Ragini Maheshwari felt disappointed after her mother's call , she always strived for her approval and every time she was found lacking after being compared with her cousin . I'm hindsight she shouldn't have told her mom about the kheer issue but she didn't think her mom would make it big deal ,granted laksh praised Swara dish more then hers but she was used to her cousin outshining her.

To her mom , Ragini need to always stay competitive with her cousins and every time she fails her mom would make sure she understand how disappointed she had been with her. She felt suffocated by her mom expectations and hoped she could finally get her taste of freedom after marriage only to realize it was a dream .

A knock sounded on her door and she opened it to reveal Laksh mom who asked Ragini to wake Swara up for lunch , after breakfast Laksh mom insisted that Swara should sleep for awhile and sent Ragini to rest up in her room as well. And when she volunteered to help with cooking again ,his mom asked her to relax and not worry about it.

Ragini wondered if her cousin would be alone or if Sanskar would be inside his room as well. She gently knocked at the door and when there had been no response she knocked a bit louder until Swara opened the door as if she was just woken up .

Ragini felt guilty at the sight of her cousin ,she knew that Swara wasn't like her hoping to marry soon and yet because ragini couldn't imagine a life without Laksh ,she yet again bowed down to her mother decision and begged Swara to sacrifice her happiness .

" Mom wants you to come down for lunch " She spoke up quietly and Swara only nodded her head in answer, and walked inside the bathroom to freshen up . Ragini waited inside her room ,thinking they can go down together that she hadn't been prepared for yet another knock on her door which turned about to be Sanskar.

Ragini felt out of place as Sanskar walked inside his room to take his phone , he didn't ask what she was doing in his room because she had blurted out she came to see Swara as soon as she saw him and because she didn't know what else to say and it felt awkward she rushed out of the room only to collide with her husband .

" Hello my beautiful wife " Laksh greeting usually would have made her smile but today she only glared at him as she walked away from his embrace. Last night they had their first fight ,she didn't want to lose him but she also couldn't forget the fact he had refused to marry her ,he tried to calm her down only to be kicked to the couch because she couldn't forgive her part in Swara marriage .

" You are still angry ,even Swara bhabhi forgave me and yet you are holding on to your anger " Laksh teased her and she turned to look at him in surprise ,she didn't know that he had apologized to Swara for his behavior and at her surprise he confessed he had to apologize because Sanskar demanded it from him .

" I am not angry Laksh ,just upset . Give me some time " She answered back as she walked away from the man who waltzed into her life and stole her heart .

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Swara couldn't believe she slept till now ,when Laksh mom suggested that she take a nap she thought sleep would elude her but she slept for hours without waking up ,if not for Ragini arrival she probably would have slept the whole day ,though the marriage had come as a shock she didn't want to come across as lazy to her new family .

 New family the word itself made her worried , Swara trusted in the concept of marriage but she never wanted to marry and yet here she is married to a complete stranger . She opened the door and walked outside waiting to see her cousin instead found herself facing the said stranger . 

 " Sorry ,your cousin let me inside . I came to take my phone " he answered back at her surprised look that she could only nod her head in answer and waited for him to leave ,would it have been this awkward if she married a guy she loved she didn't know but at this moment she felt lost . 

And she should have let him leave without a word ,but she felt it was her duty to thank him for eating the kheer she made even if he didn't like it and she didn't want to postpone the conversation either .

 " Thank You, For the Kheer " She spoke up when he was almost close to the door that he turned towards her with a hint of a smile .

" It was really good " he answered back instead which made her somewhat happy to know he liked it , and smiled back in return at his compliment . After he left she walked outside to the dinning room alone and found Ragini and Laksh already seated with Sanskar .

 " What the occasion mom ,it has been long time since you cooked " Laksh asked his mother as Swara took the seat beside Sanskar . 

" Well I may not be able to cook as before but I wanted to cook the first meal for my daughter's " his mom answered back with a smile as she looked at them and Swara really liked Laksh mom and her sweet gesture.

