"Fellow Mehrotras, I'm back." I say as soon as I reach the door leading to the living room of MM.

"Arjun!!!" Chaachi and Bua yell in unison.

"Bhaiiiii." Abhi and Aarohi say and immediately run towards me.

"Everyone stop right wherever you are. Not one step forward." Dadi's voice startles us all. My eyes move to the stairs and I find her descending down.

"Dadi, Hi!" I say but she doesn't hear me I guess or even if she does she chooses to ignore my greeting.

Everyone freezes on their spots as there is absolute silence.

Dadi descends down the remaining stairs and walks in my direction.

With each step that she takes my heart beat continues to grow more and more rapidly. As soon as she reaches me she brings out her hand and pulls my right ear.

"Oww, Dadi, ouch aah." I say dramatically so that she leaves my ear.

"You stayed away for one whole week, What did you eat? Did you eat anything at all? No wonder you fell ill. The owner of the cooking class where I admitted you said you did not report there even once." She says and finally leaves my ear.

I rub my ear and make a face at her.

Wait, did she say I have fallen ill?

I immediately look at Abhi. Still frozen in his spot he mouths 'PLAN' to me.

Oh yes he told Dadi I had fallen sick. That was the plan, right. No wonder I was being allowed back in the mansion.

I fake a cough.

"What else was I supposed to do? You know I can't cook to save my life." I tell her.

"Then, how did you eat? You did not order anything from The Mehrotra's as far as the records say. But wait, you did make an order a couple of days back and you ordered food good enough for two people." She says and instantly Shravya comes to my mind.

Done and dusted with the deal I made with her, finally. I think to myself.

But am I really happy at the thought of not having to do anything with her anymore? Before I can think of an answer to my question Dadi's voice brings me out of my trance.

"What are you thinking about, Arjun?" She asks me.

"Dadi, let me enter inside first, I'll answer all of your questions." I tell her.

"Fine, come inside. Statue mode is over now. Everyone release." She says and everyone else present in the living room starts moving once again.

Before I can even enter inside properly, Abhi and Aarohi jump on me, embracing me in a group hug.

I hug them back.

"Bhai, your Supernova is now mine." Abhi says out loud in excitement and everyone turns to look at him.

I glare at him and he bites his tongue realising his mistake.

"What, what did you just say?" Dadi immediately asks Abhi.

"Dadi I..I.." Abhi stammers and for a moment I think Dadi might connect the dots but Chaachi comes to our rescue.

"Mummy ji, Arjun is giving Abhi his supernova as a pre-birthday gift." Chaachi makes up.

"Oh." Dadi says, sounding unconvinced.

"Wait, but his birthday isn't until December? A pre-birthday gift so early?" Dadi asks.

"Mom, you know how much Arjun loves Abhi right? So this time he has planned on giving him a pre-birthday gift every month till December." Bua adds.

"What!? Really? Bandar is going to get a pre-birthday gift every month till his birthday? Bhaiii this isn't fair." Aarohi says as her lips pull into a sad pout.

"Yes Bandariya, that's correct." Abhi says and sticks his tongue out towards Aarohi and that is the beginning of yet another banter between the twins.

My twenty-three year old cousins. I think to myself before shaking my head.

"Alright, Arjun, beta you go upstairs to your room, I'm coming with a glass of Kadha [Kadha is a traditional Indian drink, often consumed as a chai or tea and is considered to be effective against cough and cold and seasonal flu] for you." Dadi says and a frown forms on my face.

"Dadi, no Kadha please, I'm fine, absolutely alright." I tell her in an attempt to get saved from drinking that bitter drink.

"Of course Kadha. Go to your room at once." She says.

This great plan by Abhi is backfiring me.

I look over at him and he passes me a grin.

I glare at him and make my way to my room upstairs while stomping my feet.

As soon as I enter my room I feel all the irritation that I was feeling earlier at the thought of drinking Kadha disappear.

"Arjun Mehrotra is back." I say out loud, throw my duffle bag to the arm chair at one end and fall on my bed.

I get up and kick open my shoes and then lay down on my bed.

Nothing beats the luxurious room that I have in MM. [Mehrotra Mansion]

I stare at the ceiling and my mind drifts off to Shravya.

Stop, don't think about her. I try to warn myself but it's of no avail.

Our last encounter appears in my mind.

We had fallen on her bed, no wait, it was her who was going to fall back on her bed but she pulled me with herself too.

A smile forms on my face.

I had felt it. Her heart beating rapidly against her chest when we were close. Why was that?

Did I cause that?

The thought made me happy and I don't even know why.

She had said that she wouldn't want it to end? What did she mean by that?

Why would she not want things to end between us? She was the one who had repeatedly told me that once I met her parents everything would be over and that she and I would go back to leading our normal lives without crossing paths again.

I took my phone out from the pocket of my jeans and unlocked it.

I opened WhatsApp and immediately searched for Shravya's contact. When I found it I tapped on her profile picture.

It was a quote that said, 'Tired minds don't plan well. Sleep first, plan later.'

I chuckled after reading it. Of course this girl loves her sleep I think to myself.

I remember the first time I had called her. She was sleeping then too.

