Sorry guys for the late update.

I'm busy quite busy with my cousin engagement preparations.

I hope you guys enjoy the update.

And the chapter is not an edited one, so please bear the grammatical mistakes.

Author's POV:

The next morning, Avi is sitting on the swing in the garden, lost in his thoughts. He looked up at the sky. The morning sunbeams are peeking through the clouds, casting a rosy hue across the morning sky. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. The cool breeze hit his face, and he could hear the faint chirping of birds. But nothing helped him to calm the storm inside his heart. He came out of his thoughts due to the continuous ringing of his mobile. 

He answered the call and said, "Hello, Arjun. Tell me."

"I'm on my way to pick you guys up," said Arjun.

Avi just hummed and cut the call and made his way to their room.

He went inside and saw Maya sleeping, clutching his pillow tightly in her arms. He went to the washroom and came out after having his shower. He put on his clothes and came and sat on the bed beside her. He caressed her hair slowly and, as if sensing his touch, a small smile appeared on her face.

"I promise you, bunny, I'll make sure that Rajesh and Chytra face hell. How dare they hurt my bunny? And I'll make sure everything falls into its place," he said, kissing her forehead and woke her up.

She lazily woke up, sat on the bed, and wished him good morning. He just nodded his head and left for the kitchen. Maya looked at him with sadness, but quickly composed herself and left to use the bathroom.

She came down and saw Avi making coffee and upma in the kitchen. She went and hugged him from the back. He took her hand in his hand and kissed it. She closed her eyes and stood there, absorbing his presence. After a while, both of them sat at the dining table eating their breakfast. He was feeding her and also having his in between while she was looking at him with all the love. Her eyes pooled with tears. She blinked her eyes to control her tears. She was about to get up from the chair, but he glared at her, making her sit back silently. Both of them had their breakfast silently. No words were exchanged between them, but both of them could understand what the other must be going through.

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

Maya stood at the entrance of the living room and looked at her parents talking to Vani and Gayatri. She felt weak all of a sudden and moved out. Yes, she might have challenged them and acted all strong. But now, looking at them, she felt weak. What if they do something to separate her from her Avi? She wouldn't be able to live without him. She won't lie; she would die without him in her life. In these two months, she became totally dependent on him, and a life without him seems incomplete to her. She was lost in her thoughts when she felt someone wipe her tears away. She looked up and saw Avi rubbing her tears. She didn't even realise it when the tears left her eyes. She saw Avi blinking his eyes, giving her the assurance that no one could separate her from him. She hugged him tightly while he picked her up in his arms and made his way to their room from the garden. He looked at Arjun and told him to manage, to which he assured him.

Avi put her on the bed and was about to leave, but her grip on him became tighter. He sighed, removed his shoes, and lay beside her. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her on the lips. She looked into his eyes and got lost in those dark brown eyes of his. She kissed his eyes, nose, cheeks, chin, and forehead. Finally, she placed her soft lips on his. He closed his eyes, feeling her lips on his. The kiss was slow but passionate. She kissed him, pouring out all her love for him. Soon, they broke the kiss and joined their foreheads.

She hugged him tightly and broke down in his arms. He let her out with all of her pain. He whispered sweet nothings in her ears, and after some time, he felt her weight on his. He patted her slowly and kissed her forehead. He was about to get up, but she hugged him tightly as if he would disappear. He sighed and messaged Arjun that they would come down for lunch. He also slept, hugging her.

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

Maya woke up, looked beside her, and saw Avi sleeping peacefully. She looked at the time on her mobile and saw it was 11:30 a.m. She got off the bed and went to freshen up. She came out of the washroom, went to the closet, and changed into a saree.

She went outside and saw Avi standing on the balcony and talking to someone. She made the bed and sat on it, waiting for him. Soon, both of them went downstairs. Maya went to the kitchen, while Avi went and sat in the living room. His father-in-law greeted him upon seeing him, while Avi gave him a small smile. He sat there, but his mind was somewhere else. He excused himself and went to the garden. He called Anitha, who picked up his call immediately.

Anitha: Hello, Kittu! Is everything okay? Maya is fine, right.

A lone tear escaped his eyes. Only if her parents had showered their love on her today, she wouldn't have been this devastated.

Avi: Everything is fine, Peddamma. I just wanted to ask you about Maya's health issue. Arjun told me that Maya had dyspnea. It's not a serious one, right?