It was because of that she had been able to talk with his mom ,first to appreciate the food she cooked and soon she had politely answered all her questions even when she knew Laksh mom asked them in favor of Sanskar who was seated beside her. The question ranged from how old she was to what she studied and even at some point drifted towards her favorite colour .

 " I think that enough for a single meal aunty ,let her eat first " Sanskar spoke up after fifteen minutes of the interrogation . That they all drifted of the silence for the rest of the meal until Sanskar phone began to ring .

   " What did I tell you ,never to bring  your work back home that too today when it hardly been a day since you married " Sanskar aunt spoke up in frustration when Sanskar phone continued to ring non stop when he got up to answer the call . 

 " Its Adharsh ," he spoke the two words to her and she was already taking the phone away from him worried that something happened to her sister . And she froze when she heard her sister voice on the other side .
                     
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 Sanskar drove Swara to the hospital yet again when he learnt her sister had been distraught with the news of their marriage ,he could understand her and believed he would be shaken up as well if someone made his sister marry without her consent .

 Sanskar had met Adharsh wife only few times ,he couldn't attend their wedding because it was close to the time of his uncle death that he wasn't in the frame of mind to attend and he hadn't gotten a chance to really know her after their marriage because he had been to busy with work that he hardly had been able to visit his best friend as much as he would like to which made it impossible for him to know how Swara sister would react to it. 

  Once they reached the hospital, she asked him to leave and that she would return after talking with her sister yet he didn't want to let her face it all alone . Adharsh met both of them outside pari room and he had been clearly distraught by the look on his face .

" She is really upset Sanskar " Adharsh told him after Swara walked inside her sister hospital room . When the voices inside the room were raised ,Adharsh walked inside leaving him alone wondering what was going inside the room .

  " It not fair mom , I don't care about anything except my sister happiness and she won't remain married to a stranger " Sanskar heard the words and realized Swara wasn't alone with her sister but she was with her mom as well .

  " Di ,relax we can talk about it later ," he heard Swara voice trying to calm her sister and maybe he didn't think it through but he somehow wanted to help her that he walked inside the room and the conversation in the room stilled at the presence of him .

  " Hi Sanskar ,come inside, Did Adharsh call you , And how was the wedding Adharsh had been disappointed that he couldn't make it " Swara sister spoke to him as if she wasn't upset about the said wedding  moments ago . And he turned to look at Swara who had looked surprise by her sister polite greeting as well .

 " And well this is my sister and that my mom . Want to meet my Son ,Adharsh why are you standing in silence when Sanskar came to see our son , " Swara sister continued to speak and it was only then everyone clued into the fact she didn't know he was the said groom of her sister .

" Di , Sanskar is Laksh cousin ," Swara spoke up in quite whisper. She didn't name him as her husband or the groom ,just Laksh cousin and it was enough for her sister to connect the dots and then the smile in her face fell as she looked at him as if she was disappointed by his actions .

 Usually when a child cried everyone felt distressed but when Adharsh son began crying in earnest everyone felt relieved to have someone else take the spot light from them . Swara rushed over to the crib towards her nephew to soothe him awhile Adharsh walked towards him and his wife continued to look at him as if he was a puzzle yet to be solved. 

 " See, even Adharsh would approve of him . I only agreed to the marriage because bhai trusted him to keep our shona happy " the whispered words of Swara mom to her eldest daughter made Swara falter as she looked at her mom with bit of an anger . 

 " This isn't about Sanskar mom ,this is about my mom who failed to stand by my side when I really needed her too " Swara spoke up and handed over her nephew to her sister and walked out of the room leaving Sanskar wonder whether to stay or follow her outside.  In the end it had been Adharsh who gently nudged him to go after her that he left in search of Swara .

  He soon found her seated  in the lobby chair and  close to tears . At the sight of him ,she desperately tried to stop crying and failed the battle as the tears continued to fall . He didn't know how to console her and yet he didn't want to leave her alone either as he took the seat beside her .

