Happy birthday ishqdinoorhai9. If I had started my journey as a writer in wattpad, then it's because of your encouragement. So, I dedicate this chapter to you my little sissy.

Unedited

Author's POV:

Maya was devouring the Biryani made by Avi while he was sitting beside her and admiring her. Maya looked at him and saw that he was not eating his food.
 
"Avi, eat your food quickly; otherwise, I'll eat yours too," she said, licking her fingers.
 
He chuckled, listening to her, and started eating his food.
 
"Avi," she said sweetly, poking his shoulder.
 
"Hmm," he hummed without looking at her.
 
"Avi!" she called him again, making him look at her.
 
"Yes, tell me," said Avi.
 
"I want ice cream," she asked, battling her eyelashes and making an innocent face.
 
He looked at her sternly and said, "Bunny, no more ice cream. You ate more than enough in my absence. So, no ice cream until one month."
 
"Avi, prettyyy, please. I won't ask you again until next week. I promise," she said, pinching her throat and making a cute face.
 
Avi controlled his laugh, looking at her face.
 
"Umm. If you eat healthy food without any tantrums and drink milk twice daily, then I'll let you have ice cream once a week. Or else, forget about your ice cream and chocolates," he said, giving her a sly smile.
 
Maya looked at him wide-eyed, listening to him.

 
"Who will drink that yucky milk daily, and that too twice in a day?" she thought in her mind, scrunching her nose.
 
"You have no choice, baby," her mind told her, smirking at her.

"You shut your mouth, okay? Maya, first agree to his words; you can handle him later with your charms," told her heart, shutting her mind.
 
"So, what did you decide?" he asked her, snapping his fingers at her, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Did I have any choice left?" Maya asked, making a scowling face.
 
"NOPE!" Avi said, stressing every letter.
 
"Okay," she said, making a sad face. "Umm, can I get some concession?" Maya asked, looking at him hopefully.
 
"And what is that?" Avi asked, raising his eyebrows at her.
 
"How about you let me eat two tubs twice a week? I will even give you a kissie every morning," Maya said, making a puppy face.
 
Avi rolled his tongue around in his mouth, trying not to laugh as he looked at her cute face.
 
"Do you think I can't take my kiss from you if you don't give it to me, hmm?" Avi whispered huskily, pulling her close to him and nuzzling his face against her neck.
 
"First my ice cream, then your romance," Maya said, getting up from the chair.
 
"Such a romance spoiler you are, Bunny," Avi said, pouting at her.
 
"I don't know anything; I want ice cream, that's it. No hanky-panky from today if you don't get me an ice cream now," Maya said as she washed her hands.
 

"Baby, you are already spoiling my romance. Your Amma is already stubborn, and now you are making her more stubborn. I guess you are definitely the little version of mine; that's why you became her partner and are teasing me already," Avi thought in his mind.
 
He washed his hands and quickly ordered her favourite ice cream. He cleaned the dirty dishes, picked her up in his arms, and put her on the bed. He patted her slowly, and soon she drifted into sleep. He checked his emails for some time, then talked with his PA regarding the work and made a few calls. Soon, he also slept by spooning her in his arms.

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

We can see a girl tied up in a chair. She was struggling in the chair; her face had lost all the glow, and she was looking weak and pale.

"Do you think you have escaped from me?" Rajesh asked, giving her a devilish smile.

"Leave me, Rajesh. If anything happens to me, then my Avi will kill you," Maya yelled at him.

"I won't even care if I die, but before that, I want to taste every inch of your body," Rajesh said with a dirty smirk, coming near her.

Maya threw a disgusting look at him and looked away.

"Rajesh, leave me," Maya said, struggling in the chair.

"Nope! Do you think I'll leave you easily, after everything that has happened? Just because of you, my family disowned me. My sisters, who love me, are not even talking to me. Because of your so-called husband, I lost everything and went to jail," Rajesh yelled at her angrily, making her shiver.

Tears flew from her eyes, and she closed her eyes and prayed in her mind to send Avi.

"What? Are you praying to God to send your so-called husband here? That's not going to happen, baby. This time, no one can save you and your baby from me," Rajesh said, clutching her hair.

She winced in pain and begged him to leave her. He nuzzled his face into her neck, while she felt disgusted and turned her face away. He held her chin tightly and slapped her hard.

"Ahh! Avi!" Maya yelled his name in pain.

