Three months later

Annika and Shivaay were back in India from Italy after her surgery, which went on smoothly without any further complications. Although in the initial two weeks post-surgery, Annika began to show signs of mild depression, which the doctor had warned Shivaay about. Constant thoughts on whether their irreversible decision on hysterectomy was right, whether a miracle would've been possible where she could have gotten pregnant if she hadn't opted to get her uterus removed – all of this had begun to plague Annika's mind to a point where she would keep crying or sulking for days together. Shivaay had, with the help of the counsellor, patiently and lovingly helped her get through all of it.

It had been a week now since they were back from Italy after she had physically recovered. Mentally, however, Annika was still taking baby steps but was definitely making progress. Kalyani had eventually realized her folly when Shivaay had patiently explained to her that if they wouldn't have opted for the surgery, it could have been life-threatening for Annika. Kalyani had instantly mellowed down towards the girl and sincerely apologized for being unnecessarily cold and rude to her. Annika, of course, was too quick to forgive.

Pinky, however, had an indifferent approach towards Annika, treating her like she did not exist, refusing to even look or talk to her. Realizing how all of this was taking a toll on Annika, Shivaay had shared his pain with Omkara and Gauri. Gauri was quick to ask her parents if Annika could stay at the Sharma Residence until she was completely fine mentally and physically. Shalini and Arvind were more than happy to have her over, despite Annika and Shivaay's initial hesitation, saying that their home anyway felt a little emptier wherein they could use some company. Gauri happily rearranged her room in her parent's home so that Annika could stay there comfortably. While Annika was grateful for that, she also made it a point to visit the Oberoi Mansion with Gauri whenever Daadi would feel like seeing her two granddaughters-in-law.

Although Shivaay always returned to the Oberoi Mansion at night, he would spend every waking minute with his wife, thus irking Pinky. The woman hadn't even hesitated to taunt Annika in front of the whole family as to how her son's life would've been much different if he wasn't married to a 'damaged' woman. A huge fight had followed wherein Shivaay insisted that Pinky apologized to Annika. When she outrightly refused and continued to disrespect his wife, Shivaay announced as a last resort that if she didn't stop, he would be forced to break all ties with her for causing undue distress to his wife.

To his utter shock, his mother declared in anger that it was better to have no son than a son on whom black magic has been done by his wife. Shivaay had decided he would move out of the Oberoi Mansion with Annika, permanently, refusing to share the roof over their heads with Mrs. Pinky Oberoi. Annika, as usual, was supportive of her husband and agreed when they decided they would shift to Shivaay's farmhouse in Goa, far away from the toxic environment of the Oberoi Mansion. At Kalyani Singh Oberoi's pleas, he had promised to visit her often, despite staying away. It had taken time, but slowly, Shivaay and Annika had settled into their new routine of learning to live alone as a couple, slowly finding happiness and support in each other.

***

Omkara and Gauri on the other hand were already savouring their happiest days in their cozy little apartment. The two had now learned to share anything and everything with each other, communicating freely with no hesitation whatsoever, so as to avoid any issues that could crop up between them. As self-promised, Gauri had started practicing yoga every morning, believing that it was an effective way for her to not just work on her temper issues, but also to get her body toned up. Now, while Omkara was happy about how she was working on herself, he kept admonishing her whenever she would look into the mirror or check her weight.

"You're not fat, but you're close to being completely crazy!" he would chide her. The only difference now, was that Gauri had stopped taking the number on the scale seriously, and had instead begun to focus on staying fit, rather than shedding weight.

Gauri would wake Omkara up quite early so he could give her company in the mornings. Omkara on the other hand had opted to resume his morning run instead of yoga, letting her know that sitting still in one place and meditating was not his thing. So, while she kept doing her asanas in the living room, he would run around the block and come back, after which both would prepare their breakfast, eat together, and then leave together for work.

Omkara had slowly started taking some serious interest in his art, and had joined his Art Guru's classes. Twice a week, after the office hours, he would drop Gauri home and would then proceed for his classes which would go on for two hours. Gauri, on the other hand, had developed a newfound interest in indoor gardening. She had started with just one bamboo plant which was a gift from Ishana for good luck, and now, their balcony had a total of twelve pots with a variety of plants, including the flowering ones.

One fine evening of a lazy weekend, Gauri was busy tending to her plants, which she referred to as her babies, while Omkara was feeding her jelly custard that he'd made earlier from scratch. "Om!" she chided him when some of that custard fell down her chin, which she couldn't even wipe since her soiled hands were deep in the mud of one of the pots. He had grabbed the chance of licking her chin clean and had even teased that he would rather eat the custard off her instead of eating it in a bowl. Although she'd turned red, she didn't comment on it and had only given him a mystical look from the corner of her eyes, as if a fantasy had played right in front of her eyes.

