Thank you everyone for keeping patience for this chapter and sorry for updating it late .

I know it's been a while. So here is a pretty long update. Hope you don't get bored !!

The Kapadia penthouse in New York reverberated with giggles and laughters as the family geared up to celebrate the festival of Rakshabandhan.

It was a tradition in the Kapadia family that no matter how busy they are in their lives but whenever there is a festival or an important day for one of the family members,everyone would gather up at a place to celebrate that occasion.

Anuj's dad Manish Kapadia started it when Anuj's mom Gayatri won a dance competition in India for the first time and it has continued ever since. Nothing, not even moving to a different country has affected thier togetherness and celebration in any ways.

They have lived in US for like eight years now but they have made sure that they stay connected to their roots and values by preserving it within themselves and their children.

Those values and culture that they preserved in themselves and instilled in their children were the reason they have all gathered up under the same roof today to celebrate the occasion inspite of their busy schedule and commitments.

Anuj.....jaldi aa....der ho rahi hai....

Gayatri called out as she knocked on Anuj's door.

Anuj:- Aa raha hoo Maa....

He answered from his room.

Mukku tere tayar hone ka mujhe muhurat nikalna padega.....jaa jaldi jaake ready ho....Bhai ko rakhi nahi bandhani.....

She yelled as she saw Malvika playing playstation with her father instead of getting ready.

Maa.....jisko rakhi bandhwani hai....wo to abhi tak apne kamre se baahar nikla nahi.....aur aap mujhe bol rahe ho....

Malvika complained about Anuj not getting ready on time for the Rakshabandhan ritual.

Niklega tab na.....jab barkhurdar ko apne baal banane se fursat milegi...

Manish added as the father daughter duo high fived each other.

Sab sunayi de raha hai mujhe....

A voice came out of Anuj's room as Malvika and Manish laughed in amusement.

Sunane ke liye hi bola tha !!

Malvika shouted in a voice loud enough for Anuj to hear making him come out of the room in annoyance.

Aap dono baap beti ne mere bacche ko pareshan kar liya ho to.....jaiye jaake ready ho jaaiye.....GK bhi aate hi honge.

Gayatri ordered from the kitchen as she saw Anuj all dressed up and ready in an off white Kurta and the father daughter duo sighed in defeat.

Mukku tu jaa.....mai jaata hoon thodi der me.

Manish said gesturing Malvika to go to her room but Malvika made a puppy face not wanting to go.

Maine aap dono ko bola na Manish Jii....

Gayatri reiterated seeing the duo still not move a bit from their place.

Are agar mai bhi chala jaunga to aapki kitchen me help kaun karega Gayatri jii....

Manish stated with a smirk as he took a few steps towards the kitchen while Anuj joined Malvika on the couch.

Meri help karne ke liye Anuj hai....

Gayatri replied too busy to understand what he meant.

Maa....aap papa ki baat samjhe nahi.....unka kehne ka matalab tha ki.....agar wo chale jaayenge to kitchen me aapke saath romance kaun karega !!

Anuj chimed in making Gayatri blush in embarassment.

Maa.....papa....ek kaam karte hai......aap dono thode der romance karo....tab tak mai aur bhai yeh game khatam kar lete hai....

Malvika commented as she high fived Anuj and both Manish and Gayatri were surprised by the remark.

Yeh dono din par din besharam hote jaa rahe hai......

Gayatri stated in fake anger.

Besharam nahi Maa....hum bade hote jaa rahe hai....

Anuj replied with a chuckle and that was it for Manish.

He strode towards the couch in an attempt to trouble Anuj and Mukku for spoiling his romantic plans with his wife.

Manish:-Tum dono ko to mai abhi batata hoo....bahut bolne lage ho !!

Seeing him coming towards them with an irked look, Anuj sprung from the couch and shouted....

Mukku bhaaag !!

And both of them ran while Manish went behind them.

Gayatri smiled as she watched the three run around the house teasing each other.

She didn't want to put break on the fun but if she doesn't.....she knew these kids can continue for hours and hours.

