Mumbai,

Sehgal House,

"Iti di"Kabir said and Iti stared at him with raised eyebrows.

"Kya chahiye aapko?agar papa ne mana kr diya h toh humse maangne ka try bhi mat kijiye"Iti said because it was only when he needed something that he gave her respect.

"Woh mera ek project h school ka,kal submission h uska aur meine ab tak kiya nhi h,aap please bana kr de do na, please!!!"Kabir said being extra respectful and extra cute.

"Nhi,hame kaam h,aur khud ka kaam khud krna chahiye"Iti said.

"Yaha pr kya kaam h aapko?aap toh wese bhi job bhi nhi krti ho!"Kabir said and Shiv who was talking to Iti's grandmother heard them and looked at the brother sister duo.

Kabir tried to fall on her shoulder and she tried to push him away.

He smiled seeing their antics.

Typical brother-sister duo.

"Kabir,jaakr apna kaam kijiye,hame pareshan mat kijiye aap"Iti said.

"Nhi, pehle meri help karo!! please na!!aap mujhse pyaar nhi krte kya?"Kabir said and Iti got irritated with him.

"Hame nhi krna,hame kaam h"Iti said.

"Kya kaam h?"He inquired.

"Aapse matlab?"Iti said.

"Mein sham ko aapke liye Sev puri lekr aaunga,aapki favourite stall se!"He tried to bribe her.

"Nhi chahiye"Iti said.

"Phir ice cream?Natural's ki,woh bhi aapka pura tub!"He again tried and Iti looked at him with narrowed eyes not believing him.

"Uske saath mongini's se devil's delight wali pastry bhi chahiye hame,woh bhi 2,aur aap aur Aashray uss sab mein se ek spoon bhi nhi khaa sakte h!"Iti said and Kabir happily nodded hearing that.

"Accha chaliye upar aur bataiye kya project h"Iti said as she got up and Kabir immediately followed her.

Shiv stared at the brother sister duo and then again focused on his conversation with Iti's grandparents.

It was past lunch time and Shiv had already had his lunch with Veer before coming here so tea was served to him as it was almost evening.

"Rana sa,agli flight 2 ghante mein h"His PA came and informed him about it.

"Okay,book the tickets"Shiv said and dismissed him.

"Beta,aaj yahi ruk jao na"Iti's grandmother said and Shiv was about to deny it politely but Iti's grandfather cut him.

"Wese bhi last time tum busy the isliye humne tumhe force nhi kiya tha beta pr ab toh wese bhi raat honewali h, at least stay for the night,we promise we won't bore you"Iti's grandfather added at the end and Shiv smiled hearing that and then nodded his head at that.

"Iti suniye hamari baat"Aayat said as she entered her daughter's room and found her with Kabir doing something as the two sat on the floor.

"Ji"Iti said as she looked up at her mother.

"Pratap ki favourite cheez kya h?"Aayat asked making Iti confused.

"Favourite matlab?"Iti asked and her mother sighed.

"Unhe khane mein sabse zyada kya accha lagta h?"Aayat asked and Iti shook her head in denial as she didn't know about it.

"Iti!aapko dhyan rakhna chahiye na phir ki unko kya pasand h!"Aayat scolded her and Iti pouted hearing that.

"Pr aapko kyu janna h?"Iti asked.

"Kyuki woh aaj yahi ruk rahe h,raat ko unki pasand ka kuch banane wale the hum,pr aapko toh pata hi nhi!"Aayat said in a scolding manner and Iti again pouted hearing that.

"Toh unse hi puch lijiye na aap"Iti said and Aayat shook her head and left the room.

Iti again went back to making Kabir's school project.

The door of the bedroom opened again and Iti again thought it was her mother so without looking up she started speaking.

"Hame nhi pata unhe kya pasand h,bana dijiye kuch bhi acha sa,woh wese bhi sab kuch khaa lete h mumma"Iti said but then heard a throat clearing sound and looked up immediately and found him.

She stared at her side but didn't find Kabir.

