(10 years later)

"I'm home!" I call, amidst the sounds of barking and claws scratching against the floor. I expect to be greeted by a wagging tail and a cloud-like creature running towards me, probably with Vivek following in the background and Shalini dragging Manish by the finger to come see me.

Surely enough, I see Marley, our yellow labrador, and Mila, our Samoyed, running towards me, both with their tails wagging so fast that I'm positive they'll take off for Austria sometime soon. Mila jumps on my thighs, and her black, marble like puppy dog eyes demand cuddles.

I go to give her a good scratching behind the ears, as Marley jumps on my other thigh. My other hand goes to pet her as well, as I see Manish leading towards me. Surely enough, Shalini is running towards me, with one of her little hands interlocked in Manish's and dragging him towards me.

"Shalu, slow down, I'm coming!" Manish squeals, in an attempt to slow her down, but I can see Shalu just roll her eyes.

"I have to go see Amma!" she cries, and when she's close enough, I kneel down and spread my arms out. "Hi, Amma!" she squeals, as she throws her little arms around me in the tightest hug she can muster.

"Hi, Shalu! How was school today?" I ask, as Manish just giggles a little bit. Marley has gone to get attention from Manish, while I'm still petting Mila with my free hand.

"It was good. I finished all my homework!" she proudly proclaims, as I bring her out of the hug to praise her properly.

Shalu, as we call her at home, is our seven year old bundle of joy daughter. As I keep on looking at her, I really take note of how she has inherited some of Manish's key features. She has his giant, luminous smile, his kind brown eyes, his ravenous crop of hair, as well as the same tenderness that made me fall in love with Manish twice.

However, she definitely has inherited my sharp sense of sarcasm as well as my brutal honesty and sharp tongue. But one thing is for sure. She, along with my 5 year old son Vivek, may be mixes of Manish and I, but they are both nothing short of perfect.

I want to lift her up like she's a little baby again, because she is my baby, but I'm almost certain I don't have the physical strength to do so. Instead, I settle for the second best option, which is to hug her while she's clinging to my knee and while the dogs are sitting next to me. "Good job! Are you going to help Appa in the kitchen with dinner?"

Shalu, while still clinging to my leg, gives me an excited nod. Manish can't help but giggle behind her. "She's my little helper."

The next thing I know, Vivek, has latched onto my other leg and is hugging me. "Shalu, do you want to clean up your pencils from the table? They're scattered everywhere."

Shalu then immediately latches off of my leg and bolts to the table, while I hug my son. Like Shalu, he's the perfect mix of Manish and I. He has his tanned skin, his adorable button nose, while he inherited my sly smile, piercing brown eyes, and lighter brown hair.

As I'm reflecting on how both my kids are perfect mixes of Manish and I, Manish comes up and slides an arm around me. "How was work, baby?" he asks, while planting a little kiss on the side of my face. I hug Manish back, as I stare deep into his warm brown eyes.

After ten years, the few lines on his face and the occasional grey strand of hair embedded in his head are a bit more noticeable. But he's still the same man I fell in love with, and 10 years of being together and almost 8.5 years of being married reaffirms the feelings that continue to burn so strongly in me.

"Tiring, as always. Did you take the dogs out?"

Manish nods, as his grip around me loosens. "Of course. I almost lost Mila because she saw a squirrel, but I was able to contain her."

I giggle a little bit, as Manish runs a hand through his hair. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Shalu petting Marley while Vivek is playing tug of war with Mila's rope toy. Manish keeps on snickering and his neck cranes towards the kitchen.

"Listen, does daal sound good? I can keep some rice in the cooker." I nod my head, and Manish hurries off to the kitchen to start cooking.

Once he's jetted off to the kitchen, I inch up towards the two blown up pictures of our wedding. They hang there for people to marvel at when they walk into our living room.

The first one is our traditional Tamilian wedding. We're sitting on the oonjal, And I'm wearing a green and pink kanjeevaram saree and a small country's GDP equivalent in gold jewelry, while Manish is wearing a cream colored sherwani and a simple white veshti.

Although we're wearing traditional wedding attire, the one thing we're wearing is our giant smiles as we're gleaming at each other, ready to become husband and wife. The giant smiles on both of our faces both hide the bags that probably started to form under our eyes because the wedding itself started at 7 a.m.

