Advay and Chandni reached home shortly and joined the rest of the family for lunch.

"Chandni yeh laal laal lipstick kyon lagaayi tum? Kya baat hai?" Kajal Maasi tried to tease.

Advay's face turned stern.

"Kajal Maasi, I asked Chandni to apply some make up to her face. She needs to learn these things now. As my wife she will be attending functions and parties and its better she gets used to it." He said curtly and Kajal Maasi looked apologetic.

"Haan Damadji! what you are saying is correct. Chandni should learn these things now."

"Can you pass me the Sabzi please?" he asked her pleasantly and the conversation moved on to something else.

Chandni looked thankfully at her husband and once he made sure no one was observing them, he gave her a fleeting wink.

Chandni was feeling so hungry that she had second helpings of everything. Nani and Kajal Maasi for once were glad that she was eating well and attributed it to Advay's return. Advay was observing his wife keenly and smirked to himself.

After lunch Advay informed everyone at the table that he is going to the police station to meet ACP Siddharth.

Chandni took Chotu out of the high chair as he was getting cranky and sat with him in the living room on his play mat where all his toys were placed.

Chandni was observing Advay from the corner of her eyes as he restlessly paced in and out of their bedroom. Once she made sure the rest of the family were busy chatting within themselves and Chotu was engrossed in his play, she slowly made her way to the bedroom.

The moment she went inside, Advay pulled her into his embrace from behind.

"I thought you would never come." He murmured against her cheeks.

"How could I not come, once I knew how restless you were becoming?" She closed her eyes as he showered her with more kisses along her jaw before turning her around and claiming her lips in a tender kiss.

"Ab Tum Jao nahi to Koi Dekh lega." She pulled herself away from him reluctantly.

"Aap ... Aap... how many times I have to tell you Badon Ko Aap Kehte Hai, I am 8 years older than you. Remember?" He lightly bit on her lower lip.

"Ouch!! As it is I am having so much trouble hiding the swelling and now you have to bite them again." She pouted and tried to push him away.

"Hmm what to do if my Khatto Gilheri keeps making me mad?" He pulled her back again but kissed softly at the same spot trying to soothe the pain away.

Finally, he let her go but he asked her to wait as he remembered something.

"I will give you something that might help your lips." He pulled out his toiletry kit from the wardrobe and gave her an expensive lip balm and advised her to use it after cleansing all the lipstick away.

He kissed her again on the forehead before making his way out.

Chandni did as Advay advised and as an additional precaution, applied a face pack as well to protect herself from further scrutiny from her sisters.

One of the security guards was off sick and the other had gone to pick up Shikha and Meghana from college.

Advay assured Murli not to worry, and drove his BMW to the police station on his own, where ACP Siddharth was waiting for him.

"So, Indrani is getting released on bail tomorrow? Who paid the bail amount?" Advay asked.

"The Mayor of Allahabad, Shankar Dubey. Rumour is that they both are thick as thieves, and have hugely profited from each other's position. Council ran a blind eye when it came to temple administration, while temple always held the mayor and his entourage in high esteem among the town folks ensuring good publicity during elections etc." Siddharth hissed.

Advay listened thoughtfully.

"The Public prosecutor has prepared a strong case against her, and he is trying for the trial to start as soon as possible. She will be out on bail tomorrow but she still has to come to the police station every week to give attendance here and cannot leave the town." Siddharth assured him.

"I know you are doing your best Siddharth; I still have to get enough proof against her for her crimes 16 years ago, but I am hitting dead ends everywhere. But there might be another new source. I don't know anything yet. But I will let you know in a day or two once I meet this person." Advay sighed.

Then remembering why he was asked to come to the police station, he cheered up.

"Did you check the records I have asked you about Miku? Did you find anything? Is that why you asked me to come here?" Advay asked eagerly.

"Yes, I found some adoption records from various sources from that year. Some of them have photos and some of them don't. Now just be calm and go through these things and see if you can find Miku's photo anywhere." Siddharth took him aside to a small chamber next to his room, where there was a large desk with heaps of files in haphazard manner. He cleared the desk a bit, opened a locked drawer to take out a Hardbound file with some documents, and handed it over to Advay.

Advay realised his hands were trembling as he took the file but he was too nervous to even open it. He so wished Chandni was here with him right now. He closed his eyes briefly.

Siddharth realised that Advay wanted to be alone but asked him anyway.

"Do you want me to be with you or you prefer to be alone?"

