Mumbai.. 
Leopold Cafe...

It was raining heavily in Mumbai, and the traffic was jam packed, Sameer was in the cafe, sipping his coffee looking at the busy crowd from inside the cafe..

He was always fascinated by Mumbai's busy life, he grew up in the south block of Delhi, where only rich people reside, hence all this general lifestyle was new to him...

His phone started ringing, and he looked at the caller and sighed

'Hey Yash... ' Sameer said

'Bhai ! When will you come back...?' Yash said from the other side

'Our case's hearing just began here Yash, it will take time...' Sameer said

'Come back soon bhai, I can't handle Dad here alone...!  He is all cranky...' Yash whined and Sameer chuckled

'I'll try to come visit him may be this sunday and then return back, you tell me what all the work issues, I'll give you the solution...' Sameer smiled

'Thanks Bhai...!  You are the best ! Come back soon, me and mom miss you...' Yash exclaimed

'I miss you guys too, Ask mom to take her medicines on time... ' Sameer said, taking out his wallet and looked at his own mothers picture in it

'Mom has asked you not to go out in the rain, or else you will fall sick...' Yash said and Sameer smiled

'Okay I won't go out, you take care of mom and yourself and don't worry about dad, he will be fine... ' Sameer said caressing his mothers picture

'See you bro... ' Yash cheered

'Yeah Bye... ' Sameer hung up as lump was forming in his throat, remembering his mother

I miss you Maa...  He mentally said to his mom, and wiped his tears

Sameer Singhal, was his father's pride, his step mother's favourite and his half brother's role model...
He was always calm and composed, hardly got angry on anyone, he always engrossed himself in some or the other work to fight his pain...

He missed his mother very badly whenever he found time...
He was 11 months younger than Ved and Vansh and 7 months younger than his step brother Aayan...

Though he went through the same phase or maybe the worst than what Aayan faced, but Sameer was surprisingly very adjusting and understanding towards Priyanka and Prateek's relationship, as he grew up, while Aayan was not...

Sameer didn't hate Yash and was solidary towards His step siblings Aayan and Nitaara, because they faced the same pain as him, and Priyanka also tried her best to give him motherly love, ignoring her own children

In past weeks, Ananya and Sameer have become good friends, he found some similarities between Ananya and his mother, he liked her caring nature and compassionate attitude towards others with the some tinge of being a brat...

He liked Ananya, but not in a romantic way, they always hung out after their respective works, just to share their experiences of the day...

Ananya walked inside the cafe, almost drenched due to rain, and Sameer waved at her

Ananya spotted him and walked towards him

'Sorry I am late, the traffic was horrible.. I had to walk half way ! See what happened... ' Ananya showed him her dress which was fully drenched with water from bottom and Sameer chuckled

'I'll order coffee for you, you go and freshen up in the washroom... ' Sameer suggested

'Yeah okay... Please order...' Ananya kept her bag in the seat and was about to say her order but Sameer cut her off in between

'Americano with cream... I know, now you go... Shoo... ' Sameer teased her

Ananya narrowed her eyes at him, and hit him playfully, before walking towards the washroom and Sameer summoned the waiter

10 minutes later

Ananya and Sameer were chatting about random stuff, about their work and life in the city

'You know, when Maa was of my age, she lived in this city fo,  I guess 2 years....' Ananya said

'Yeah, mom told me about it... And I guess you like rains, as your mother too... ' Sameer said

'Eww no...!  I hate rains, I hate that damp smell and all that mud and puddles, but my brothers love rain... Vansh bhai goes crazy when it rains for the first time... ' Ananya chuckled

'Yash hates rains too... That's why he didn't agree when I offered him to come with me here...' Sameer said

'How is Yash's behavior towards you...? I mean I heard he is very rude and saw how he behaved with Aayan that day... ' Ananya said

'Yash is a sweetheart Ananya, he loves me like any brother loves his brother, his behavior towards Aayan is all because of my father... He told him all bad things about Jai uncle and his children, which made him hate his half siblings... But once he gets to know the truth, he will love Aayan and Nitaara di... Trust me... ' Sameer smiled

'How can you be so positive about everything...?' Ananya asked amused

'Well it's inherited, My mother was like me.... Or I should rather say I am like her.... ' Sameer chuckled

