"Maafi maango Shehnaaz se, usse itne bure tareeqey se baat karne ke liye, usse uske ghar se nikalne ko bolne ke liye aur apni frustration uspar nikaalne ke liye." Rita Maa repeated, even more severely.

Sidharth watched Shehnaaz peeking out of his mother's arms like a scared little child. He wanted to apologize, but how?

"Nahi karna apologize toh jaao yahan se. Niklo ghar se. Shehnaaz meri bacchi hai, aur yeh mere rehte iss ghar se kabhi, kaheen nahi jaayegi. Tumhe jaana hai, toh tum jaa sakte ho." Said his mother, leading Shehnaaz back into the hall and made her sit.

Sidharth followed his ladies into the apartment and watched as his mother doted on his love, fully aware of his presence in the same room.

"Shehnaaz I'm sorry." Sidharth said softly. "I--"

"Sidharth, she's not a punching bag. She loves you so she takes your shit, she understands you but it's not her job. She's patient with you, keeps her calm in the face of your agitation but she's not obliged to do that." Rita Maa explained to her son.

"I know mom." Sidharth said quietly.

"Tum use jab yahaan laaye the, tab se aaj tak sirf tumhaari hi nahi, Shehnaaz tumhaare poore pariwaar ki hai. Tab, shaayad hum isse teri wajaah se jaante the, magar ab shehnaaz hamaara pariwaar hai, mere pariwaar ka woh hissa hai shehnaaz jiske bina mera ghar kabhi poora nahi ho sakta. She's cultivated a bond with each one of us on her own and you, Sidharth have nothing to do with it. She is not related to any of us through you. I need you to engrave that into your mind." Rita Maa said firmly.

"Yes ma'am."

***

His family would never let even the shadow of negativity come anywhere near her. Sidharth's life might be cursed, but his family would never let the curse touch her.

Sidharth realized that day, after his mother brought Shehnaaz back into the house, how strong and beautiful Shehnaaz's relationship to each and every member of his family was. She was theirs, just as much as she was his, she had worked her way into their hearts, all on her own and none of his family would let anything bad happen to her. After all, if Shehnaaz was Sidharth's angel, she was theirs too.

It had been three hours since Sidharth had last talked to Shehnaaz or his mother. The matriarch of the Shukla family was furious at her son for how he had behaved and Sidharth didn't blame her.

It was stupid and unreasonable. He had hurt his Naaz worse than he could ever have imagined and even though at that time, he thought it was all for her good, it really wasn't and he should have known.

Shehnaaz wasn't even looking at him in the eyes, it broke Sidharth's heart but he knew he deserved it.

"Shehnaaz.." He knelt in front of her, brushing her palm gently with his fingers. "I'm sorry."

"Don't say sorry." Shehnaaz said quietly. "I'm not angry with you."

"You're not talking to me." Sidharth said innocently.

"Tum mujhe besharam bole, ghar se nikaal rahe the, mein sad hoon, hurt hoon. Naraaz nahi. I know tu woh club waali baat se pareshaan hai." Shehnaaz told him.

Sidharth away from her face, embarrassed. "I was not thinking straight." He confessed.

"When do you ever?" Shehnaaz asked. "Tera gussa hamesha tujhe kyon unreasonable kar deta hai?"

"I don't know sweetheart. Mere dimaag mein aur koi baat hi nahi thi, mein bas chaahta tha ki tu yeh saari problem se bahot door rahe. Mein tujhe woh sab face karne nahi de sakta baby. Meri wajah se tujhe bahot sun-na par sakta hai." Sidharth said softly.

Shehnaaz chuckled. "Gadhe aadmi, mujhe ghar se nikaal ke, tu kya haasil kar leta? Mein yahan se chali jaati toh kya ek second mein meri aur teri poori story duniya ke dimaag se chali jaati?" She asked.