"I am ok Sid. Thanks." Advay managed to say and Siddharth closed the door behind him as he went back to his cabin.

Half an hour later, after going through every inch of every page of the file, Advay admitted defeat and whatever little hopes that rose in his heart some time ago were shattered again.

He slowly placed the file back in the drawer, locked it and gave the key back to Siddharth.

"Sorry Buddy, but this is how it is going to be. We have to go through more records as I we find them, till we get what we are looking for. But please don't lose hope." Siddharth hugged him lightly on the side.

"Yes I understand Sid, and thank you for all the effort. Just buzz me if you find anything else." Advay replied with a brief smile.

"About Indrani, don't worry. I will have someone follow her and keep an eye just in case." Siddharth reassured him and Advay thanked him again, as he made his way out of the police station.

His bad mood became even worse as someone out of nowhere, came running fast and collided with him, just as he was about to reach his car.

If it wasn't for the elderly Muslim gentleman who came puffing and chasing after him, he would have given that fellow his best kick in the guts.

"Veer!! STOP!! Look what you have done. Sorry Beta!! This is my Nalayak son causing grief to everyone as usual. Veer! Apologise to this gentleman right now!" He demanded his son.

Advay controlled his temper, as he realised who the miscreant was, and tried to reassure the anxious father.

"It's ok, it was an accident!"

"Arre Advay Bhai Aap? Yahaan? Abbu he is the one I was telling you about all these days. Advay Singh Raizada. Chandni Bhabhi's husband. Do you remember Chandni Didi...? I mean Chandni Yash Narayan Vashisht, daughter of the Shiv Temple Mahant?" Veer was trying his best to refresh his father's memory.

"Oh!! Chandni bitiya!! Of course I remember now. She is a gem... one of a kind. I know it's been a while but still Shaadi Mubaarak ho Beta. But I have also heard about you otherwise from my son. You are going to invest in the city and start business here. That's so good to hear Beta. I am really happy to meet you in person." Ahmed Hussain said cordially.

Advay felt awkward and didn't know how to answer him, but he felt as if the wind got knocked out of his lungs as Veer gave him a crushing hug. Any other time, he would have felt extremely annoyed for his overture, but just then, it felt so strange and yet so comforting for some reason. He awkwardly hugged him back.

"Advay Bhai this is my Abbu Ahmed Hussain." Veer introduced his father and Advay greeted him by folding his hands.

"Ahmed Hussain but his son is called Veer?"

Advay didn't realise that he spoke out loud. Veer laughed loudly as Ahmed Hussain looked stuck for words.

Advay looked curiously at both of them. Could Veer be actually his brother? Could he be his Miku? Would Chandni's innocent prediction can actually be true? When he first came to know about Veer, he automatically had hopes of him being his brother Miku considering his age and some unknown familiarity he felt towards him.

But later he dismissed them because Veer always talked about how much he hated to be in his father's footsteps, and follow their ancestral family business. He consoled himself that it was just a coincidence that his name was Veer as it was a very common name.

Never once did he enquire about who his parents were.

But right now, thousand hopeful thoughts swirled through Advay's mind as he looked at the father son duo. But he didn't want to get his hopes too high.

"I know I know my name sounds strange but it is a long and thrilling story. I will tell you in leisure. Don't worry." Veer assured him.

Just then Veer spotted one of his targets for his chirkut videos coming out of the station and made a run for his bike.

"Abbu aap Auto mein chale jaana, I need to follow these guys. He is one hell of a sleazebag, I want to catch him red handed through my camera." He whispered urgently to his father as he started his bike to follow that guy's car.

"Arre Veer!! Don't leave me here like this. I don't get autos from here to our area!! NaaLaayak Kahi ka."

Advay smiled and shook his head as Ahmed cursed him loudly in frustration.

"Please come with me, I will drop you at your home." He offered. He was also curious to know about Veer. Now that the hopeful thought of Veer being his brother came into his mind, he wanted to know more about him and his family.

"No need for that Beta, I will find something, please don't worry. It's not too far, and your expensive car would get ruined in our narrow alleys." Ahmed replied embarrassedly.

"You just called me Beta, so it's my responsibility to drop you home safely now. Please don't say No." Advay persisted and he finally agreed and sat with him in the car.

"I am really glad that you are married to the Mahant's daughter Chandni. She and her sisters used to come to Dargah regularly before, but after that kidnapping, I haven't seen them at all. Chandni is one gem of a girl beta, so soft spoken and respectful. You are so lucky. I hope you both stay blessed and live happily forever. My blessings to both of you." Ahmed said affectionately.

