Iti couldn't fall asleep,no matter what she did.She had gotten too used to cuddling him in her sleep.She tried to hug the pillow and sleep but it didn't have the same feel as cuddling him.

He must be sleeping comfortably,why would he not be able to sleep?

It was her who had the habit of cuddling him.

Even during dinner he wasn't affected,he was eating without any care while she was the one who was too angry to even eat anything.

He is too rigid and thinks he is always right.

He should have come to her and calmly talked to her but instead he literally barged in and  demanded answers from her which she didn't like.

On top of that he called her stupid, immature and even a brat!

Even now he called her a notorious and stubborn child!

He wasn't much older either!

She took a deep breath and sighed.

Sleep was far away.

She should read something instead,maybe after getting tired of reading she would fall asleep.

With that thought she switched on the bedside lamp and took her phone and opened a reading app she had installed in it to read some short stories and random fictional stories.

As she read about the fictional man in the story her eyes went to Shiv who was peacefully sleeping beside her.

What all things men in love do for their beloved!

And here her husband was fighting and criticising her instead of scolding his security head.

But then he didn't love her.

There wasn't a romantic relationship between them,they were just husband and wife.

Were they even friends?

Iti sighed.She doesn't have the answers to these questions.

Surely,they both don't have feelings for each other but Iti has a soft corner for him.

And why not?

He was the first man she has ever shared her personal space with.

She was too shy to ever be in a relationship even though she is a hopeless romantic.

Reading all those romantic and erotic novels did have its effect on her.

She was too shy to ever approach a guy or even like a guy in general but she dreamed of being in love with someone.

Truly,deeply and madly.

Just like the female lead is in the stories she reads.

She too wants to be pampered,loved and cared for like the fictional men do to their beloved.

Basically she has always wished to get a man like the one in the stories.

But then fictional men don't exist, that's why they are 'fictional'.

She couldn't help but think about her and Shiv.

They had a marriage of convenience in a way.

But what were they?

Nothing has progressed in their relationship except for the fact that Iti now speaks to him without much hesitation.

She still doesn't knows a lot of things about him and the same goes for him.

They don't even spend much time together,if they do they talk about other things and not about themselves.

This is not how she had ever imagined her married life to be.She had always imagined that she would marry the person she loves even though she had a poor love life with no boyfriends ever except for the crushes she had on the numerous fictional men she had read about in her books.

Okay,she accepted this sudden marriage also but how was she supposed to move ahead in this relationship with him?

They were two different individuals,with two different ideologies and two different upbringing.

She was inexperienced in the matter of love but maybe the same can't be said about him.

He.....loved Aradhya before he met her.

Did he still loved her?

Did they really had a serious relationship?

Were they really going to get married to eachother?

Had she really come in between two lovers?

She couldn't help but remember that Aradhya had told her that Shiv talks to her about Iti.

Aradhya even gets to call him Pratap while Iti had to stick with addressing him as Shiv!

Why can't Iti call him Pratap?

Even Iti's family calls Shiv as Pratap.

He has not even for once asked Iti to address him as Pratap.

Didn't he even consider her a closed one, forget being a loved one.

She was his wife,he should give her some privilege.

Iti sighed.

All these thoughts would give her a headache.

She felt hungry too.

She hadn't had her dinner and was starving now because of overthinking.

She got up from the bed and moved out of the bedroom.She went into the kitchen and opened the fridge,a lot of things were there for her to eat but Iti ignored everything and settled on a tub of chocolate ice cream for now.

This is the only thing that can make her feel better and help her come out of her depressing thoughts.

She sat in the kitchen chair and kept the chocolate ice cream on the counter and started eating it.

She was unnecessarily comparing Shiv with those fictional men.

They don't exist and Shiv can't be like them ever.

Also it was unfair of her to wish him to behave in a certain way,he was an individual with his own thoughts and views.

She was happy in the world of her books.She doesn't need anyone.

She had spent 23 years of her life without anyone,in her solitude,she can spend the rest of her time too!

Why was she even having such thoughts in the first place?

She never thought about such things,she always just imagined things,that was her best timepass.

"Itni thand mein ice cream kyu khaa rahi h aap Iti?bimar pad jayengi"Nanisa Hukum's voice travelled her ears and Iti immediately kept the spoon back into the tub and turned towards her in fear.

She was definitely going to get scolded now.

"Wo...woh..woh hame neend nhi aa rahi thi Nanisa Hukum"Iti said and looked down at the floor.

"Woh toh hame pata chal gaya pr agar aapko kuch khana h toh kuch aur khaiye,ice cream mat khaiye,mausam bht thanda h sardi lag jayegi aapko"Nanisa Hukum said and Iti nodded her head at that.

Nanisa Hukum further walked towards her and Iti waited in anticipation of what she would say further.

But she didn't say anything to her instead went and poured milk in a pan and kept it on the gas to heat it.

Iti stood beside her watching her curiously as to what she was doing.

"Hum garam kr dete h"Iti said but Nanisa Hukum shook her head in denial at that.

She added a lil cardamom powder and some crushed almond and cashews in it along with some pistachios.

"Jab Veer,Gauravi aur Pratap ko bhi neend nhi aati thi bachpan mein tab hum yeh banate the unke liye,garm doodh peene se achi neend aati h"Nanisa Hukum said as she poured it in a glass and gave it to Iti who made a face seeing it.

"Aap doodh peena pasand nhi krti"Nanisa Hukum stated but Iti shook her head immediately and took the glass from her though her expressions gave her act away.

Iti took a sip and widened her eyes in surprise,it tasted delicious,even better than bournvita and milk which she preferred.

"Bht accha h"Iti said and Nanisa Hukum smiled at her antics.

