"Don't worry maa, I have taken everything necessary with me. You just concentrate on your and dad's health. By the way, I have put your medicines in the top drawer of the nightstand on the left side, and on the right side, there is dad's medicine. So, that you don't get confused." I explain in a hurry because Rudra is waiting outside the house and if I don't go out soon he will throw a hissy fit. Yes, I am not saying anything wrong. He doesn't like to wait so if we ever have to go somewhere with him, we try to get ready in time.

"I will take care of myself and your dad. But you have to promise me that you will not skip your meals. Because you have a habit of neglecting yourself by getting engrossed in your studies." Maa replies making me smile. She is the best mother-in-law in the world and I can't be more thankful to have such great in-laws.

"Okay, I will remember everything you are saying." I let out before hugging her. I turn towards dad who is looking sad and I know why. He doesn't want me to leave because he told me that it doesn't feel good without me. I go near him before bending down to touch his feet to take his blessing. But he stops me to do that and put a gentle kiss on the top of my head.

"You are my daughter and I don't want my daughter to touch my feet. My blessing is already with you so just take care of yourself and come back soon." Dad says while Lakshya bhaiya chuckle from the side.

"Dad, bhabhi to abhi tak ghar se nikal bhi nahi payi aur aap unhe wapas aane ko keh rahe ho." Dad rolls his eyes hearing Lakshya bhaiya's words.

("Sister-in-law has not even been able to get out of the house and you are asking her to come back.")

"Ishita, hurry up or it will be too late to catch our flight." Rudra yells making my eyes widen because for a few seconds I have forgotten about him.

"Bye everyone. I will call you after we lend in Delhi airport." I let out before getting out of the house. I notice that Rudra is already sitting in the back seat, so without wasting more time I sit beside him. I wave my hand towards maa, dad, and Lakshya bhaiya who are standing outside the house.

Throughout the ride to the airport, Rudra keeps working on his laptop. I try to talk to him but he barely answers me so I stop asking anything. Soon the car stops in front of the airport and after completing all the procedures we get to board the plane.

I am still not over my anxiety about flights so I don't know what I will do this time. But suddenly I feel a rough palm on the back of my hand making me turn my head to see that Rudra is giving me an assuring smile. I bit my lip and dip my head down not wanting him to see my blushing cheeks.

••••••••••

"Welcome princess." Papa says after I get out of the car and give him a big hug. I am surprised to see no one outside the house except him because everyone knows that I am coming.

"I have missed you, papa." I tell him with a sigh.

"Same here baby girl. Come on let's get inside." He replies after pulling away from the hug. Then he looks at Rudra who is standing at some distance.

"Why are you standing there? Come on hug me." I giggle seeing Rudra's stunned expression but he still complies with papa's wish.

"Where is everyone?" I ask while walking inside the house along with papa and Rudra.

"SURPRISE." I get startled hearing loud voices and cover my ears out of fear. I feel a hand wrap around my waist so I turn around before hugging the person tightly. By the smell of the manly perfume, I can easily guess that Rudra is the one who is holding me.

"I told you guys this is a bad idea, yet no one listened to me." Gautam bhaiya says with anger lacing on his tone.

"Are you okay?" Rudra whisper in my ear so that no one can hear. I nod my head and pull away from his embrace before turning around to face my family who is looking guilty.

"Sorry guys, I just got a little shock that's it." I let out trying to ease the tension.

"I am sorry yaar. It was my plan to surprise you." Kuhu says with a sad look. I go near her before flicking her on the forehead making her whine while others laugh around us.

"Stop saying sorry or I will go back." I threaten playfully getting a pout from her.

"Noooo. I am not letting you go anywhere and if you go then I will tag along with you." She replies sassily.

"Ladkiyo baatein karna bandh karo. Rudra ko bhi bethne ka mauka do." Phui scolds us while asking Rudra to take a seat on the couch.

("Girls stop talking. Give Rudra a chance to sit as well.")

We all sat down and talk a lot. Everyone is very happy to know that I am happy in my in-laws' house. But no one believes that I really do the housework with my mother-in-law. Then Rudra inform them I am telling the truth. Everybody get shocked because I didn't like to do housework earlier. I feel really shy when Rudra starts praising me while talking about how I take care of everyone at home in Mumbai.

After some time Rudra and I go to my room to get fresh. I let him use the washroom first and after he comes out I go inside to change my clothes. But when I come out of the washroom I don't see him. Then I decide to call maa and let her know that we have reached Delhi safely. So with that thought in mind, I dial her number and talk to her. She scolds me for calling her so late so I tell her that I got distracted while talking to everyone.

