'and her father treats her as sh*t!' Sneha recalled Shruti's words regarding Ananya as she and Jyoti walked back to their next lecture on World Geography.

After a long reflective silence, Jyoti finally broke it.

"I seriously think they shouldn't have told us about Ananya and her...personal life!" Jyoti mumbled.

"I know. I don't know if Ananya would have wanted us to know this." Sneha nodded in agreement.

"I doubt they are her best friends. Who tells gossips like that?"

"Let's just behave as if we didn't hear anything. Ananya would be terribly embarrassed if she'll get to know that we know about her." Sneha concluded to which Jyoti acknowledged.

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Ananya stood behind Viraj, almost hiding behind his body as they waited to welcome their father. Her heartbeat accelerated as the various possible scenarios of torture surfaced in her mind. She recalled all her previous mistakes and told herself, again and again, to not repeat them this time.

Please, God! Don't let him be angry today. She prayed in her mind.

When the sound of an incoming car became audible, Ananya involuntarily held Viraj's arm for some sort of support.

"Bhai!" She whispered with her voice trembling.

"Calm down, Ananya. Just don't make any mistakes and you'll be fine." He told her as gently as he could.

"You'll help me out, right...if he gets angry at me?" She whisper-asked.

"You know he hates it. If anything, he will make it worse for you if I'll take your side." He explained and she sighed in understanding.

Ananya almost fainted when her father entered the hall where they both waited to welcome him.

"My son!" Viraj's father, Dev entered the hall and threw a huge smile towards his son.

"Papa." Viraj greeted back as his father hugged him warmly. Ananya took three steps back when she saw her father walking towards Viraj.

"How are you?" Dev asked, as he usually did.

"I am good. How are you and ma?" Viraj asked without any expression on his face.

"We are good too! She sent you some organic dry fruits." Dev stated with a smile as he motioned towards a suitcase held by his bodyguard.

Viraj only nodded in response.

"Come, I'll show you your room. You may get fresh and then we'll have breakfast together." Viraj stated in a robotic manner as if rehearsed multiple times.

Dev nodded and took a step forward when he spotted Ananya standing almost 10 feet away from him with her head held low and gaze fixed on the ground. Had it been her choice, she wouldn't even be here to receive him. But, as a matter of fact, Dev always made sure every member of the family be present or he considered it as his disrespect.

With a playful smile, Dev walked towards Ananya and stood in front of her. She slowly and hesitantly looked up so as to not disrespect him.

"Papa. H.how was the flight?" She asked while trying her best to not stutter.

"Viraj, you are still keeping the illegitimate child here with you?" Dev asked while glancing at Viraj.

Viraj sighed at his father's choice of words.

"You should get fresh, papa. The journey must have been tiring." He said to change the topic.

Dev only chuckled at his son's response.

"I want to wear some comfortable slippers." Dev said while looking at Ananya.

"Yes, papa." She answered immediately and removed the pair of slippers from under the sofa where she had kept them, just in case.

Dev sat on the sofa and extended his legs. Ananya kneeled on the floor in front of him and removed his shoes and socks carefully. Keeping the slippers at an apt angle, she stood up and picked the shoes in her hands.

"I see you are learning well. Get me some chilled water in my room." He ordered her.

"Yes, papa." She said and almost ran to the kitchen.

Viraj walked with his father to the room where he stayed whenever he visited home.

"After breakfast, I need to talk to you." Dev said as he removed his clothes from the closet to take a bath.

"Okay." Viraj agreed and exited the room. At the same moment, Ananya entered the room with a glass of water. He looked at her and nodded as he walked past her.

"Papa, water...Ah!" Ananya gasped when she tripped over the floormat and spilt water on the floor.

Viraj froze on the spot as he knew what was coming now. Even if he couldn't see what was happening in the room, he very well knew his father's attitude towards his sister.

Dev looked at the spilt water and then glared at Ananya.

"S.sorry, papa..." Ananya stuttered, hoping her father won't hit her. However, that was exactly what he did. Dev took a step forward and slapped her hard on her left cheek. She knew very well than to cover her face in protection.

"No matter what, one can never tame a ba***** child. Clean this mess and get the **** out of my sight." He shouted at her.

Ananya nodded quickly and ran out of the room to get the mop. Viraj held his sister's hand as she passed him with teary eyes. Ananya stood with moist eyes in front of him as he caressed the cheek where she got hit.

"Don't worry about the mess. I'll ask someone to clean it." He assured her since it was the least he could do for her.

