"Vihaan bhai..." Nitya started to say, but Vihaan cut her off, "I don't want to hear it, Nitya. This is personal now."

Vihaan got up and walked towards the kitchen, his movements fluid and deadly. Agastya watched him go, a small smile playing on his lips.

"That stalker would be forever sorry that he tried to mess with Samaira," Agastya said, his voice low and confident. "If there's someone for whom Vihaan can cross any limit, it's her."

Dada and Dadi looked at each other with concern, and Dadi asked Agastya, "Why, beta? What's going on?"

Nitya spoke up, looking tense just like everyone else. "Samaira is the girl Vihaan bhai is in love with... for 14 years. The girl in the painting."

Everyone's eyes widened in shock except Nitya's and Reyansh's.

Vandana spoke in a concerned voice. "Whoever this stalker is, he is not normal; he sent a letter written in blood. Samaira is really not safe."

Rajeev's face darkened. "We need to increase the security of the haveli, especially around Samaira."

Nalini's eyes were filled with worry. "I know she is an adult, but as long as she is here, her safety is our responsibility. But what did Vihaan mean by taking his place back in Black Devils? He never wanted to get involved in the Mafia even when everyone asked him to, and now he wants to join the Mafia all of a sudden?"

Dadaji's face turned grim. "It means he's going to take matters into his own hands. We need to be careful and make sure he doesn't do anything reckless; you know how he is. Though he is the most carefree and calm, we can't forget that the calm people are the most brutal."

Everyone became more tense hearing him. If there was one thing common in all their sons and daughters, it was the obsessive protectiveness they held for their family and the people they loved.

Meanwhile, out in the front garden, Samaira and Ruhi stood against the wall in silence, their eyes fixed on the beautiful fountain that was in the middle of the garden.

Samaira didn't move her eyes away from the fountains as a smirk came on her lips. "Ru, are you craving some adventure? It's been a long time since we worked together."

Ruhi's face darkened, her eyes gleaming with a fierce intensity as she also responded in an indifferent tone. "We have let him live for too long, Sam. I feel like I have saved too many lives; should I take some now?"

Samaira's smirk grew wider. "I was thinking the same thing, Ruhi. It's time we take matters into our own hands."

Ruhi nodded, her eyes flashing with agreement. "You are right; after we go back?"

After a moment of silence, Ruhi asked, "Should we tell Amyra about this?"

Samaira's expression turned thoughtful. "About the stalker, yes. But about our plan, no. She should only enjoy time with Ahaan jiju right now, and she should be free from any stress and worries. And yes, after we go back, I really do not want to do anything that can put the Oberoi family in danger. They have no relation with us, and I don't want to create any problems for them either."

Ruhi nodded in agreement. "You're right, Sam. Let's keep this between us for now and wait."

They stood in a moment of silence for some time and then decided to go back inside.

Samaira and Ruhi walked back into the aangan, where everyone was looking at them with concern.

Samaira smiled widely and said, "Don't worry, everyone. Nothing will happen to me as long as I'm under the protection of the Oberoi Empire." She said it jokingly, but Ruhi smiled to herself, knowing that Samaira was dead serious.

They knew even if the stalker was strong, he would not dare to hurt her inside the Oberoi Palace or haveli. Outside maybe, but inside... it was not at all possible. The only reason the stalker succeeded in sending the letter was because Samaira didn't put on any extra security for now.

The elders looked a little surprised to see Samaira and Ruhi being so carefree, despite the threat they received, but Nitya, Reyansh, and Agastya were not that shocked. The way Samaira spoke about killing those businessmen when Agastya was injured, they had realized that just because someone is calm doesn't mean they can't kill. It's just that they value their peace more.

But before anyone could say anything again, Vihaan walked back into the room, carrying some chocolates and snacks for everyone. His eyes were still dark and red with anger, but he quietly placed the tray of snacks on the floor and sat down in front of Samaira and handed her some chocolates.