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

Avi woke up with a jerk and sat on the bed, shouting Maya's name. Maya, who was sleeping peacefully, got startled, listening to Avi's shout. She hurriedly got up and sat on the bed. She looked at Avi, who was shivering and sweating profusely. She placed her hand on his shoulder, making him startle. He looked at her and hugged her tightly. She hugged him back and whispered sweet nothings in his ear as he was mumbling her name and baby continuously, and his body was trembling with fear. She felt wetness on her shoulder and tried to separate herself from him, but his grip on her became tight. She gave up and rubbed his back to soothe him.
 
After some time, he broke the hug and looked away, wiping his tears. He kissed her forehead and her stomach. He got off the bed and was about to move out of the room, but he stopped listening to her.
 
"Are you trying to hide your tears from me, Avi?" She asked him, getting off the bed. "Or am I not worthy enough to share your pain?" Maya asked him with tears in her eyes.
 
Avi went towards her and hugged her tightly. Both of them cried in each other's arms.

"Never speak like that, okay? If not with you, then with whom will I share my pain? I just had a nightmare; nothing else, okay? Don't get tense unnecessarily. Now go and freshen up; we will leave," Avi said, wiping her tears and kissing her forehead.

Though she was not convinced, she let it go, knowing he would tell her himself at the right time. She nodded her head and went to the bathroom to freshen up. Avi went to the other room and washed his face. He moved to the kitchen and made coffee for both of them. By then, she had come to the living room. He gave her coffee, and both of them had it silently. They locked the apartment, and both of them started their journey back to their home.
 
Avi was driving the car while Maya was sitting in the passenger seat, listening to the FM and enjoying the ride.
 
"Bunny?"
 
"Hmm"
 
"Bunny!!"
 
"Yeah, tell me."
 
"From now on, don't go alone without informing anyone. And I'm increasing the security around you, and no discussions on this topic, okay," Avi said sternly.
 
"Okay!" Maya said, nodding her head silently without asking him further questions.
 
Soon, both of them reached their mansion. He parked the car in the garage, and both of them moved inside the house. As soon as they stepped inside, everyone showered them with flowers. The ladies dragged Maya with them and made her sit on the sofa, bombarding her with their questions.

 
Avi pouted, looking at them, and shouted, swaying his hands in the air, "Hello, guys! Even I'm here."
 
"Stop shouting like a madman; go and get some juice for my daughter," Vani said, glaring at him.
 
Avi looked at his mother wide-eyed and mumbled, "What the hell was that?"

"You will understand further, bro. It is just the beginning," Yash said, patting his shoulder.

"Didn't you go till now? Such a useless fellow you are, Kittu. Now go and bring some fruits and milk, quickly, for my daughter. If you don't move to the kitchen now, then I'll throw you out of your room, and I'll sleep with her. You and your father enjoy sleeping together in one room," Vani said, smirking at Avi.

Avi and Shekar made horrifying faces while listening to Vani.

"You idiot, what are you waiting for? Are you waiting for an auspicious time or what? Didn't you listen to your mother? You don't know her; she will really do what she says. And I can't sleep without hugging your mother," Shekar said, smacking Avi's head.

Avi glared at his father and dragged him to the kitchen with him. Everyone giggled looking at the father-son duo.

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

"Thank you so much for the gift, Ammu," Vani said, kissing Maya's forehead.

Maya smiled at her and was listening to everyone who was giving her instructions.

"How many months, Kanna?" Janaki asked, caressing her head.

"Two months, Janu Maa," Maya said, smiling at her.

"Did you go for the check-up, and when did you come to know? What did the doctor say?" Anjali asked her.

"I came to know about it last week," Maya said, looking down.

"And you told us today?" Sravya asked her.

"Arey, understand Chinnu (Sravya's nickname); she wanted to tell her husband first," Arpita said, giving Maya a teasing smile.

Maya blushed, looking down, while others chuckled, looking at her.

Soon Avi and Shekar came out of the kitchen with maids behind them. They gave snacks to everyone, while Avi handed some fresh fruits and chocolate milk to Maya.

"At your service, ma'am," Avi said, bowing down in front of her.

After some time, everyone moved to their respective rooms to get ready for the party, while Avi called the boys and told them to meet him in the study room.

In Avi & Maya's room:

Avi kissed her forehead and said, "Bunny, take a small nap and then get ready. I have some small work to do. I'm going to the study room; if you need anything, call me, okay?"

"Hmm!" mumbled Maya.
 
"Shall I send anyone to help you?" Avi asked, looking at her.
 
"It's okay; I can manage," Maya said, passing him a smile.

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

In study room:

"What happened, Anna? Is everything okay?" Surya asked, breaking the silence.

Avi shook his head negatively and told them everything about his nightmares.

