| "रहते हो आके जो तुम पास मेरे

थम जाये पल ये वही बस मैं ये सोचूँ

सोचूँ मैं थम जाये पल ये पास मेरे जब हो तुम

सोचूँ मैं थम जाये पल ये पास मेरे जब हो तुम

चलती है साँसे पहले से ज़्यादा

पहले से ज़्यादा दिल ठहरने लगा

हम्म हम्म्म हम्म हो हो

हो हो हो हो हो हो

हम्म हम्म्म हम्म हो हो

हो हो हो हो हो हो" |

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Ritu went downstairs toward the kitchen. Kamini smiled at her and held her hands "Beta, are you okay?".

Ritu nodded slowly. Sadhana said gently, "Ritu, today is your first rasoi. But if you don't want to perform that ritual, nobody is going to force you. We can consider this a normal day." She smiled.

Ritu exhaled "No, it's fine. I will perform the ritual."

Kamini asked worriedly, "Do you really want to? There's no pressure. We can help you."

Ritu shook her head "It's okay. I can do it myself."

Sadhana patted her head like a big sister "Just cook something simple."

Then they both left.

Ritu muttered, "Turram khan banke bol toh Diya, but mujhe toh khana hi nhi banane aata".

(I acted all confident like some great warrior, but I don't even know how to cook).

She gulped and started chopping the vegetables.

She thought for a second "Idea. When else is YouTube supposed to come to work?"

But then she realized, "Oh, for God's sake, I don't even have my phone. What should I do now? agar bahar gyi phone mangne, toh izzat ka papdi chat ho jayega".

(If I go outside and ask for a phone, my dignity will turn into crumbs)

She started pacing around the kitchen nervously, chewing her nails.

A maid walked in to wash the dishes. Ritu's eyes lit up "Umm, excuse me."

The maid looked toward her "Ji, memsahib."

Ritu exhaled "Just Ritu is fine."

The maid looked at her as if she had grown a second head "Madam, if Lakshya sir finds out, he will get angry."

Ritu muttered, "That asshole."

The maid looked confused "Ji?"

Ritu shook her head and sighed. "Nothing. Then just call me Ritu ma'am, not memsahib, okay?"

She nodded "You needed something madam?"

Ritu chuckled nervously "Yeah, actually, I forgot my phone in the room and I need to make a call urgently, so I needed a phone. Do you have one?"

The maid smiled and handed her phone over "Here."

Ritu took it "Thank you. Umm, what's your name?"

"I'm Kavita," she replied.

Ritu smiled "Thank you, Kavita didi."

She walked back toward the stove.

After thinking for a moment, she called Divishka.

Divishka picked up "Hello." Her voice was low, as if she was upset or tense.

Ritu's eyes welled up "Divi..."

She replied, "Who is this?"

Ritu exhaled shakily "Divi... mein mein..."

Divishka scoffed and deadpanned, "Arre mujhe kya pta tum konsi bakri ho mein mein kare jari ho..naam toh btao".

(How am I supposed to know which goat you are just from 'mein-mein'? At least tell me your name).

Ritu chuckled, though her voice cracked "Saali kharbuji mujhe nhi pehchana".

(You melon-headed idiot, you didn't recognize me?)

Divishka's breath hitched, and her voice turned shaky "Abbe saali papiti tu!"

(You idiot papaya!).

Ritu nodded "Yeah, me."

Divishka started crying "You piece of cow dung, how dare you disappear without even telling me?"

Ritu's own tears fell. "Divi, I had no choice." She started explaining everything to her while crying uncontrollably.

Divishka's blood boiled "That bastard. How dare that idiot force you? I'll kill him. That piece of trash thinks just because he has power, he can do anything. I'll cut his head off."

Ritu giggled through her tears "Mujhe bidhva banane ka plan hai matlab?".

(So your plan is to make me a widow?)

Divishka realized and sighed "I just realized my Ritu is married to him now. Don't worry, I'll marry you to replace him after I kill him."

Ritu wiped her tears "shant gadadhari bheem shant".

(Calm down, mighty warrior Bheem, calm down).

Divishka exhaled "By the way, was there some work? Why did you suddenly call? Is everything okay?"

Ritu sighed and pouted "Yaar, Divi, I just needed help. Today is my first rasoi. I acted like Jhansi Ki Rani and said I could do it alone. But reality check slapped me in the face. I don't even know how to cook. But you, you're the best cook, so tell me how to make kheer and cholle bhature."

Divishka deadpanned, "Bro, you never stepped into the kitchen except to eat. You think you can cook all that?"

Ritu said determinedly, "I will. After all, I'll get shagun."

She laughed "Bro Maqsad nahi bhoolna bhaijaan got real".