Samaira's face lit up, and she squealed with delight. Taking the chocolates from Vihaan, she asked, surprised, "Wow, it's my favorite! You remembered?"

Vihaan's tone suddenly turned soft and loving, surprising everyone, as they all knew except Samaira and Ruhi, how angry he was a few moments before. But none of them interrupted. "Of course," he said, his eyes softened as he looked at Samaira, who was opening the wrapper of the chocolates.

Ruhi and Nitya looked at each other with almost the same expressions of mischief and asked Vihaan jokingly, "And where are our favorites?"

Vihaan looked startled, and he glanced at the snack tray. Suddenly, he realized that everything on the tray was Samaira's favorite. He looked sheepish. He picked up some snacks and gave them to Nitya. "Come on, kiddo, you eat everything. And sorry, Ruhi... ummm... I don't know what you like," he said and picked a few more snacks and gave them to Ruhi.

Ruhi dramatically gasped, "Wow, I was also your classmate; how come you remember her favorite and not mine?"

Samaira was too busy devouring her snacks, completely ignoring everyone around her. She was in her own little world, savoring her favorite chocolates. She was not fond of sweets, but chocolates were different. But her bliss was short-lived, as Ruhi snatched her chocolates and ate them in one go.

Samaira's eyes widened in shock, and she suddenly came back to her senses. She let out a playful shriek and started to tickle Ruhi mercilessly. Ruhi laughed and tried to defend herself, but Samaira was not going to stop.

Everyone around them couldn't help but smile at the sight of the two friends playfully tickling each other.

As they finally stopped after tickling each other mercilessly, the younger ones started to get restless and bored seeing the elders talking among themselves.

They saw Agastya was also fast asleep because of the pain. Samaira, Reyansh, and Nitya exchanged a look, and without saying a word, they got up and decided to head to the garden. When Ruhi and Vihaan saw them, they also got up, and everyone moved out of the aangan.

"I need some fresh air," Samaira said, yawning.

"Yeah, and I could use a walk," Reyansh added.

Nitya and Ruhi nodded, and the five of them slipped out of the aangan, leaving the elders to their conversation.

The cool breeze of the night flitted through the garden, brushing past the fragrant blossoms and rustling the leaves. The moon was high in the sky, casting a silvery glow over everything. But the peaceful ambiance was abruptly disturbed by the sight that lay before Samaira, Reyansh, Nitya, Ruhi, and Vihaan.

Ahaan was lying on the swing, his eyes closed, while Amyra was lying on him, her head on his chest as he held her tightly, hugging her even in sleep. They both were sleeping soundly.

Ahaan's shirt was half-unbuttoned, exposing his toned chest, while Amyra's hair was open and completely disheveled. The hairstyle she made was also in a bad condition, and they both had Amyra's lipstick stains on their lips.

It took only a moment for Samaira, Ruhi, Vihaan, Reyansh, and Nitya to connect the dots and realize what had happened between the two.

Ruhi's mouth dropped open. "These two have no self-control. What would have happened if someone else had come upon this scene?" Her voice held a tone of exasperation and slight amusement. She was both in disbelief and delight looking at the scene in front of her.

Vihaan and Reyansh exchanged glances, shaking their heads. "One more reason to keep an eye on those two," Vihaan muttered, a grin creeping on his face as Reyansh smirked at both of them.

Samaira quietly moved towards the peaceful pair with a devilish glint in her eye. She gently shook Amyra to wake her up. "Wake up, Idiot! Time to face the world!"

Amyra stirred a little in her sleep, her eyes fluttering open. She looked at Samaira with a confused face. "What time is it?" she mumbled in a hoarse voice.

"Your messy hair and makeup are screaming, 'It's time to fix yourself!'" Ruhi piped in, holding her phone up to show Amyra her reflection. She couldn't suppress her laughter. "At least try to look presentable after making out like that!"

