Sameer entered Aryan's house listening to the 8 knocks of the antique pendulum clock on a wall and he looked around. The living room of the house was pretty big. There were almost three seating arrangements in the living room itself. Major portion of it was occupied by two big sofas, two sofa chairs and a big tea table. One corner had a dining table with four chairs, adjacent to a bar filled with differently shaped bottles of whisky, scotch and wine. At the other end of the big living room, which had a balcony attached to it, there were two antique wooden chairs facing each other and a centre table between them. The latest imported model of Samsung TV and two big speakers were decked on a TV set. Also, there was a Sony company's CD player, which appeared to be imported again, a VCR and a projector connected to it. Sameer figured that Aryan must watch films and auditions on a bigger screen with the help of the projector. The two doors and a passage seemed to be leading to bedrooms and kitchen.

"Come Sameer... have a sit..." Aryan pointed to the antique chairs.

Sameer greeted him with a smile and nodded.

"You need water?" Aryan asked him midway.

"No, thank you." Sameer said politely and went on to acquire one of the chairs.

"Actually, mai bhi bass thodi der pehle hi ghar aaya hu, toh just give me two minutes okay?" Aryan stated.

"Yeah sure." Sameer shrugged.

As Aryan disappeared in the kitchen, Sameer made himself comfortable on the chair and tried to look outside on the balcony through big glass windows. He couldn't see much but only the city covered in lights, which still looked so spectacular. There was something so appealing about this city that no matter how much struggle you go through, you still tend to love this city. He wished he could have shown this sight to Naina someday and see her face glowing more than these lights.

The remembrance of Naina took him to the daytime again. As he and Papa had finished their lunch, Rakesh had gone for the post lunch cleaning and Sameer came back to Naina after keeping his plate. He had offered help to Rakesh but was denied with a reason that he is capable enough to do things on his own. Sameer had just smirked, knowing the real reason behind it that Rakesh was just giving them some privacy and some time alone, as all that Naina had needed that time was Sameer. When he had returned to the bedroom, he made Naina lie down the mattress, with the hot water bag on her stomach and let her sleep again. He had read magazines while seated next to her and kept a check on her if there is any fever or something. Later, when he found he had some time, he had washed some clothes they were supposed to wash the next day.

In the evening, Naina was finally feeling better and the glow on her face had returned. Sameer and Papa had felt relieved to see that but then again found themselves in another dilemma. Since Sameer was supposed to reach at 8pm at Aryan, it implied he needed to leave by 7pm. And at such an odd time, they all were confused if Sameer should leave after having his early dinner or eat some heavy snacks. Naina had proposed she would make quick theplas, but she was strictly warned to not enter the kitchen by the two men. Finally, on Sameer's request, Rakesh had brought samose and kachori and they all relished them quite later than the usual time. Rakesh promised to make a simple meal for the two and khichdi for Naina, as she wanted.

It was time for Sameer to leave, when Naina had just stopped him in the living room. She walked to the Krishna idol in the room and lit a diya. While she was praying to the god, Sameer had just leaned his hips on the trunk and was admiring his wife by folding his arms. In this period of over a year, he had seen a transition in Naina's perspective about periods. When she was on her periods after the wedding, she hadn't entered the kitchen, pooja-mandir and the swimming pool because of her beliefs since her childhood. And Sameer had comforted her that she need not follow all these things and can freely participate in everything she wanted to. He knew it wouldn't happen in one day, that Naina would suddenly start working in the kitchen or do a pooja. But he had given her time and complete freedom to think about the process on her own. It wasn't that he wanted her to forcibly accept the changes, but just that whatever she's doing, she should know why she's doing. And it took quite a few months for Naina to discern the exact reasons behind the whole process of menstruation and the stigma around it. She gradually discovered that women weren't restricted to go to the kitchen or temple because they were impure, but just because in old times women were involved in strained physical activities and would be asked to rest during periods. She soon comprehended that the menstrual blood cannot be dirty where a new life was supposed to be born. And she started taking decisions on her own during her periods. If she wanted to go to the kitchen, she did. If she wanted to go to poojaghar, then she did that too. And Sameer was glad to see that.

He had walked to stand behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. As she turned slightly to look at him, he had seen an unease in her eyes. He had cradled her face and asked, "Naina, pakka jau na mai?"

