When Bhairav Ji finally locked the door, I coughed uncomfortably, "M-maaf kijiye... Mai darvaza band karna bhul gayi..."

(I- I'm sorry... I forgot to lock the door...)

He sighed and sat by the edge of the bed, watching the kids. Even the children stared at him quietly, and I pushed them forward, "Baba itne saalo baad wapas aaye hai... Unke paas jao."

(Baba is back home after many years... Go near him.)

Janaki was the first to take a step as she crawled towards her father and placed her little palm in his. She carefully inspected the rings on his fingers, and Raghav joined her too. My daughter removed one of them, and right before she could throw it in her mouth, Bhairav Ji caught her hand, "Khaane ki cheez nahi hai."

(It's not food.)

She stared at her father for a while and tried opening his fist to take the ring again. Bhairav Ji shuffled his hands, and when Janaki patted his fist again, he opened it and revealed the missing ring.

My daughter looked at her father again and sucked on her thumb. Raghav even checked under his palm for the ring, making him smile.

But finally, the kids caught his other hand and shook it in excitement. The ring was there as they expected, and Janaki squealed.

Right before she could snatch the ring again, Bhairav Ji closed his fist and shuffled his hands again. Raghav tried opening his left fist, while Janaki shook his right.

"Gayab ho gaya..." My husband mumbled, opening both his fists. Even I was surprised to see that the ring had disappeared.

(It vanished...)

Then, my husband pretended to tuck a lock of hair behind my ear. "Mil gayi anghuti," he smiled, pulling the ring from behind my ear.

(Here's the ring again.)

Janaki and Raghav gasped. They even clung to their father in excitement and began shaking him, "Phirse! Baba, phirse!"

(Again, Baba! Again!)

Bhairav Ji wrapped his arms around them slowly and pressed his face against theirs. He had a soft smile on his face as he kissed their faces and cradled them in his arms. "Kitne bade ho gaye ho... Ek haath mein dono ko utatha tha..." He mumbled into their hair.

(How big you've gotten... I used to carry you both in one arm...)

"Aapne kaha se seekha?" I asked in surprise as Raghav successfully climbed onto his father's shoulders and began ruffling his hair. Janu too was restless as she cupped his face in her hands, making sure he looked only at him while demanding he do the magic trick again.

(Where did you learn that from?)

"Rehman ne sikhayi thi..."

(Rehman taught it to me...)

He held Raghu's back so that he wouldn't fall. "Mujhe bhi..." Janaki squeezed her father's shoulders and tried climbing his chest. He looked helpless as he supported her little legs and lifted her onto his shoulder as well.

(Me too...)

"Bandaro ko janam diya hai kya?" He eyed me.

(Did you give birth to monkeys?)

It was my turn to smile now, and I squeezed his cheeks, "Aapke hi aulad hai, Thakur Ji."

(They're your children, Thakur Ji.)

Right then, Raghav fell backwards and off his Father's shoulder. My husband acted instantly as he held Janaki with one arm and caught Raghav's leg with the other. He was hanging upside down as he grinned at us. If not for his Father, my baby's head would have struck the floor.

"Phirse! Baba, phirse!" He howled like a wolf. This time, Bhairav Ji let him go on purpose, and he fell to the floor. Raghu didn't cry, though. He climbed onto the bed again and hugged his Father from behind so that he'd lift him. Their innocent laughter filled the air, and even Bhairav Ji was smiling at their antics.

I couldn't describe how happy I felt seeing the kids like this.

(Again! Baba, again!)

Even though I was quite sore after everything my husband had done last night, I couldn't just ignore my duties. I wrapped myself in a beautiful red sari after showering and applied sindoor to my hair parting. It felt refreshing to be able to do it again. My colorful glass bangles, earrings, nose ring, anklets... Everything was in place as I adorned myself in the mirror. It felt like a new beginning.

When I went downstairs, Maa was the first one to catch me. Even the maids stared in shock because of the way I was dressed. I wondered what Maa would say as I fixed my veil a little better. She placed her hand on my head with a soft smile, "Sada suhagan raho, beta."

(Have a blessed married life, beta.)

My heart fluttered at her words, and I bent down to touch her feet. When I was left alone in the kitchen with Aradhya and the maids, the eldest among them didn't hesitate to step forward. "Thakurain Ji... Aap yeh kya kar rahi hai? Gaon waale dekh lenge toh kya kahenge? Vidhwaon ke kuch niyam hote hain... unka paalan zaroori hai."

(Thakurain Ji... What are you doing? What will the villagers say if they see you? There are some rules that widows need to follow. They're important.)

Aradhya was the first one to speak on my behalf, "Aaj se Bhabhi vidhwa nahi hai, Kaki... Jeth Ji ghar laut aaye hain."

(Bhabhi is not a widow from today, Kaki... Jeth Ji has returned home.)

They all gasped in unison, "Th-Thakur Ji...? Aap... Kya keh rahe hain..."

(Th-Thakur Ji...? What are you saying...)

Of course, it would be difficult to make them understand. I cleared my throat, "Bahut lambi kahani hai. Do saal pehle Gulzar Sultan ke logon ne humare pati ko jaan se maar daalne ki koshish ki thi... Par us durghatna mein ek dusri jaan kho gayi. Hum sabne socha tha ki woh Thakur Ji the par nahi... Woh in do saalo se Gulzar Sultan ko jail bhejne ki taiyari chupke se kar rahe the. Kal woh saphal ho gaye... Aur raat ko humare paas wapas laut aaye hai. Agar vishwas nahi hota toh khud dekh lijiye." I smiled at them.