Advay felt a tug at his heart to receive such heartfelt blessings. Ahmed Hussain looked such simple and unpretentious person and easy to speak to. But he wanted to know how well he knew about Chandni and her family.

"Thank you. Do you know my wife's family well?" He asked cautiously.

"Well everyone knows the Mahantaniji, she was running the temple wasn't she, because the Mahantji was not feeling well. Well I keep myself occupied with my business so I don't know that much about their family personally. But I heard from Veer, and also it was splashed across all news channels as to how you exposed her fraud. And what she did to her step daughter!! Tauba Tauba. God bless that poor child, no one deserves that kind of a mother!!"Ahmed's voice sounded furious for the first time.

"If only we had the old Mahant here still...I have heard that previous Mahantji and his family were well loved and respected, even though I haven't met them personally." He replied diplomatically.

Advay understood from his reply that like everyone, he too disliked Indrani but was afraid to speak against her till her crimes got exposed in public. Some awkward silence ensued between the two. Advay's car was passing through the narrow alley of old city now.

They were almost reaching the market area, which was right after the railway bridge, where he threw Miku from the running train 16 years ago.

"Our home is right in the middle of the market near the old Dargah Beta. It's not too far from police station, but the Auto wala refuses to come sometimes that's all." Ahmed tried to change the topic.

"Oh!! Near the old Dargah!! Have you been living there for long?" Advay asked eagerly, glad that he finally found a way to make discreet enquiries about him and his family.

Their conversation got interrupted as a loud and fast car screeched past them in the narrow alley, almost causing collision with two other motor cyclists in its path. Advay concentrated on his driving, and finally stopped his car in front of Ahmed's house.

As Ahmed insisted that he come inside to have some tea, Advay gladly accepted the invitation, and entered their humble but tastefully decorated home.

Ahmed's wife Noor received them with a smile as Ahmed made his introductions.

"Achcha Veer has spoken a lot about you and your wife Beta. Of course we know Chandni, and now we finally got to meet you too. Please sit down. I will get some tea for you." Noor said kindly and went back to the kitchen.

Advay looked around and found their home so peaceful and elegant. It had no expensive furnishings but everything in their house looked like it had been lovingly taken care of.

"I like your home very much Hussain Saab!" Advay said sincerely, as his eyes roamed around the living room.

"All the credit goes to my wife Beta. I am in the shop most of the time, I don't have much taste in these kinds of things, but my wife is very artistic and has a fine eye." Ahmed said proudly.

Advay's eyes found some old photographs on the wall, and he walked over to look at them closely. Among them was an old picture of Noor holding hands with Veer who looked roughly eight years old. There were no other pictures of Veer's childhood or his siblings either.

Noor brought in a tray of savouries and Advay's favourite kheer along with tea for all of them. Even though Advay was quite full, he couldn't stop himself from munching the tasty snacks and finished all his kheer. The tea lay forgotten.

It looked like an old home, but was being maintained well with fresh paint and décor and Advay complimented about the same.

"Haan Beta, it's our ancestral home. As you know we have a sweet shop there; We've been living there for almost 40 years now. My father started the shop and I am continuing the business, but looking at this guy, I think it will close once I put my feet up. Veer has neither the patience nor attitude for business. We were at the police station before, as someone made a complaint against him about his YouTube video." He sighed deeply.

"Why do you keep complaining about my son all the time? Yes, some of his antics could be bad, but most of the time he only targets people who have caused trouble to others." Noor defended her son.

"This is exactly the problem. You keep supporting him blindly, and he will continue to be irresponsible. Why does he need to make these videos at all? When will he come and help me in our shop?" Ahmed replied furiously, forgetting all about their guest Advay.

"Remember this, Veer has come into our lives after we prayed to Allah for so long. He is god's gift to us, we should never be too angry with him or stop him from fulfilling his aspirations." Noor implored to her husband.

Advay cleared his throat loudly reminding them of his presence, and they both stopped their argument, feeling embarrassed.

"Is Veer your only child?  I am just asking as I didn't see anyone else in the photographs over there. Sorry I didn't mean to pry, but Veer said there was a thrilling story as to why his name was Veer, and I was naturally curious that's all. I apologise ..." Advay paused, and observed keenly as to how Ahmed and Noor looked at each other nervously, instead of answering him.

Just then Veer walked in and greeted Advay loudly and Advay sighed in relief.

