HAPPY NEW YEAR DARLINGS❤️

Bhumi's POV:

"Why are all the houses big here?" Abhi asked, looking at the Mehrotra mansion in awe.

In Bangalore, we lived in a two-bedroom apartment. And the houses around were small too. So, the boys have only seen those.

But since their arrival in Mumbai, they have lived in a huge mansion. Seen the Adani and Kaur mansions. Had been to Siddharth's luxury penthouse apartment.

And here they are, at the luxurious Mehrotra mansion.

"Because we are rich," Aryamann said.

"Like Batman?" Sammy asked.

"More than Batman," Aryamann said.

"Wow!" The boys screamed in unison.

We were welcomed with hugs and kisses by the Mehrotra clan.

"Finally, we got you and the twins here," Roop Mehrotra, the Mehrotra matriarch said as she pulled me into a warm bear hug.

"I still have no idea how Dadi let her go back to Bangalore," Ishitha di said.

"Your dadi is one crazy woman," Roop said, making me and Ishitha di chuckle.

"That she is," Ishitha di said.

"Can we blame her, Ishitha? We all have seen her grief. Hers and Radhika aunty's when the news came out that Aadhav and Maanasi passed away, along with the little children," Chhaya chachi said sadly.

Radhika is my maternal grandmother. She passed away a couple of years ago. I didn't get an opportunity to meet her and get to know her.

"Radhika aunty couldn't meet you. She would have been ecstatic knowing that you are alive," Chhaya chachi said, caressing my face.

"I know," I said. Nanu keeps talking about Nani. It feels as though I have been with her. Momma had also talked a lot about her mother. I just wish I could have met her once at least.

"Enough of the emotional talks. Let's get to the dining room. I am starving," Gaurav said, dramatically.

Arohi's dramatics seem to have rubbed off on Gaurav too.

As we sat in the dining room, the house help brought two identical high chairs and placed them on either side of Darsha Maa, as she demanded.

Soon the food was served, and conversations flowed.

"Remember the first time we had dinner together?" Darsha Maa asked with a chuckle.

Can I ever forget?

That is the day that changed my life forever.

Changed for better.

But I had never apologised for the deception I committed.

I cleared my throat and looked at everyone before speaking.

"I know what I did was wrong. A sin actually. I apologise for hurting you all so badly. It was never my intention to hurt you. When I agreed to this, I didn't think through the implications of this. Please forgive me," I said.

"Silly. We forgave you long back. In fact, we were never angry with you. We could only be thankful that we got you. You made our boy a human. We are just angry that you ran off three years ago. You should have come to us if he was troubling you," Roop dadi said, and I smiled through my tears.

I am so lucky to have them all in my life.

"Tell us what really happened that night?" Chhaya chachi asked curiously.

I looked at them sheepishly, and Aryamann laughed out loud.

"That I will tell you. Dadi? Remember the fight we had that night. You threatened me that you will give away my shares to Ranbir if I don't get married soon?" Aryamann asked.

"Of course, I remember. I would have never done that. I just wanted to scare you," Roop dadi said.

"Well, that night, when I went to my home, I found a cute little thief in my bedroom," Aryamann said.

"I am not a thief," I said, huffing in annoyance.

Aryamann laughed out loud.

I could see that everyone totally forgot about the story and stared at a laughing Aryamann. Everyone had tears in their eyes.

They must probably be seeing him laughing so openly for the first time.

I saw Abhi reach out and wipe the tear that ran down Darsha Maa's cheeks.

Aww! My boy!!

Darsha Maa chuckled through her tears.

Aryamann, oblivious to the emotional state of his family members, continued with the story.

"She was searching for a shirt of mine in my cupboard. She took it and ran out of my room, once she spotted me. I ran behind her. We were in a little fight when you people walked in. I took it as an opportunity to counter your plan to give away my shares to Ranbir. I introduced her as my girlfriend," Aryamann said.

"Seriously?" Naksh papa asked in disbelief.

"What I didn't anticipate is Bhumi playing it up to the core. She did such a dramatic act that I nearly had a heart attack," Aryamann said.

"Well, you were the one who introduced me as your girlfriend without my consent. You didn't expect me to not retaliate?" I asked with a scoff.

"I didn't know Bhumi Basu back then, did I?" Aryamann asked teasingly.

"Why was she there actually?" Darsha Maa asked.

"She was dared to," Aryamann said.

"What?"

"Arohi, Bani, and Bhumi were playing truth or dare. They dared Bhumi to sneak into my mansion and steal my shirt," Aryamann said, and everyone stared at me in horror.

"And you actually dared to sneak in? Of course you will. You have Adani blood in you. Wait till I say this to Dadi," Ishitha di said gleefully.

"She is the self-proclaimed dare queen. She never backs down from a dare, it seems," Aryamann said.

"Yeah. I saw it during the college party. The boys dared her to drink three cans of beer. She did it, even though she never had alcohol ever in her life before," Aditi said.