Omkara had continued feeding her the custard, and had, for the second time, spilled custard down her chin, some of which dropped on her chest too. "Omkara!" she'd frowned, fearing that the raspberry jelly would leave a stain on her beige t-shirt. He had quickly offered to clean it off, demanding her to take her top off with a mischievous smile intact on his lips. She'd stared at him with a deep blush on her face reading his wicked intentions that were as clear as the day in his eyes, and had then gotten up to change and wash the stain off herself.

"Kya kar rahe ho!" she muttered to him when she was wiping the stain off in the kitchen sink. "What do you think?" he'd replied to her, hugging her tighter from behind, placing sensuous kisses on her neck and shoulder, running his hands under her t-shirt on the soft skin of her stomach. Feeling aroused with all of his touches and kisses, she'd murmured a cuss, not before turning around to kiss him and then demanding to be carried in his arms into the bedroom. Omkara was more than happy to oblige and had groaned when she'd nibbled on his ear while in his arms. He'd kicked the bedroom door shut, as giggles and squeals followed, while the soil lay scattered around the pots in the balcony for hours thereafter.

***

Rudra fetched a plate of pasta from the counter and walked to the table where Bhavya Pratap Rathore, a new admission to the college and his current interest, was waiting for him. The two of them got along like house on fire the very first day she stepped into the college. It was almost as if an unofficial rumour of the two of them dating each other was doing the rounds, which neither of them accepted nor denied, maintaining that the two of them were just good friends.

Presently, as Rudra and she ate from the same plate, Bhavya said nudging his elbow, "I'm telling you, Rudy. I have a gut feeling that your best friend Saumya has some feelings for you." He furrowed his brows and gave her an amused smile, "Kaun? Sumo?" he asked, and she nodded. Rudra turned and looked at Saumya seated at a distance, watching them with a sad smile. However, when she saw Rudra look at her, a bright smile came on her lips and she waved out at him. He waved back at her and pondered over what Bhavya just told him.

"I doubt it, Bhavya. She's just my best friend, aur kuch nahi." "Weren't your Omkara Bhaiyya and Gauri Bhabhi also best friends?" Rudra nodded in confusion. Bhavya smiled sweetly at him and said to him, "Go, talk to her." Without waiting for a reply from him, Bhavya got up with the plate and moved towards her other classmates to talk to them.

Saumya's eyes visibly brightened when she saw Rudra come over and join her at the table. "Aur? Kya chal raha hai aaj kal?" he asked, and she offered him the samosa that was on her plate. "Tu khaa le, tujhe samosa pasand hai na?" he said, and she nodded, breaking it into half, "Pasand hai, lekin tere saath share kar sakti hoon." He looked at her as she sweetly smiled at him.

***

"Okay, Shivaay beta, take care!" Shakthi said as he disconnected the call, and then looked at Pinky who was seated in front of the dressing table, pretending that she wasn't interested in the conversation that the father-son duo just had over the phone. "Shivaay asked how you're doing," he informed her, and she huffed, "Shivaay ke paas mere phone numbers nahi hai kya, jo woh aapse pooch raha hai ke main kaisi hoon? Mujhse bhi toh seedha pooch sakta hai na ke main zinda hoon ya marr gayi hoon?" Then chuckling humourlessly, she said, "Shayad uss manhoos ladki ne kaha hoga mere bachche se ke woh mujhse baat na kare!"

"Pinky, please! Kaisi baatein kar rahi ho? Hamari Annika aisi bilkul nahi hai!" he said, but fell silent when she glared at him. "Hamari Annika? Toh uss ladki ne aap pe bhi jaadu-tona kiya hai!" Shakthi sighed, knowing there was no use talking to her about it. After a long pause of silence, Pinky asked trying to sound as nonchalant as possible, "Waise, kaisa hai Shivaay? Theek toh hai na woh?"

Shakthi nodded and with a smile, he said, "Bilkul theek hai, aur bohot khush bhi hai. Annika bhi bilkul theek hai. Shivaay ne bataya ke woh aur Annika bohot jaldh bachche ko godh lene ke baare mein soch rahein hain." Pinky's mouth twisted in distaste as she said, "Kaisi phooti kismet hai mere bete ki? Uss ladki ki wajah se mere Shivaay ka apna bachcha bhi nahi ho sakta. Kisi aur ke khoon ko apna bachcha keh ke godh lena padh raha hai usko!"