"Nahi Matlab aaj tu samjha de mujhe? SidNaaz 1½ saal se top pe chal raha hai, tera naam aata hai toh mera naam saath lete hain log, tu mujhe ghar se bhej deta toh bhi yahi sab hota na? Bas abhi jo negativity hum saath mein jhel rahe hain, woh negativity akele jhel rahe hote. Mein roti ya pareshaan hoti toh terko ghanta pata nahi chalna tha." Shehnaaz informed him.

Sidharth pouted cutely. "Yeh toh mein socha hi nahi."

"Tu sochta hota toh baat hi kya thi. Tu toh bas karta hai, bina soche-samjhe, aur samajhta hai mere se bada samajhdaar koi nahi hai." She said, making a face at Sidharth.

"Sorry baby." Sidharth said cutely. "Mein na paagal ho gaya tha, woh time."

"Tu hai hi paagal." Shehnaaz deadpanned. "Dimaag ke kitne screw dheele hai aaj tak nahi ginn paaya koi."

Sidharth looked down at his feet and Shehnaaz's heart melted for the man she was so madly in love with. She wrapped her arms around his neck and shoved her face into the crook of his neck.

"Tujhe bhi pata hai ki duniya mein koi aur mujhe aise affect nahi karta. Tu jaanta hai tere alaawa koi bhi iss tareeqey se baat karta toh--"

"Mooh tod deta mein usska. Tu meri hai, tujhe hurt karne ka, manaane ka.. tujhse roothne ka, tujhe pamper ka haq sirf mera hai. Sirf aur sirf mera." Sidharth said severely.

"Matlab tu yeh saare pagalpan karna chodega nahi?!" Shehnaaz sighed.

"Agar mere gusse pe tera haq hai, toh mere pyaar pe bhi toh tera hi haq hai na baby? Agar tujhe hurt karne ka haq hai, toh tujhe manaane ka bhi haq hai mujhe. Tu mera sab-kucch hai. I know mera emotions express karne ka tareeqa thoda twisted hai, but I promise I love you, more than you know and I'm sorry this happened. I really, really didn't mean to--." Sidharth said sincerely.

Sidharth instinctively reached over to pull her closer. "Mein bahot bura-bura bola na tujhe?"

"Mein tere liye ladna nahi chod sakti bebu." Shehnaaz said quietly. "Chaahe kucch bhi ho jaaye."

Sidharth nodded.

"Mein nahi chod sakti Sidharth-- kabhi nahi."

"Koi nahi chod raha baby. Koi bhi kisi ko nahi chod raha. Shaant ho ja." Sidharth rubbed her back soothingly. "Tu hamesha ki tarah sab theek kar di hai."

"Sab theek nahi hai abhi." Shehnaaz said quietly.

Sidharth looked at her questioningly. "Mein samajhti hoon iska matlab yeh nahi hai ki hurt nahi hoon. Maa bhi bahot zyaada gussa hai. Kaise manayega." She asked.

Sidharth smiled. "Kaise na kaise mana loonga. Tumhaare bina mera dinn na shuru hota hai, na khatam." He vowed.

"Kaam pe lag ja phir." Shehnaaz grinned.

***

"Sidharth, mein baat kar rahi hoon na?" Shehnaaz glared at him. Sidharth flinched away with a soft whimper

Mehul laughed. "Bol Shehnaaz, kyon bulaaya?"

Shehnaaz turned to Mehul and Kaushal. "Sidharth merko poori baat dhang se nahi bata raha. Mujhe video bhi nahi dekhne de raha. Tum dono hi bata do ki kya maajra hai." Shehnaaz requested cutely.

"Tuesday late night ki video hai, club Divine mein shoot hui hai. Ved Mehra is a junior actor with a strong backing in the industry. Sidharth told us this guy said stuff about his mom and sisters and he was provoked to push him." Mehul explained.

"They were both drunk. Ved was out of line." Shehnaaz said quietly.

"Yes. How--"

"I was there. Mein thi wahaan pe. Can I see the video?" Shehnaaz demanded politely.

