As soon as the doors closed behind her, Srimathi gave Charan and Gopal an ear-splitting grin.

"She is so cute." Srimathi gushed going towards Charan. She then engulfed him into a bear hug and said, "I am so happy for you."

Charan just wrapped his arms around his mum.

Once his mum's excitement calmed down, she went to put Akira and Akil to sleep for the night while the father and son duo sat in the living room side by side. After a while, Bharat came and joined them sitting beside his brother.

They stayed quiet for a while but then Gopal started talking.

"Charan, you do know what you are doing with Shreya right??"

"Why are you asking me this now?" Charan asked frowning. His dad never questioned him about this before. So he wanted to know what had changed suddenly.

"I am not trying to discourage you. I just want to make sure that you know what you are doing.." Gopal explained.

And before Charan could answer, Bharat intervened and said, "He loves her dad."

Charan just looked at his brother sharply exasperated.

"What?? It was so obvious. Do you know how many times I actually saw you staring at her in the three hours she was here?? Too many times, that's how many."Bharat said shrugging her shoulders with his arms wide open feigning innocence.

Charan just shook his head and decided to ignore his brother all together and faced his own dad and said, "I know what I am doing dad."

"Did you think about Akira in all this?? Is she right for Akira?? Will she be able to be her mom??" Gopal asked once more concerned.

"Akira is the first thing I thought of before I even started anything. And the moment they both met, I knew I made the right choice. Shreya is not going to be her mom but she is the best thing that could have happened to Akira. Trust me. You should see them both together to know what I am saying." Charan said confidently.

"Well, she knows her way with kids. I will give her that. Akil was practically waggling his tails after talking to her for 5 minutes." Bharat said slightly skeptical. It's not that he did not like Shreya. But he did not have enough interactions with her to form an opinion yet. And like every man in the family, he was extremely protective of every person in the family and that included his own brother. So for him, it was his duty to be careful and point out any mistakes of his brother. That was in spite of how he teased his own brother in front of her.

"No Bharat, I am not talking about the charming part. Yes, she does know how to charm a kid. But with Akira.. it's more than that. Shreya actually gets Akira in a very deeper level. She understands her in a way even I never got to know Akira. And coming from me, you know that's a lot." Charan said and looked up at his brother.

Gopal put an arm over Charan's shoulders and said, "Hey.. as long as you and Akira are safe and happy. That is all we need."

"I am. I am happy, dad. So is Akira." Charan said sincerely.

"Then like your mum said, I'm happy for you," Gopal said smiling at his son.

"Me too." Bharat followed suit.

Right then, the front door opened loudly and a woman in ponytail and salwar came in and sat on the couch in front of Charan taking a deep breath and resting her head.

"How was your day Preethi??" Gopal asked his own daughter. Preethi is his eldest and Akil's mom. She is living with them from the time she got divorced.

"It was fine, dad. What about you guys??" Preethi asked back sitting leisurely. But before any of them could answer, she suddenly thought about something and sat up straight and exclaimed, "Shit.. Shit.. It was today right?? You bringing your girlfriend?? Shit, how did I miss it?? Did she already leave??" She asked anxiously.

"Yup.. " Bharat answered his sister's question.

"Shit..' Pretthi said dejected and hung her head low.

"I don't know how could you possibly forget it after mom reminding you so many times!!" Bharat said in a sarcastic voice.

"Let's see you work in the emergency room for 14 hours straight and remember what happened at breakfast!!" Preethi growled. She is a doctor and the long hours sucked big time. That was the main reason why she and her husband never worked but that was apart from him being an asshole.

But it was not like she had much choice. So she couldn't take it when her ex-husband called her an incompetent mom and blamed every small thing on her. SO it is safe to say the divorce was not been a smooth sail. But thankfully her own parents and brothers stepped in and helped her. Or else she had no idea what would have happened.

Her parents asked countless times to move in back with them to Charan too but he just stubbornly stayed there. A part of her understood that being in that house is his way keeping Samantha alive in their lives but it took a toll on both of them.

But somehow both of them pulled it together on their own. If it were her on their places, she was not so sure she would have pulled through like this.

That is why the whole family was so surprised and happy when Charan told them about Shreya.

Bharat just rolled his eyes at his sister and said mockingly, "Well I am not the one who pestered mom to ask her brother to bring his girlfriend home!"

Which was true. If not for Preethi, Srimathi wouldn't have asked to meet up with Shreya so soon. Typically she would have given some privacy before asking to meet the family.

Preethi just hung her head slouching her shoulders.

"Don't worry Preethi. I will bring her around again." Charan said patting on his sister's shoulders.

Amongst everyone in the family, Preethi was the most protective of him.. Something about her being the eldest and being her responsibility to look after him. That was the whole reason why he even agreed to the meeting in the first place.

Anyways, Charan just bid goodbye and retired to bed.