She had blinked to hide her discomposure and smiled, "haan... jao..." She had replied.

He had smiled gently and said, "lekin meri Naina ke Naina toh kuchh alag hi keh rahe hai..."

She had grabbed his hands and kissed on his knuckles, "jao Sameer... all the best..." She had widened her smile. Planting a gentle kiss on her forehead, he had left to catch the 7:15pm bus.

"Hey Sameer", Aryan's voice coming from far startled Sameer. He craned to see Aryan standing near his bar. "Would you have scotch or whisky?" Aryan queried.

Sameer gaped at Aryan in surprise. All these were his firsts after coming to Mumbai. "No thanks Sir, I'm fine."

Aryan closed his eyes and shook his head. He came with a bottle of scotch, a glass and a soda bottle and sat in front of Sameer, keeping all the items on the centre table.

"Yaar Sameer, maine kitne baar bola please call me Aryan. Jab koi mujhe Sir bolta hai na, toh mujhe professor wali feeling aati hai. Aur mai professor toh kisi bhi angle se nahi lagta." He laughed.

Sameer grinned, "okay... Aryan..."

Sameer looked at the man sitting in front of him. He looked debonair in a plain white cotton shirt, with two buttons open and blue jeans. He was carrying a dark beard but properly shaped and trimmed. Though he was in his thirties, his physique appeared well-built and he indeed looked attractive.

He watched as Aryan opened his Glenfiddich single malt scotch whisky bottle and poured the content in the glass. He added a small quantity of soda to form a small peg, stirred the glass in his hand and raised it in the air for a virtual toast.

As Sameer's eyes widened for no reason, Aryan's chuckled, "don't worry, mai nashe me tumhara audition nahi loonga."

Sameer felt a little embarrassed about being caught. He wasn't intending to stare at the liquor bottle like this. He had seen many such imported bottles in Nanu's stock for business purpose. But that sight had disappeared long back from his eyes.

He cleared his throat, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it." He genuinely apologized.

"It's okay buddy." Aryan smiled. "So? Here with your parents?" He asked.

Sameer frowned. "Parents? Nahi toh..."

"Ohh... maine phone kiya tha toh kisi bujoorg aadmi ne phone uthhaya.... Toh mujhe laga..." Aryan reasoned.

Sameer narrowed his eyes for a moment and he realized, "ohh... woh mere father-in-law hai... meri mom toh Delhi me rehti hai..." He cleared his confusion.

Aryan almost choked listening to this, "your what? Father-in-law? You married?" He chortled.

Sameer actually didn't like the way he laughed, "yes, I'm married." He looked straight into Aryan's eyes. His voice reflected pride.

"Kitne saal ke ho yaar?" Aryan digged further.

"23 running." Sameer replied firmly.

"Woww... itne kam umr me shadi kaun karta hai..." Aryan laughed again.

Sameer didn't say anything but kept his face a little stern. Not to insult him in any way but also not to give him any chance to speak further on his marriage.

"Anyway..." Aryan kept his glass on the table. "please don't mind. Mai bass mazak kar raha tha."

Sameer's stance softened and he nodded understandably.

Aryan shoved his hand into his jeans pocket and took out a cigarette pack and a lighter. He put one cigarette into his mouth and spoke, "pata hai, jab mai tumhare umar ka tha, I had the same spark in my eyes..." He lit the cigarette, "and I'm sure I still have... not that I'm too old..." He winked.

Sameer preferred to keep mum and let just Aryan speak. He was waiting for him to bring the topic of why he had invited him here for a meeting or talk about his audition. But that wasn't happening. He chose to give some time to Aryan to relax lest he breaks the topic. He was also sweating a little, which he couldn't figure why.

Aryan smoked once and passed the cigarette packet to Sameer, "here... have one..."

This time, Sameer was a little unsettled. It had been years since he hadn't touched a cigarette, but he couldn't gather the firmness to refuse the way he had when being asked for alcohol. For alcohol, his latest memory was from his honeymoon when he had consumed brandy. But he never wanted to get intoxicated like that after that incident. And he had no plans for it even here in Mumbai. The reason being, he actually had no reason to live in a delusional world of alcohol. But it wasn't the same for smoking.

