Shesha was pacing around the room, clearly angry after everything that had happened at the dinner table. The moment Vishnu entered, she turned towards him. He closed the door behind him, and she immediately started speaking.

"What does your mother think of herself? She keeps saying whatever she wants without caring about anyone. Do you even understand what she has done? She has chosen that girl for Rajveer, and we are going to get absolutely nothing from this marriage."

Vishnu looked at her calmly, his expression showing that he had already expected this reaction. He walked further into the room and looked at her for a moment before asking his question.

"What exactly do you want to gain from Rajveer's marriage?"

Shesha stared at him in disbelief, as if she could not understand how he could ask such a simple question. She folded her arms and looked at him with clear irritation.

"Oh, come on… Do not pretend that you have no idea. You have been trying to handle the business for years, and you still cannot manage it properly. Your mother still has to take care of everything, and she does not even want to give Akhil any real responsibility."

Vishnu slowly stood straighter, his expression becoming more serious. He had listened to her complaints many times, but tonight he was already tired of hearing her compare Akhil with Rajveer.

"Why would my mother not consider Rajveer her everything? He is her first grandson."

Shesha immediately turned towards him, her frustration increasing.

"Akhil is her grandson too."

Vishnu gave her a faint smile, but there was no warmth in it. He looked at her steadily before speaking, making sure she understood the difference he had always seen between the two boys.

"Of course Akhil is her grandson. But Rajveer is my son, Vibha's son. Vibha was the girl my mother truly loved as her daughter in law… and after Vibha left, Rajveer became her weakness. Akhil is our son. There is a difference, Shesha."

Shesha's face tightened as she stared at him. His words had clearly hurt her, but Vishnu did not look away. He remained completely calm while she struggled to control her anger.

"The sooner you understand that, the better it will be for you."

Shesha took a deep breath and looked away for a moment before turning back towards him. Her frustration had now shifted towards the future she believed Rajveer's marriage could have secured for their family.

"If Rajveer had married into a rich family, things would have been very different for us. I could have met the daughters and sons of wealthy families, and both our children would have had better chances of settling well."

Vishnu remained silent as she continued. Shesha had already started worrying about their financial future, especially because she did not trust the way the business was being handled anymore.

"Look at the way the business is going. I do not even know when everything might fall apart. If Rajveer had married into a powerful family, we would at least have had strong connections and better opportunities for both Akhil and Shikha."

Vishnu suddenly stepped forward and grabbed her by the throat. Shesha's words stopped immediately, and she looked at him in shock. His expression had hardened completely, leaving no trace of the calmness he had shown moments earlier.

"Since the day you came into this house, my bad days started. Before you, everything was fine... If Vibha hadn't decided to leave me, you would never have come into this house. So stop this nonsense now and let me rest. I do not want to hear another word."

“Ohhh… You love her that much…”

Shesha stared at him with anger and disbelief, but Vishnu released her after a moment and pushed her away. He did not wait for another argument and simply walked towards the bed.

He removed his watch and placed it on the bedside table before sitting down. Shesha continued staring at him, clearly furious, but Vishnu did not even look back at her. He lay down comfortably and turned away from her, making it clear that the conversation was over. Shesha remained standing in the middle of the room, silently watching him while her anger continued to build.

Vishnu closed his eyes, completely ignoring her presence. He had no intention of discussing Rajveer's marriage anymore, especially not with someone who only saw the decision as another opportunity for personal gain.

.

.

Vaishnavi sat comfortably on the sofa while Rajveer lay with his head resting in her lap. She smiled as her fingers moved gently through his hair, knowing that convincing him about Kanak would not be easy.

"Kanak is a very good girl... I have told you this so many times already. She has been with me for the last five years, ever since the day her father had his accident… After her father's accident, I had told her that the company would easily take care of his medical expenses. But she refused and asked me to give her a job instead, saying she would handle everything herself… she was ready for any job… That was the day I started noticing her. At first, I thought she was simply a young girl acting on her emotions. But over these years, I have understood her properly. I honestly do not think I can find a better girl for you."

Rajveer's eyes remained closed. One hand rested over his stomach, and his fingers tapped lightly against his shirt at regular intervals. He listened without interrupting, but the doubt in his mind was already clear.

"Just because she shows you something does not mean that is what she is actually like. Girls have a habit of showing one thing outside and being completely different inside."

Vaishnavi looked at his face for a few seconds before answering. Her fingers continued moving through his hair, but the smile on her face had faded slightly.