'Do you miss your mother...?' Ananya asked softly

'Everyday, I always talk to her picture before going to sleep... ' Sameer smiled

'I am sorry for asking, but is Priyanka aunty's behavior towards you not good ?' Ananya asked

'Absolutely not Ananya, she loves me, like her own kid... Not every step mothers are evil... ' Sameer laughed

'You are weird you know, How can you love her, if she was the reason behind your mother's...um... ' She stopped in between but she realized that she already said too much

Sameer's expression stiffened, but then he composed himself and took a deep breath

'Not many people know this, but Priyanka mom and my father's affair was not the reason for my mother's suicide... ' he said sadly

'I am sorry Sameer, I didn't mean to remind you all that, you don't have to talk about it....' Ananya said feeling guilty

'No it's fine, you should know this, Priyanka mom is not a home breaker... ' Sameer began and Ananya nodded him to continue

'My mom was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer, and the cancer was slowly spreading all over her body, including her brain... ' Sameer said tears filling his eyes and Ananya held his hands tightly

'Dad tried everything to save her, and Priyanka mom was with us all the time, leaving her own family behind... My mom would sometimes forget me and call me as Priyanka mom's son... She was tired of all the painful treatment, we were very worried about her, I would cry almost every night and beg to god to cure her soon...' Sameer sighed

'One day, when she couldn't see my and my father's misery, she drugged herself with high dose of sleeping pills... She was rushed to hospital, but they couldn't save her... That was the same time, when Jai uncle came to know about My current parents relationship....' Sameer said, wiping his tears

'My Dad and Priyanka mom were childhood sweethearts, they loved each other but were forced to get married to different people, but they say na, if you are meant to be, you surely come together by any cost..  ' he smiled and Ananya wiped her tears too

'You don't blame father for marrying another woman...?' Ananya asked

'I was angry on him of course, but as I grew up I realised that he didn't do anything wrong, afterall he was in love with Priyanka mom...' Sameer said

'Why can't Aayan realise this...?' Ananya sighed

'Me, Aayan and Nitaara di are victims of circumstances Ananya... The difference between us is that me and Nitaara di made peace with it, but unfortunately Aayan couldn't....' Sameer said sadly

'Aayan must understand that world doesn't revolve around him, he is not the only one who went through all that pain, you suffered that too... He must learn from you... ' Ananya said shaking her head in disappointment

'To be honest, I don't blame Aayan for becoming like this... When you see your parents drifting apart at a very young age, you lose your faith in love, trust and relationships... You feel everything is based on profit - loss, give and take... Everyone is selfish for you, the word 'selfless' is a hoax for you... ' Sameer said

'Aayan always misunderstands people... ' Ananya sighed

'That's what he has become Ananya, its not entirely his fault... I was like him too, but priyanka mom and Dad were with me to make me understand things, who did Aayan have..? He was sent to boarding school and then again to some college, he never lived with people, who love each other... He doesn't understand what true love and companionship means ! He will always go for revenge and retaliation and anger like things, because that's how he is raised...' Sameer explained

'You mean Aayan just needs to live with people, and he will be fine...?' Ananya said raising her brows

'It's kinda difficult now, you see... But nothing is impossible... ' Sameer said

'Nothing can change that beast Sameer... ' Ananya huffed

'He is not a beast, and yes he can be changed, he just needs that one person who loves him truly and makes him understand the importance of love... ' Sameer said looking at Ananya and she had goosebumps listening to this, and her heart started beating frantically

'You really like my step brother don't you...?' Sameer teased her

'What ! No... What made you think that... ' Ananya said shocked

'Your goosebumps say it all... ' Sameer pointed at her hands

'It's cold outside... ' Ananya looked away uncomfortably

'Really what explains the redness of your cheeks..?' Sameer raised his brows

'Shut up... Don't overthink.... ' Ananya hit him

'See I am not jumping into conclusions here, but if you are the on who loves Aayan.. I must say he is one hell of a lucky man, and he will surely change... ' Sameer smiled

'And why do you think that...?' Ananya asked

'Because I have faith in you... You can change my step brother's life... ' Sameer said

'Nothing like that is going to happen...' Ananya said

'Even if that happens, you can count on me all the time, I may not know Aayan, but I know why he is like this, and I will help you out to deal with him... ' Sameer said

'We are talking about something impossible here...' Ananya said

'I think we are talking about possibilities here... ' Sameer shrugged his shoulder

'Come on, its already 9, I must leave, Bhai must be waiting for me... ' Ananya said and Sameer nodded

They paid the bill and walked towards Sameer's car..

