The night darkened more. Sarita and Rajat sat on their bed, looking at each other as the lamp's soft glow warmed the room. They talked their hearts out, discussing how the day that held their precious memories has now turned out to be more precious as their beloved daughter's marriage got fixed today.

"30 years of togetherness, sounds old, right?" Rajat exclaimed, his eyes stuck on his beautiful wife while his hand creased hers.

"Old but strong. And the best part of these 30 years is our beautiful family, our love and most importantly, our togetherness" Sarita passed her warm smile and rested her head on his shoulder.

"True. And see, now our princess will also get married. Time flies faster," Rajat huffed. His voice filled with warmth, yet an unknown emotion made him choke.

Sarita sighed softly, gently tugging her fingers over his, trying her best to soothe him. She knew Rajat was way more fond of Maanvi than anyone else, not just in words, but he had treated her like a delicate flower, a princess, fulfilling all her demands and taking all her

tantrums. She was proud to love and marry a man like him, who not only cared for them but loved them like they were his most precious possession.

"It was just like yesterday we held her in our arms, dropped her crying self into school and now she will get engaged in just 2 weeks. And maybe married soon too." Sarita's tone was gentle, controlling hard on her emotions.

"Abhiraj is a good man. I have seen him growing and developing into a better man over the last 3 years. And for Maanvi, he is perfect. I have noticed how he adores her, takes her care and loves her. And as a father, I couldn't ask more." Rajeev chuckled, trying to surpass the emotion building inside him.

Sarita looked at him and smiled, placing a kiss on his hand. But even before any of them could continue, a quiet knock interrupted their session.

"Maa dadda, can I come in?" a soft voice echoed into their room, warming their hearts instantly.

"Yes, my princess," Rajat answered, feeling giddy about having some time with his princess.

In no time, the door of the room creaked open, revealing Maanvi, who now took slow steps towards her parents. She looked nervous, her eyes flickering between her parents while her lips were dry with hesitation. Her heart thumped in her chest as she stepped forward and sat beside her parents.

"I wanted to talk with you both, maa and dadda." Her voice filled with nervousness as she hesitated even to look up at them.

Rajat and Sarita looked at her and exchanged glances with each other. A small smile made its way towards their lips when they saw Maanvi being nervous with them. Genty was moving towards her, they looked up at her, holding her hand.

“Maanvi, look up at us.” Her mother reached out, gently holding her chin.

Maanvi hesitantly lifted her gaze, a wave of embarrassment and guilt washing over her face. She looked into her parents' eyes, but instead of anger, she saw a sense of warmth and understanding. Her eyes moistened with the sight.

“Maa, Dadda, I am sorry. I should have told you about Abhiraj earlier. I didn’t mean to hide it from you. It’s just that we wanted to build our careers before telling you all.” Maanvi’s voice filled with guilt.

Her parents looked at her and gently shifted closer to her. Her father's hand slowly settled over her shoulder, pulling her into a gentle hug.

“We’re not upset, we are happy that you have found someone for you. The love with whom you are going to share a lifelong relationship of love and togetherness.” Rajat said, wiping off her tears.

“Yes, we were a little sad that you didn’t share this with us, but listening to your reason, we are a little relieved,” her mother followed, slowly creasing her hair.

“You... you’re not mad?” Maanvi asked, collecting her trembling voice.

“Why would we be mad at you, beta? It’s not like we wanted to marry someone of our choice, for us, you and Varun both are equally important and precious. Just like your brother had the right to marry Vidhi, you too have the same right to marry Abhiraj, the one you chose.” Rajeev combed her hair and placed a small kiss on her forehead, assuring her that they were not mad.

“And about Abhiraj, he is the best man for you. The way he even looks at you describes how deeply he is in love with you, how much he adores you. And about his family, they are the best.” Sarita said, a wave of relief reflecting in her voice.

“Yes, they are very sweet. But maa, dadda, I will miss you both so much, I don’t want to go away from you both.” A small pout formed on her lips.

Rajata and Sarita slowly chuckled at her statement. Their heart filled with love while their eyes welled up with tears. They quickly embraced Maanvi into their warm embrace and kissed her cheeks.

“We, too, will miss you, but remember one thing: no matter where life takes you, you will always have a special place in our hearts and this home, too. We will always support you,” Sarita said, creasing her cheeks.

“And any day you felt like coming here, meeting us, or you want to spend some time with us, just give me or your brother a call. We will be there for you even at midnight,” Rajat said, pulling both the ladies into a hug.

