⚠️ Very long chapter ahead ⚠️

1 year later

"These mangoes are so sweet," I said and took one more from the basket. "Our tree has the best mangoes in the universe."

Tejas grabbed my wrist. "Hamster, that's enough. You said you will stop after the last one."

I shot him my puppy eyes. "Just one more, please. You yourself said last night that I could eat anything."

He narrowed his gaze. "That's because you vomitted after eating three plates of momos. Even Rehman was shocked. And this is your thirteenth mango; you will not be able to leave the washroom if you continue like this."

I imagined what he said and put the mango down. He hid the basket from my sight and poked my stomach.

"You feeling good now?" he asked me, nodding as he didn't feel or hear any growling in my stomach.

"I got better in the morning only," I replied. "Now I am hungry. Let's have lunch."

He stared at me in silence for a few minutes before he grabbed the picnic basket and took out our lunchboxes. We were having a small picnic in our home's backyard, enjoying the cool shade of our mango tree.

The moment Tejas opened the tiffin's lid, I rolled two rotis and gobbled them down.

He shot me a hurtful look, and I cursed myself.

"Sorry, I couldn't control myself," I apologized.

I got so blinded by my hunger that I sabotaged our ritual of Tejas feeding me the first morsel.

"Are you really okay?" he asked me seriously. "You have been acting like you were starved since last week. Should I ask Dad to check you?"

I shook my head. "No. We had a health checkup last month, remember? It is because I threw up everything last night."

He wasn't convinced. "Hamster, don't lie. You wake up in the middle of the night to finish your choreographies, and if I hadn't asked the producers myself, you wouldn't have even taken this break. You have become an extreme workaholic."

I pointed at him in accusation. "Should you be the one talking, Mr. Devil?"

He put a strawberry in my mouth. "You are outshining me, Mrs. Devil."

"Kids, do you need anything else?" his mother yelled from the window of her room.

Tejas waved his hand at her. "No, Maa, we are good."

I shot her a signal. "I want to eat dal bhaat (dal rice)."

Tejas noticed that and scolded me. "I have already brought it, so why are you asking Maa? Are you using your code language again to order fast food?"

Mom-in-law closed her window when Tejas glanced at her in suspicion. I took that chance and stole a mango and dropped it inside my tshirt through the backside.

"Tejas, I am sleepy now," I lied and inched closer to him.

He moved away. "You have become a skillful liar. You don't listen to me at all now."

I kept shifting towards him and grabbed his knee with my left hand.

"You haven't eaten anything," I said. "I will feed you."

I took a morsel, but he turned his head away. I tried to feed him, but he didn't even look at me. So, I climbed into his lap and held his chin with my left hand. The tips of his ears started transforming into rose buds.

"You are blushing," I teased him.

And just when he turned his head towards me to argue, I kissed him. When he still acted like he was mad, I kissed again, his lips curving upwards.

"Will you please eat now?" I asked him.

He nodded, but when I moved the morsel towards him, he turned my wirst around and put the morsel in my mouth. I smiled at him.

"Happy now?" I asked.

He caressed my cheek and snaked his left arm around my waist, pulling me closer. Even after eating so many mangoes, I was still hungry. Tejas and I fed each other, and when we finished our lunch, he shook my t-shirt, making the stolen mango drop.

I looked at him in horror. "Shlok was right. You really have eyes on the back of your head."

"And you have now become a thief also," Tejas replied and grabbed me.

I giggled when he swung me around and placed me on his shoulder. With one hand, he grabbed the picnic basket, and with other, he held me in place as I tried to make him off-balance.

I stopped when he started moving inside the house as I didn't want him to fall because of me. He kept the picnic basket in the kitchen, and I thought he would drop me on my feet now, but he didn't. Instead, he shifted me, and I clung onto his back like a baby monkey.

"Piggyback ride!" I squealed in joy.

He laughed at my excitement, and I pecked his neck. I rested my head on his shoulder as he climbed the stairs. I was lying earlier about feeling drowsy, but due to Tejas's warmth, that lie morphed into a truth, and I fell asleep within seconds.

When I woke up, Tejas was getting ready to leave for work. Somehow, seeing him getting ready felt like someone was stabbing my heart. I jumped up from the bed and hugged him from behind.

"You surprised me," he said.

"Where are you going in the night? Aren't we on a leave?" I asked him and increased my grip.

"Night?" he asked in confusion. "It is 8 am in the morning."

For a few minutes, I couldn't process what he had said, but when I saw the bright sunlight showering on us, my face paled.

"It is not possible," I said and checked the wall clock.

