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It's 5am in the morning, the sun is rising from the horizon. The birds are chirping, sitting on the trees. The sunrays peeking in the balcony of Veeraksh's bedroom. Veeranshu is in a sitting position on the bed, his head resting on the bed's backrest. Akshu's is laying and head is on his lap, after a long stressful days, she is sleeping. Veer is caressing her hairs with utmost care, as if she is porcelain doll and will break if he puts much pressure.

Akshu slowly opened her eyes, the first thing she witnessed early morning is her husband's tired face. She noticed how his eyes were looking pale and had dark circles beneath it , hairs disheveled. Akshu got up and sat straight, she slowly removed veer's hand and made him sleep properly. Veer's eyes fluttered opened instantly and he tried to get up, but Akshu didn't let him. She covered him with a blanket and sat near him. She started moving her fingers in a circular motion in his hairs, making him relax. In no time, Veer went into a deep slumber. Akshu smiled and kissed his cheeks, "Thankyou Veeransh."

She got up and went in the bathroom. She took a relaxing bath and came out wearing a simple baby pink suit. She wore her usual simple jewellery along with the gifted bracelet. Akshu, applied the vermillion in her hair partition and smiled seeing it filled after a long time. She went downstairs, and saw the mansion is not yet waken up. She went towards her fav place, her kanhaji's temple.

She did the morning Aarti in her melodious voice, which drew every family member towards the temple. After finishing the Aarti, akshu turned around and saw everyone joining hands and praying to the god. She was offering Prasad one by one, and at the end while giving the last prasad, "Jai shri Krishna", hearing this Akshu looked up and was shocked to see her husband well dressed and standing inside the temple. Tears of happiness welled up in her eyes, only she knows how much she wanted to pray along with veer, but he didn't believed in god. That's why she never forced him to do anything.

"Little Birdie, why are you crying?? Are you in pain?", veer asked being concerned but Akshu stopped him and said wiping her tears, "Jai shri Krishna and I'm okay." Veer took the thali from Akshu and placed it inside the temple and giving a last glance at Kanhaji and thanking him for everything, Veer took her towards the dinning area.

"Sweetheart, what you want to eat??", Veer inquired Akshu, while pulling out a chair for her. "Veeransh....what are you saying? Let me make something for everyone.", Akshu insisted on getting up, but veer didn't let her do that. Akshara tried to reason with the family members, but she now noticed that all the male members of the family are not present at the dinning table. All the women were making teasing and aww faces, seeing the couple. Pakhi was simply capturing their moments in her phone's camera.

"Sweetheart, say na?", veer whined and Akshu sighed and said, "Umm...Chole Bhature?" Veer smiled widen, "Yess...I have already prepared the doe." Veer made a winning face and went inside the kitchen while the women at the table, started talking.

Inside the Kitchen:

"Bhaiyya...why is this cooker not whistling. I have seen how it whistles, when maa boils or cooks something in it.", Riansh asked while inspecting the cooker which was filled with Chole for boiling.

Veer also saw and slapped the back of Ansh's head, saying, "Abeyy....Gas toh on kar bewakoof!!" [First switch on the gas stove idiot.]

"Ohh...haa. Kya bhaiyya aap bhi mujhe distract kardete ho.", Ansh said clearly hiding behind the kitchen counter. [What bhaiyya you distract me so much.]

"Idiot.", Veer mumbled and went back to make the bhaturas. Veer was not an expert in this, so he opened his mobile phone and asked, "Alexa, how do you make Bhatura?"

Alexa's voice echoed in the kitchen, "For whom are you making this, Sir?"

Veer rolled his eyes. "It's for my wife."

"Oh, trying to impress her, huh?" Alexa replied. "Is this your first time cooking?"

"Just tell me the recipe, Alexa," Veer said, feeling his patience wearing thin.

"Alright, but first things first. Do you know where the kitchen is?"

"Yes, Alexa, I'm in it right now!"

"Good start! Now, step one: Mix flour, yogurt, and a pinch of salt. By the way, do you know how to mix, or do you need a tutorial for that too?"

Veer rolled his eyes. "I know how to mix. What's next?"

"Excellent! Knead the dough until it's smooth and elastic. Think of it as stress relief."

Veer rolled his eyes but continued kneading. "Done. Now what?"

"Let the dough rest. And while you wait, how about impressing your wife with a song? You know, multitasking."

Veer shook his head, exasperated. "Alexa, I need cooking tips, not marriage advice!"

"Hey, happy wife, happy life, right? Anyway, after the dough rests, roll it into small balls and flatten them. Then, deep fry until golden brown. And remember, don't burn the house down."

"Great, thanks. Anything else?"

Veer carefully fried the Bhatura, managing not to burn anything. "All done. Thanks, Alexa."

"Bravo! You did it. And you didn't even set off the smoke alarm. Progress!"

Veer chuckled. "Thanks for the help, Alexa."

"Anytime, Veer. And remember, when your wife asks, you did it all by yourself. No need to mention your electronic sous-chef. Also, next time try not to make the kitchen look like a war zone."

Meanwhile, the rest of the men in the house were bustling around the kitchen, each trying to "help" in their own way.

Veer's dad was squinting at a YouTube video on his phone, trying to figure out how to properly chop onions. "Arre, why does this guy chop so fast? Slow down, bhai! I only have ten fingers," he muttered to himself.

Chachaji was at the sink, struggling to peel garlic. He kept dropping the cloves, and every time one slipped away, he'd grumble, "Yeh bawarchi log kaise itna asaani se karlete hain? This is tougher than my daily morning walk!"

[How does these cooks do so easily.]

