Author's pov:

Maya and Avi are busy sleeping in each other's arms, dreaming about their future. And our naughty sun has been trying to wake them up for the past half an hour. Maya snuggled more into Avi while he nuzzled more into her neck and covered his face with her hair. Feeling ticklish, Maya opened her eyes slowly and looked at her hubby dear who was busy snoring with his mouth slightly open.

She chuckled, looking at him. She caressed his hair and lied there, admiring his face. She kissed his forehead and detached herself from him. She bent down a little and pecked his lips lightly. She ran to the washroom quickly before her husband woke up.

She came out of the bathroom after freshening up and saw Avi sitting on the bed rubbing his eyes and with a pout on his face.

"Cute", Maya thought in her mind and took all his essentials and placed them on the couch and moved towards him. As soon as she reached the bed, Avi pulled her, making her fall onto the bed. Maya looked at him wide-eyed. Before she could say anything, he had shut her up by placing his lips on hers. Soon, he broke the kiss and placed a long kiss on her forehead, caressed her back to calm her raging breath, and took her in his arms. While she hid her face in his neck feeling shy. He chuckled, looking at her.

"What was that?" She asked, coming out of the hug.

"I have just finished which you have started." He said, shrugging his shoulders.

He pulled her close to him and started playing with her hair. After some time, he broke the hug and went to freshen up, but not before pecking her lips again. She got up from the bed and adjusted her clothes properly. She made the bed and went to the dressing table. She wore her bangles, and braided her hair and applied sindoor to her hair partition.

She took the gift from her closet, which she had bought for him a long time ago with her first salary, but didn't give it to him. She placed it on the dressing table, attached a note to it, and moved down.

*****************

Maya moved towards the kitchen and saw her mother-in-law preparing breakfast.

She went inside and hugged her from the back and greeted her, "Good morning, Attayya."

"Good morning, Ammu," Vani greeted her back with a smile.

"What are you preparing?" Maya asked her.

"Rava dosa and Upma with coconut chutney and ginger chutney," said Vani.

"Wow! Do you any help?" Maya asked her.

"No need. You sit here and have this." She said, giving her beetroot juice.

"Should I drink this now?" Maya said, making a face.

"Of course," said Vani.

Maya sat there drinking the juice with a poker face.

"When will Ammamma come?" Maya asked Vani.

"After a week," said Vani.

"Oh!"

"Ammu?"

"Haa," Maya said, looking at Vani.

"What did you think about what Anu said?" Vani asked her.

"I don't know, Attayya. I mean, I started cooking at a young age for my brothers and Avi Bava. Gradually, I found peace in cooking. But I never thought of making it a career," Maya said, sighing.

"Did you mention it to Kittu?" Vani asked her.

"No attayya, he was asleep by the time I went to bed after completing the work in the kitchen. I have to tell him now", Maya said, while Vani hummed, listening to her.

****************

Here, Avi came out of the shower and smiled, looking at the couch. All his essentials are placed neatly on the couch. Soon, he got ready and went to the dressing table when a cute note and a gift caught his attention.

A smile appeared on his face as he read the note. Doesn't he know she expresses her love for anyone through her actions rather than words? Sometimes even her words deceive her, especially when she is with him. Didn't he know that?

His eyes twinkled, looking at her gift.

And the smile on his face grew wide as he read the cute note that she put inside the box. How badly does he want to hear those three words from her enchanted voice? He just wants to take her in his arms, hide her from the entire world, and shower her with all his love.

He kept the note and the box in his closet safely and wore the watch. He took his mobile off charge and saw ten missed calls from Taara. He immediately dialled her number.

*******************

Vani and Maya were talking when they heard Avi's shout. Vani turned off the gas and both of them ran towards him quickly.

"What happened? Why did you shout like that?" Maya asked Avi, who was descending the stairs fast.

"It's Taara. She told me to come to her place immediately. I don't know what happened, but she sounded low. I tried to call Veeru, but his phone was switched off. He went to attend an important conference in Chennai," said Avi.

"Okay. Don't panic. Everything will be fine." She said, rubbing his shoulder. At the same time, Maya's phone buzzed.

Phone Conversation:

Maya: Hello, Sunny!

Surya: Can you come here, please?

Maya: Is everything okay?

Surya: Come fast Mia. I'll tell you everything once you guys reach here.

Maya: Okay, we are starting.

----------------------------

She looked at Avi and Vani and said,

"We need to go there quickly. Something was definitely wrong."

"Okay Avi, both of you go there and come back only after everything is settled over there. I'll go to the office as I have a meeting in my department. Don't worry, I'll take a driver with me," said Vani.

"Okay, Amma, message me once you have reached. Bunny, shall we leave?" Said Avi.

"Yeah!" said Maya.

*******************

Avinav and Maya entered Varma's mansion and saw Surya's father and grandparents shouting at a man and a woman. Taara was crying in her mother's arms while Surya was looking tense standing beside them. On seeing them, Surya dragged them into the garden.

"Why did you drag us here, Sunny? And what's going on?" Maya asked Surya.

"Who are they, Surya?" Avi asked Surya.

"That man is Taara Akka's biological father and my father's younger brother, and the lady is her stepmother," said Surya.

"But, what are they doing here? I mean, your thatha (grandfather) has cut all his ties with him, right?" Maya asked Surya.

"Yeah! They came in the morning and were forcing Taara Akka to marry the guy they choose", said Surya.

"What?" Maya and Avinav shouted in unison, after listening to what Surya said.

"But, why did he come now? After all these years. When he didn't care even a bit about akka till now", Maya asked Surya.

"Wait a minute, is Taara not your own sister?" Avi asked, coming out of shock.

