Praveen was standing outside the mansion, lost deep in his thoughts. He was leaning to a pillar, thinking about his best friend Mike and how he was gonna miss him. The two of them had grown so attached and now they were gonna go apart. It was emotional.

Praveen had just come out of the mansion after hours and hours of talking with the family, except for Antonio and Andrea. They weren't there but he had a great time although he had been nervous and shy most of the time. He hadn't spent much time with his husband and he had no idea how he truly was. But the night was coming and he was hoping they were gonna talk to each other and just bond.

As he was still in his thoughts, he felt a cold hand on his shoulder that almost made him jump. He gasped, touching his chest while moving his eyes past his shoulder. It was Celine and she was smiling brightly at him.

"It seems strange, doesn't it?" Celine said with a smile.

"I don't understand," Praveen said softly.

"I am talking about being away from your family." She chuckled nervously. "I used to feel the same way too when I came to this house. I used to miss my family but don't worry..." She patted on his back. "...you'll get used to it very soon."

"Thank you so much but I don't have a family." He said with a soft smile. "My mother and father had died and..."

"I know that but the family you used to live with is like your family, right?"

Praveen nodded, smiling at her. "They are leaving very soon and I will miss them so much."

"You shouldn't worry about that." She said, massaging his shoulder. "As long as you are with your husband, you will be happy. I have been married in this family for quite some time and although I haven't known him for long, he is a very good man."

Praveen blushed, dropping his eyes to the floor. "Really?"

"Yes!" Celine nodded. "And mother in law is the best. Besides, I am also a daughter in law of this house. You and I are just the same so whenever you need anything please, don't hesitate to call on me."

Hmm, she was better than he had thought. "Thank you so much, Celine."

"You shouldn't thank me." She gave him a genuine smile. "What are friends for if not helping each other?" She rubbed on his back and continued smiling. "I will be inside if you need me."

Praveen nodded and watched as she left inside. He continued smiling, feeling happy that he had found a friend. She was a good person. Everyone in the house kept telling him how good Antonio was and how lively he was. Guess he had nothing to worry about. He was just hoping his heart was gonna start falling for his husband very soon.

He remained outside, just looking all around the compound until it got dark. He went inside and had dinner with the rest of the family before he started chatting with granny and Emilia. They were just telling him about how they got rich and about his late father in law. He was really happy because they had received him warmly.

***

Praveen entered his room and was welcomed by a big beautiful picture of their wedding. He hadn't seen how beautiful it was until he entered the room. The room felt different at that time and he couldn't help but smile.

He closed the door and slowly entered the room, moving closer to the picture. It was placed just above the bed and Antonio's friend and Emilia had been right. The picture looked amazing and Praveen was really happy. He was just thinking whether Antonio had seen how beautiful it was.

"Hmm, this is amazing." He said, rubbing on the picture. "I love it."

He got lost deep in the picture and that smile on his face couldn't leave him at all. He got into his dream world, reliving the wonderful moments he had been sitting with Antonio during the ritual. Fuck! He could remember the way he smelled, the way he touched his hand when slipping the ring on him and the way he held his hand. It was just really beautiful and he wished at that moment that Antonio would hold him the same way he did. That was surely gonna help in making him fall deeper and deeper in love with him and...

Praveen's thoughts were interrupted when he heard a knock on the door. He came back to his senses, realizing that he had been staring at the picture for over ten minutes. He shook his head, fixed himself up, and rushed to the door.

He took a deep breath before he finally opened the door to find granny smiling at him.

"Granny?" He gasped, feeling a little shy.

"Son, I just came to say goodnight to you and Antonio." She said, resting her hand on his shoulder. "I need to rest my old bones for your food tomorrow."

Praveen smiled and nodded. "Yeah, but Antonio is not inside."

"What?" She chuckled nervously. "He is not here at this time? Where could he be?"