He stuttered while answering, "aaa... no... no thanks Aryan..."

Aryan looked surprised, "you must be kidding." He leaned behind and crossed his one leg on the other knee, "You smoke. I can bet on it."

Sameer was stumped once more. The confidence in Aryan's voice shook his control more. His mind jumped to his days in Nainital when he would smoke often with his 'so called' friends in the hostel. He recollected the days when he would smoke with Munna-Pandit in the starting period of 11th grade in Ahmedabad and with those group of boys in the 12th grade in Delhi. True that it had been years, but now he was feeling an urge after inhaling the smoke that had wafted in the room.

"I used to... lekin smoking chhod diya hai maine...." Sameer stated in low confidence.

Aryan chuckled, "okay just take a puff..." He forwarded his own lit cigarette to Sameer.

Sameer stared at the cigarette. Beads of sweat rolled from his temple. The smoke that had filled his nostrills was shaking his decision. He accepted it with trembling hands by passing a glance to Aryan.

Just one puff should be fine. He thought.

He took it closer to his lips but suddenly a picture of Naina wearing a pink saree flashed in his mind. She was wearing white stone studded long earrings and the necklace from the same set. Something was there in her hands. Something like crockery plates. And there was a contentment on her face.

Sameer brought his hand down, without taking a puff. Why did he see Naina this way?

He put a pressure on his brain and drove himself into past memory lanes. Why this particular reflection? Sameer wondered.

He closed his eyes. Some more stress on his nerves, and he found himself sitting on a bed in the guest room downstairs in Krishna Kaustubhi... He had worn a blue kurta and was talking to Chachaji... But Naina wasn't there... She was standing outside the room and listening to their conversation.

What were they talking about?

'Tum kabhi bhi cigarette ya sharab jaisi cheez ko hath bhi nahi lagaoge...'

He snapped open his eyes. Realization struck as he remembered the promises he had made to Chachaji. He discerned why there was contentment on Naina's face in that imagination. Because she had trust in him regarding those promises. She trusted him that he would never break the promises he made to Chachaji. And not just that, she trusted him as a man, as her man. He couldn't break those promises. He couldn't let that contentment on Naina's face disappear. He didn't want to see the disappointment in her eyes for breaking a promise even though he could easily hide it from her. 

Nopp! Hiding things from Naina wasn't happening anymore. He wanted her to smile.

He passed the cigarette back to Aryan. "Sorry, mujhe iski zaroorat nahi hai."

This time there was a resolution in his eyes and voice. Five years ago, he had quit smoking for Naina. One year ago, he had made a promise for Chachaji. But today, he did it for himself. And the resolution he made today, was never to be broken.

Aryan accepted it with a mysterious look on his face and Sameer noticed that even Aryan was observing him going through various emotions.

"It's okay." Aryan said while taking a sip of liquor followed by a puff. "Well, let's talk about the film." He straightened a bit.

Sameer mentally sighed. Finally Aryan was talking about the film.

"So there are three heroes in the film." Aryan started, "And we have been told to look for mostly fresh faces or less experienced ones. And I'm thinking of you for one of the two roles."

Sameer paid attention to his words. Aryan continued, "aaj ki Dharamji ke sathi meeting bhi achchhi rahi. And we are hopeful that we can have him on board."

Sameer's eyes brightened listening to this information. He immediately got reminded of Papa's dreamy eyes to meet Dharmendra.

"Aur agar tumhare audition ki baat kare.... Toh it wasn't bad." Aryan mentioned.

Sameer's expressions changed as if he remembered something. "Aryan... mujhe audition se related ek sawal puchhna tha..." Sameer asked.

"Haan puchho..."

"Woohhh... " Sameer wasn't sure how to frame his questions. "audition ke time hame jo script mili thi, uske character ke dialogues bahot... I mean... thode rough the... like a male chauvinist you know..." He asked in the most gentle way possible.

'Dekho, unko naraaz mat karna... unki haan me haan milana... aur apni hoshiyaari thodi kam dikhana...'

Rakesh's advice rang through his ears. He was full of advice and Dharmendra stories during their lunch today. Sameer had laughed seeing his excitement, but somewhere he knew that that advice was coming from an experience.