"No, she is my babay's daughter. Pinni (masi/chachi) died during her labour while giving birth to her second baby. Akka was a 5-year-old kid at that time. Unfortunately, the baby too died after a few days. After four months of her demise, Babay married another woman, saying that Taara Akka needed a mother. But she never looked after her. It was always Amma and Nanamma who took care of Akka. That lady, every day, used to make a fuss about one thing or the other. One day, she slapped Akka intentionally. That day, Nanamma and Thatha cut all their ties with them. My mother always wanted a girl, but after my birth, her uterus became weak. So, my mother asked Thatha if she could adopt Akka. My grandparents agreed to it immediately," said Surya.

"Oh! I didn't know that," said Avi.

"But she is already engaged, right?" said Maya.

"Yeah! Even they knew that. But they want Akka to marry that lady's brother's son so that they can get the property that is in her name", said Surya, controlling his anger.

"Disgusting people. But what can we do now?" Said Avi.

"I don't know. I tried calling Bava many times, but his phone was switched off," said Surya.

"He went to attend a conference in Chennai," said Avi.

"Why don't we lodge a complaint against them?" said Maya.

"I don't know, Mia. For two hours, they have been arguing with us. They want to take Tara Akka with them." Surya was about to speak further when they heard Surya's mother shouting Taara's name.

They immediately ran inside and saw Taara lying unconscious in her mother's arms. Maya sat beside her and patted Taara's cheeks. She asked Surya to bring water. She rubbed her palms while Niranjana rubbed her legs. Surya sprinkled some water on her face, but she didn't wake up. Laxmi was crying, looking at her granddaughter lying unconscious.

Maya again sprinkled some water on Taara's face and tapped her face. This time, Taara opened her eyes slowly. Niranjana hugged Taara tightly, as if she would disappear if she left her. Taara too hugged her tight and broke down in her mother's arms. Niranjana may not have given birth to her, but she has always pampered and fulfilled every wish of hers.

"I'm fine, Amma. Please don't cry." Taara said, wiping her mother's tears off. "You know right, I hate tears in your eyes. And you look like a zombie if you cry."

Niranjana laughed a little and slapped Taara's arm.

Niranjana cupped Taara's cheeks and kissed her forehead and said, "Never pull this stunt on me. I have already lost my Roshini, and I can't lose my star too."

"Never. I'm your strong Taara, right?" She said, kissing her mother's cheeks and hugging her tightly. Soon, Srinivas and Surya joined the hug.

Maya hugged Avi, seeing the love between them. No-one could say that Taara was adopted. Niranjana and Srinivas have always loved Taara as their own daughter. Maybe they love her a little more than Surya.

"If your family drama is over, then we can continue our pending talks", Madhu said, rolling her eyes.

Taara stood up slowly, with the support of her brother and mother, and said, "There is nothing to talk about, old lady. Just get out of my house before I call the cops here.

"Taara, is this the way you talk to your mother?" Manohar scolded Taara.

"Which mother are you talking about? If you are talking about my Roshini Amma, then she died long ago. And the lady who is standing beside you is your wife, and I don't have any relationship with you or your family", Taara said, sternly.

"I'm your father, Taara", Manohar said, raising his voice.

"My parents are right here with me." She said, pointing at Srinivas and Niranjana. "Where were you when I needed you? Where were you when I was crying for the loss of my mother? Where were you when I needed your guidance? Where were you when your lovely wife was torturing me? Where were you when I woke up in the middle of the night with a nightmare? Where were you when I needed the warmth of my father?" She yelled at Manohar and continued, "Shall I say? You're preoccupied with your second wife, and you've completely forgotten that you have a child to care for. You were busy fulfilling her wishes and forgot that there was a kid who was seeking your attention. You are not my father. You are just the younger son of my grandfather. You died for me the day you never stood up for me when this lady slapped me for no mistake of mine."

"Whatever it is, you can't change the fact that he is your biological father, and you have to marry the person we choose, otherwise." Said Madhu.

Otherwise, what will you do, Mrs. Manohar?

Everyone looked at the source of the voice and saw Veeru standing at the entrance with his family.

As soon as Taara saw him, she immediately ran towards him and flung herself into his arms, saying, "I love you, Veer."

Veeru kissed her forehead lovingly, assuring her that he was not going to leave her, and said, "Love you too, my Estela."

Diya and Meera came inside, leaving the love-birds.

Veeru broke the hug and looked at Madhu, asking her, "What will you do if she doesn't marry the person you choose? And with what right are you ordering her?"

"She is her mother, Mr. Murty," said Manohar.

That's when a slap landed on his cheek by his mother. He looked at her in shock because it was the first time she had slapped him till now.

"Just get out of my house before I do something terrible. Till today, I thought that one day you'd change your mind and come here. But from today onwards, you are dead to me. I only have one son. Dare you pull any stunt? I'll make sure you both rot in jail," Laxmi said, glaring at her younger son.

Manohar and Madhu left the house, unable to bear the humiliation. They do know the power of Janardhan. He is a retired IPS officer and is well-known for his tactics in handling criminals.

They were all sitting there debating what to do.

When Avi cleared his throat and said, "If you guys don't mind, I think it would be better if we got them married soon. So that there won't be any problems in future."

All of them nodded their heads positively. Everyone's faces broke into a smile after the chaos. While Surya and Maya hugged Taara tightly from both sides, congratulated her and teased her a lot, others shook their heads as they stared at the crazy best-friends duo.

(Janardhan - Surya and Taara's grandpa

Laxmi- Janardhan's wife.

Srinivas - Janardhan's elder son

Niranjana - Srinivas's wife

Manohar - Janardhan's younger son.

Roshini- Manohar's first wife and Taara's biological mother

Madhu - Manohar's second wife)

Stay safe and keep smiling.