Tejas pulled me in front of him. I was going to ask him if I was hallucinating or not, but when his soft lips graced mine, I closed my eyes, wishing for the time to freeze.

After giving me a long and sweet kiss, he pecked my forehead and announced that he would try to come home early in the evening.

"Why are you leaving?" I asked him, tugging on his shirt.

He looked at me in surprise. "Hamster, are you really asking me that? Every morning, you are the one who runs off to work before me."

"Don't go today. I will also take a leave," I said and buried my face in his chest.

"Are you pranking me?" he asked, surprised. "You will take a leave when it is the most busiest day of your schedule today?"

In my mind, the response was already built, followed by the horrified reaction of forgetting my own schedule, and accompanied by the doubt of why I didn't remember waking up last evening, but I couldn't express any of that. I heard Tejas's voice, but my body felt like I was drowning in him - and I liked it.

"Hamster!" Tejas's panicked voice pulled me out of the trance.

"I am okay," I replied, all of my senses returning to full function.

He rubbed my eyelids lightly. "Why don't you really take a leave? You still look exhausted."

"Did I wake up last evening?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Yes, you did, but you were mostly focused on food and fell asleep while watching the movie. Of course, you are having memory issues because you are not giving your body enough rest. Do I need to remind you what happens when you take stress?"

I lifted my tshirt and checked. "No wounds, no worries."

He bit his lips and narrowed his eyes at me. "Hamster, I have to go to work."

I looked at him innocently. "Yes, I know. I don't want you to go, but I will be a hypocrite when I am myself getting late."

He came closer and placed his palms on my waist. Like a spark igniting, I realised what he meant earlier and shot him a teasing look. He picked me up, and I wrapped my legs around his waist.

A second later, my back touched the mattress, Tejas's lips creating a trail of kisses on my neck.

"I should have taken a longer break," he said in a low voice and smooched my chin.

I cupped his face, and after kissing him strongly, he picked us up and peppered my face with kisses.

"I won't hold you back," I said. "Please go; you have an important meeting today. I will also get ready asap."

He sighed. "Let's finish work soon and go on a date. I will pick you up."

I nodded happily, and after hugging him once more, I let him go to work. Again, that feeling of my heart being clawed surfaced as Tejas left, his image getting farther and farther away from me.

What is this? Why am I feeling like this suddenly?

I dismissed the restlessness and went to take a quick shower. Within ten minutes, I was ready and running down the stairs. I was on the last step when my ankle twisted, but before I kissed the floor, my father-in-law caught me.

"Bhoomi, how many times have I told you to not run on the stairs?" he scolded me.

"Sorry, Papa, I won't repeat it," I apologized.

Mom-in-law arrived and handed me my tiffin. She also advised me to be careful and retold me the childhood incident of how Tejas had burst both of his knees while running on the stairs when he was eleven years old. It wasn't the first time I got scolded by them.

They sent me off, and when I reached the shooting spot, I breathed in relief; even if I got late, the backup dancers were not ready yet, so I supervised the main actors' dance and finished the last part of the song successfully.

With that, one more project was done, and I bid farewell to the staff after a small party. It was 4 pm in the evening, so I made my way towards The Emperors' studio, where the crew was practicing for the upcoming underground competition.

"Bhoomi Di, see this!" Richa said excitedly and showed me a stunt.

To ruin her mood, Ronit and Sam did the same stunt and started teasing Richa. Meanwhile, Ovi, Ina, Varun, and Ijaz told me to ignore them and showed the part they had choreographed.

My eyes roamed around the practice room, and when my crewmates noticed me looking here and there, they reminded me that Tejas wasn't going to come to the studio.

"Shorty, aren't you his wife?" Hriaan asked to annoy me. "Just call him."

"He is in a meeting. I don't want to disturb him," I said.

I also want to call him, see him, hug him - I am missing him a lot. I am with him every day, but right now, I am feeling like we are on two different planets.

"You okay?" Hriaan snapped his fingers in front of me.

"I am," I replied. "I have some ideas, so I want to try them. Please gather everyone."

Hriaan whistled, and like puppies, everyone dashed towards us. I explained one of the ideas to them, all of them staring at me in confusion as I kept yawning continuously. Soon, my crew, Unix, also arrived, and when Akshay saw me yawn like a hippo, he placed his index finger in my mouth.

I purposely bit his finger, and then we started our trial session. If I hadn't embarrassed myself enough before, this time, in my own choreography, I was getting left behind.

"Oye, Bhoomi, don't take advantage of your position," Rehman scolded me. "Just because you are Big Bro's wife doesn't mean that you can slack off. What will others think?"

