"Why do you always come here, Sahab?" Sree asked softly. "My choice." A straight, blunt answer. The kind he always gives. "Sahab, may I ask you something? It's... a little personal." "What?" "You have a very beautiful wife at home. I heard—Kashish ji, I mean Mrs. Chandravanshi is really beautiful." "I don't know." "You don't know? Why, Sahab? She's your wife." "She can never be my wife. And I can never be her husband. We both... we're just different." "Why, Sahab—" "Sshh. You talk too much. Now shut up and let me sleep." . . . . . . . "Tanishk, why do you keep going there? You know Baba doesn't like this behaviour." Kashish said while folding clothes. He didn't respond. He kept puffing on his cigarette, eyes distant. "Don't smoke. It makes me nauseous." She said, annoyed. He lit another cigarette. And another. Silent. Detached. Kashish looked at him, irritated. "Tanishk, you know what? You're impossible!" She snapped and walked out of the room. . . . . . . "We want grandchildren soon! You've been married for three years. Doesn't our heart also long to see our grandchildren, hmm?" Malini said, her eyes fixed on her son. "Maa sa... it's not possible." Tanishk said, rising from his seat. Malini's gaze shifted sharply toward Kashish, who looked down in silence. . . . . . . . "What the hell is this, Tanishk?!" Malini shouted, stunned to see her son standing beside a young woman dressed like a newlywed. Tanishk himself wore wedding clothes. "Maa sa, she is my wife—Shree. And the mother of my child." Tanishk declared, without a trace of hesitation. The room froze. Silent. Until a loud slap broke the air. Malini had struck her son—the son she had never raised her voice at. Her only son. The one she loved more than anything. . . . . . . . "Sahab... what will you do after I leave you?" Shree asked, her voice a fragile whisper. "Sleep, Shree." He didn't answer properly. Because the truth was—he had never thought about it. He couldn't. Shree had become his life. . . . . . . . "Beta, bolo Maa sa..." "Please say Maa sa, beta..." She looked to her husband for help, but he only chuckled. "Look at your son! He's just like you—so full of attitude!" "No, he's just like his Maa sa... who's teaching him that attitude." Tanishk said with a smirk. She turned away, hiding her smile.