📖 **CHAPTER THIRTEEN — "Family Clash"**
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### 💌 Author Note — From Aish L'Inarrestabile:
> *"Miei lettori fedeli all'amore leale (my readers loyal to loyal love)... This isn't your typical mother-in-law vs wife drama. No screaming. No disrespect. Just power meeting pride, elegance meeting fire, and a son caught in the crossfire — ready to kneel for both women if it means peace. Let's walk into a clash made of strength, not hate."*
> — *Aish L'Inarrestabile*
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### 🔄 **Recap from Chapter 12 — "The First Night":**
Aira wore a black saree and turned Yuvraj into a worshipper.
He begged. She commanded.
They didn't make love.
They made *devotion*.
The next morning, Yuvraj left to hunt the one who tried to harm her.
But back at the Malhotra estate… another challenge waited.
One dressed in pearls, power, and maternal grace.
His mother.
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**AIRA**
She didn't hate me.
I could feel it the second she walked into the sunroom — graceful, regal, wrapped in cream silk and years of earned silence.
Ritika Malhotra wasn't a woman who wasted words.
She was a woman who *commanded kingdoms* with one raised brow.
And today, she raised it at me.
> "Black suits you."
I nodded. "So does power."
She sipped her tea.
I poured mine without spilling a drop.
> "You're not what I expected."
> "Neither is your son."
That made her smile — just a little.
And I realized something:
This wasn't war.
This was a test.
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**YUVRAJ**
I came back with blood on my shirt and names crossed off my list.
But when I walked into the sunroom, I didn't find chaos.
I found **two queens** sipping tea like they hadn't just been circling each other like tigers.
My mother looked at me.
Calm. Cold.
> "She's sharp."
Aira answered before I could.
> "Sharper than the blade you once kept under your pillow, Signora."
They both smiled.
And I exhaled.
Because this wasn't a battle.
It was an alliance.
Forged in elegance.
Fueled by love.
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**AIRA**
She stood and walked toward me.
Stopped just in front of my chair.
Then gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
> "You'll either break him," she said softly. "Or make him immortal."
> "I plan to do both," I replied.
> "Good."
She kissed my forehead.
Turned to Yuvraj.
> "Your father would've hated her."
> "And?"
> "Which is exactly why I love her."
She left the room like she ruled the palace.
And I sat there, stunned.
Because that was the moment I realized—
I wasn't just married to Yuvraj Malhotra.
I was being **welcomed into the bloodline**.
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**That evening, Yuvraj wrapped his arms around Aira from behind as she stood at the mirror.**
> "They'll never touch you," he whispered.
> "Because of your men?"
> "No, amore. Because of *you.*"
Then a knock came.
Urgent.
One of his guards stepped in.
> "Boss… we have a problem."
> "The Singh family just landed in Rome."
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### 💌 Author Note — From Aish L'Inarrestabile:
> *"Mamma-in-law approved. Wife adored. But the past? The Singh legacy just arrived — and baby, they didn't come for espresso. Chapter 14: The Honeymoon That Wasn't is about to go full firestorm."*
> — *Aish L'Inarrestabile*
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