I wanted to argue, but he was right. The more I tried to keep up with my teammates, the slower my movements got. I scolded myself, but during a very easy jump, I crashed into Vibhan and Yasir. That stopped everyone in their spots, all eyes stuck on me.

"That was really embarrassing," I mumbled.

"It was," my crew agreed and picked me up from the floor.

I had no energy left. I didn't understand why my body was behaving like this. My teammates were concerned for me, but my friends told them to not worry as I had created a blunder myself.

"Boom Boom Boomer, what's wrong?" Akki asked me as I had put all of my weight on him.

"Don't know," I responded. "I am hungry, sleepy, tired, slow, distracted, and most importantly, I miss Tejas."

He rolled his eyes. "You should have just said the last part. You and TJ live together in case you have forgotten."

I pouted. "I know. I am also confused why I am feeling like he has gone far away. I want to see him right now."

"I will video call him," Akki said.

I wanted to stop him, but my arms had given up. After some rings, Tejas picked up the video call, but my body played games with me. The moment I saw his face on Akki's phone, my eyelids drooped like a curtain falling after a wonderful show.

When I opened my eyes, I felt refreshed, and my heart was also working normally. That nauseating feeling from earlier was gone, and I smiled when I saw Tejas peacefully sleeping, his head resting on my bosom. My body was completely hidden under him, and I lightly ran my fingers through his hair - he was my safest cocoon.

Suddenly, my phone rang, making Tejas stir in his sleep. I grabbed the phone from the side desk and picked up the call, worrying why Srishti was calling me at 12 in the night.

"Happy anniversary, Maushi!" Srishti greeted cheerfully.

I quickly checked the date on the mobile, shaking my head at myself.

How did I forget such an important day? But, wait! I was in The Emperors' studio, wasn't I? Tejas and I were going to go on a date. Akki had video called my husband, but what happened after that? Am I really losing my memory?

"Maushi? You there?" Srishti asked, her voice breaking the chain of my thoughts.

I spoke in a low volume. "Yes, Srishti, thank you very much. I love you."

"Love you too, Maushi. Now sleep. Sorry for distributing you."

"Don't apologize, kiddo. Thank you once again," I said, and we hung up the call.

Soon, our friends started calling us one after another, Tejas's phone also ringing. I couldn't reach it, and as expected, he woke up. But instead of getting annoyed, he first attended the group video call of his best friends, and all of them wished us for our anniversary. Then, my best friends called too, and once we got their wishes, we hung up the call and lowered our phone's volume.

Tejas rubbed his eyes, and I patted his back; I told him to go back to sleep, but he turned towards me and kissed my forehead.

"Happy first anniversary, my Hamster," he greeted and kissed me.

"Happy first anniversary to you, my love," I greeted him and gave him a long kiss.

We stared at each other, a beautiful silence full of love surrounding us. He laid down on his back, and I hugged him, laying my head on his chest. He tightly wrapped his arms around me and kissed my fingers.

"I love you, Bhoomi," he said.

"I love you too," I replied. "Now let's sleep because the day is going to be very busy."

He nodded and fell asleep soon, but for me, I kept admiring him.

Ganapati Bappa, thank you very much. Tejas and I have completed one year of our marriage happily. Please keep your blessings on us like this.

I closed my eyes, but suddenly, a spark of inspiration hit me like lightning, and even after trying to avoid it, I couldn't control it anymore.

I kissed Tejas's cheek and slowly got up from the bed without disturbing him. At first, he used to get alert and wake up as soon as I shifted away from him, but now he had gotten used to it because he also did the same lots of times.

I quickly went to our dance room and wore the headphones. I switched on the camera, and as soon as the song started, my body moved to the rhythm, bringing my imagination into life. After four hours, I was satisfied and returned to my husband.

As soon as I moved on the bed, he pulled me into his embrace. I also wrapped my arms around him, and the moment my forehead touched his chest, I fell into the dreamland.

I had already set the alarm in case I got late like yesterday, but Tejas was awake before me, and when I woke up, he picked me up and took me to the bathroom.

"Let's get ready before Maa arrives and scolds us," he said.

I nodded. "Yes. She had already informed us about the plans, so getting late is not affordable."

After we got ready, we went downstairs. My in-laws wished us for our anniversary, and we took their blessings. Then, we had a video call with my parents and sister. Tejas's mother took us to the temple, and we had our breakfast there only.