Bas bas...bas....

Gayatri proclaimed as she entered the hall putting a stop to the chaos the trio had created on the morning of the festival.

Tyohar ke din bhi aap logo ko bas der karni hoti hai.....humesha ka hai aap teeno ka....

She reprimanded each one of them for the delay they were causing in the rituals and ordered them to go and get ready.

Agar pandrah minute ke andar aap teeno mujhe tayar hoke yha hall me nahi mile na......to dekh lena mujhse bura koi nahi hoga...

She said and the others listened in silence.

Chup chaap side se nikal lo baccho.....isse pehle tumahri Maa....Devi Maa banke humara sanghar kar de !!

Manish whispered teasingly to Anuj and Malvika and both of them let out a giggle drawing Gayatri's attention.

Kuch kaha aapne?

Gayatri asked wondering what did her dear husband said to make the kids chuckle.

Kuch bhi nahi....mai to keh raha tha in dono se jaldi tayar hoke aane ko jaan.

Manish answered suppressing a smile.

Sirf inhe mat boliye aap bhi jaiye.

Gayatri ordered.

Jo hukum mere aaka....

The trio said and bowed down jokingly in courtesy to their queen before they left leaving a wide grin on her face.

A few minutes later everyone gathered in the hall in traditional Indian attire and did Kanhaji's aarti together before they started with the festivities.

As soon as GK finished the aarti and distributed the prasad, Malvika sprung on Anuj demanding her gifts while Anuj argued that she should tie the Rakhi first.

Anuj:- Mukku.....pehle Rakhi bandh fir Gift milega.

He said getting Malvika off his back.

Mukku:- Nahi.....pehle gift fir Rakhi....

She requested making a stubborn face that was not ready to budge.

Anuj:- Maa....dekho na yeh Mukku ki bacchi tang kar rahi hai !!

He complained looking at his mom.

Gayatri:- Mukku beta.....maan jaa na....pehle Rakhi baandh le....gift to wo tujhe humesha deta hi hai...

She said gently caressing Malvika's hair and to her surprise, Malvika agreed in an instant which was very unlike her.

Anuj, GK, and Manish sat on the couch as Malvika tied Rakhi on their wrist while each of them presented her with a gift.

GK gave her a gold locket that belonged to his family while Manish gifted her a car that she had asked for a few days back and Anuj handed her over an envelope that surprised her.

Mukku:- Bhai.....yeh kya hai?

She asked looking at the envelope in her hand.

Anuj:- Khol ke dekh....

He replied and Malvika followed his instructions.

She opened the envelope and took out some papers.

As she read it, her eyes widened in surprise.

Mukku:- You di....didn't have to do this....Bhai.

She uttered with a cracking voice and her eyes filled with tears.

Anuj:- I absolutely had to.....tune bhi to meri baat maanke apni friend ke liye court me testimony nahi di thi....so itna to mai tere liye aur teri dost ke liye kar hi sakta hoo.

He assured wiping the unshed tears from the corner of her eyes.

Anuj:- These shares in my company will take care of her family for a significant amount of time.

He added and Malvika felt overwhelmed by the gesture.

Mukku:- Thank you....thank you....thank you so much.....you are the best.

She said and Anuj took her into a hug while the others smiled watching their bond.

Planting a kiss on her hair, Anuj spoke....

Anuj:- Chal.....bahut ho gaya....let's click some photos.

And Malvika agreed to it immediately.

It was an emotional moment for all of them especially Anuj as it was the last festival they would be celebrating together in their home in New York before Malvika goes off to Law School in a few weeks and he indulges himself in expanding the startup he had began with his few friends after his MBA from Wharton.

So he wanted to cherish each and every bit of it and he certainly did.

Capturing those moments on his phone, he had planned to get them framed and hang it on the wall in the hall of their apartment but little did he know that instead of going up on the wall, those frames would be kept locked away in a box by him only to be opened several years later in Ahemdabad on the same day.

The fingers that caressed the frame in Ahemdabad was no one's but his.