Shakthi sighed, "Pinky, apna khoon nahi hai toh kya hua? Shivaay aur Annika ek nanhe se, pyaare se bachche ko apna naam denge, uss bachche ko ek parivaar milega, aur hamare bachchon ko Mata Rani se iss nek kaam ke liye dher saara ashirwad bhi milega." Before Pinky could say anything, he continued, "Aur, adoption ka faisla Shivaay aur Annika ka hai. Ismein hum kuch nahi keh sakte hain. Yeh unka decision hai."

Pinky looked away, getting angrier at Annika with every passing second, fuming that if Annika hadn't been a part of her son's life, it would've been very different. He would have been married to someone from their own social status and would've probably had a waaris to the Oberoi Empire by now. "Main uss manhoos baanjh ko kabhi maaf nahi karungi!" she said angrily after Shakthi walked out of the room.

***

The Sharma Residence

Omkara was surprised at how delicious the apple cinnamon cake tasted against his palate. "Oh my God, this is amazing!" he exclaimed, looking at his mother-in-law and then at his brother. "Thanks, O!" Rudra said with a proud smile and then bent his head as Shalini ruffled his hair lovingly. Seated on the kitchen counter, Omkara took another bite saying, "I never knew you cook so well, Ru! You certainly made the right choice by switching your course from MBA!"

"All thanks to Shalu Darling for helping me realize my passion!" Omkara scrunched his nose, "Please Ru! Stop calling Mamma that!" Arvind, who was in the hall with Gauri playing ludo with her, said out loud, "I agree with Omkara! Shalu is only my darling!" causing every one of them to chuckle while Shalini only blushed.

Gauri's phone beeped and she was surprised to see a message from Omkara. She looked at him and he glanced at her discreetly, before nodding at what Rudra was saying. Gauri almost chuckled out loud at a joke he'd sent which read, "Boobs are proof that men can focus on two things at a time."

This joke was definitely in response to the comment she'd made this morning when he'd been so engrossed in frying eggs, that he hadn't noticed the boiling milk overflowing from the vessel all over the stove, to which she'd told him that men couldn't multitask at all. Presently, Gauri grinned mischievously and replied, "That's the only time men can multitask!" followed by emoticons of a wink, a tongue, a pair of hands, and an eggplant. She watched Omkara turning slightly red at the innuendos in her message and glanced at her to wink.

Arvind secretly watched the silent exchange between the two and continued rolling the dice with a smile, happy for them that they had found forever happiness in each other. "Papa Bear, this is for you!" Rudra came out with a plateful of the cake he'd just baked.

"Since when did you start calling him that?" Gauri asked with a grin at that cutesy name. Rudra said, "Papa Bear was jealous that only Shalu Darling had a nickname. So, I kept a nickname for him as well." Arvind thanked him for the cake and then offered a plate to Gauri, who politely declined, "I'll lose my appetite if I eat cake now. I promise I'll have it after dinner," she said to Rudra.

Omkara came to the living room and sat next to his wife, resting his head on her shoulder and moaning happily as he ate another spoonful of the cake. "Try one bite at least," he said to her, lifting a spoonful to her mouth. Not wanting to disappoint him, she opened her mouth and he fed her a spoonful, after which she thoroughly appreciated Rudra's culinary skills.

"Right on time, Annika ka phone hai!" Shalini said and hurried out to the living room with her phone where all were seated. "Hi!!!" Annika screeched happily, almost glowing with excitement at seeing all of them on her phone screen. Shivaay was also in the frame and greeted everyone politely.

Rudra sent a message on a secret WhatsApp group which was only for the three brothers, "Now watch my two khidkitod Bhabhis talk harharaike at the speed of light" Shivaay and Omkara checked the messages and grinned. Sure enough, the two women began talking their own stories to Shalini, while the four men, including Arvind, nodded at appropriate pauses in their conversation.

Omkara casually wrapped an arm around Gauri, and she leaned against him while placing her hand on his thigh as if it were the most natural thing to do. Although it looked intimate, neither of them felt any hesitation to lean against each other, savouring each other's proximity. While Shalini and Arvind exchanged smiles at the comfort between the two, Rudra teased them how they couldn't keep their hands off each other.

"Why should I keep my hands off her anyway? Biwi hai meri!" Omkara said possessively with a grin, making Shivaay cough as he exclaimed, "Thank God! I thought we would still get to hear the 'we are only best friends' tag".

At that, everyone burst out laughing, making Omkara furrow his brows, at which Gauri pulled his cheek and said, "You'll always be my best friend, dear husband!" "Always and forever!" he replied with a sweet smile. Always and forever, indeed