"But, papa will hit me again if I won't clean it." She whimpered.

"He is going to take a bath. So, he won't know it. Go and make sure the food is alright." He told her. Both of them knew what happens if the food is not to Dev's taste.

"O.okay. Thank you, bhai." She mumbled and walked in the direction of the kitchen. Viraj sighed before walking towards his room.

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"Where is Mahesh staying?" Dev asked as he sat comfortably at the dining table.

"He is allotted the guest room. Don't worry about it." Viraj answered as he took his own seat.

"He might be my bodyguard, but he is very close to me, son. I don't want him to feel unwelcomed." Dev said.

"I know." He answered.

Ananya entered the dining room along with three maids. The maids kept the dishes on the table and Ananya set the plate for both Viraj and Dev. Taking out the food carefully from the bowls, she served the men cautiously to not make another mistake. This time, she successfully did her job well. Viraj sighed in relief internally when she completed her work.

"I didn't want to have Poha for breakfast." Dev complained while looking at Annaya who in turn fidgeted to think of an appropriate response.

"I asked her to prepare it, papa. I wanted to have something light today." Viraj interjected.

"Oh! In that case, if my son wants it, I must have it." Dev smiled suddenly and had a spoonful of the dish. Viraj did the same while Ananya waited as the women in her family are expected to do.

Much to Viraj's dislike, Dev spat on his plate dramatically as soon as the food went in his mouth.

"Do you want to kill me, w****?" He shouted.

"Wh...what happened, papa?" Ananya asked as her fingers trembled again. She had tasted the food many times before bringing it in. It was fine.

"Come sit here." He motioned towards the chair to his right. She immediately did as asked.

Dev pushed his plate in her direction, took the chilli sprinkler and put an excessive amount of chilli on the food.

"Now, eat this. And, you will remember to cook well for the next time." He added.

"The poha is perfectly fine, papa." Viraj interrupted again as Ananya looked at the plate in horror. Not only was there an excess amount of chilli in it, but her father had also spat on it.

"It is not for me, son." Dev answered patiently.

"Are you eating or should I ready the whip?" Dev asked sternly.

"Why are you doing this, papa?" Viraj asked. He didn't want his sister to go through what she did last year.

"Are we breaking the deal, here, Viraj?" Dev asked seriously while looking at his son, in a challenging way.

"I'll eat, bhai. Please." She interrupted before Viraj said anything that would anger their father further.

Viraj clenched his jaw on remembering the deal he had with his father regarding Ananya. He stared at his plate in distaste as his little sister ate the food and tried her best to hold her tears and nose-run.

"I guess, I'll only have toast then." Dev said as he took the toast and started eating it, without caring about Ananya at all.

"Why aren't you eating?" Dev asked Viraj.

"The deal doesn't say anything about eating as my sister suffers in pain." He said in an angry tone.

Dev sighed.

"I still don't understand why you feel so protective for her! She is not even your real sister..."

"She is my sister." Viraj interrupted angrily.

"She is not. She is an unwanted product of your mother wh***** around." Dev retorted in the same tone.

Ananya stifled a cry as she heard the hurtful words. The chilli making it much worse. Viraj's fist tightened as the memories flashed across his eyes.

"Now, eat." Dev ordered his son.

"I won't unless Ananya stops this nonsense." He stated sternly.

Dev sighed finally and looked in her direction.

"Get out and do not come out of your room for the entire day. I don' want to see your face." He said as if it was the most lenient he could get. Anaya, however, couldn't be happier.

"I am so....sorry, p...papa." She mumbled and ran towards the kitchen to drink as much water as she could.

"Now, eat, son." Dev stated and Viraj hesitantly held his spoon again.

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"What did you want to talk about?" Viraj asked as both son and father sat comfortably on the lawn.

"Should I begin with Nupur or Ananya?" Dev asked as he lit a cigarette.

"Ananya."

"Nupur's maternal uncle's sister's only son is of your age. They have asked for Ananya's hand in marriage. He has a well-established business in apparel. And, in dowry, they are just asking for your alliance...nothing else. What do you think about it?"

"I wonder why you worry about Ananya despite hating her to the core!"

"Someone has to send her off. I would prefer her dead but since my son wants her alive, I can't do much about it. Also, if we benefit out of her, it's a fair deal."

"I'll do a background check on him and get back to you." Viraj answered while ignoring his last comment.

"Great! Now, about Nupur. Her father has asked me three times already about why you are not fixing the date for the wedding? Also, she told her father that you don't even call her or go to Spain to meet her!" Dev complained.