"Shut up!" Amyra squealed, simultaneously yanking herself upright and trying to keep her dignity intact. She stumbled a little as she stood, glancing down at Ahaan, who was still lying on the swing, his shirt open with lipstick stains all over his lips.

Realization washed over her, and she rushed towards the nearby washroom to clean herself up.

While the girls burst into laughter, the boys decided to have some fun with their eldest brother.

Vihaan took a photo of Ahaan while Reyansh stood against the swing. They both smirked at each other as they moved the swing suddenly, causing Ahaan to lose his balance, and he fell down with a thud.

Letting out a yelp, Ahaan got up and looked around to see his brothers laughing while the girls tried to control their laughter.

"Arggh!" Ahaan groaned from the pain because of the sudden hit, though it was nothing serious as the swing was not very high, and spoke in an exasperated tone, "Really? This is how you treat your eldest brother?"

Nitya couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Elder brother? Did you start calling yourself that after this little stunt, Bhaiya?"

Soon they heard Amyra's voice, who came from the washroom, her face cleaned up and hair tied up, but she still looked a little flushed. "What happened?"

"Nothing much, bhabhi, the eldest prince and to-be king of Rajasthan just experienced a little fall!" Reyansh snickered, leaning against the swing, a teasing grin plastered on his lips.

Everyone erupted into laughter again as Ahaan got up and picked up his shirt, glaring playfully at the group, and they all laughed.

The Next Day

At 4 a.m., the aangan was filled with the sound of low murmurs and groggy voices. They all had to get up early for the Puja.

"I'm so sleepy," Nitya yawned, rubbing her eyes as her hair was disheveled.

"Come on, we have to get ready and do preparations for the Puja also," Amyra said, waking up Ruhi and Reyansh.

Everyone slowly started to get up, helping each other put back the mattresses and pillows and fold the bed sheets.

Only two people were still not ready to get up: Samaira and Vihaan, who were still sitting on the floor with half-opened eyes.

As they got up trying to pick up the mattresses, Samaira and Vihaan's eyelids began to close. They were both struggling to stay awake and stand by themselves.

Everyone was looking at them with a done face as they picked up their pillows with a lot of struggles.

Suddenly they heard a loud thud and painful groans; Samaira and Vihaan both lost their balance and fell onto one of the mattresses, landing on top of each other.

Everyone couldn't help but burst out laughing as they saw Samaira and Vihaan tangled up. Vihaan was groaning from the pain because of falling on the floor, and Samaira was laughing because of falling on Vihaan; she had not been affected.

Nalini finally said, "Stop laughing, everyone, now. They both do not look like they want to even wake up."

Vikram chuckled and said, "Looks like they're still half asleep."

Vandana giggled and said, "I think they need a few more minutes of sleep. We all slept late yesterday."

Rajeev said jokingly, "Or maybe they're just trying to get cozy."

Dadaji smiled and said to Dadiji, "These two are cute. I wonder how they both will end up."

Dadi nodded and said, seeing the two trying very hard to get up and open their eyes, "I think about it too. They both seem to like each other, but who knows what will happen?"

As Samaira finally tried to get up, she shrieked in pain, alerting everyone, "My hair! Ouch! Shit!!"

She sat down again and tried to untangle her hair, which was tangled in Vihaan's shirt button.

Finally, sleep vanished from Vihaan's eyes when he realized Samaira was in pain. He unexpectedly broke the shirt button that had entangled her hair, shocking her.

Ruhi, who was watching the scene unfold, couldn't help but say, "Now we don't need a phone or TV for entertainment."

Reyansh agreed with her and said, "I think they're just trying to make all of us feel single, even the married people."

Ahaan said nonchalantly, "I think they're just trying to get out of the task of doing Puja."

Amyra looked at the two who were still struggling to get up. "They both have the habit of working till late and even waking up late, which is why it is so difficult for them."

As Samaira and Vihaan finally managed to separate themselves, they stood up, looking a bit disheveled and worn out, but also adorable.

Vihaan smiled at Samaira and said, "I think we need some coffee."

