***Mayra's POV.***
"Welcome home, Mayra." Arya says as soon as she sees me at the door.
"Oh! I missed you all so much." I say and hug her.
"Burrah!" Veer says.
"Not again." Arya says with a pout, "I will not spare you, Vedant. Do you know how hard I worked for him to call me Bua instead of Bhut? And now you turned into Burrah. Seriously."
"But it sounds so cute. Right, Veer? Who is your favorite?" Bhai asks while doing bhangra.
"Burrah!" Veer says with bhangra style.
"Mayra!" Arya whines.
"Bhai!" I exclaim, "Stop messing with my son's speech. Veer, it is Bua, not Burrah. What is it? Bua." I say so because he can understand it well and speak it correctly and wait for him to repeat.
We look at him expectantly and as he looks at us in wonder, but then he smiles mischievously and says, "Burrah!"
Before I could say anything, he rushes in and hides behind Dadu's legs who picks him up and says, "Arey, Veer! How are you?"
"Cool." He says and folds his arms.
"Who teaches him that?" Vedant Bhai asks.
"Parth." Arya and I talk together and chuckle.
"Who is this good girl?" Dadi says as she sees Bea beside me.
I introduce them to each other and by the end of the conversation, Bea is basking in Dadi's loving pats. Coco didn't come with me as she has gotten attached to men in our family a lot.
"Ramya would be here any minute. She is dying to meet you. Really, when you were not here, she was a great company? Mom is going to come home soon, too. You have to see the pictures she sent from Spain. She looks so beautiful in their traditional flamenco dress." Arya says, and we go upstairs to look at them.
"Where is Veer?" I ask and try to find him.
I hear a giggle from behind the couch in the study room where we are playing hide and seek in the evening while everyone else is busy. I hold back my smile as I go the other way to find him.
"Oh-Ho! Where is my Veer? I can't find him anywhere." I say in a sad tone.
"I am heal, Mumma." Veer shouts and jumps out.
"Oh! I found you, Veer." I say with a surprise look and he giggles, "And it is here not heal."
"You, you." Veer says and puts his tiny hand on his eyes and starts counting, "One, Tu, Three, Fo, Fibe,..."
I rush behind the curtain and peek over and say, "Ready."
"Mumma! Wee are you?" Veer says, and I hold back my giggle.
He is trying to copy me. I peek again to see what he is doing and find him looking under the chair. This time I can't hold back my giggle and he looks around. I hide behind the curtain again and wait for him. But instead of him, I hear his wails. I come out of my hiding place and rush towards him to see him bend over.
"What happened, Veer? Where are you hurt, baby?" I ask in worry as I try to check on him.
"Tick you." Veer says with a jump, and shows me his tongue.
"Ho! You naughty but clever boy. Come here. I will give you punishment for tricking me. Who teaches you all this stuff?" I say and run after him to catch him as he giggles and runs around.
I sit on the couch and try to catch my breath when Veer stops and comes towards me hesitantly. But then I grab him and lock him in my arms.
"Got you." I say, "Oh my gosh! Don't tell me I teach you this kind of trick?"
I kiss his cheek and try to correct his way of speaking. I love teaching him so much because he muddles up so many words in such a funny and cute way. After a while, we went down to have dinner with others.
Later that night, I tried to fall asleep after making Veer sleep, which took more time than usual because he was busy talking with his Dadda on the phone. It had not been an hour when I heard a sound coming from the balcony. I sit up on alert and grab the first thing I can get my hand on and that is a book which I was reading to Veer.
I tip toe towards the balcony door when I see a shadow and just when I am about to launch an attack, the sweet and mild perfume stops me.
"Shaurya!" I ask as I turn on the light.
"Ahhhh!" Shaurya screams when he notices me, which I should be doing. "What are you doing this late at night, Mayra?"
"That's what I should be asking. What are you doing here and that too in Santa's costume?" I ask him.
"Ho ho ho!" He says suddenly as he adjusts his fake belly and picks up the satchel of gifts. "It is past midnight, so I am here to deliver the gifts."
"You came from the wrong way, Santa. Go one more floor up and enter the chimney. Go." I say push him back to the balcony.
"Mayra. Stop it. I am here to surprise you and Veer." Shaurya says, coming back to his normal self.
"Did you know I was this close to beating you?" I ask as I show him the book.
"With this?" He says and chuckles.
"No, with this." I say, showing my long legs clad in a nightie.
"That's fine. I am used to getting beaten by you." He says with a grin, like it is a good thing.
"You make me sound like a horrible wife." I say with a frown.
"No. I was a victim, but it always ended with a kiss instead of punches which others get. This makes me feel special." He says and takes me in his arms.
"You are special to me, too." I say and go to kiss him, but his fake beard tickles me.
"Here." Shaurya says and removes his beard and kisses me.
"Dadda?" Veer says and we stop what we are doing.
I push Shaurya away as soon as I notice Veer looking at us as he rubs his eyes. Shaurya straightens his clothing and fixes his beard back. I give him the satchel and sit on the bed.
"Ho ho ho!" Shaurya says and Veer wakes up fully right away and he looks at Santa with lots of gifts.
"Dadda." Veer exclaims.
"It is Santa, not Dadda." Shaurya says, and I try to hold back my giggle at Veer's pout.
"No, Dadda." Veer says and grabs his fake beard and tugs at it, which makes me break into laughter.
"Okay baba, I am Dadda." Shaurya says, removes his Santa costume and beard.
"Dadda!" Veer says in excitement, and hugs him.
"Merry Christmas, Veer." Shaurya says as he hugs him close.
When no reply comes, he pulls Veer back only to see him fast asleep again. We both look at each other and chuckle. He puts him back on the bed.
"Merry Christmas." I say and lay a chaste kiss on his cheek.
He takes my hand and pulls me towards the balcony door and hangs mistletoe, then pulls me closer and says, "Meri (my) Christmas."
We kiss each other under the mistletoe and I make a small wish that Shaurya, Veer, and I stay like this forever.
Next day, our family has dinner together, and we laugh and spend time together. Shaurya also announces that I will perform at an annual event. Everyone encourages me and I feel happy.
CZYTASZ
Second Wife, First Love.
Romans[Arranged Marriage Series-1] She is second wife; can she be his first love? Besides having great friends, Mayra has a wonderful family as well. Mayra has everything she's ever wanted in life. Now she's going to walk on a different path, one that won...