Aryan looked curiously at Sameer. He probably hadn't faced anyone asking questions about the auditions. He answered, "zaroori nahi hai ki audition me jaisi script di jaye, character waisa hi ho... after all, it's just a test right?"

Sameer released the breath he was holding. "But let me tell you..." Aryan voiced.

Sameer paid attention again. "The character is a womanizer." Aryan revealed, keeping his eyes right on Sameer.

Sameer gasped evidently. He had these doubts in his mind right from his audition. The kind of dialogues they were given, he didn't have a good feeling about the character. Hadn't he confessed the same to Aditya? But given the recent rejection he had, he hadn't kept any hopes for this one. But destiny seemed to play with him.

'you have to keep adding things in your portfolio. But make sure they are good ones.'

Piyush Sir's tips from yesterday were still fresh in his mind. If his career is really taking off with this film, then should he go for a womanizer's role? Will it be perceived as good? Naina, Papa, Munna-Pandit, Vishakha, Chacha-Chachiji... They all have high expectations of him as a hero. Would they be happy and proud seeing him playing a womanizer's character in his first film? And would he himself be able to play it? Various questions kept popping in his mind.

"Lekin Aryan, ek womanizer kisi film ka hero kaise ho sakta hai?" He didn't hesitate while putting forth his question.

Aryan took a puff and a lopsided smile crept on his face, "you know, I'm liking the way you are asking me questions. But I would appreciate it if you listen to me completely."

"Aaaa... sorry..." Sameer's voice lowered.

Leaning forward, Arayn rested his forearms on his knees and linked his fingers, "toh... ladka jawan hai, college student hai, thoda paisewala bhi hai... aur aise situations me ladke aksar  bigad jaate hai... he's a flirt... lekin phir ek ladki uski zindagi me aati hai, usse sachcha pyar karti hai aur woh badal jata hai..."

Sameer blinked listening to the gist of the character's storyline. He felt connected to it immediately. But before he could process further, Aryan continued, "aise bahot si filmon me film ka hero ek ladki wajah se badalte hue dikhaya hai... bass sabke halaat alag hote hai..."

"Sorry Aryan... mai bass mere sawaal puchh raha tha." Sameer tried to put his side, thinking Aryan must be intimidated by his questions.

"No it's fine." Aryan assured. "Hum mard dil se chahe achchhe ho ya boore, lekin jab ek ladki hamari zindagi me aati hai, toh woh hame ek behtar insaan banati hai.... Aur yeh toh shayad tum bhi jaante honge... you are married... toh tumhare wife ki wajah se tum me bhi koi achchhe badlaav aaye hi honge, right?" He raised his brows at the question.

Sameer just smiled. Was it a story of a film that he heard or just his own story? Of course, he wasn't a flirt like Aryan mentioned. But, there was a girl who came into his life and made him a better person. Aryan was asking him about a few good changes in him because of that girl and here he couldn't end the list of things Naina had done for him.

It was Naina, who had taught him the true meaning of love, affection, care. It was Naina who had loved him unconditionally, even though she didn't know about his feelings. If he was craving for attention, then she gave him. If he was looking for someone to take care of him, then she did it. She had filled the quietude of his life with her laughter, with her chatter and with her 'pyaarwali daant. She had filled the emptiness of his life with her extreme care and her love. She held his hands and pulled him out of the gloom of his broken childhood. She connected the dots of his broken family and put them together. If he could listen to his mother patiently and tried to look at her side during the college days, then he knew it was because of the influence of Naina's understanding and selfless nature. If he was at least patiently answering to Mr. Somani's questions about his well-being, then he was proud that this change on both sides of that call was because of Naina, who with her humble and respectful talks melted a person like Mr. Somani.

The lack of love of his mother in his childhood and the nights spent alone crying on the bed of his hostel room in Nainital, had forced him to put on a façade of anger and arrogance. Which with Naina's chirpy voice and a pretty smile, started fading gradually. He had slowly turned into his true self as his days were spent while watching Naina and nights were spent listening to her. Didn't he learn from her to be absolutely selfless when she had postponed her admission to CA course, and worked with him to run the Boutique? Or when she came with him here in Mumbai without giving a second thought of how they would even survive in this city. There were countless such things he could tell to Aryan and the time would pass just like that. And he never perceived all these things as her favor for him. It was her right on him as his own person, just the kind of right Nanu had on him. The only thing he owed her was the gratitude for choosing him and staying in his life.