Hriday was at the sink, doing the dishes and grimacing. "Mummy...isme se kitni gandi badbu aa rahi hai," he complained while scrubbing a particularly grimy pot. "This smells worse than Riansh Bhaiya's socks after a cricket match!"

[Mummy...this smells so bad.]

Hriday recieved a flying sock in return from Ansh, who was glaring at him, standing at the kitchen counter. "Chee...Bhaiyya aap kitne gande ho.", Hriday cried still struggling to remove the sock from his head.

[Eww...Brother you're so dirty.]

The kitchen help, clearly amused, tried to maintain his patience. "Yes, sir, just keep scrubbing. The smell will go away... eventually."

Hriday wrinkled his nose and scrubbed harder. "This pot is more important then my head..huhh. Just remove the sock now and this stupid pot has a personal problem against me."

The ladies watch these scene unfold in front of them. They all laughed gaining the attention of the men. "Papa, garlic peel krdiya aapne?", pakhi gave a cheeky smile to her father, who groaned in annoyance. [Dad, did you peeled the garlic?]

"Dekha tum sab ne, humari bahuye kitna kaam krti hai.", Dadiji said and all the men agreed nodding their heads. After succesfully making the breakfast, Veer served Akshu.

[Did you see, how the daughter in laws of the house works.]

Akshu without any hesitation ate the Chole bhature, and the flavors that filled her mouth. She smiled and said, "This is so tasty Veer. Thankyou." Veer like a perfect husband asked, "Akshu shall I serve you more??" Akshu denied having enough of it.

Veer fed her the medicines and took her to their room. When Veer was going, Akshu held his hand and pulled him close. This time she moved closer to him, their breaths mingling with each other. In an instant their lips touched. Akshu was not an expert in this, but still she tried and veer gave her the lead in the kiss. After a few seconds of the sweet kiss, Akshu deteached herself and confessed while joining their foreheads, "I have never felt this way before, the way you love and respect me. I was afraid that after getting abducted, you wouldn't accept me, but you proved me wrong. Now, I don't care about anything as long as you're by my side. You know, the most amazing thing is that every time I stare into your hazel brown eyes, I see the best version of myself in them, Veeransh."

"Akshu..", veer whispered and stared in her beautiful stormy grey eyes, while placing her hand on his heart, he confessed too, "This heart beats only for you. If anything had happened to you that day, it would have stopped instantly. Veeransh exists solely for his Akshu. You've made me a better person, and everything I do is to see you smile. Whether it's cooking your favorite dish or dancing to a silly song, it's all for you, my love."

Their moment was interrupted, when they heard a knock on their door. Veer got up and opened the door. In a swift motion, he was pushed aside by Shyra, as she ran for her bestie. Akshu laughed seeing Veer's face.

"Angel, how are you??" Shyra asked, hugging Akshu tightly, like her life depended on it.

"Bubbly, relax. I can't breathe..." Akshu gasped.

Hearing this, Veer ran towards the duo and pulled Shyra away from Akshu. "Baby, you okay?" Veer asked, glaring at Shyra.

Akshu nodded, catching her breath. "I'm fine, Veer. Just a bit overwhelmed by Shyra's enthusiasm."

Shyra pouted, looking at Veer. "I was just excited to see my bestie!"

Veer sighed, shaking his head. "Alright, just don't suffocate her with your love next time."

Shyra was unfazed by Veer's interference. She gently pushed him away once more and took Akshu's hand, tying a dhaga (a holy thread) around her wrist.

"I took this from the temple for you," Shyra said softly. "It will keep you away from all the negative energies. Akshu, I was so worried about you."

"But Shyru, you were in Jaipur right??", Akshu inquired because Shyra is not there in Punjab. "Yeah, I reached here this morning. Anshu was there to pick me. ", Shyra said and took Akshu's hand and led her outside of her room.

"Shyra hum kaha jaa rhe hai?", Akshu inquired but shyra didn't answer and walked her till the middle of the drawing room. "WELCOME BACK", everyone shouted making Akshu suprised. After coming from the little surprise, Akshu saw the decor of the hall and a cake.

"Now, let's cut the cake. I want to eat, it looks so tempting.", Shyra said licking her lips excitedly.

Akshu went over the table, and she saw veer standing away. She pulled him along with her and said, "Let's do it together? hmm.." Veer's smile widen and both of them cut the cake and fed everyone a small bite.

"Thankyou so much everyone.", Akshu thanked being overwhelmed and everyone gave her a hug in return.

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As everyone was proceeding to their rooms, Riansh's voice rang out, diverting everyone's attention. "Bhaiyya, let's go for a picnic tomorrow, like to a resort," he announced with a broad smile, his excitement palpable.

Veer, catching the enthusiasm in Riansh's tone, immediately agreed. "Okay!!" he exclaimed, the corners of his mouth lifting into a grin. He then took Akshu's hand, leading her away with a sense of eagerness for the upcoming day.

Shyra's eyes lit up at the suggestion. "A picnic sounds amazing!" she said, practically bouncing on her toes. "We haven't had a day out like that in ages."

Riansh nodded vigorously, his excitement matching Shyra's. "Exactly! It'll be so much fun to relax and spend time together outside."

Shyra clasped her hands together, her mind already buzzing with plans. "We should pack some games and maybe even a few snacks. Oh, this is going to be great!"

Riansh chuckled, appreciating Shyra's enthusiasm. "I can't wait. It'll be the perfect break for all of us."

As the group dispersed to their rooms, the air was filled with a renewed sense of anticipation and joy, the promise of a delightful picnic bringing smiles to everyone's faces.

So, finally the author is back with another beautiful chapter of FYT. This book will soon going to end. 😭😭

Keep loving me and this book guys, this book is elected for Watty 2024 awards. Please vote and comment.

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Love Authorshyra.❤️