Kaushal nodded and played the video in his own phone to show Shehnaaz.

"Cropped hai." Shehnaaz announced, only a few seconds into the video.

"This video is edited? How do you know that?" Kaushal asked.

"I have a gut instinct. I've faced something very similar to this in the past. I can't be sure. But, it's clear that there were a lot of people out there and if someone recorded it, it's impossible to have recorded just thirty seconds of footage. It's very easy to crop and edit videos. Yeh video exactly uss point se start hua, jab Sidharth ne react kiya. It's impossible for anyone to be so precise in their timing. Even after Sidharth shoved at the guy Ved had spewed nonsense, how come there's not even a little part of that in the video. I feel bahot dhyaan se edit kiya hai video ko." Shehnaaz explained. "Sirf Sidharth ka part hai isme, jab ki baat paanch minute tak chali thi. Mein udhar hi thi, Sidharth ne toh kitna time control kiya tha."

Mehul smirked. "Then we'll just have to track the complete video. Kaun-kaun tha uss dinn tumhaare saath?" He asked.

"List de doongi mein, kaafi log the jaan-ne waale. Ek do fans se bhi meetings huve the." Shehnaaz informed him. Mehul nodded.

"Shehnaaz tu pehle hi aa jaati, at least baat toh ek-baar mein tareeqey se tackle ho jaati. Sidharth toh was ready to apologize." Kaushal told her.

Shehnaaz glared at him. "Teri galti thi jo tu maafi maangega? Mene talaaq de dena hai tujhe Sidharth agar bina baat kisi bhi aire-gaire natthu-khaire ke saamne jhuka toh!" Shehnaaz warned him

"Pehle shaadi toh kar le." Sidharth said quietly.

"Mein shaadi karne se pehle hi talaaq doongi." Shehnaaz said stubbornly. "Tujhe merko sorry bolne mein maut aati hai aur tu uss choozey ko sorry bolne ko ek baar mein taiyyar ho gaya?"

"Tera naam uchalta tha baby.."

"Aise kaise uchalta tha. Tu kis liye hai yahan? Yeh dono mere bhai kis liye hain?" Shehnaaz asked incredulously. "Yeh faaltu logic mat lagaaya kar tu. Tune theka nahi liya mere naam ka."

Sidharth widened his eyes playfully. "Phir kisne liya hai?"

Shehnaaz frowned. "Topic mat badal. Mehul bhai, Kaushal.. mujhe yeh matter kal tak sorted chahiye. Merse ni yeh pareshaan Sidharth handle hona zyaada der." Shehnaaz pouted.

"Tere liye toh kucch bhi Shehnaaz. Hum toh isko bhi bol hi rahe the ki stress nahi le." Mehul said softly.

"Ek baar bolne se kahaan sunta hai yeh." Shehnaaz whined. Mehul chuckled.

"Kal tak sab handle ho jaayega. Tu stress mat le. Hum chalte hain." Kaushal said softly.

Shehnaaz nodded. "Thank you."

"Kaam hai hamaara Shehnaaz, thank you mat bol baby." Kaushal said softly.

Shehnaaz smiled at the men retreating from the room and then turned to Sidharth. He looked back at her.

Sidharth smiled at her. "Tu meri angel hai, tere hone se sab ek dam sort ho jaata hai." He said happily.

Shehnaaz shook her head. "Tu na paagal hai, bebu. Tu mera pyaar hai, mera baby hai. Teri problem sirf teri thodi hai, meri bhi hai. Mein help nahi karoongi toh merko khud bechaini hoti rahegi." Shehnaaz giggled.

Sidharth hugged her tightly. "Mera baccha."

"Door merse tu reh nahi sakta aur merko bol raha tha ki gale pad rahi hai." Shehnaaz said sarcastically.

Sidharth grinned embarrassed. "Sorry na baby."

"Sowwy na baby." Shehnaaz mimicked him. "Aise hi gale padi rahoongi poori life, kar kya kar sakta hai. Iss janam mein kya agle janam mein bhi merse peecha nahi chootne waala tera."