" It okay to cry Swara ," he spoke up when he noticed she was trying to stop crying and then she began to cry in earnest that it made him wonder how much of those tears were because of their marriage  or if she was hurt by her family actions more . The reason didn't matter in the least because somehow her tears had managed to bother him .  

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  Swara wasn't sure how he would have perceived her complete breakdown, she had tried to not be upset by her mom actions over the years but she has hit an nerve last time and today when she tried to justify her decision it hurt more because she could discount her mom actions had been hasty .

  And she didn't expect him to come after her ,neither did she expect him to stay beside her in silence . They were strangers who got married to each other and somehow is show of support made her feel a whole lot better.  It felt good to know she had an ally on her side and when the tears dried she turned towards him to say something but all she had managed to say had been two words " Thank You "

  Then she got up and walked towards her Di room because even when she had been upset ,she didn't want to prolong the rift ,so was surprised to find her mom already left so that she can bring dinner for pari di . Swara felt bad that she had parted with her mother with her harsh words between them .

" Mom will be fine Shona ,and you didn't say anything wrong if i was in your place I would have said so much more " her sister spoke up and swara saw her sister sign to her husband to leave them alone and the dutiful husband he is left after asking her about Sanskar whereabouts ,Swara knew her sister want to talk about Sanskar but she wasn't ready to hear her mom praise nor her sister criticism . She wanted to make up her own mind when it comes to the stranger she married .

  
" Do you remember the blind date I tried to set you up with after I got married " her sister spoke up confusing her by the change of subject ,she remembered her di who had married Adharsh bhai wanted Swara to fall into the same blissful marriage life and took it into her hands to set her up with everyone of Adharsh friends .

 " Yes ,So what about the blind date " She asked her sister when she remained silent for a long time .

" Well the blind date had been Sanskar " her sister answer came as a shock ,swara remembered the number of times her sister went on with praising him and realized her sister initial reluctance about the marriage changed when she got to know about the groom .

" Di , my problem isn't with Sanskar, He may be the best person in the entire world , my problem  remains the same , I don't want to get married ,I wanted to start my dance school and I want to enjoy few more years and even if I married I want to find a guy I love not a stranger " Swara answered back wondering why no one understood her reluctance .

" I know Shona , I understand sis , And frankly I am all for dragging you back with me to our home but the only reason I am hesitating is because of the last time I asked you to go on a date with Sanskar ,do you remember what you told me while refusing him " her sister asked her silently and Swara wondered about the said conversation and she came up blank .

  " I told you Sanskar won't remain single for long time and the fact he is an CEO in such a young age will mean girls will flock towards him , and you told me if it was meant to be then surely you will get married " her sister answered back which made Swara recollect the remaining part of the said conversation .

 " Di ,if you really believe Adharsh bhai friend is my perfect match then we will get married even if he already has a girlfriend one look at me ,he will break up with them " swara had teased her sister back then and now she realized her sister had taken her words to heart , her sister loved the romance of love and the concept of destiny and fate ,right now her marriage with Sanskar scream fated to her when it was just a string of coincidence . 

" It just coincidence di " Swara tried to change her sister mind but she already knew like her parents ,her sister also had became pro Sanskar  and yet her defection didn't hurt because Swara knew inspire of her sister feelings she will remain by her side .

" What are the chances for such a string of coincidence Shona , I believe you both were meant to be but I will stand by your side whatever you decide " her sister spoke up next making Swara smile at her in return .

With a promise to visit soon ,she left her sister alone with her nephew and went to the lobby and found Sanskar and Adharsh speaking with each other ,she looked at Sanskar and her sister words sprang to her mind ,though she didn't believe in fate and destiny she still wavered a little at the sight of him because he looked at her with such concern ,she wondered if he could really be the one for her .

P.S :" That it for now ..Let me know your thoughts and Feedbacks .Hit the votes if you liked it "

Love

Juanita Reid .