"Ishu are you done? Everyone is waiting for you." I hear Roshni bhabhi calls out from downstairs.

"Maa I will call you later. Bhabhi is calling me for lunch." I say over the phone.

"Okay, go and have your lunch. Bye, sweetie." Maa replies.

"Bye maa." I let out before disconnecting the call.

I come downstairs but stop in front of the dining room not believing my eyes. I rub my eyes to see if what I am seeing is correct or just an illusion. But when I hear the laughter around me I understand that Rudra is freely smiling and talking to everyone.

I don't know if he is pretending to be happy or he is really happy. But I just want to capture this moment and keep it lock in my memory.

"Ishu di, come on sit beside me." Moksh calls out breaking me away from my thoughts. I smile at him before taking a seat beside my naughty cousin.

"When are you coming back from your business trip?" Papa asks Rudra.

"I am coming back in a week." Rudra replies while stealing a paneer cube from Moksh's plate making my eyes widen.

"Papa dekho na jiju meri plate se khana chori kar rahe he." Moksh whines and glares at Rudra who looks completely unbothered.

("Papa look brother-in-law is stealing food from my plate.")

"It's not like you're eating the paneer." Rudra remarks playfully.

"Moksh likes to save the paneers so that he can eat them at the end." Kaka informs Rudra who nods his head in understanding.

"Sorry, little one. Here take some from my bowl." Rudra says offering his bowl to Moksh who shakes his head.

"It's okay jiju. Mumma will give me more, you eat yours." Everyone looks shocked hearing Moksh's answer.

"Wow beta. This is the first time you're saying no to paneer which is your favorite thing to eat." Dadi lets out while we all nod our heads.

"I want to become a big businessman like jiju and to do that I need to have a good bond with him so that he can give me tips for my future." Moksh replies innocently.

"Then you need to eat more paneer because that will make your brain sharper." Rudra says before feeding Moksh a piece of paneer.

After lunch, everyone decides to take some rest because there will be a little get-together in the evening. However, neither I nor Kuhu is feeling tired so we both leave the house to walk around a bit. Soon we reach the park that is not very far from the house and sit on the bench.

"Now tell me the truth, are you really happy with your new family?" She asks looking worried.

"Of course I am happy. Everyone takes good care of me. Those people never let me feel that I am the daughter-in-law of that house. In fact, for them I am more than a daughter." I reply with a smile.

"And Rudra? Does he treat you well?" She asks in which I choose to tell her the truth.

"Kuhu, I do not want to lie to you that I am very happy with this marriage, nor would I want to say that Rudra has accepted this marriage. But I must say that he is a very nice person. He has never forced me to do anything that I don't want. Yes, it used to be a little strange at first to talk with him, but now it seems normal. I can say that now both of us have become very good friends." I let out with a sigh.

"Nice to know that you are happy in your married life. Because here everyone is worried about whether you are alright in your in-laws' house or not." She replies softly.

"You know, after mom passed away Phui and Kaki took very good care of me. But I still used to missed mom seeing all the kids around me. So when my marriage got fixed, the first thing I was worried about was my mother-in-law. Always wondered if I would be able to be a good daughter-in-law or not. But God has given me my mother back in the form of my mother-in-law. I have got so much without asking that there is nothing left to ask for." I tell her happily.

"Now, I am fully assured that you are very happy with your new family. But there is one thing I want to ask." She replies looking hesitant for some reason.

"Why are you hesitating so much? Feel free to ask anything." I assure her.

"Have you told Rudra about your nightmares?" She asks making me gulp. Indeed, I am not having any nightmares for two months but it doesn't mean that they won't be back to haunt me.

"Your silence is telling me that you have not told him anything." She remarks in which I nod my head.

"I know that as my husband he should know all about my past. But when I have forgotten everything, then why should I spoil my relationship by telling him about those horrible memories. Also, I don't get any nightmares nowadays for some reason." I let out trying not to cry.

"Does it have anything to do with him?" She asks gently.

"I don't know but yeah, he makes me feel safe. I used to thought that I would never be able to get past my boundaries. But just being in his arms I feel like no one can harm me." I reply thinking about the first time when we have shared the same bed.

He didn't want to sleep in the bed saying that I wouldn't feel good, but I insisted that he could sleep in the bed. I had been observing how uncomfortable he felt while sleeping on the couch. That night I felt like my nightmares were going to swallow me but then I felt strong arms successfully pulling me away from the clutch of the nightmares. I cried myself to sleep but those tears were happy tears. Because I was able to fight my nightmares with the help of my husband.

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