Anuj, who had yesterday refused the invitation from Devika to join the Rakhi celebration at her home, was now sitting in his apartment reminiscing the old memories of it, trying his best to hold the tears that threatened to roll down his cheeks.

Normally, he had this thing that whenever he was invited to a celebration during the festivals, he would ask GK to go alone without him and even yesterday when Devika came to invite him...he did the same.

He asked GK to go alone and both GK and Devika were disappointed.

Handing him the Rakhi she bought for him, Devika left.

However, the next morning, when he had busied himself in work to keep distance from the festivities, a message popped up on his screen saying "Hi".

It was from no one but Anupama.

Hey

Anuj replied.

Anu:- Devika ne bataya ki aap aaj nahi aa rahe hai ?

Anuj:- Haan Anupama....wo thoda kaam hai bas isiliye....

He texted back.

Anu:- Kaam hai ya kaam ka bahana?

She asked and he had no idea what to say.

He was caught.

Anu:- GK ne bataya ki aap har saal tyohar ke din khud ko kaam me jaan bujh ke busy kar lete hai......aur shayad mujhe pata hai aap aisa kyu karte hai !!

She added and he was left surprised.

Anuj:- GK ne kuch bola?

He inquired wondering if it was GK who spilled the beans.

Anu:- Nahi.

She replied.

Anuj:- Fir....tumhe kaise?

He wondered.

Anu:- Mujhe pata hai kyuki mai bhi kuch samay pehle tak yahi kiya karti thi....

Anu:-Lekin Anuj.....khud ko kaam me busy kar lene se purani yaadein satana band nahi kar deti....yeh aap bhi jaante hai aur mai bhi.

She answered making him realise that she had caught onto his fears.

But how can she?....she doesn't know a thing about him and his past.

The question arose in his mind when his phone screen lit up again with another text from her that read...

Anu:- Mujhe nahi pata aapki yaadon me kya hai....acche pal hai ya bure....bas itna kahoongi....ki bure palo se bhaagne se accha hai.....unhe acche palo se replace kar dena.....chahe wo acche pal purane ho ya naye.

Anuj was astonished by the message.

Anupama has unknowingly managed to look past the shield he had build up in years to hide his real self and emotions from the world and this bothered him now more than ever.

He has always been good at one thing other than business that is being able to maintain a poker face and not let anyone in the world know how he is feeling at a moment and hence Anupama being able to read him without knowing much about him gave him solace as well as tension.

His solace came from the fact that there is someone in this world except GK who can understand his emotions without expressing and his tension gr kiew when it dawned upon him that what if the same someone manages to read the feelings he had been hiding from them since twenty seven years.

He was so lost in his thoughts and in his fears that he forgot that he was supposed to reply to her message.

However, another beep from his phone reminded him of the same and he came back to the present.

Opening the text, he read....

Anu:- Mai agar kuch galat keh rahi hoo aur aapko sach me koi kaam hai to uske liye I am sorry.....but agar meri baat me thoda sa bhi sach hai to mai bas itna kahoongi ki....

Anu:- Mai bhi kosis kar rahi hoo nayi acchi yaadein banane ki....ho sake to aap bhi kijeye....Kaka ko accha lagega.

The words had really overwhelmed him.

The woman he loved was really beyond his comprehension. She had already so much going on in her life and yet she had managed to spare a few minutes to care about him.....a person she met just a month ago.

This has assured him that his love might be one sided but his friendship certainly wasn't.

Not wanting her to feel that her words fell on deaf ears, he sent a text that said....

Try karunga.

In the past few weeks, his bond with Anupama has grown beyond his expectations or hope.

From strangers.....to familiarity......to friendship !!

They had grown quite comfortable with each other in the last week in the office.

With each stage, Anuj has assumed that this was it.....this was the extent of their relationship but to his surprise, his bond with Anupama had crossed every limit he has set up until now.

When Anupama joined his office, her words made him think that they would strictly share a professional relationship and nothing more but her agreeing to his friendship proved him wrong.