Shravya Arora, you make me smile and shake my head more often than my crazy cousins do.

There's a knock on my door and I immediately am broken out of my trance.

Without even waiting for my response the door to my room opens the next second and Abhi enters.

"Bro, why even knock? If you're going to kick open the door the very next second?" I ask him.

"Big bro, that's so that you get a warning that I'm coming inside and settle yourself if you're in any compromising situation." He says and winks at me.

"Disgusting." I mumble.

The next second he's already jumped on my bed beside me and reaches for my phone.

Fuck.

I immediately reach for it too but he gets hold of it first.

"Tired minds don't plan well. Sleep first, plan later." He reads out loud.

I reach for my phone and pull it from his hands.

"Abhimanyu Mehrotra!!!" I yell and immediately lock my phone, keeping it back inside my pocket.

"The one and only." He says with a cheeky grin.

"Get out of my room now." I tell him.

"Calm down, Bhai, if Dadi hears you yelling like this, she'll realise you're not sick and then I'll be thrown out of MM with you too." He tells me.

"Seriously? I have fallen sick? That's the best you could come up with?" I ask him.

"That's the most effective one I could come up with overnight. You did not seem to mind about it when I told you about it first." He answers.

"By the way Bhai, who's this person who loves sleeping as much as I do? That quote is my life motto. What was the name of the contact? Was it Shanaya? Surya? Before I could read it properly you snatched your phone from me." He adds.

"That's not for you to know." I tell him.

"It was Shravya, yes, now I remember." He says with a wicked grin.

"Who is Shravya, Bhai?" He asks me the very next second.

"What? No, it was not Shravya. It was Surya, one of my clients." I lie.

"Bhai, you think you can lie to me? It was Shravya, I'm damn sure. If not, then show me it was Surya." He tells me.

"No, I'll not show you anything." I tell him.

"Okay then let me guess who this Shravya can be? I've not heard of the name before. You have no association with the name Shravya, so who can she be?" He says and taps his chin with his index finger.

"It's none of your business who Shravya is, Abhi now go. I want to sleep." I yell.

"This Shravya is having an impact on you Bhai, you want to sleep just after waking up a couple of hours back?" He asks me.

"Who is she?" A voice says and I immediately look in the direction of the voice.

Dadi, Chaachi, Bua and Aarohi, all stand at my room's door and it is Chaachi who has asked the question.

"Who?" I ask, trying to act oblivious.

"Shravya, who's she?" Chaachi asks again.

"Shravya? No, Abhi did not say Shravya. I think you heard something wrong Chaachi, he said the name Surya, who's my new client." I tell her.

"Hain!? But I'm sure I heard, Shravya.'' Chaachi says as her brows furrowed in confusion.

"Yes, Mom I did say Shravya. She's Bhai's..." Abhi trails off in a suggestive tone.

This guy has a death wish for sure.

"Arjun's what?" Dadi asks as one by one every one makes their way inside my room.

"I think she's Bhai's girlfriend, Dadi." Aarohi answers.

"What??" Everyone, including myself, says in unison.

Aarohi gives us all a questioning look.

"What, I just made a wild guess." She says.

I sigh in relief.

"What if your guess is true, Aarohi?" Bua says with a teasing smile on her face and I immediately shake my head in no.

"No, not at all. I have no girlfriend." I declare.

"Really, who is this Shravya?" Dadi asks, narrowing her eyes on me.

"She's Mr. Dholakia's assistant. The interior designer who's looking into the interior designing of the new restuarant." I blurt out the first thing that comes to my mind.

"Oh really? Is that so? If that's actually the case are you on a first term basis with her? You have her number saved as only Shravya and you're never on a first term basis with any of the people you work with or those who work for you." Abhi says and gives me a mischievous smile.

"I have to agree with Bandar on this Bhai. Tell us, who exactly is Shravya?" Aarohi asks in a teasing voice.

The other three ladies of the house look at me suspiciously.

Someone get me out of this mess.

God seems to have heard my prayers super quick this time because my phone starts ringing at that very moment.

I have a look at it.

Chaachu. The contact says.

"Gotta take this one. Excuse me people, the big boss is calling me." I tell them and immediately get off my bed and walk over to my balcony.

After speaking with Chaachu I return back to my room and find everyone indulging in some conversation or the other.

When they see me they all immediately stop talking and Dadi brings the glass of Kadha to me.

"Here, drink this Arjun. It's very beneficial." She tells me.

"Of course I'll drink it Dadi, but for now can everyone give me a little bit of privacy? I have to attend a video conference with some foreign investors. Chaachu informed me about it just now and well.." I trail off.

"Of course we'll give you privacy but first drink this. I know you're going to drain it down the sink once we all leave." She tells me.

"Drink it Bhai, it'll help you recover." Aarohi says.

I think the opposite will be the case. Instead of helping me recover it's going to make me actually sick.

"Arjun, drink it fast." Dadi says.

I take the glass from her hand, squeeze my eyes shut and gulp down its entire content in one go. Everyone laughs at my reaction and I ask them all to leave at once.

Still laughing, they all leave my room.

I shut the door and release a sigh of relief.

Thank God no one further questioned me about Shravya.