Viraj sighed before answering.

"I need time, papa. I am not ready for the wedding, yet. I'll call her tonight. And, I can't go to Spain since I need to focus on the new deals that I have to finalize here." He answered all the questions concisely.

"Why don't you at least talk to her, like fiance's do?" His father asked.

"Because...I don't want to." He stated.

"That's not the correct attitude, son. She is important to you, you know. Her father's entire empire is literally waiting on your feet. You just need to marry her. The sooner the better for you."

Viraj knew it. Nupur is the only child of her parents. Thus, Viraj would get everything in dowry if he marries her. A fair deal for everyone.

"Also, I met her a few months back. She is the ideal woman for our family. Perfect, actually. You must not let her go out of your hands. It will be difficult to find such a woman again." Dev added persuasively.

"I'll think about it." Viraj said to end the conversation and his father knew it.

"So, what's new in your life? Did I miss anything in the last three months?" Dev asked to further the conversation.

"No. You are going to ask Gaurav anyway." Viraj said and stood up to leave.

"Where are you going now?" He asked.

"I have some important calls to make. See you at lunch." He mumbled and left.

Dev sighed before making a call.

"Gaurav, you may come now." He said when he heard Gaurav's gentle tone from the other side.

"Yes, uncle." Gaurav answered.

In ten minutes, Gaurav stood in front of Viraj's father and greeted him warmly.

"How are you, uncle?" Gaurav asked as he sat in front of Dev.

"I am good, Gaurav. How about you and your feisty girlfriend?" Dev asked with a chuckle.

"We are doing great, too, uncle." Gaurav answered with a smile.

"I believe she is still stalling the prospect of settling down with you, right?" He asked while referring to Natasha.

"She is a highly ambitious woman, uncle. And, I want her to do whatever she wants." He answered politely since he knew Dev's conservative thoughts very well.

"Well, it is your life, Gaurav. So, I won't force you to find the ideal girl for yourself."

Gaurav only lightly laughed to acknowledge him.

"So, what's up with Viraj? Anything new in his personal life that I must know about?" Dev asked as he always did on his visit.

Gaurav had already prepared the points to mention. It was one of his tasks to keep Dev updated about Viraj's personal life and Viraj knew very well about it.

"No, uncle. Nothing much is going on...however, I don't know if it is relevant or not, but Ananya has made another friend with whom Viraj appears to be more....involved...these days."

"Involved? As in?" Dev asked to elaborate.

"Her name is Sneha Bohra. She helped Ananya once from a group of idiots. Since then I find him getting involved way too much than expected of him. He dropped her home more than once instead of asking the driver to do so. He also manipulated a business to help her win laptops in a lottery. He took her to lunch in one of his best restaurants to thank her for helping Ananya." Gaurav explained.

"And you think there is a meaning to this?" Dev asked suspiciously.

"I can't be sure. He also seems to dislike her guts since she is more of an independent and outspoken type of woman." Gaurav answered while scratching his neck.

"Is she a threat to Viraj and Nupur's relationship?" Dev asked the question directly.

Gaurav thought about it.

"I don't think so. Viraj must be just trying to be nice to Sneha since she helped Ananya whom we all know Viraj loves the most."

Dev nodded in understanding.

"Do let me know if anything changes. We must remove the weed before it takes firm roots." Dev mumbled as he stood to leave as well.

Gaurav nodded slowly in agreement. He understood what Dev meant by weed.

I guess I mustn't have said anything about Sneha. He thought.

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At night, after having a peaceful supper with his father and making sure Ananya had her food as well in her room, Viraj stood in front of his room's window and played with his cell phone. His hand periodically grazed over Nupur's contact number.

Let's just do this. He consoled himself and finally dialled it.

After exactly five rings, he heard her soft velvety voice that he had almost forgotten.

"Viraj?" He heard her speak his name.

And, he just wanted to cancel the call.

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(Hi All,

Just to let you know certain things.

Accepting or giving dowry is illegal in India. I am strongly against the idea of dowry. Here, I am just trying to show that despite it being illegal, it is still practised in a non-evident form.

Also, Viraj belongs to a very conservative family where women are not allowed to be as independent as we are accustomed to now. Again, I am obviously against it and this is the reason why the female protagonist is the total opposite of it. Literature is all about bringing society to light and maybe attempting to reform it. We can't deny the fact that in almost every society, be it India or any other nation, women are still being suppressed in one way or the other. And, that's sad, I know!)