He started feeling positive about the film and smirked, thinking his life was not less than a movie plot. A fleeting thought came into his mind.

What Naina must be doing right now?

When Sameer left the home, Naina, even on resistance from Rakesh, had entered the kitchen to help him. She didn't want to eat much, so she had put the pressure cooker for moong-daal khichdi for all of them. Rakesh and Naina then together prepared roti-sabji and salad. It was 7:45pm when Rakesh was roaming in the house, and Naina had understood that he was hungry. It was the usual time of their dinner. She had requested Rakesh to have his dinner as it would take time for Sameer to return. Rakesh had asked her to join him but she politely declined saying she wasn't feeling like eating that time and would wait for Sameer.

Rakesh finished his dinner and switched on the television and Naina went back to her room. She looked at the room and felt it empty. Sameer's absence in any place just snatched the significance of it for Naina, and her very own bedroom appeared like an eerie place to her. She would have her own tasks to do when Sameer would go for an audition during the day or when his classes were going on. But, not in the evening or night. By this time, they would have their dinner or do the cleaning or wash the used plates. Sometimes, they would join Papa in watching the television or listening to the songs on the radio. But all of them were missing today. She felt like the nights had come back when Sameer was staying in Preeti's house and she would stare at the leaking roof and imagine her in his arms.

She shuddered to wash out the memories. Sameer is just gone for a meeting and he would return not later than ten, she consoled herself. She needed to occupy herself in something till Sameer returns. She had planned to study since most of her day was spent in sleeping, but now she didn't even want to take a book in her hand. She was missing Sameer badly and felt the urge to divert her mind. She then decided to arrange the room and the cupboard. It wasn't that messy but something is better than nothing. She sorted all her books and notes on the study table in a proper stack as per her timetable. She had noticed that Sameer had washed some clothes, so she collected those that had dried and folded them. She organized the small table of the tape recorder and cassettes by ordering the cassettes according to the decades like 90s, 80s and 70s. She opened the cupboard and gazed at it from top to bottom. She put her and Sameer's ironed clothes on the hangers, and folded their night suits neatly. She checked some of his jeans if they were needed to wash, but all of them were cleaned, so they were again put back. Stuff like washed towels, bed sheets, comforters, pillow covers were neatly kept in the lower shelves and both their innerwears were arranged in their respective polythene bags. Lastly her accessories like earrings, bracelets, bindi and hair clips were set properly in a box.

She surveyed the cupboard again to check if anything was remaining and her gaze fell on two cotton bags on the lowest shelf and she bent down in curiosity to find it out. Those were the bags from their recent shopping from Akshay Triteeya and she literally smacked her forehead. After the hullabaloo that took place between Sameer and Papa after returning from shopping and his upset mood following that, she had almost stuffed those two bags in anger in the lowest shelves. Since then, they hadn't been opened and an idea struck her mind. An idea to surprise Sameer as he returns. She took out the two bags and stood up excitedly to check all the contents again. Her mood had been uplifted just with the idea of Sameer's reaction after watching her. She locked the cupboard and gleefully sat on the mattress. All her three suits were then taken out with Sameer's shirt shoved back again in the bag. Her hands roved on the fabric of the suits and she picked the olive green Madhuri Dixit pattern dress. Her hands dipped in another cotton bag, the red velvet jewellery box was taken out. She opened and smiled looking at those delicate earrings. She cursed herself for not showing it even to Papa who was keen to buy her something on occasion of the auspicious day. This pair of earrings and one of the three suits was supposedly from Papa and she had not even shown it to him

Kaisi beti hai tu Naina!!! Her subconscious mind scolded her.

She locked the door of her bedroom to get ready for both Sameer and Papa. She changed within minutes and wore the golden earrings. Seeing her reflection in the mirror, her eyes brightened, her smile widened. She felt a different level of satisfaction today seeing herself, as if her reflection resembled with someone. She combed her hair and set them the way Sameer likes. She then walked to the taperecorder table and went through the collection of cassettes. She picked one cassette and her eyes twinkled. Inserting the cassette in the recorder, she forwarded some songs and set it for a particular one to welcome Sameer.