'Hey why don't you join us for dinner tonight, Vansh bhai will be pleased to see you... ' Ananya said

'Are you sure...?' Sameer asked

'Yeah absolutely... Come... ' Ananya smiled

'Okay then... ' Sameer said opening the passenger seat's door for Ananya and she got inside, and then got into the driver's seat and they drove towards Ananya's house

New Delhi..
Thapar's residence...

Arjun, Jai, Sash, Adi and Naina were seated in the study room, waiting for Radhika and Ria

After 10 minutes they walked inside the room and looked at the others questioningly..

'What's the matter, is everything okay...?' Radhika asked

'Yeah.. Come here Rads...' Naina patted the empty place beside her

'Arjun bhai, is everything alright...? Why did you call us here on a urgent basis...?' Ria asked

'Yes Ria, I was thinking something, actually me and Jai were thinking something that we wanted to share with you guys... ' Arjun said and Jai rose up from his seat and stood beside him

'What is it...?' Sash asked

'Actually, I had a chat with Vansh few days back... ' Arjun began

'What did you say to him now... ' Naina glared at him

'Listen to him Naina... ' Adi held her hands

'He told me that Ananya likes Aayan a lot and later I talked to Aayan about this, and he confessed the same....' Arjun said and others looked at him bewildered

'That's impossible... ' Ria commented

'It is true.. So we were thinking about getting them married...' Jai said and all of them look at him and Arjun shocked

'Are you crazy... ' Naina exclaimed

'What's wrong in that...?' Arjun asked

'Don't you think before Ananya you should marry Ved and Vansh off...' Radhika said and Naina nodded

'I have started looking for prospective brides for them as well, besides Ved likes someone too, I will support him in that... ' Arjun said

'And I don't think I will get a better girl than Ananya for my Aayan...' Jai said

'I am just trying to marry off my daughter to the guy she loves Naina, please support me in this... ' Arjun said

'Well I think they are right, Aayan and Ananya do look good together... ' Adi said

'And also the way they take care of Amayraa is truly impressive, the girl will get her parents... ' Sash said

'Also Aayan is changed, we can see he is not short tempered anymore and he likes Ananya, he told that to me himself, I don't think there would be a better match for Ananya, also she is getting married to Jai's son, in that way I can keep my princess with myself... ' Arjun said

'Yeah, I had this thing in my mind from many years actually, but I didn't know how to say this to you guys... I won't get a better DIL than Ananya... ' Jai said

'What do you think of this Naina...?' Radhika asked

'I would like to talk to Ananya about this, before forcing any decision on her...' Naina said

'But Aayan is her choice... ' Arjun said

'I would like to hear that from her... ' Naina said and walked out of the room

The grown ups of the house were unaware that they were part of Aayan's plan, but his Naina mom was a step ahead as always, she was not going to fall for his tricks, she would do her best to protect her daughter from any difficulties ahead, but fate had other plans for Ananya and also for Aayan...

TBC..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N
Hello guys...
Hope you like this part...
Don't worry we are not stretching this book too far...

Also a humble request...

Feel free to criticize the characters, but dont abuse them please...

Please realise that this is a FICTION, so stop relating things in the book with the real life...
It's just a story, take it as a fiction and don't jam my inbox with comments like-
"How can you do this...!"
"This XYZ character should not behave like this... "
"The plot is getting absurd... Etc"
"This is a Ekta kapoor serial or what.."
"Why are you stretching things too much... " etc...

This happened during IWAY as well, and I was on the verge of losing my book because of this...

I am NOT justifying the behavior of my character to anyone, so kindly don't ask for it...

If you don't like to read my books kindly delete them from your library...
It takes a lot of hard work to create characters and just few seconds to criticize it...

Sorry if you felt bad, i didn't mean to be rude...

Love
ASM