Sidharth pulled her closer. "Mein chaahta bhi nahi tujhse peecha chudaana." He said softly.

Shehnaaz giggled. "Buddhu baccha."

Sidharth kissed her nose. "Thank you baby. Merko itna patience se sambhaal leti hai tu, koi aur hota toh kab ka give up kar ke, chala gaya hota."

"Kaash hum log ko ek doosre pe give up karna aata hota." Shehnaaz said quietly. "Chal ab, Maa ke paas chalte hain. Unse bhi toh daant khaani hai."

"Dara mat na yaar--" Sidharth pouted.

"Kaam kyon karta hai phir aise?" Shehnaaz asked sternly.

***

"Mumma." Sidharth cooed at his mother, tugging at her dupatta, like he did when he was little. Mumma shukla looked at him with a cold, neutral look on her face.

Sidharth gulped at the look of cold fury in her eyes and averted his eyes from her. "I'm sorry Maa. I didn't want to hurt either one of you."

"Jis dinn tu issey yahaan laaya tha na issey ghar, pariwaar, pyaar sab kucch promise kiya tha tune. Sab kucch de dene ke baad, usse waapis sab lene ka haq tera nahi hai. Yeh haq kisi ka nahi hai." Rita Maa said firmly.

Sidharth nodded. "I know. I'm sorry Mumma."

Rita Maa stood up from the couch to leave the room but Sidharth immediately reached for her dupatta. "Mumma. Don't go, please."

"Maa I know meri galti hai, please punish me but don't stop talking to me. You know mein nahi reh sakta aapse baat kiye bina." Sidharth said innocently.

Rita Maa looked at her son who was holding her dupatta, looking down at his feet like a guilty child, then she looked at her daughter, standing a few feets away from them, watching the exchange nervously and yet not saying anything for she knew it needed to solve between the mother and son.

"Did he apologize?" She asked Shehnaaz.

Shehnaaz nodded. "He did."

"Acche se?" And Shehnaaz nodded again.

Rita Maa looked back at her son. "Baat solve ho gayi, jispe itna bauraaya hua tha?"

Sidharth nodded. "Shehnaaz ne help kari."

Rita Maa smiled. "Dubaara aise kiya na, toh option nahi dungi, dhakka maar ke ghar se nikaal dungi."

"Yes ma'am."

"Yeh ladki tujse zyaada pyaari hai mujhe, mere ghar ki izzat hai. Don't ever behave like that to her." Rita Maa said softly.

"Kabhi nahi, I promise!" Sidharth said sincerely.

Rita Maa opened her arms, inviting him into a hug and Sidharth rushed in. "Itna pitega na Sidharth agar phir se yeh sab kiya--"

"Nahi karunga, aapki kasam."

"You better remember that, okay? Agli baar there will not be any second chances." Rita Maa said firmly.

"Understood & Never. I'm sorry Shehnaaz, I reacted so unreasonably. I should've handled it better." Sidharth looked at Shehnaaz who smiled and shook her head.

"It's alright. I know tu gadha hai. I've signed up for a full-life. For better or worse, I'm going to stick around." 

***

I don't know how long I've thought of him today, I thought back to last year so often when I was too broken to even talk.. but I had moved on! I had started to heal, we all had and then it came around again, like a slap in the face.

I swear I won't break again, I promise Sidharth and Shehnaaz that, I promise everyone who cares yo listen that I will always, always love him and her.

We have her and so we have him too, but everything is not fine and I want to say that its ok.. maana apna ishq adhura, dil na ispe sharminda hai, poora hoke khatam hua sab, jo hai aadha woh hi zinda hai..

So I wait patiently of the day when I'll see Sidharth and his Shehnaaz falling for each-other again, I wait for the fulfillment of a dream!

I hope you like this one, hope it was not as depressing as I remember it to be..

Let me know..

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