"Breakfast is ready." Prachi announced while she and Shahana brought the plates and dishes.

"Looks like we are going to have something special today." Vikram smiled and sat down.

"The smell itself is making my mouth water." Purab added,

"What are we waiting for then? Let's dig into the food." Abhi began to eat.

One by one, everyone put a morsel of food in their mouth while Prachi and Shahana waited for their reaction with bated breathes. Dida was the one who looked at them first.

"Is it ok?" Prachi enquired nervously.

"Are you kidding? It's the best food I ever had in my life." she smiled.

The girls sighed in relief.

"Now I can brag about my all rounder daughter-in-law in today's party." Pallavi said fondly.

"After all, who's daughters are they?" Abhi said lifting his imaginary collar.

"Pragya di's. She is the one who taught them cooking." Purab grinned causing Abhi to frown.

"Both of you should take part in a cooking contest." Rhea said in between stuffing food in her mouth.

"Didn't I tell you, my chikchiki is the best." Ranbir said proudly.

Prachi smiled widely at the praises heaped on her while Shahana had a ghost of a smile on her face as not a single member of her new family had commented anything yet.

"The food is really delicious." Aryan finally said after much thinking, lifting Shahana's mood instantly.

"Won't you say anything Alia? A mother-in-law's opinion matters  a lot." Abhi prompted her.

"What can I say? If I tell the truth that this food is too oily and unhealthy, everyone will blame me and I'm not anyone's mother-in-law." she said haughtily.

"The monkey can never know how ginger tastes." Purab murmured audibly.

"What did you say just now?" Alia was red faced.

"Nothing. I just suggested you to taking cooking classes from these girls." he shrugged making Alia fume in anger.

"Here's your gift for this delicious breakfast." Pallavi said handing a box to Prachi.

"It was my duty. I can't accept a gift for a petty thing like this." Prachi denied taking the present.

"No dear, it's the ritual of Kohli family. I had gifted it to Pallavi and now she is gifting it to you. It's our family heirloom and is yours now." Dida explained.

"Thank you so much." Prachi smiled gratefully and accepted it.

"Shahana, as you know I'm an orphan, I don't have any family heirloom to give you, but I want to give it to you. It once belonged to someone very special. I never let it away from me, but now it's all yours." Purab handed something wrapped in a cloth to Shahana.

She unwrapped it to reveal a pair of simple yet elegantly carved bangles.

Pragya was the one to recognize those bangles. She looked at Purab who nodded at her.

"It must be of immense value to you. How can I keep it? What if I can't take proper care of it?" Shahana said worriedly.

"I know you are the one who can keep it safely. A father knows his daughter more than herself and as a father, I have total confidence in you." Purab assured her.

Shahana looked at Purab gratefully. Did he really mean those words? Did she finally have her own father?

-----

"What was it Purab? Why did you give those bangles to that girl? You never gave me those? Whom did they belong to originally?" Alia barged into the room and pelted the questions at Purab who had avoided her the entire morning.

"First of all, Shahana has a name and I gave those to her because she deserved it. For your other question, they belonged to the one I TRULY LOVE." he stated.

"Disha?" Alia questioned.

Purab nodded it approval. He walked to the cupboard and brought out a packet. "I have brought this for Shahana with the help of Pragya di. Give this to her and ask her to wear for her reception party today." he said.

"I'm not giving anything to that girl." Alia was stubborn.

"I brought this because I knew you won't go to buy it but I can't fulfil all the duties of a mother-in-law. You have to give it to her if you want me to stay with you in this house. Choice is yours, give it to her else I'll leave for a business trip." he threatened.

"Fine. I'll give it to her." she said and reluctantly went towards Aryan and Shahana's room.

She knocked on the door and Shahana opened it.

"Do you want something.....err......Aunty?" Shahana asked politely.

"Don't call me aunty! Do I look like some old aunty to you?" she shouted angrily.

"What shall I call you then?" Shahana asked innocently.

"Ma'am. It's Alia ma'am for you. Where is Aryan?" 

"He is freshing up in the washroom." Shahana informed.

"Purab considers you as a part of our family and is going to introduce you to our friends in the party today. Make sure you look presentable and don't spoil our reputation. I know you don't have dresses to match our standard, so I brought this saree and jewellery for you. Wear this and get ready fast." she thrust the packet in Shahana's hand and trotted away.

"Crazy woman." Shahana whispered and closed the door.

She sat down on the bed and opened the packet. On seeing the saree, her eye browns came closer to form a frown while her lips formed a pout. She did not hear Aryan coming out of the washroom.

Aryan came out of the washroom to find the tiny figure of his wife staring at something. Her face reflected annoyance and worry. 

"Is something bothering you?" he enquired.

"Aaahhhhh........" Shahana, who had looked at him to narrate her plight was now screaming and had her eyes closed tightly.

"What happened? Is there scary anything in here?" Aryan began looking around.

"It's you......You are not wearing a shirt." Shahana said.

"Oh!" Aryan exclaimed and wore a shirt. "You can open your eyes now." 

Shahana peeked through her fingers before opening her eyes. Her cheeks were red by now, a result of something that she had been thinking.

"I'm sorry. I usually stay in my room shirtless. I'll take care from the next time." he apologized. "What was bothering you?"

"This. How am I supposed to wear all of these? I'll die out of suffocation." she pointed to the heavily embroidered saree and jewellery.

"It's ok if you don't want to wear it. You can wear something else." Aryan suggested.

"And then your mother is going to insult me in front of the guests." she murmured.

"What did you say?" Aryan couldn't hear her properly.

"Your mom ordered me to wear this." she said.

"I guess there's no other option then. I'm sorry, you have to bear this due to me and my mom." he said feeling guilty.

"It's ok. I can manage for a few hours." she said thinking that Aryan was disappointed.