Samaira nodded in agreement. "Or maybe just sleep."

Ruhi, who was finally running out of patience, decided to take matters into her own hands. She picked up the jug of water from the nearby table and walked towards Samaira and Vihaan with a mischievous smile and said, "I think I know how to wake you both up."

Before anyone could say anything, Ruhi threw the water at them, drenching them both and startling them.

Samaira and Vihaan let out a simultaneous yelp of surprise, their eyes snapping open as they stumbled backward. "What the...?!" Vihaan exclaimed, shaking his head and sending water droplets flying everywhere.

Samaira glared at Ruhi, her eyes flashing with annoyance. "Ruhi, you're going to pay for that!"

Everyone laughed again while Ruhi grinned, looking pleased with herself.

"Someone had to wake you two up. Now get ready, we have to prepare for Puja also," she said in a stern voice.

Nalini said, "Okay, enough fun now. Get ready, everyone, or we will get late. And you all will feel more hungry."

They all nodded and went to the rooms that were assigned to them yesterday. They had rooms, but they all wanted to stay together, also because the haveli was very large and old.

After some time, the men were all ready, and Rajeev looked at Reyansh, who was scrolling his phone, and said, "Reyansh, beta, go call your mother. She's getting ready in her room. You know where it is, right?"

Reyansh nodded and headed towards his mother's room.

He saw that the gate was not locked, so he entered without knocking and called out to his mother, "Mummy, Papa is calling you... YOU..." But before he could complete his sentence, a loud shout filled the room.

Reyansh's eyes widened in shock as he saw who shouted.

There Ruhi was standing in front of him in only a small towel, while water was dripping from her hair. She looked at him with anger and opened her mouth to scold him again when he ran towards her and quickly covered her mouth, shocking her more.

He looked at her face and immediately closed his eyes, his face turning bright red with embarrassment.

He finally realized what Ruhi was wearing-or rather, not wearing. He closed his eyes, still holding Ruhi in his arms while his hand was in her mouth so that she couldn't shout.

With his eyes still closed, Reyansh begged her, "Ruhi, please don't tell anyone about this. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to... I thought it was Mummy's room. I'll do anything; just please don't tell anyone or I will be done for..."

Ruhi calmed down a little and softly removed his hand from her mouth and said, "This is Vandana Aunty's room only. Samaira was in the washroom of our room, so Aunty told me to get ready here. And yeah, I am not gonna tell anyone."

She couldn't help but laugh at Reyansh's mortified expression, especially because his eyes were also closed.

Reyansh, still with his eyes closed, turned around and started to back away slowly. He bumped into the doorframe but managed to catch himself without opening his eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Ruhi," he repeated, his voice filled with guilt. He might be a jerk to her sometimes and was a little too flirty, but he knew his limits.

Ruhi said, "It's okay, Reyansh. I won't tell anyone. But next time, remember to knock before entering anyone's room, okay?"

Reyansh nodded vigorously, still without opening his eyes. He finally managed to stumble out of the room, still keeping his eyes closed.

Ruhi smiled to herself seeing the actions of Reyansh. She still saw him as an arrogant and idiotic, flirty bachelor who had girls around him every time, but she respected him for his passion and dedication towards his job, his love towards his family, and, of course, his manners.

Once he finally closed the door of the room behind him, he took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes. He looked around, relieved to see that no one was around, and quietly started walking towards where everyone was.

Reyansh walked into the aangan, trying to compose himself after the embarrassing encounter with Ruhi. He saw that all the gents were already there, chatting.

Rajeev saw Reyansh coming towards the sitting area and asked with a confused face, "Where did you go, beta? I sent you to call your mother, but she was in the kitchen all along. And why are your clothes wet?"

Reyansh didn't answer, trying to avoid eye contact. But Ahaan noticed that Reyansh's face was bright red and asked, "What happened, Reyansh? Why are you so red? And Bade Papa asked why your clothes are wet."