"I don't know." He said with a sigh. "I thought I'd find him in the room but..."

"It's fine." She patted on his shoulder. "You should just say goodnight to him but..." She paused and chuckled. "...I think you should go and look for him."

"What?" He gasped as his eyes widened. "But granny, I..."

"He's your husband and he should be spending his time with you. You two just got married and his place should be by your side." She smiled, rubbing on his neck. "You should go and look for him right away."

Praveen looked at granny in surprise. He didn't know what to say to her. Looking for Antonio? That was gonna be like... he didn't even know the word for it.

"What are you thinking about, my son?" She asked when she saw how quiet he was. "You shouldn't think about it. Just go and do it. But it's your decision. He is probably with his sister."

She kissed him on the cheek, rubbing it sweetly. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Granny left and Praveen went back inside the room. He sat on the bed, remembering and thinking about what she had said. He was thinking she was right but what right did he have to bring his husband to the room? He had his own life and it wasn't good to disturb him.

On the other hand, granny was right.

"Antonio and I haven't been able to spend some time together or talk to each other." He thought, rubbing on his temple. "Maybe I should go and get him but what will I say to him? I don't know what to do? What if he won't like it?"

Praveen didn't know what to do at all. He had no idea what to do or whom to ask for advice. But what was he gonna do? He took a deep breath and thought long and hard. He got up from the bed and confidently got out of the room.

He started walking slowly away from the room, getting even more nervous. He could still remember Andrea's room because Emilia had shown it to him the time she had given him a tour. He was walking slowly but it felt like he had only walked for seconds. He soon reached the door and he stood there just looking at it, debating whether to knock or go back to the room and wait for his husband. His heart was pounding in his chest and his hands were sweaty.

"This is it."

Praveen took a big step and went to knock the door. But before he did that, something happened, something that made him freeze and scared him so much. He could hear Andrea's voice and she was talking to someone but he didn't know if it was his husband or someone else.

Praveen's heart stopped beating for a second, he felt as if the air had just vanished from his life and he just remained like a statue. He didn't mean to eavesdrop but he found himself doing it.

"I still fail to understand why she decided to bring that boy into this house," Andrea said angrily. Her voice was low but he could hear her. "That boy isn't even fit to be the son in law of this house and not to talk about my brother's husband and yet everyone's treating him like an angel of this house. Fuck! I hate him so much."

Praveen didn't need to be a genius to know that Andrea was talking about him. He felt broken and hurt. Tears built in his eyes but he wasn't gonna cry at all. He didn't need to listen anymore so he turned to leave but...

"I hate that boy."

A really familiar voice stopped him in his tracks. At first, he felt as if his ears had betrayed him but...

"...he is the reason why this is happening."

That was all he needed. It was Antonio's voice and there was no denying that.

Praveen felt hurt and he moved away from the door. He didn't need to hear anything more. A tear went down his cheek which he quickly rubbed. He started moving away from the door, weakly walking away. He felt as if his strength had just left him. So many things were passing through his brain and he just couldn't understand any of it.
"No!" he thought, shaking his head. "This is wrong. It isn't Antonio I heard in Andrea's room. It's impossible because..." He paused and rested his hand on a wall, slowly moving to his room. "...because he's my husband. He can't possibly be the one I heard talking. No!"

Praveen was trying, by all means, to deny that it was Antonio he had heard talking but he kept on hearing that same voice. No matter what he tried to do he couldn't forget about what he had heard back in Andrea's room.

But why would Andrea say that about him, he thought as he tried to forget but he couldn't? He hadn't done anything to her and he hadn't known her before that so he just couldn't understand anything. He was trying hard to forget he had even heard that but he couldn't do it. It was making him worried and he was hurt.

He was lost in his thoughts that he didn't even realize that he had even reached his room. He stood still at the door, held the doorknob, and got lost in his thoughts again. But no matter how much he thought about it, he just got more confused and he couldn't understand.