"Men can have the same habit. It is not as if men and women are completely different from each other. Some things are the same in both. Everyone is not the same, and that is true for men too."

She paused for a moment and looked down at him again, her expression becoming slightly more serious.

"How do I know what you do outside when I am not around? You may tell me everything, but I cannot possibly know every part of your life."

Rajveer slowly opened his eyes and looked up at her. There was no anger in his expression, only mild disbelief at what she had just suggested.

"You really think I would lie to you?"

Vaishnavi smiled softly and moved her fingers through his hair again.

"Do you really think I would make the wrong choice for you?"

Rajveer took a deep breath before closing his eyes again. He knew Vaishnavi was not going to let the matter go, but he still wanted her to understand that marriage was not something he wanted.

"You know I do not want to get married."

"I have heard that thousands of times... There is no point repeating it again and again because I have already decided that it will be better if you get married."

Vaishnavi's voice remained calm, but there was a slight hurt behind her words. Rajveer opened his eyes again when he heard the change in her voice.

"Either tell me clearly that you will never listen to me, and I will stop insisting. After that, I will never ask you for anything again. Tell me one thing, what have I ever asked from you?... You make your own decisions. I have never interfered in your life. I have only asked you for one thing."

Rajveer immediately sat up and held her face gently between his hands. He looked at her with a mixture of amusement and frustration, already knowing exactly what she was trying to do.

"Okay, sweetheart. You do not need to emotionally blackmail me this much. I already said it. Fix my meeting with that girl tomorrow. I want to meet her myself."

Vaishnavi smiled with satisfaction. Rajveer released her face and stood up from the sofa, ready to leave the room before she could start another argument.

"Chuchu."

Rajveer stopped immediately. He closed his eyes tightly for a second before slowly turning around. He looked at Vaishnavi with an expression that clearly showed how much he disliked hearing that name. Vaishnavi laughed at his reaction and leaned back comfortably.

"I only called you because I have not even spoken to Kanak yet. First, I will speak to her family, and then I will talk to Kanak myself… When you meet her tomorrow, remember one thing. You are meeting her only because your grandmother has chosen her for you. Kanak does not know anything about this yet. Understood, my Chuchu?"

Rajveer stared at her for a few seconds, his expression becoming completely unimpressed. He finally shook his head before answering in the most patient voice he could manage.

"Okay. I understand. But please stop calling me Chuchu."

Vaishnavi laughed again, clearly enjoying his irritation.

"How can I stop? I love this name. You used to get so happy whenever the old whistle toy seller came around. You would run towards him the moment you heard that whistle… That was when you were little. From that day, I started calling you Chuchu, and the name never left me. I will even call you Chuchu in front of your children."

Rajveer immediately turned around and walked towards the door, his expression becoming even more annoyed.

"I am not even married yet, and you have already planned my children."

Vaishnavi's laughter grew louder as she watched him leave. She raised her voice from inside the room, making sure he could hear her from the corridor.

"You have no idea, Chuchu, how much I have already planned for you."

Rajveer had already stepped into the corridor when he heard her. He turned his head back towards the room and raised his voice, sounding completely helpless.

"Yes, very good... Plan everything you want, but please stop calling me that."

Vaishnavi's loud laughter echoed through the room as Rajveer shook his head and finally walked away down the corridor.

Rajveer entered his room and closed the door behind him. He stood there for a moment, clenching his teeth as Vaishnavi's words repeated in his mind. He slowly pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and walked towards the window.

He took a long drag and rested one hand against the window frame. His eyes moved towards the darkness outside, but his mind was already somewhere else, going back through the many times he had visited Vaishnavi's office.

He had seen Kanak there several times. She was almost always busy with work, moving between files, calls, and meetings without paying attention to anything around her. He had never really stopped to notice her properly because she had simply been another person working around his grandmother.

Rajveer narrowed his eyes slightly as he remembered her face. There was something about the way she carried herself that had caught his attention now, only because Vaishnavi had suddenly placed her in a completely different position in his life.

He took another drag and slowly exhaled the smoke, his expression becoming thoughtful.

"Tomorrow, finally, I will meet you properly. Let's see what is so special about you that my grandmother likes you so much."

He remained near the window for another moment, watching the smoke disappear into the darkness. Tomorrow, for the first time, he would not be seeing Kanak as his grandmother's assistant. He would be meeting the woman Vaishnavi had chosen for him.