(It's a long story. Two years ago, Gulzar Sultan's men tried to murder my husband... But in that accident, another innocent man lost his life, and we believed that it was the Thakur Ji... In these two years, he's been secretly working on sending Gulzar to prison. Yesterday, he finally did it, and by night, he returned to me. If you don't believe it, see for yourself.)

Their eyes were wide as they peered out of the kitchen. My husband came down the stairs at that time, and the kids were right behind him, jumping two steps at a time to catch his attention.

I poured him a glass of chai as he sat at the head of the table, sighing, "Do saalo se kuch acha khaaya nahi hu... Nashta jaldi lao."

(I haven't eaten anything good in two years... Bring breakfast quickly.)

"Abhi layi," I smiled and sent the kids to wake Saarang before helping Aradhya with breakfast.

(I'll bring it now.)

"Aaj se phir kabhi mai aapke kamre mei nahi aaungi..." Aradhya whispered quietly. My face reddened in an instant as I looked at her, "T-tumhari galti thi...! Aise bina bataye koi aata hai kamre mei?" I huffed. She only shook her head with a smile.

(I'll never come into your room ever again...)

(It was y-your fault...! Who even comes in unannounced like that?)

After serving breakfast with everyone, my husband began narrating everything from scratch. It began with how he had been saved by a poor muslim fisherman. Janaki and Raghu sat beside me on the same chair as I fed them by hand. Raghav rarely sat in one place, and he slipped down the chair countless times to inspect the rings on his father's hand while I fed him. Bhairav Ji kept him entertained with one hand while talking to the others.

Maa couldn't believe that her son had lived as a muslim businessman for the past two years. I never thought he'd be crazy enough to pull it off. She gave him strict instructions to visit the temple every day for a month at least to 'cleanse' him. I didn't think Bhairav Ji was bothered by it.

Honestly, even I had been quite against the idea of him accepting another religion, even though it was to save his life. Especially because Gulzar Sultan was a muslim. But it felt like my ideals were cleansed after meeting Yusuf and Rehman. I believed it was the same with my husband. The life of a human being was far more important than the religion he or she belonged to.

There was a loud uproar outside, and Gopal stumbled into the hall with two others. Their eyes widened in shock, "M-malik... Malik...! Sach hai... Aap... Aap zinda hai, Malik! Hume vishwas nahi hua!" Their eyes glistened with tears, and Gopal even shouted at the men outside, "Malik zinda hai!"

(M-Malik... Malik...! It's real! You... You're alive, Malik! We couldn't believe it! Malik is alive!)

My husband didn't get angry. I remembered how he used to snap when someone interrupted him. The two years apart had made him a lot kinder. I liked the change.

Bhairav Ji sighed, "Haan, zinda hu... Bahar intezar karo... Nashte ke baad aata hu."

(Yes, I'm alive... Wait outside... I'll be there after breakfast.)

"Ji Malik!" Gopal replied excitedly, and all three of them joined their hands respectfully, "Aaram se kha lijiye, Malik. Hum yahi rehenge!"

(Yes sir! Eat peacefully, we'll be right here!)

It made me smile to think that everyone was just as excited as me to have my husband back. But then he dropped the bomb that nobody was expecting.

"Aur haan... Jis raat Baldev ise Gulzar ke paas lekar aaya tha, us raat main bhi wahin tha," he coughed. I glanced at him in surprise. Even two maids who stood nearby were listening intently in silence. Even though nobody said it out loud to not hurt the kids or me, everyone was suspicious about my purity.

(And yes... On the night that Baldev brought her to Gulzar, I was there too.)

"Us raat maine Sanjana ko sab kuch bata diya tha. Main yeh bhi nahi chahta tha ki woh kisi aur ko kuch bataye, isliye woh chup rahi. Aur fikr mat kijiye... woh mere paas hi thi us raat. Gulzar ke saath vidyalay ki baat hui aur Yusuf ne raat ko use chupke se ghar chhodne mei madad ki. Kuch dino ke liye maine use vidyalay ki chuti dene ko kaha thaki woh aur bache ghar mein surakshit rahe. Gulzar ke log kab kya kare... Koi nahi keh sakta."

(I had told everything to Sanjana that night. And I didn't want her telling anyone else, so she kept it a secret. And don't worry... She was with me that night. Gulzar talked about the school, and Yusuf dropped her back home securely. I was the one who asked her to close the school for a few days so that she could stay home safely. Nobody can predict what Gulzar's are up to...)

The maids whispered something among themselves, and I saw relief in Keshav's eyes when my husband mentioned that nothing had happened that night. He had been bearing that burden for a long time now.

But the one detail that I had forgotten to mention to Bhairav Ji was the hickey that Maa had seen.

Her eyes didn't leave me from the other end of the table. I didn't dare to look up as my cheeks flushed instantly. Even though my husband did a wonderful thing by saying he had protected me that night... Only Maa knew how he had protected me exactly. And to think she knew about the tattoo as well... Not even Aradhya was aware of it.

Maa coughed deliberately, "Bache paani maang rahe hai. Pila do."

(The kids are asking for water.)

"J-Ji..." I gulped and made them drink water. I wondered how many more times I'd have to embarrass myself in front of her like this. It was all because of the musclehead that I had married.

(Y-yes...)