Ritu tucked her saree pallu to one side. "Okay, I'm ready to nail it."

Divishka teased, "To nail it or to destroy the kitchen?"

Ritu frowned "I'll kill you when I see you."

Divishka continued laughing "Okay, okay, continue cooking your disaster."

She started explaining how to cook. Ritu huffed and placed a pot on the stove, pouring milk into it.

Divishka instructed, "When it starts boiling, lower the flame and put the washed rice in."

Ritu did as she said.

"Now add sugar. Not too much, not too little."

Ritu started fumbling around for the sugar.

Kavita chuckled "Ritu ma'am, the powdered sugar is in the blue box."

Ritu smiled at her "You are my savior."

She picked up the box and added a small bowl of sugar to the kheer.

The kheer was doing fine, so she started making dough for the bhature. Meanwhile, she boiled the chana as well.

Eventually, she finished making the chole bhature and kheer.

Divishka teased again, "I can smell the disaster even from here."

Ritu scoffed "Shut up, asshole."

She sighed "Okay, I'll hang up now. But as soon as I get my phone back, I'll call you."

Divishka sniffled "Okay, bye. But tell me every little gossip from there, okay?"

Ritu rolled her eyes fondly "Okay, okay. Now..pehli fursat mein nikal."

She added dry fruits and saffron to the kheer. The kitchen was filled with dry fruits.

"Himachal has better walnuts," she muttered "I'm missing home already."

She called out, "Kavita didi, can you please help me take these to the table?"

Kavita smiled warmly "Of course, madam."

She poured the kheer and chole into serving bowls while Ritu carried the kheer bowl to the table.

Everyone was already seated there, but two more people were sitting among them, giving her unpleasant looks.

Kamini patted her back "Wow, it looks tasty. By the way, this is Lakshya's bua, Sakshi, and this is Sumanika, Sakshi's friend's daughter."

Ritu nodded politely and folded her hands in greeting "Namaste, Bua ji. Hello, Sumanika."

*Ritu's POV*

Lakshya came downstairs dressed in a sharp tailored three-piece suit, and damn, my husband looked smoking hot.

He walked toward the table.

I noticed that the witch, Sumanika, was openly ogling my husband.

Bua ji said in an overly sweet tone that sounded fake as hell, "Beta Aksh, won't you greet your bua?"

Lakshya nodded boredly "Namaste."

Then he sat down in his seat.

Sumanika tucked her hair behind her ear and tried to sit beside him. Lakshya looked at her with a bored expression. "That seat is already reserved for my wife."

Sumanika's face turned red with humiliation. She sweetly replied, "Oh, Aksh, I had no idea. Sorry about that."

He added "It's lakshya for you, Only my family call me aksh"

She went back and sat in her previous seat.

I pressed my lips together to stop myself from laughing. Sumanika noticed and glared at me.

Bua ji smirked "By the way, is this a new maid?" she asked while pointing at me.

My pallu was tucked at my waist, and there was dough on my forehead, but how dare she call me a maid? I was about to retort when Lakshya's face darkened with fury "Tameez se baat karna Mrs. Ritu Lakshya singh rajawat hain ye yani meri biwi. Aur agar meri biwi ko kuch bola na, toh bhul jaunga ki aap meri kuch lagti hain. Meri patni mera maan sammaan hain, aur agar mere maan ko koi thes phunchaye toh, vo ya toh zinda nhi bachta, ya phir dobara bolne ke kabil nhi rehta. Meri biwi ko dobara bolne ki zurrat mat kariye ga. This is my first and last warning".

(Speak respectfully. She is Mrs. Ritu Lakshya Singh Rajawat, my wife. And if anyone says a single word against my wife, I'll forget what relation they hold with me. My wife is my honor and pride, and if anyone dares hurt my honor, they either don't survive or they lose the ability to speak again. Don't ever dare speak about my wife like that again. This is my first and last warning).

I was shocked but internally proud. I looked smugly at Sumanika and Bua ji while they twisted their faces in embarrassment.

Papa ji sighed "Beta, sit down."

Kavita said politely, "Madam, I can serve everyone. Please sit down."

I sat beside Lakshya. He pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the dough off my forehead.

"Tired?" he asked softly.

I nodded. He handed me a glass of water.

I patiently waited for everyone's reaction to the kheer. Everyone took a bite and froze. My smile faltered "Is it not good?"

Maa quickly said, "No, no, beta. It's very good."

I wasn't convinced "Really?"

Before anyone else could respond, Bua ji scoffed, "What kind of kheer is this? Are you trying to kill us?"

I frowned and took a bite myself, only to cough immediately. The kheer wasn't sweet - it was salty.

Lakshya had enough "I think, Bua ji, you've overstayed your welcome. You should leave before I lose my mind."