When did he leave?

She again stared at her husband who was looking at her only but then again looked down and continued making the project.

Shiv too didn't say anything and went towards the bathroom to freshen up,he came back and wiped his face with the towel which was kept in the bathroom and sat on the bed.

Iti still didn't say anything neither did he say anything.

The door was knocked and Iti asked whoever was to come in,a house help entered.

"Iti beta,woh sir ke guards ne sir ke liye yeh bheja h"The househelp said giving the thing to Iti.

Iti passed it to Shiv who took it because it had clothes for him as he hadn't brought any clothes with him.

He again went and changed into something comfortable and came back and his phone rang.

"Ji Nanisa Hukum,ji unhe time se drop kr diya tha....ji aaj yahi ruk rahe h....ji kal subah aa jayenge.....ji thik h,aap waqt se dawai le lijiyega apni aur Mahal jaldi chale jayega Gauravi akeli hongi wrna, ji thik h hum rakhte h"Shiv spoke to his Nanisa Hukum and then hung up the call.

The silence in the room was thick but neither one of them was ready to break it.

Both found the other one to be at fault.

Shiv wouldn't have behaved in this childish way if Iti would have atleast talked to him when he had tried to talk to her in the car,but if she wanted to ignore him he was going to do the same.

The two were then called for dinner and they both went downstairs and settled on the dining table with the whole family.

As usual meals at Sehgal House were filled with conversations and delicious food.

Shiv having never sat like this with a huge family did felt a bit different.It was a huge family and everyone stayed under the same roof.

In Udaipur,it was quiet because they were very less in number and everyone preferred to talk less while eating,it was only Veer who liked to chat while eating and they all would just listen to him always.

The family did talked to Shiv too but let him have his meal in silence too as they observed he wasn't that talkative while eating.

Iti's bedroom,

Iti was settled on her bed reading yet another one of her book,Shiv was in the balcony attending a phone call.

The door of the balcony opened and Shiv entered inside and sat on the other side of the bed as Iti sat beside the window side as her bed was wall touching and had a huge window on it's side because Iti had wanted that in her bedroom.

Iti's eyes were focused on the book while Shiv was typing something on his phone.

The two had still not decided to talk and were kind of ignoring eachother as if they weren't present.

Suddenly a lightning thing happened but no sound came and as the window was open both of them saw it.

"Abhi toh mausam thik tha"Shiv commented and Iti nodded at that.

And soon it started raining.

Iti immediately opened the window and sat on her knees staring out of the window.This was the reason she had a window beside her bed,so that she could gaze out of the room as she read a book and enjoyed the view.

She loved rains,the only thing she hated about them was the loud and scary thunders it carried along with it,those things have been petrifying her since she was a baby.

"Dekhiye kitni tez baarish ho rahi h!!!mitthi ki kitni acchi khushboo bhi aa rahi h Shiv"Iti said excitedly as she opened the grill of the window and put her hand out to feel the pouring water and the cool breeze it brought along with it.

Shiv stared at her with a small smile.

It took her just seconds to forget that she was supposed to be angry with him.

"Acha ab aap humse baat kr rahi h?"He said and Iti then turned her head towards him but a loud thundering happened which made Iti scream in fear.

She immediately crawled her way towards Shiv and pushed herself into his body,hugging him tightly.

"Shhh,kuch nhi h Iti,sirf badal hi h"Shiv said as he was quick to take her in his arms.

Half her body was falling on his,as she tightly wrapped her arms around his neck,hiding her face in the crook of his neck.

She wanted someone to hold her tightly so that she feels safe whenever she hears these loud thundering sounds.

Shiv could feel wetness in the crook of his neck,she was crying as the thundering didn't stop,her hold tightening around him,she wanted to hide in his body.

"Ha..ha..hame....dar..darr...la..lag...ra..raha..h"Iti managed to stutter in between her crying as Shiv caressed her back.

