Tanya's POV:

We were just awkwardly staring at each other, not knowing what to say further. We were fine as long as we were bickering but normal conversations made us remember the situation, turning everything into awkwardness.

The doorbell rang, making both of us sigh in relief. We needed something to get out of this awkward situation.

"Were you expecting someone?" I asked, having no idea about who might be outside.

"It must be the housekeeper", Raghav answered. Seeing my confused face, he spoke, "I will explain later. Let me open the door first".

He came back in two minutes and explained.

"Ganga Tai is our housekeeper. She has been taking care of the maintenance of the house. She will be here everyday for cleaning".

"Oh okay".

"I will leave after introducing both of you", he informed.

"Today itself?" I blurted out in shock.

"I mean, we just came here. You could have taken some rest", I stabilized, my over the top reaction.

He made a regretful face. "It is really urgent. I can't postpone it. Sorry, I know this is a new place and I am leaving you all alone. I really can't help it. But I will try to come early".

"Okay, no problem", I spoke, understanding his turmoil.

"I will keep the dinner ready for you".

"Ah! About cooking...", he trailed off.

"Huh? What about it?" I questioned with confusion.

"Workload is going to be too much. So, I will be only able to cook on weekends. Sorry about it, but I promise that after this one month, I will help you out regularly", he apologized, looking genuinely sorry.

I could beat a Guinness record for the times a person could get confused in one day. And this man wasn't helping even a bit. What was he talking about? What help in cooking? Why was he feeling guilty?

Dad never even picked up his own plate after eating and here Raghav, was talking about cooking. Mom would kill me if she came to know about this ordeal.

"There's no need to cook on weekends too. I am not that bad. I am capable of handling the house work", I asserted.

"Just because I said that I will help, it doesn't mean that I doubt your capabilities or something", Raghav argued.

If anyone else from the family would come to know about this, then they would surely blame me. I had already became a burden because of this marriage of convenience, I didn't want to add more to it.

"Listen just do your work in the restaurant and let me manage the house. After all, it is a woman's job", I said, hoping he would understand.

Raghav shook his head frantically, startling the hell out of me.

"No no no, don't even talk about it. Especially, in front of my Mom. She might just scold you but she will kill me.

"We have a strict rule in our home. Everyone cooks, everyone cleans.

We all live in the house so house work is going to be divided equally", he said in a stern yet soft voice.

"Umm...", I trailed off unsurely.

"Enjoy cooking here all you want because once we go home, you won't get much chances. Dad and I love cooking, so you would rarely get to cook. And here too, I will try my best to help you. Although, I can't promise anything as the workload is too much and I need to finish it in a month", he further spoke, silencing all my arguments.

"Your family is quite different than mine", I stated, letting the topic go.

"Can you please give me some time to adjust to the way, your family works?" I asked, knowing this was going to be a long battle.

"Of course, take your time. You can get used to some of our things while we will get used to some of your ways. It is a two way deal. We may banter but one way or another, we will come to a solution for everything", he assured.

He wouldn't even know, how much his words meant to me. Of course, every family worked differently and I knew that I would have to relearn everything. But, I hadn't expected for him to even try to learn my way of living. This was unexpected yet a gleeful feeling.

I nodded at him with a wide smile, to show my appreciation.

We finally went downstairs to meet the housekeeper.

"Ganga Tai", Raghav called her out as she was cleaning the kitchen counter.

Her eyebrows raised in question as she saw me with him.

"She is my wife, Tanya", he introduced me.

Instantly, her face changed. Her smile was so bright that a light bulb would look fade in front of her.

"Oh my! I didn't know you married", she exclaimed but coming near me.

"Such a beautiful bride", she said, while giving me a hundred rupees note.

"No, this is not needed", I tried to refuse, while blushing profusely.

Her compliment felt so warm and heartfelt.

"Take it dear. You don't refuse a blessing", she insisted.

"Thank you", Raghav and I spoke with gratitude.

Life was so surreal. In a matter of few days, my parents became so cold. It started feeling like I was talking to strangers. And this stranger whom I met for the first time was so warm, just like a family member.