Anitha: Avi, she has mild dyspnea. Dyspnea means shortness of breath. We had done all the tests. It's caused by her anxiety conditions. Whenever she cries continuously for a long time or whenever she gets afraid or panics about something, she will have difficulty breathing. We have prescribed her medications. She should be away from stress, and some breathing exercises would help.

Avi listened to each and every word clearly.

Avi: Thank you so much, Peddamma.

Anitha: Chal, now you will say thanks to me.

Avi: Okay, bye, aunty. I'll see you tomorrow. And please come early not late as you do every time.

Anitha: Okay, baba. Bye.

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

With that, he moved inside and went directly to the kitchen. He saw her feeding Varsha and Vansh. She was making funny faces at them and making them eat sambar rice. He went and stood beside the breakfast bar countertop where Vansh and Varsha sat and opened his mouth, gesturing for her to feed him too. Arpita and Sravya laughed looking at him and gave Maya a teasing glance. Maya fed him too while feeding the twins.

He made a bad face and said, "It was bland."

Maya rolled her eyes and said, "Do you expect them to eat spicy? They are still not that tolerant of eating spicy foods."

"Whatever, feed me too," said Avi.
 
Maya hit her forehead mentally and continued feeding three of them. If anyone who doesn't know them sees this, they will think of them as a perfect family.

"They look like a perfect family, Vadina. Don't they?" Sravya whispered in Arpita's ears, looking at Maya, Avinav, and the twins. To which Arpita nodded her head with a smile.

After feeding them, she cleaned their mouths and gave them water. While Avi was checking all the dishes they prepared, making the others hit their foreheads.

"Even my kids won't do that, Kittu," Arpita said, looking at him, who was busy scrutinising the dishes they had prepared.

"Whatever. There is no favourite dish of mine," he said, sulking.
 
"And still you will eat everything like a kumbakaran, Anna," Sravya said sarcastically.

The rest of them chuckled while listening to her. Avi went out of the kitchen, stomping his feet, taking the twins with him. Arpita and Sravya folded their hands and looked at her mischievously.
 
Sravya smirked and asked, "So, Mayu, what are you preparing for my Anna?"

"You see, my Maridi (younger brother-in-law) went out stomping his feet and sulking like a kid. So, what are you going to prepare to impress him?" asked Arpita.

"What do you guys have prepared?" asked Maya.

"Pulihora(tamarind-rice), Bhendi fry, Mush-room and kaju curry, Tomato chutney, Sambar and white rice," said Sravya.

"He eats everything, and also pulihora is one of his favourite dishes; then why did he say that there is no favourite food of his?" Maya said, confused.

"Dumbo, he wants you to cook something for him. That's why he did all this drama," Sravya said, hitting Maya's head lightly.
 

While Maya nodded her head and pouted at them. They decided to make sweet pongal and gulab jamun. Maya was preparing sweet pongal, while Sravya was kneeding the dough for jamuns, and Arpita was preparing the syrup. Avi peeped into the kitchen while they were cooking and left from there.

Soon they completed cooking and started arranging the dishes on the dining table. All the elders and the boys settled at the dining table. While Sravya, Maya, Arpita, and Siri are serving them.

"Siri, you go and sit. We will serve," said Sravya.
 
"But!" said Siri.
 
"You sit and eat, Siri. If we need any help, Laxmi aunty (maid) is there, right?" said Maya.

Maya was about to serve her parents, but they stopped her and asked Arpita to serve. Maya felt hurt; her eyes brimmed with tears. She blinked her eyes to control her tears and not break down in front of everyone. Avi got angry seeing this.

"Why did you stop her, Attayya?" He asked, controlling his anger.

Rishi looked away and said, "Because we don't want to eat food served by her."
 
Avinav gave him a sarcastic smile and asked, "Oh! Okay, but why is that?"

Maya went near him and placed her hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down.

"You wait, Bunny. What's wrong if you serve them?" said Avinav.

"Avi, please calm down. Everyone is eating. They won't eat after hearing them. Please, at least think about our grandparents," Maya whispered in his ears.

He nodded his head in understanding, and all of them continued eating. But everyone knows they are going to have a tough day ahead. They understood that Maya had told him everything by seeing his behaviour around Rishi and Sakshi.

To be continued....

Precap: A huge argument between Avi and Maya's parents.

Keep smiling and take care.