"I can give you grandchild without marriage too mom" Mira said after listening to her mom's useless reason making everyone shock.
Yeah????
"I...I mean adop...adoption you know" Mira stuttered but nervously smiled
"Don't you love someone?" Janvi aske...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Midnight in Lucknow.
The whole Shukla haveli was snoring like a railway station— dadi's snores here, chacha's mumbling in his sleep there.
The whole Shukla haveli was sleeping— except for one criminal.
Not some thief from outside.
Not some gangster.
Dhvani Shukla aka Vani— daughter of the biggest political family background of Uttar Pradesh... She was not sleeping.
Oh no. She was busy doing what no Shukla has ever done.
Chori.
Yes, madam was stealing her own freedom.
Wearing jeans with a short kurti, wrapped in one big shawl like she was some undercover spy, and those shiny jooties that made her feel like Kareena from Jab We Met. The only problem? The payal around her ankle. Chan chan chan.
"Arey wah, hume is waqt bhi fashion karna hai?" she whispered angrily, holding it still. "Abhi koi pakad lega toh headline banegi— 'MP ki hi beti apni hi haveli se bhaagi, pakdi gayi woh bhi payal ki awaaz se.' Papa's reputation is gonna skyrocket very soon, and all the credit goes to his very own daughter."
("Oh wow, do we have to do fashion even at this hour?"...... If someone catches me now, it'll make the headlines— 'The MP's own daughter ran away from her own haveli, and got caught too, all because of the sound of her anklet')
She tiptoed across the corridor, silently, like some CID officer. But of course, drama loves her, so it followed her.
In the verandah, her two darlings— one Great Dane the size of a horse, and her cutie patootie husky who thought he was a Bollywood hero— sat up. Tails wagging. Eyes sparkling. Ready to bark the whole haveli awake.
Vani threw her hands dramatically.
"Ek aawaz nikali toh tum dono ki shaadi karwa dungi gali ke kuttiya se. Samjhe?"
("If you make a sound, I'll get you both married off to the street dogs. Got it?")
The dogs tilted their heads. The husky even sneezed, like he was laughing at her.
"Shhh!" she hissed, pressing a finger to her lips. "Tumhari Vani vacations pe jaari hai– aur khabardar kisi ko bataya toh! Hum jaldi vapas aa jayenge."
("Your Vani is going on vacation— and beware, if you tell anyone! I'll be back soon.")
"Ok? Bye, I'll miss my Tunnu-Munnu" She waved a flying kiss at them and moved ahead while the dogs watched her.
But just as she crossed the corridor, her stomach growled louder than her dadi's snores.
"Wah kya kismat hai, ghar se bhaag rahi hoon aur ye khana maang raha hai?" she scolded her own tummy. "Chalo kitchen... Pehle pait pooja, fir kaam dooja."