"I am sure the dare must have risen in Arohi's twisted brain," Gaurav said, and I nodded.

He gave me that 'I Know Right' look.

"Someone seems to know a great deal about Arohi," Aditi said in a sing-song voice.

"Of course. She is my best friend. I know her well." Gaurav said, making Aditi scoff.

"Come on. Is it impossible for a man and woman to remain best friends? In what era do you live, Aditi?" Gaurav asked, disapproval evident in his voice.

Aditi made a face at that.

"Because it's you. You never had a girl best friend ever. That's why I find it hard to believe that you have platonic feelings for Arohi." Aditi said.

"Well, I never found someone of my same wavelength before." Gaurav said and we all nodded, because he sounded so serious.

Maybe they are only friends.

And Arohi sounded so different the last time we talked. What's happening with her in Kasauli? Why isn't she coming back?

Soon the dessert was served. I laughed when I saw them serving gulab jamuns..

"Don't even think about it," Aryamann said in a warning note.

"Why, love? You love it when I feed you, don't you?" I asked sweetly.

"That was also a lie?" Darsha Maa asked.

"That was my little revenge on him for troubling me," I said and they all laughed.

**********

Aryamann's pov!

The tables were all cleared and we were sitting in the living room, engaged in random talks.

"Aryamann, we will be away for six months. Talk to your parents before that, okay," Bhumi said.

"I do talk to them. I have never stopped talking to them." I said.

"That I know. Have you ever told your mother that you love her?" She asked and I frowned at that question.

"See. That's what I said. You have to let go of the hurts of past Aryamann. Then only can we live happily. With nothing holding us back. Be the bigger man and forgive them for everything. They are trying hard." Bhumi said and I nodded.

When I saw my mother walking out to attend a call, I followed her. I waited until she finished talking.

"Aryamann? What happened? Why are you standing here?" My mom asked, as she spotted me.

"Uh, I." I fumbled with words, as I didn't know what to say. Over the years, the only conversations I had with my parents were over business matters. Nothing personal.

Whenever mom tried to talk about something else, I used to shut down.

Maybe, maybe if I pour out my hurts, it will feel better.

"Why couldn't you love me the way you should have?" I asked and she looked taken aback for a moment.

She then sighed.

"I have always loved you, Aryamann. You are my first born. You have always been special to me" Mom said with a sad smile

"Then why did you fail to express it?" I asked with all the hurt I had buried deep inside my heart.

"Oh darling," Mom cried and pulled me into her embrace.

"Why?" I asked again.

"I am so sorry. I do not have any excuse, son. What we did was a mistake. No. Not a mistake. A huge sin. We were busy building the empire. Your father wanted to make your dadi proud. He didn't want to let her down by ruining what your dadu built. And I wanted to be beside him. In all this, we forgot about the most important things. Our two children." Mom cried, as she hugged me tighter.

"I used to wait for you. For days. For months. When I got admitted to the hospital due to the flu, I was excited. I thought, now they will come. They will take care of me. But you never did." I complained, as tears ran down my cheeks.

Years of bottled up emotions are pouring out finally.

"I am sorry darling. I know, no amount of apology is enough to heal the wounds we gave you. But please forgive us." Mom said and I felt another pair of arms wrapping around both of us.

I looked up to see dad, with tears in his eyes, hugging us.

We remained like that for a few minutes before pulling away.

"Never forget this. We love you a lot. We made a mistake in setting our priorities once. But now we know better. And I can see that you are already a better father than I ever was." Dad said, and I chuckled.

"Am I? I am learning. But, with Bhumi beside me, I am confident that I can be a good father," I said.

"Destiny blessed us with a gem called Bhumi. If not for her, I am sure this would not have happened either." Mom said and I nodded.

"She pushed me to confront you. Until I came out here, I had no idea what I wanted to talk about." I said.

"I am glad you poured out your hurts. We can do nothing to change the past. But we have been trying to be better parents. And we will keep on trying," mom said.

"I- I love you both. Despite all the anger and hurt in my heart, I have always loved you both." I said and they both hugged me and cried.

"You were our biggest worry, Aryamann. Gaurav had you and Daksh to look after him. But you had no one. I am glad you found Bhumi. Without her, I shudder what kind of life you would have lived forever." Mom said.

"She is the magic of my life. The light in my dark life. She made it brighter." I said with a soft smile.

"Okay. My head is already touching the ceiling. If you keep on praising me, I will soon reach the seventh sky," Bhumi joked, as she walked towards us.

"When did you come?" I asked as I pulled her closer.

"It has been quite a while since you all left. I got worried and came to check. If I had known you people were busy praising me, I would have given you a little more time." Bhumi said with a playful wink.

"Thank you for making our son smile. Thank you for making him laugh. Thank you for making his life so much better. And above all, thank you for making us a family." Mom said and hugged Bhumi.

Both the ladies turned so emotional. Dad and I rolled our eyes playfully, earning a wack from them.

A/n

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SF❤️