"But he is in jail, isn't he? And also Janardhan thathayya made sure the security around him is tight," Arjun voiced out his point.

"Still, we can't take any chances, Arjun. As Maya is pregnant, we have to be more careful now. We must keep an eye on his family too," said Suhaas.

"I talked with Amar uncle and told him to tighten the security around the house and our offices. You guys also don't go out without security. I know he is nothing in front of us. Still, we can't take any chances," said Avi.

"Even Arpita got some threat messages from Mr. Rao, who is her all-time rival, as Avi and Arpita bagged that London deal," said Yash.

"Hmm. I guess this guy didn't learn from his past mistakes", Arjun said, gritting his teeth.

"It's not that old man. It's his son now," Yash said, sighing.

"I will deal with him in my way. You don't worry about it," Avi assured Yash. He then turned towards Veeru and said, "Veeru, you know what you have to do, right?"

"Of course, buddy," Veeru said, giving him a hi-fi.

"Anna, I think we have to shift Aashi and Maya's workplace here. They will be safe here, and one or another person will be around to take care of them," said Pranav.
 
"Even I'm thinking the same, Pranav. I'm thinking of modifying the outhouse so it will be more spacious for them. Maya said that she wanted to appoint some bakers so that it would be less stressful for them," said Avi.
 
"That will be good," said Yash.
 
"I'll talk with Arpita tomorrow regarding it," said Avi.
 
"But before that, we need to talk with Aashi and Maya," Suhaas said, to which Avi nodded his head.
 
"By the way, did you tell Mia about your nightmares?" asked Surya.
 
"No, I don't want to stress her more. What if she gets a panic attack again? I can't take the risk," said Avi.
 
"Till when will you hide that from her?" asked Veeru.
 
"I don't know, yaar. First, I have to take her to a checkup to know about her and the baby's health," explained Avi.

"We will stay here till her delivery. I'll handle the company from the branch here. Even Peddamma and Pedananna said that they would shift back here in a month," said Arjun.

"And also, let us inform the elders and all the girls. So they will be careful," said Suhaas.

"Anna, how far has Aashi's accident case come?" Pranav asked Suhaas out of the blue.

"What do you mean by that?" Avi and Arjun shouted together.

"Was the accident planned, Suhaas?" asked Yash.

"Yes, and the police are trying to get the clue for the past year. Till now, they didn't even get a single clue. I even hired a private detective, but they didn't find anything," Suhaas said with frustration.

"Do Dadi and Dadu know about this?" asked Yash.

"Uncle was the one who told them before taking his last breath. And also, Uncle told them to keep Aashi safe, as those people didn't know that she was alive. Even Dadu is trying to find out through his connections, but we haven't gotten a single lead as of yet. That's why we shifted Aashi to our hospital. As it is our territory and she will be safer here than in Chennai. Even though I want to marry her immediately, I don't want to take risks for her safety. And I can't even tell her all this, as she is just recovering. I'm really feeling helpless," Suhaas said, pouring his heart out.

"And you are telling us now. Does Maya know about this?" asked Arjun.

"No. Only me, Pranav, Surya, and her grandparents knew about this," Suhaas told them.

"Guys, we have to be on alert from now on. And the most important thing is that we have to keep Aashi, Maya, Arpita, and the twins safe. Dadu and Dadi, too. We have to increase the security around them. We need to use our private numbers so that they can't trap our phones. And we need to tell all these things to the elders asap," said Arjun.

Everyone nodded their heads and dispersed to their rooms after discussing a few things.

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

Avi went to his room and saw all the girls getting ready in it. Aashi and Maya were playing with Varsha. Sravya was straightening Taara's hair while Arpita was braiding Diya's hair.

As soon as Maya saw Avi, she ran to him and hugged him tight.

"What took you so long?" Maya asked him with a pout.

"I was talking with a client," Avi said, while all the girls except Aashi narrowed their eyes at him.

He glared at them and told them to shut their mouths.

"I missed you," Maya said, pecking his lips.

"I missed you too," Avi said, kissing her cheek. "Now, let me get ready. Don't you want to eat the cake?"

She bobbed her head cutely and broke the hug. She went to the closet and handed him his outfit while he moved to the other room to freshen up.

To be continued....

Hello guys!!!!

Avi is getting nightmares, is this a hint for the future or it's his fear?

Do you think Avi should share his fears with Maya?

Aashi's parents death mystery???

Who might be that villian??

Do tell me how is the chapter.

Precap: A convo b/w Maya and her parents.

So, will you in the next update.

Until then, byeee. Keep smiling and take care of yourselves and your family.