Bua ji's face paled "Let's go, Sumanika."

Sumanika glared at me before stomping away with her.

The others looked apologetic because of Bua ji's behavior. I lowered her gaze to my lap while my eyes burned with unshed tears.

Sadhana bhabhi said gently, "Ritu, it's okay. Everyone makes mistakes."

Bhaiya agreed "And everyone learns from their mistakes, it's fine if you don't know how to cook. In this era cooking is not that important, being intelligent is important and bacha you are intelligent enough."

Papa ji smiled warmly "It's okay, beta. You were new and had no idea which box held sugar and which one held salt. I'll wait for the next time you cook. I know you'll nail it."

Maa placed a hand on my head "You did your best, beta. We are not disappointed at all. The result doesn't matter. What matters is effort, and you put in more than enough effort."

I looked at Lakshya, who was still eating the kheer. He even poured more into his bowl.

My eyes widened "It's not good. Why are you still eating it?"

He looked at her calmly "No, it's tasty. Tastier than anything else. Whatever my wife cooks is tasty for me."

My throat tightened "Stop eating it, please."

His gaze softened "What? I can't waste even a drop of it. My wife worked hard to cook this. I'll eat every drop of it. Cook like this again and again, and I'll still eat it every single time without regret."

A tear slipped down my cheek. Everyone else looked equally shocked that Lakshya Singh Rajawat seemed to have grown a second head.

He gently wiped my tear away with his thumb "Don't cry. Every tear of yours feels like a dagger through my heart. Please have mercy on this heart, jaan."

He caressed my cheek, and for the first time, i leaned into his touch.

His breath hitched softly, almost inaudibly, but I noticed it. He gave me a small smile "I have a gift for you, biwi ji."

He pulled out a velvet box from his pocket and opened it. Inside was a beautiful pair of golden anklets.

Lakshya stood up and knelt in front of me. Everyone gasped because it was the first time he had ever knelt before anyone.

He lifted my foot and placed it on his knee.

My breath hitched "Lakshya, what are you doing? Stop it."

Ignoring my protests, he fastened the anklet around my foot and kissed it. My hand flew to my mouth, a flush crept up on my neck and face "Lakshya..."

He repeated the same with the other anklet.

Then he looked up at me. My brown eyes met his blue ones.

He said softly,

"tum bss chalti rehna chan chan karke,

Mein piche piche saaya banke aunga.

Deewana toh kar hi Diya hai,

Tumhare pyaar mein Pagal bhi ban jaunga."

My heart swayed, and my voice broke "Don't make it hard to hate you."

For the first time, he smiled genuinely - no smirk, no arrogance, just a peaceful smile "Jitna nafrat karogi mein itna pyaar jataunga. Aur mein jaanta hu ki apni jaan se bhi ek din pyaar paunga".

I stared at him in genuine shock. "You are hopeless."

He smirked lightly "Yeah, hopelessly in love with you."

Papa ji brought a gift toward her "Beta, this is from me and Kamini."

My eyes widened "But Papa-"

Maa cut her off gently "No buts. This is shagun, beta. Our love."

I accepted it happily.

I opened the box and saw a brand-new iPhone inside. My jaw slackened. "H-How did you know I needed a phone?"

They chuckled. Papa ji replied, "I saw you using Kavita's phone earlier, so I thought of buying one for you."

Sadhana bhabhi and Veer bhaiya stepped forward with another gift. "Here, a small gift from us."

I opened it and found a beautiful dress inside "I love it! I saw this online. This design was made by my favorite designer, but she never sold this piece. How did you even get it?"

Sadhana smiled "Oh, so my lovely devarani is my fan?"

My eyes widened "So you're Scarlet, the famous fashion designer?"

She nodded.

I squealed and hugged her tightly "Oh, I love you, bhabhi! I'm your biggest fan. I watch every one of your fashion weeks. They're the best of the best."

A dramatic gasp echoed from the entrance "Wow, everyone's enjoying without me?"

I smiled brightly "Krish bhaiya!"

He walked toward me and hugged me warmly. "Here, a gift for my sweet little sister."

I opened the gift and found a bracelet inside. It looked expensive. I opened her mouth to decline, but he raised a hand.

"Quiet. Consider it a gift for all the Rakhi celebrations we missed till now."

Then Krish bhaiya turned toward Lakshya "And you - if you ever hurt my sister, I'll kill you."

Lakshya crossed his arms "I'd rather kill myself than hurt her. And first of all, you're my best friend before anything else."

Kabir shrugged dramatically "Nope. I switched sides. Now I'm Ritu's brother first."

Lakshya simply shook his head "What can I say when I'm already on her side, right jaan?"

To be continued...

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