"Kuch nhi h Iti,hum h aapke saath,kuch nhi honewala h aapko"Shiv said as his right hand wrapped around her waist and pulled her even closer, resulting in her falling on his lap,her legs on either side of his waist, straddling him,as she moved closer and hugged him tightly.Their upper body glued together as she clutched his shirt collar tightly, burying her face in his neck.

She was shivering out of fear and Shiv could feel it as he held her.

"Shhh...bas kuch nhi h,rona band kijiye,hum h aapke saath Iti"Shiv said as he let her be the way she wanted and just wrapped his arms around her so that she feels safe.

"Iti,sirf badal h yeh toh,isse kuch nhi honewala h"Shiv talked in the gentlest,softest tone as if talking to a baby.

"Ha..ha..hame...ch..cho.. chodiye ga.....ma..mat"Iti said as her hold on him became stronger.

"Nhi chod rahe h aapko hum,yahi h aapke paas"He said as he caressed her back with his left hand while his right one was wrapped around her waist pulling her even more closer.

"Hum abhi khidki band kr dete h, phir yeh aawazein aapko pareshan nhi karengi"Shiv whispered to her as he tried to break the hug so that he could close the windows but Iti didn't wanted that.

She didn't wanted to get out of his warm and safe embrace.She was too afraid to leave it.

"D..do....don't..lea..leave..me..pl...ple....please"She requested as more tears poured down her eyes.

"Never,I am never going to leave you Iti"Shiv said as he hugged her again,planting a kiss on the side of her head.

Hriday and Aayat who had literally ran towards their daughter's room when they heard the thunder stopped at the door as they saw Iti hugging her husband tightly,as he whispered sweet nothings in her ear to calm her down.

"Shh,bas,bas,yeh bandh ho jaiyega abhi,aap dariye mat,hum h aapke saath"Shiv said as he gently caressed her back and spoke to her so that she gets distracted.

The two sighed in relief seeing that Iti was fine.They didn't disturbed them at all and softly closed the door as they left.

Iti kept shedding tears as she shivered as each thundering sound entered the room.

Shiv kept holding her and decided to talk to her so that she doesn't pays much attention to the thunders and gets distracted from it.

"Pata h aapki tarah hame bhi bht darr lagta tha ek cheez se"Shiv started speaking then and Iti stared up at his face,still not moving her face away from his neck.

Shiv too stared at her face,their lips just inches apart,his warm breath fell on her face with the closeness.

But this closeness was affecting her for now,she wanted it,she felt safe being this close to him.

He raised his palm and gently wiped her tears eyes with his thumb.

"Hum bht kamzor the padhai mein,bht hi zyada,fail ho jaatein the hamesha"Shiv continued speaking as he moved his face a lil back but kept staring at her face,his arms still around her.

"Phir hamare papa,dadisa,Nanosa Hukum,Nanisa Hukum sab bht gussa ho jaatein the hamesha"Shiv said and she kept looking at him and he knew she was hearing him.

"Sirf hamari mumma hi hamara saath deti thi,hame samajhti thi"He continued speaking as his left hand kept caressing her back.

"Papa aur Nanisa Hukum hame bht saare tutors ke paas lekr gaye,pr hum phir bhi acche marks nhi laa paate the,hame bht daant padti thi sabse,school mein saare bacche hamara mazak udate the kyuki hum ek prince the aur hum fail ho jaatein the,hamare saare dost acche marks laate the,pr hamare liye toh paas hona bhi mushkil hota tha"Shiv said and Iti's eyes never left his face.

"Jab hum 10 saal ke the na,tab pehli baar godhe pr bethe the,hamara 10th birthday tha woh aur hamare Nanosa Hukum ne hame ek godha gift kiya tha,phir humne horse riding seekhi,phir Nanosa Hukum ko polo khelta dekh humne bhi seekhna shuru kiya,hame padhai se zyada khel-khud accha lagne laga,iss wajah se hamare marks aur kam hote gaye"Shiv said and stopped speaking and stared at his wife.

"Phir"Iti asked and Shiv smiled at her.