For some unknown reason Ranima Padmini Devi has from the first glimpse of Iti,found her an innocent girl.So there was a soft corner in her heart for her from the start.

It turned into affection and adoration with time as she observed the young girl.

She wasn't like any of her grandchildren and so that made her different.

She was that quiet,obedient kid they never had in the palace,Shiv,Gauravi and Veer were notorious,bold and stubborn as kids.

"Acha ab bataiye aapko neend kyu nhi aa rahi thi?"Nanisa Hukum asked and Iti had no answer to it.

She can't say to her that she had fought with her grandson!

"Hum bas ek kitab padh rahe the toh bas uske baare mein hi soch rahe the"Iti said the first thing that came into her mind.

Nanisa Hukum though wasn't satisfied with her answer,didn't push her further.

"Aapka yaha mann toh lag raha h na?"She asked and Iti just nodded her head at that.

"Saara din aapko mahal ke ander rehne ki zarurat nhi h beta,Udaipur bht sundar seher h aap bahar jaakr ghumiye,logo se miliye thoda,aapko accha lagega"Nanisa Hukum adviced her and Iti nodded her head at that again.

"Ab yeh doodh khatam kijiye aur jaakr so jaiye bht derr ho chuki h"Nanisa Hukum said as she patted Iti's head and left.

Iti smiled at her retreating figure.

Nanisa Hukum was nice.Though from outside she looked a tough person,she was all comfort and warmth from the inside.

Iti quickly finished the milk and went to sleep.

Surprisingly,after drinking the milk Iti could easily fall asleep without her stupid thoughts keeping her awake.

Next day,

"Iti kuch khoyi khoyi lagi hame kal"Nanisa Hukum stated to Shiv who was sipping his morning tea with her in the garden.

The breakfast table was being set so the two were enjoying early tea in the garden.

"Aapki koi behes hui h unse?"Nanisa Hukum asked and Shiv nodded then because if he lied his Nanisa Hukum would know.

"Kya krte h aap Pratap?abhi abhi toh woh aayi h yaha aur aapne behes krni bhi shuru kr di unke saath?"Nanisa Hukum chided him and he sighed.

"Bacchon jesi harktein h unki Nanisa Hukum,hum kya kare phir?aur behes nhi ki thi unse,unhe bas samjha rahe the pr woh h ki sunne ko taiyaar hi nhi h"Shiv said and Nanisa Hukum asked him to elaborate.

He told her about Iti's complaint regarding the security and the food. He skipped the part where she had travelled in an auto because Nanisa Hukum might scold her for it and he didn't want that because he had already scolded Iti for that.

"Ha toh kabhi kabhi bahar nikalti h woh,ab unhe usmein dikkat aa rahi h security se toh dekhiye aap ki kya dikkat h unhe"Nanisa Hukum said siding with Iti.

"Gauravi ne aaj tak kabhi aisi koi shikayat nhi ki h,na Aradhaya ko humne kabhi iss baare mein shikayat krte suna h,unhe pata nhi kya problem h"Shiv said with a sigh.

"Gauravi aur Aradhya dono issi mahol mein badi hui h,woh bhala kyu shikayat karengi?Pr Iti toh alag mahol mein pali badi h na?unhe dikkat toh hogi adjust hone mein"Nanisa Hukum said siding with her daughter in law in this matter.

"Ab aap unki taraf daari kr rahi h"Shiv stated.

"Haa kyuki aap Gauravi aur Iti ko compare kr rahe h,dono alag insaan h Pratap,dono ka nature alag h"Nanisa Hukum said and Shiv agreed with it.

"Pr phir bhi Nanisa Hukum,bht bachpana h unmein"Shiv said.

"Ha toh hoga,abhi umar bhi toh kam hi h na?aur unhe dekhkr lagta nhi aapko kitne nazzon se pala gaya h unhe?bhale princess na ho janam se pr princess treatment mila zarur h unhe"Nanisa Hukum said and Shiv agreed with that too.

"Pr hum unhe sirf samjha rahe the,woh h ki baat sunne ko taiyaar hi nhi h"Shiv said.

"Toh pyaar se baat kijiye,phir maan hi jayengi,behes karenge toh woh bhi toh behes karengi na?"Nanisa Hukum said and Shiv sighed.

She wasn't going to take his side.

"Aap hamari side nhi lengi na?"He asked and she smiled hearing that.

"Unke maamle mein nhi,woh itni shant aur sharmili h,unse bhi jhagda kr rahe h aap!"Nanisa Hukum said and he rolled his eyes at that.

Shy and quiet!

"Hamare saath jhagadti h woh isliye jhagadte h unse hum,hamare saamne chup toh nhi hoti woh,baaki sabke saamne chup rehti h"Shiv said and Nanisa Hukum chuckled hearing that.

"Ha toh aap mein aur baakiyon mein farak bhi toh h na?aap pati h unke aapko saamne kyu chup rahengi woh bhala?"Nanisa Hukum said and he nodded at that.

"Ab aap bhi yeh bacchon wali harktein chodiye aur baat kijiye unse thik se!aur jo matter h usse solve kijiye"Nanisa Hukum said and he again nodded at that.

"Aur unhe thoda bahar lekr jaiye,kam se kam Udaipur mein hi ghumaiye unhe,saara din Mahal ke ander hi rehti h woh"Nanisa Hukum said and Shiv nodded

at that too.

"Pratap,abhi abhi aap dono ka rishta shuru hua h,waqt dijiye unhe aur isse majboot banaiye,baatein kijiye unse,jaanne ki koshish kijiye ek dusre ko,yeh waqt dubara nhi aayega"Nanisa Hukum said and he again nodded at that.