“I love you both so much.” Maanvi hid her face in her father's chest.

“We love you more,” they both giggled and hugged her tightly.

Maanvi smiled, her parents by her side, supporting her, and all her doubts about her and Abhiraj’s relationship melted away. The love and trust of her parents made her heart feel warm with love. And now all her mind needed was their blessing for the new phase of her life.

“Aah, Bhai, at least you save us,” Sid hissed in pain, his hand desperately rubbing his ears trying to get rid of his mother's hold on it.

The atmosphere of the living room of Rajawat’s mansion was defiled with chaos and laughter. The younger ones were getting punished by their mothers for hiding the secret, Adi and Anu by Meera and Sid by Nandani. Abhiraja and Maanvi’s relationship was a shocker to Vikrant and Arjun, but they were happy to finally see the eldest son of the family finally finding someone he would spend his lifetime with.

Adi and Anu finally pestered Meera into their sweet talks and embraced her warmly, while here Nandani was still busy playfully scolding Sid, holding his ears lightly. Abhiraj sat on the sofa with a smile on his face, seeing his family genuinely happy and accepting everything without even a question, which warmed his heart. On the other side, Vikrant and Arjun watched their sweet little family with pride and love.

As the laughter in the room came to a stop, Nandani playfully stepped closer towards Abhiraj, lightly holding his ears, making him wince and laugh at her gentle punishment.

“You too are no less. What was the need to hide this?” Nandani asked in a playful tone, twisting his ears lightly.

Abhiraj chuckled lightly and, in a quick move, embraced her. Nandani's expression softened, and a small smile played on her lips as she started to pat Abhiraj’s cheeks.

“I am sorry for not telling you all about Maanvi. But I had a reason.” Abhiraj answered, kissing his mother’s forehead and leaning back.

“What reason, Abhiraj?” Vikrant asked, his tone warm and the smile still intact.

“Baba, I wanted to be independent and capable enough for her before telling anyone about us. I never wanted Maanvi’s parents to accept me for the fact that our family owns a successful business. Instead, I wanted them to genuinely accept our relationship with the trust that I am capable enough to take care of their daughter. I wanted us to be independent, to be stable, and on top, I didn’t want Maanvi to be distracted from her studies,” he reasoned. His eyes were fixed on Vikrant and Nandani while his heart thumped hard as he didn't want to disappoint his parents.

While here, everyone’s eyes were filled with warmth and love for Abhiraj. Their heart swelled up with pride and contentment. Abhiraj’s words were enough to make them believe that Abhiraj loves her a lot. In a world where women are forced to prove their worth to men, Abhiraj was working hard day and night just to prove his worth to Maanvi. They were proud of his decision, his way of thinking and most importantly, his choice.

At first they were tense about him, about his life, his future, but since they came to know about him and Maanvi, their heart were at peace. They didn’t know what the future held for them, but they were sure that with Maanvi by his side, everything would be easy for him.

“By the way, how did you come to know?” Abhiraj turned towards his mothers with a questionable look.

Everyone’s eyes now turned towards Nandani, her smile still intact while her eyes shone bright with pride that she was the one to catch them.

“Yes, Bhabhi Maaa, how did you come to know?” Arjun asked. Curiosity is audible in his tone.

“Yesterday, when I went to call him for dinner, I overheard his conversation wth Maaanvi. I know you will not tell us easily, so I took the matter into my own hands and planned everything with Sarita.” Nandani answered in her usual bossy tone.

Everyone chuckled at her confession while Abhiraj felt shy and embarrassed; her clearly remembered that he called Maanvi baby in yesterday’s conversation. Everyone looked at Abhiraj, who was now red with shyness, and giggled even more, filling the room once again with the warmth of family love and understanding.

Abhiraj, who was shy till now, smiled at his family banter and hugged his maa, capturing all her motherly and positive vibe.

“Are you all happy?” he asked. His tone filled with emotion and anticipation.

It was just a question, but it was more important than it seemed, a question of trust, love and acceptance. A question that can affect everyone’s life. Every family member looked up at him as a small sheepish smile played on their lips.

“We are sooo happy!!!” everyone said in unison, followed by a riot of giggles.

As the night started to draw in, the Rajawats shared more time. The room was filled with just one conversation now, Abhiraj’s and Maanvi’s wedding. They were excited, happy, overwhelmed and whatnot, after all, it’s the first marriage of this generation in their family. The younger ones were excited to welcome their bhabhi maa, while the elders were happy seeing their excitement.