Later, my mother-in-law spoiled us with lots of shopping, and by the time we returned home, it was afternoon. We had lunch, and since five hours were still left for our party to start, Tejas and I went to our room. We had pre-decided that we would not do any work on our special day, but when we looked at each other, we shook our head knowingly.

"Hamster, I am really having lots of ideas at the moment. I somehow controlled it since Mom would have thrashed me while shopping, but can I please at least design one routine? It is continuously running in my mind since last night," Tejas said hopefully.

"You stole my words," I said and pulled his cheeks. "Hurry before Mom catches us."

Tejas picked me up and zoomed inside the dance room. We started dancing, laughing at each other as we were equally afraid of getting busted. Luckily, his father was the one who caught us.

The time for the main event arrived. We were yet to get ready, so when my parents arrived, I jumped on them. They congratulated me, and after they settled down, I went back to the room.

I became a statue when I saw Tejas all dressed up.

"You are so beautiful," I said, awed by him.

(Tejas's anniversary look 👆🏾)

He smiled and opened his arms. I hopped into the hug, and he squeezed me.

"I have got a gift for you, so check it while I entertain our guests," he said.

I nodded, and he left to meet my parents and our friends. I picked up the gift box tied in red ribbons and opened it.

"So beautiful," I admired his gift.

After freshening up, I got ready, squealing to myself when I saw my reflection in the mirror. I loved the saree my husband gifted me.

(Bhoomi's anniversary look 👆🏾)

I excitedly got up, imagining Tejas's reaction, but as soon as I stood up, I felt dizzy. I sensed that I was going to crash, so I held onto the dressing table and slowly sat down.

That nauseating feeling returned, and I put my palm on my mouth when I felt an acid reflux. I dashed to the washroom and threw up. I wondered if those mangoes were giving me punishment.

After washing up, I retouched my makeup and was ready to leave, but when I bent down to pick up my phone from the bed, darkness seeped into my eyes. I didn't realise when my body went numb, my eyelids glueing together as the surroundings tilted.

What is this strange sound? It sounds so foreign yet familiar. Such a cute voice. Who is it? The sound is coming from inside me? Is it my inner voice talking random things again? It feels so good like I am in a therapy.

Slowly, light entered my eyes as they opened like a shutter. Everything felt slow and nice.

"Hamster, you fully awake?"

It's Tejas's voice.

I rotated my head to the left and smiled at my husband sitting near me, but when I saw his red eyes, I got alert.

"What happened to you?" I snapped from my position, but he held my shoulders and gently pushed me back.

I couldn't understand why he was staring at me so sweetly while his face looked like he had a crying marathon. Then, I noticed our best friends too, and all of them were shushing each other up. Meanwhile, my family and in-laws kept exchanging glances, pointing at each other while mumbling among themselves.

"Tejas beta, you tell her," his father told him, giving me a bright smile.

Slowly, the moment I had blacked out flashed in front of my eyes, and I facepalmed when I saw the time. Because of me, two hours were wasted; I looked at Tejas in apology.

"I am extremely sorry for ruining our day," I said. "I shouldn't have eaten so many momos and mangoes. You were scolding me for my own good, but I didn't listen."

Everyone started laughing, and I knew they were waiting for me to receive another scolding, but instead of complaining, Tejas caressed my cheek. His gaze just kept getting softer, and my insides were beyond melted now.

"Hamster, congratulations," he said, his voice twisting my heart in a beautiful knot.

"Happy anniversary to you too," I replied.

He ducked his head, chuckling. I pondered why he found my reply funny. His mother told him to tell me directly instead of stretching the anticipation.

He again looked at me and took a deep breath. I instinctively followed his action and focused all of my energy on him.

What is he going to say? I hope he forgives me for delaying our anniversary party.

"Hamster," he said slowly. "You are pregnant. Congratulations."

What?! Who is pregnant?

My eyes snapped to my stomach, then at Tejas, again at my stomach and then again at him. I did it for quite a good amount of time before my friends burst out laughing like hyenas, and I confirmed that I wasn't dreaming.

My lips trembled, Tejas's words onsetting a tsunami of happiness inside me. I hugged him; he rubbed my back soothingly, telling me to take my time to process the good news.

"I am pregnant, Tejas," I said, the words dancing in front of me.

He cupped my face and kissed my forehead. I wiped his tears, and he kissed my cheeks. We smiled at each other, feeling the moment.

"Boom Boom Boomer, make sure Tejas is the one who takes care of my niece or nephew," Akshay said seriously.

Arushi nodded. "Absolutely."

I raised my eyebrows at them. "And why not me?"

My friends looked at each other and shouted together. "Because you will goof up pretty nicely, Boomer!"