"Advay Bhai, how lucky are we to have you finally in our home!! You know Ammi when I first met Advay Bhai he was so reserved and... " Veer was searching for more diplomatic words to describe their early hostile encounters.

"Veer you can frankly tell them that I was very arrogant and touchy." Advay chuckled and Veer joined him, relieved that Advay was in such jovial mood.

Ahmed Hussain and Noor also looked slightly relieved as they smiled at Veer.

Noor tried to cover her nervousness by offering Veer a bowl of Kheer and he protested loudly.

"Ammi why you keep forcing me to eat this? You know how much I hate milk and all these milk based kheers. Do you think I will say yes just because Advay Bhai is here? No chance." Veer refused emphatically and Advay's heart leapt with joy as he knew his Miku hated milk in the same way.

His mind raced through various facts about Miku and how he could confirm them with this Veer and his family.

Suddenly he remembered. Miku's birthday was the very next day after the day of Maha Aarti. In fact Miku was so excited about his birthday for weeks, and began to countdown to it. But their whole family got separated just before they could celebrate it. But would Veer remember it at all?

Advay looked thoughtfully at him, and decided that it might be better if he asked him this later privately. He could see that Veer's parents were still visibly upset after his previous innocent question. He decided that he would first enquire into Ahmed Hussain and his family through his sources, before coming back here again to confirm his doubts.

Having decided that, he got up and began to take leave.

"Hussain saab, I am sorry if I hurt you in anyway or asked any inappropriate questions..." He began.

"Why? What happened?" Veer asked curiously.

"Nothing like that Beta, it's not a secret to hide or anything but Veer's Ammi still gets upset even after all these years, she is very attached to him you know." Ahmed Hussain sighed as Noor walked away inside wiping her tears.

"There's only one thing that makes Ammi cry like that, and I know what it is. Ammi Ammi!!! Come here please." Veer went inside and dragged his mother out.

"Advay Bhai, as I said there is a thrilling story about my name. Let me tell you. My Abbu, and his friends, were carrying the Holy Chadar at the old Dargah here, when I fell right into that Chadar from the sky... like a god you know... Can you believe that?" Veer explained excitedly as Advay listened, overwhelmed with joy.

"Well I don't want to exaggerate too much. But actually they all think that someone from the passing train actually threw me into that. But before anyone could notice who or why I was thrown, the train went past. And my Abbu, picked me up and raised me as his own son since then, and my Ammi here is the best Ammi one could ever have." He hugged his mother tightly as Noor hugged him back with wet eyes.

"Apparently I remembered only few details about myself, my name as Veer, my nickname Miku and my birthday which is..."

"July 7th" Advay completed his sentence much to the shock of everyone.

"How do you know my birthday?" Veer's eyes narrowed.

Advay was about to reply but stopped himself. How could he explain all that happened without revealing his identity or Veer's? If Indrani or her goon brother in law Ranjit knew Veer's true identity, his life could be in danger too. It was better he kept this as secret till Indrani and all the culprits were safely behind bars permanently.

Besides, isn't it enough for him to know that his brother Miku was alive and happy with such a loving and doting family?

He decided to play safe, even though his heart ached not to acknowledge Veer as his brother.

"Oh!! Your birthday.... I saw your bio on the YouTube channel of yours. That's how... That's how I know. Ok I better make a move, I have taken up too much of your time. Thanks for the lovely tea." 

He started walking away, but couldn't control himself and hugged Veer much to his surprise.

He finally made his way out quickly, afraid that he won't be able to control his tears anymore.

As he started his car and drove away, he could see Veer looking in his direction curiously.

^------------------^

Hello All

Hope you like the way Veer's identity was revealed.  Yes a Chance encounter of Advay with Ahmed Hussain which led to the final truth. But considering the kind of open and frank personality Veer has and the way they have shown in the TV Show that Veer's parents never hid his identity or name in front of anyone, it is only proper to assume that Veer knew he was an adopted child but was not ashamed or traumatised by it. 

 Veer's parents loved him more as they considered him as God's gift.  

  I always wondered why our TV show makers take such a long and torturous route to reveal any truths. But I prefer simple, logical solution to any problem.. pardon me... ;0 

 At last some much needed  solace for Advay that he finally found his brother Miku even though he still cant reveal his true identity to him. But for his burning heart which was craving for love and family, he at last found both ...in Chandni and Miku.

What did you think of this chapter? Please don't forget to comment and if you like the chapter don't forget to vote.

Love

Sesi