"Phir hamari mumma ne socha ki woh dekhe ki hame kya problem ho rahi h,unhone experts ko bulaya,humse baat krwai unki, doctor's ke paas bhi gaye the hum,phir pata chala ki hum dyslexic h"Shiv said and Iti's expressions changed hearing that.

"Isliye padhne likhne mein dikkat hoti thi hame"Shiv said and she felt bad for him.

"Phir hamari mumma ne hamare liye ek acha tutor hire kiya jo ki dyslexic baccho se deal krna jaante the....unn tutor ki madad se hum dheere dheere iss cheez ko overcome kr paaye,thoda acche marks laane lag gaye,pr padhai mein hame phir bhi interest nhi tha,hame polo bht pasand tha,usse apna career banana chahte the,pr phir Nanosa Hukum ki death ho gayi aur hum Raja ban gaye"Shiv said with a sad smile.

"Phir?"Iti asked again.

"Phir humne padhai puri ki aur family business join kr liya aur aaj hum yaha h"Shiv said.

Itit felt bad for him,he didn't get to do what he truly wanted.He had to compromise on his wishes and become mature to take up the responsibilities.

"Aapko business nhi krna tha?"Iti asked.

"Hum nhi krte toh kaun krta?"Shiv asked instead and Iti didn't had any answer to that.

Veer and Gauravi must be too young at that time and as Shiv was the eldest people expected him to take control of everything,which he did but at the cost of crushing his own dreams.

"Pr dekhiye,jaha hum ek panna nhi padh sakte hamari biwi puri puri kitabe padh leti h"Shiv said changing the topic and Iti smiled hearing that.

"Isliye aapko reading nhi pasand?"Iti asked and Shiv nodded his head at that.

She too understood it now,he was taunted and bullied for that very thing in his school days offcourse he was bound to hate it.

Iti on the other hand was the opposite, reading and studying were her safe heavens.

"Hame padhai krne ki wajah se bacche bully krte the school aur college mein"Iti said with a sad smile.

"Isliye hamare koi dost nhi hote the,na ab h,toh kitabon se hi dosti kr li humne"Iti said and Shiv stared at her face.

He never knew two people could be bullied for knowing and not knowing the same thing.

He was bad at studies so he suffered but she was excellent at it still she suffered.

"Galti aapki aur hamari nhi h,unn logo ki h jo hum jese logo ko samajh hi nhi paaye"He said as he raised his legs up on the bed resting his back against the headboard.

Iti nodded her head at that as she slipped a lil and her head now rested on his chest,her whole body was lying over his yet she didn't moved even a lil,his embrace was all she needed now.

"Isliye aapko chote mote kaam krne nhi aate,jese shoe lace bandhna,blouse ki strings bandhna?"Iti sort of asked.

"Ji,humne try kiya tha pr kabhi seekh hi nhi paaye"Shiv said as his fingers unconsciously roamed on her back creating random patterns over it.

"Isiliye toh kabhi kitabe padhne ka shauk nhi tha hame aapki tarah"Shiv said.

"Kitabe padhna pehele logo se bachne ke liye tha,phir jab koi baat krne ke liye tha nhi toh kitabe padhna shauk ban gaya"Iti said and Shiv heard her.

She was for the first time sharing something about her willingly.

"Pr aapke paas itni wonderful family h,hum h"Shiv whispered the last part.

"Sabne hamara bht saath diya,koi hame nazar andaaz nhi krta yaha Shiv....pr hrr waqt sab hamare saath nhi ho sakte na?kabhi hum akele bhi toh ho sakte h na?toh hamari books hamare akelepan ka saathi h"Iti said with a smile and Shiv smiled hearing that.

"Aap humse baat kr sakti h,hamare saath aapko akelapan mehsoos krne ki zarurat nhi h"Shiv said but Iti didn

't said anything to that.

A silence followed then.

But this time it was a comfortable one.

Shiv's fingers kept drawing random patterns on her back,his touches,his warmth and the steady beating of his heart managed to lull Iti into a peaceful slumber.