"Papaaa...." Naina stood near the fridge and called her father who was watching a show on Doordarshan.

Rakesh glanced at Naina once, "haan bol..." He looked back at the TV but paused for a moment. He looked at his daughter once more, who had now walked closer and stood near a sofa chair. He kept staring at her for a few moments.

"Papaaa... yeh... yeh suit liya tha Akshay Triteeya ke din... aapko dikhana hi reh gaya..." Naina said gently.

She tucked her hair behind her ear, "aur, yeh sone ke jhumke bhi liye the..." She added.

Rakesh just nodded, not finding words to comment. "Chaliye... aashirwaad dijiye..." Naina said and walked to touch his feet for wearing something new.

He stood up awkwardly while switching off the TV. He just put his hand on her head and swallowed a lump in his throat. He blinked his eyes and cleared his throat as Naina was watching him with perplexed expressions.

She noticed his attempts to turn his glistened eyes to neutral. It wasn't like he was watching something emotional on TV before, rather the tears had formed in his eyes after seeing her.

"Kya hua Papa?" Naina gently asked.

Rakesh shook his head, "nahi... nahi... kuchh nahi hua hai..."

Naina looked at herself once and asked, "yeh suit achchha nahi lag raha hai..."

Rakesh smiled, "bahot achchha lag raha hai..."

He looked at her carefully. She had put a bindi on her forehead, which looked bigger than the usual ones. She had clipped a few locks of hair behind and was wearing glass bangles. His gaze stopped at her earrings and he observed them. They were of intricate classic design and the red stones in it were gleaming just like Naina's smile.

"Sach sach bataiye..." Naina's voice startled him. "Ek toh aap ke zidd ke wajah se yeh dress lekar aaye aur aap thik se bata bhi nahi rahe ho kaisi lag rahi hu mai..." Naina complained, making a cute face.

Rakesh chuckled. His daughter was truly behaving like a kid today. But he had no complaints about it, rather he was feeling good to see her this side.

He voiced, "jaanti ho Naina... tere paida hone ke baad jab Akshay Triteeya aayi thi, bahot chhotisi thi tu... tab mai aur teri maa, hum dono tere liye sone ki baali lekar aaye the..." Naina's eyes softened instantly listening to her mother's mention. Rakesh continued, "Rama ka kehna tha ki tu ghar ki Lakshmi hai, aur tere liye har Akshay Triteeya ko koi sone ka gehna laana chahiye... phir..."

"Phir?" Naina asked hurriedly, impatient at Rakesh's pause.

"Phir jab tu saal bhar ki ho gayi, tab tere liye chain banwayi thi Rama ne aur ek pyaara sa dress bhi kharida tha..." His happy face suddenly turned to a serious one. He paused for a moment and watched Naina. She looked keen to hear more about her mother. "Lekin uske baad jab Rama chali gayi, toh mera mann uthh gaya tha... aur phir... maine kabhi tere liye koi nayi cheez nahi li.... Khas karke Akshay Triteeya ke din... har saal bahot boora lagta tha mujhe... lekin mann me ek kadwahat si bhar gayi thi... apne hi liye shayad... ki mai Rama ka khayal nahi rakh paaya..." He looked down with guilt and exhaled heavily.

Naina's eyes brimmed with tears. "Lekin ab nahi..." Her attention was grabbed by her father again... "ab mai tere liye woh sab kuchh karna chahta hu jo mai kabhi karna chahta tha.... Jo teri maa tere liye karna chahti thi... "

Tears rolled down her cheeks. "Papa... aapko kuchh karne ki..."

"Nahi Naina..." Rakesh took a step closer to her and wiped her tears with a single hand. "Ab mujhe tere liye sab kuchh karna hai... aur mai karunga... mai tere liye naye dresses lekar aaunga... tere liye alag-alag pakwaann banaunga... teri kahani jab chhap ke aayegi na, toh mai khud sabko padhwaunga... tere CA ke har result par mai poore society me mithai batwaunga... teri shadi me..." He paused. "Nahi... teri shadi toh ho chuki... haan, tere bachchon ki shadi me jamkar nachunga..."