The other picture is of our Rajasthani wedding, an homage to Manish's culture. The panigraha ritual is being held, and my mehendi laced hand is intertwined in Manish's. Behind the red dupatta that is covering my face, you can clearly see the big fat smile plastered on my face. Manish too, is smiling, and the only thing that is shining brighter than my gold jewelry is the pure adoration for each other in our eyes. And I can safely say that we haven't lost that sparkle in our eyes.

As I'm admiring our wedding pictures and allowing nostalgia to warm and fuzz at my heart, I hear Shalu and Marley run up to my leg. "Amma, when can we have Jen Aunty and Anwar Uncle over again with Danish and Iqra?"

My heart flutters with happiness at the thought of Shalu and Vivek hanging out with Danish and Iqra. It was one of my dreams to have my best friends' kids become friends with my own kids. I smile, and shrug, adding on, "Whenever they're free! I'll call up Uncle and Aunty and see when they can come over."

My hands go to Marley to pet her and all of her fluff, as Shalu claps her hands in pleasure. "Jaya, if you're not too tired, can you help me out here?" Manish calls from the kitchen.

Marley and Mila's heads perk up when they hear Manish's voice, as I remove my hands and dust off Marley's fur. "Coming!" I call, as the dogs follow me to the kitchen.

Surely enough, I'm already hit by a gust of aromas, as the spices from Manish's daal waft through my nose. Marley and Mila sit on the floor, hoping to get a piece of what Manish is cooking, and I inch over to see what he needs. "What's up?" I ask, as Manish is chopping onions.

"Should I make a more daal makhani style thing or just generic Indian daal that I had to eat 4 times a week before going to college?"

I snicker, as Manish wipes the onions off the knife. "Go more dal makhani. It'll keep us full longer." Manish nods, then wipes his hands off on the dish towel.

"By the way," he adds, and I turn back to face him properly. For a split second, I see a slightly devilish look spawn in his eyes, and without warning, he plants a quick and gentle kiss on my forehead. "I love you, Jaya," he slides in, as a big fat smile breaks out on my face.

"I love you too, Manish," I reply back, as he snickers a little and goes to put the daal in the cooker.

    If you asked me 15 years ago if I thought I'd ever see Manish again, without hesitation, I would've probably said no. All my hopes of having a Bollywood style reunion with him had closed up faster than a Venus flytrap catches its prey.

But, by chance, we ended up in each others' lives again, and by bigger chance, we fell even more madly in love and decided that we were each others' forever. And you know what?

I don't regret a damn thing.

Of course, I wish that those 10 years of separation didn't exist, but it was worth it to finally get him back. And if one decade apart meant that we would eventually spend many more decades together as husband and wife, I wouldn't have even hesitated doing it again a thousand times over.

But for now, all that is left is to have him by my side, and I couldn't have chosen a better person to devote my forever to. Our love story wasn't perfect, but our outcome is damn close to it.

Our ride may have been bumpy, but we are now together, ready to set the road heading into the future ablaze. And there is nothing stopping us. No animosity, no unanswered questions. Just pure love and togetherness in the future. And with Manish as my future, I know for sure that it's going to be the entirety of everything I've ever dreamed for.

Will it be perfect? Probably not.

But I know for certain that it's going to be perfect for me.

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AHHHHH this is the end! I'm almost getting emotional writing this. Wilted Petals has been such a labor of love for me so finally wrapping this up and putting a proper end to Manish and Jaya's story just feels so wholesome to me. Did you think Manish and Jaya's ending is fitting and satisfactory? Let me know.

And here we are. We have reached the end. I'm honestly slightly in shock writing this and I got a little emotional writing the epilogue. Wilted Petals without a doubt has been the most difficult book I have written but it has been so ridiculously rewarding. It's so amazing to finish off Manish and Jaya's story properly and give them the ending they deserve.

To those who have supported me, whether it be since Blooming Flower's conception or Wilted Petals' release, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I started writing this series when I was in an awful mental state and the outlet that it provided for me is irreplaceable. I definitely took a while to finish up the series, but I wouldn't have had it any other way. And I would've been absolutely lost without your support. So, a million times over, thank you.

I have more works up my sleeve though! And I promise I won't take another two years to write those. It will be out soon enough!

I hope you guys liked this chapter, but more importantly, the entire book and series. I hope you enjoyed seeing Manish and Jaya's romance develop, as well as watched their story unfold across this giant timespan.

As always, if you liked the book/chapter/series, please vote/comment/share/follow/message (both on here and on Instagram [svts.writes] for updates regarding my future works! I'll see you guys very soon with a new work.

Love you guys, always and forever,

Shree