When she shared a banter with him on the second day of office, his heart presumed that it would be the extent of their friendship but the message from her today proved it would not.

The messages spoke nothing but care and concern from her side and Anuj couldn't help but smile as he read it again.

Try karunga....

Once the text showed "delivered" , he kept the phone aside and moved to the cupboard by his bed.

Taking out a box, he opened it and found a bunch of photos that took him to one of the beautiful days in his past.

A lone tear trickled down his cheek as his hands caressed the photos lying in front of him.

He had not opened the box that held those photos in years fearing that the memories from the past would come back to haunt him but her words had encouraged him to atleast give it a try.

And she was right.

It wouldn't have been fair to not visit these good memories just because he dreaded the few bad ones.

He thought reminiscing some beautiful moments that he had made with his family in the past.

This was when he saw GK passing by the hall and his lips involuntarily moved mouthing something that brought a smile on GK's face.

Finally.....Anupama se is gadhe ki complain karne ka koi to fayda hua !!

He thought as he nodded in a yes to something that Anuj said.

........

Not far from his apartment, there existed an another one that echoed with the voices of two fourtyfive year old woman who had turned into two fifteen year olds talking and giggling about their festive experiences from the childhood.

Anu....bas kar yrr...kitna hasayegi.

Devika complained trying to supress her laugh as Anupama finished telling the story of a five year old Bhavesh who stole some kairi from neighbour's tree so that he can gift it to her on Rakshabandhan and later got beaten up for it by their mother.

Anu:- Accha baba nahi hasaungi.....tu jaa jaldi jaake tayar ho jaa.....sab aate hi honge.

She said gesturing Devika to go to her room to get dressed for the festivities but before she did, Anupama's phone rang.

Devika picked it up and made and gave an irked look as she saw the number.

Anu:- Kiska phone hai Devu?

She asked from the kitchen.

Devika:- Teri pyaari Baa ka.

She remarked earning a stern look from Anupama.

Devika:- Kya karu??

She inquired.

Anu:- Silent pe daal de.

She answered leaving Devika in surprise.

Devika:- You sure?

She confirmed and Anupama hummed reluctantly.

Devika:- Anu......aajkal dekh rahi hoo.....tu Baa ka phone nahi uthati.....kuch baat hui hai kya?....unhone kuch kaha kya tujhse?

She inquired noticing Anupama ignore Baa's calls since the last few days.

Anu:- Kaha nahi.....but agar phone uthaungi to zaroor kahengi.

She answered stirring the curry in the pan leaving Devika confused.

Devika:- Matalab?

She asked baffled by the response.

Anu:- Tujhe to pata hai na.....unhe Mr. Shah se kitna pyaar hai......aur jab wo pareshani me hote hai to wo kaisii ho jaati hai.....

She stated indicating how Baa likes to blame everyone for their son's troubles but him.

Devika:- Haan suna hai maine unka "sab teri galti hai" wala aalaap.

She added acknowledging what she meant.

Anu:- Jab suna hai to fir kyu puch rahi hai?

She wondered looking at Devika.

Devika:- Isiliye kyuki maine tujhe unhe kabhi ansuna karte hue nahi suna.

She said expressing her suprise and happiness at Anupama's ignorance of Baa.

Devika:- Finally Anu....tera unke liye yeh unnecessary pyaar kam ho raha hai....and for that I m proud of you.

Anu:- Don't be.

She interrupted.

Anu:- Mera pyaar unke liye kam nahi hua hai.....bas sabr kam ho gaya hai.

She replied and Devika raised an eyebrow in question.

Anu:- Matalab yaha mere pass college, office aur dance academy ke kaam se fursat nahi hai......Baa ke taane sunne ki aur unka jawab dene ki fursat aur himmat kaha se lauu !!

She explained with a tired smile and Devika understood.

The woman hadn't rested in weeks and with all that is going on with her and her family, she was doubtful that she even had a good night sleep in the past one month.

Her life was exhausting and only she had the courage and patience to bear the burden of it.