Naina laughed amidst the tears and so did Rakesh. The father-daughter duo enjoyed a healthy laugh for few moments. "Papaaaa.... Aap bhi naaa..." Naina blushed heavily and hugged her father lightly.

Rakesh kept his one hand on her head and smiled. "Mai kya... tere bachcho ka Nana naa... haan toh sahi toh hai..." He teased her. And though he couldn't see her daughter's face, he knew she had blushed more.

They both experienced the warmth in that hug, they were deprived of for years. Naina had missed her father's love, who though was around her, never showered his love and care for her. Rakesh had missed pampering his daughter, he missed fulfilling her wishes, her demand as a child, he couldn't fulfill his wife's wishes for their daughter. He remembered his wife's glowing face when she was pregnant with Naina. He remembered how she would want to eat sweets. He had tried everything he could do for her, with his limited financial freedom. The years he spent after Rama's death was so difficult for him. Handling Arjun and Naina along with his job, was becoming tiresome for him, though he knew Anand and Bela were there to look after the children. He had never actually treated Arjun and Naina differently in initial years, but his elder bhabhi's constant remarks upon how Naina was responsible for Rama's death and his elder brother's regressive mindset of discriminating between a son and a daughter, had corroded his mind too. He knew he was the one who should be held responsible for living in indifference with Naina all these years. But not now. Now he had walked past his mistakes in the past and wanted to live this new life with Naina. In fact, they both had gotten a chance to live those moments again and they both hadn't missed to cherish them.

They drew back from the hug. Rakesh cradled Naina's face in his hands and mumbled, "Naina, yeh jo naya jeevan tune mujhe diya hai na... isse mai jee bharke jeena chahta hu..." He again looked at her bindi and her earrings. "Aur ek baat pata hai tujhe?" He softly asked.

"Kya?" She asked innocently.

"Tu aaj bilkul apni maa ki tarah lag rahi hai..." Rakesh said. "Yeh badi bindi, yeh jhumke, yeh choodiyan... bilkul Rama jaise..." He added with a shine in his eyes.

"Sach Papa...?" Naina breathed in exhilaration. Her eyes widening and her voice contained astonishment.

"Haan... teri pasand ekdum Rama jaisi hai... jyada chamak-dhamak nahi, dikhava nahi... lekin ekdum shaahi... agar aaj Rama hoti, toh yahi jhumke pasant karti..." Rakesh happily shared her mother's characteristics with her.

Naina's smile broadened to find that she was just like her mother.

"Papa... mai abhi aayi..." She nearly screamed in happiness and ran to her bedroom.

"Arey... kya hua... Nainaaa..." Rakesh hollered at Naina's sudden disappearance to the bedroom but then he just laughed. He knew his daughter had rushed to check herself in the mirror.

"Yaar Sameer, tumhe garmi nahi lag rahi kya?" Sameer was brought back from his reverie by Aryan's voice. Sameer looked at him to see him wiping his forehead.

He too was feeling hot and sweating a little. He nodded.

Aryan then got up and walked to the TV set to get the AC remote. He pressed some buttons on the remote and tapped on its back repeatedly. After a few failed attempts, he sighed.

"Aahhh... the AC is not working man..." Aryan grumbled.

He walked back to their place. Taking a sip of liquor once without sitting, he voiced, "tumne bataya bhi nahi... I'm literally sweating." Crushing his cigarette in the ashtray, he said, "Sameer, aage ki script hum mere room me discuss kare kya? Waha AC bhi chal raha hai, aur draft bhi hai ek..."

Sameer through for a while and nodded in hesitation. Aryan collected his glass and the bottle from the table and headed to the bedroom. Sameer followed Aryan after a while.

As they stepped into Aryan's spacious bedroom, Aryan pointed to a chair to Sameer, "come man.... Sit..." He kept his glass and the bottle on a table in the room.

Sameer acquired the seat and sat awkwardly. He watched as Aryan was turning the AC on and saw him unbuttoning his shirt.

"Sorry yaar... But I can't deal with this heat you know... I hope you don't mind..." He clarified looking at Sameer and shed his shirt.

Sameer looked at his bare torso and shifted his gaze elsewhere. "It's okay..." He almost whispered.

Smiling at him, Aryan took a chair and sat next to Sameer with a draft of a script in his hand.

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