When Sameer stopped at the entrance of Naina's building, the guard waved towards the stairway politely, 'Madam ka phone aa gaya tha sir. Aapki entry ho gayi hai. Aap chale jaiye.'

Sameer quietly took the stairs, and stopped in front of her house. Within seconds of ringing the bell, Naina opened the door.

'Hi. Come.' She moved back, making space for him to get in.

Sameer furrowed his brows as he took in her appearance. Dressed in a wide legged pyjama and an oversized tshirt that definitely had seen better days in terms of colour, she was seemingly lost in the clothes that looked too big for her. To protect her from the cold, she just had a casually thrown woollen shrug over it, which was unbuttoned. But what caught his attention was her hair. She had oiled her hair, to such an extent that they looked like she had poured a whole bottle of oil on her head.

He scrunched his nose, muttering under his breath, 'Kitna saara tel lagaya hai. Poori ki poori behenji hai.'

'Kuch kaha tumne?' Naina raised a brow, her eyes filled with doubt.

Sameer quickly tore his gaze away from her hair, 'Main... main puch raha tha... how are you?'

Naina was perplexed... she had clearly heard him passing judgement about her life during the day and now he was asking about her well being as if he was quite concerned about her. She did not want to mention that she had overheard his views earlier. It would be useless. She had already done it once. That did not deter him from making his own distorted presumptions about her, or giving a thought before spilling them out in front of others.

'Kya baat karni hai tumhe?' She asked, nodding to answer his question. Then she remembered something and said apologetically, 'Oh sorry, din mein aunty ka call aaya tha lekin maine apna phone silent pe rakha tha isliye baat nahi ho paayi. Main call back karne ka soch hi rahi thi par kaam mein busy ho gayi isliye dimag se nikal gaya. Sorry. Woh naaraz toh nahi hain? Abhi call karun kya?'

Sameer pursed his lips before speaking haltingly, 'Important baat toh hai. Lekin unse baat karne se pehle mujhe kuch discuss karna hai. '

Naina nodded and pointed towards the sofa. Sameer took a seat, then realised that there was no other chair or any place where she could sit, unless she sat right next to him.

'Uh, it's okay.' He got up and moved near the window, leaning against the frame, 'I'm fine.'

Shrugging, Naina kept her gaze on him, waiting. When he did not say anything for a couple of minutes, she sighed, 'Dekho, mere paas bohot kaam hai. Tumhe Munna ne bataya tha ki...'

She halted abruptly, not willing to let him know that she had overheard their conversation partially.

Sameer, however, caught her slip. He looked up sharply, 'Tumhe kaise pata? Kya tum...'

Naina immediately altered her words, 'Tum log sab kuch share karte ho isliye mujhe laga tumhe yeh bhi pata hoga ki humein ek project urgently deliver karna hai.'

'Oh.' Sameer heaved a sigh of relief. He did not want another argument to ensue.

Gulping down the anxiety, he started in a low voice, 'Actually ek problem ho gayi hai.'

She waited.

Sameer cleared his throat, shuffling on his feet, 'Mummy ne kisi pandit se baat ki hai aur... aur usne... usne shaadi ke liye date fix kar di hai.'

He searched her face for any signs of surprise or fear. There were none.

'Shaadi agle mahine honi zaruri hai.' His voice fell to almost a whisper.

'Okay? So?' Naina felt a wave of uneasiness twirl in her stomach. He could not be here for the reason that sprang up in her thought. No, he wouldn't, not after what he had been telling Munna during the day.

Sameer swallowed his nervousness, 'Tumhe pata hi hai ghar pe sab tumhe hi meri girlfriend maante hain. Mummy aur Anu ne toh meri shaadi ke liye...' He shot a quick glance at her as he corrected himself, '...I mean, hamari shaadi ke liye...'

'Excuse me!' Naina's eyes went wide as she cut him short, 'Shaadi? Hamari shaadi?'

Sameer quickly countered, 'I know aisa kuch contract mein nahi tha lekin ab... ab koi option nahi bacha.'

Naina felt her heart fall to the pit of her stomach. Even in her scariest nightmare, she had never found herself entering into such an arrangement, that too with Sameer. Carrying out the pretence of his girlfriend was not as tough as she had initially pictured because the meetings with his family were numbered. Few instances with other people where he introduced her as his fiancee did not create any ripple in her life since she did not meet most of those people again. In fact, the fake relationship helped her in some cases, with Param and more importantly, in front of Nakul. If she was truly honest with herself, it was the easiest money she had earned ever.

But this new twist of a marriage... a fake one... was not something she could do.

She had grown to like Sameer's family. They were genuinely worried about their son's life, even if the condition laid out for marriage felt weird to her. And they were extremely fond of her too. She had developed a soft corner for all of them, including dadaji. He was authoritative, no doubt, yet his love for his family was easily discernible. He always tried his best to make her feel at ease. She could not deceive such warm and affectionate people just for her own greed. Already, she felt guilty of portraying as someone she wasn't. She had one thought pricking her mind every moment, that all the love that was showered on her was for their daughter in law, which she was never going to be.

And now, that is exactly what Sameer was asking her to be.

'What do you mean koi option nahi bacha? Shaadi ki baat nahi hui thi. Hamara contract sirf teen chaar mahino ka tha. Tumne kaha tha tum break up ka bolkar is natak ko khatm kar doge. Don't you remember?' She asked with amazed disappointment.

Sameer snapped back, 'Yaad hai mujhe. And believe me, main seriously yehi karna chahta hun. Shaadi ki baat se mujhe bhi itna hi bada shock laga hai jitna tumne. Lekin issue yeh hai ki mummy apne pandit ki baat pe aankhen band karke bharosa karti hain. Aur usne kaha hai ki agar shaadi abhi nahi hui toh agli date August mein hogi.'

Letting out a sigh, he lowered his voice, 'Aur tab tak bohot der ho jayegi.'

Naina took a step towards him, her eyes burning with defiance, 'Toh tum chahte ho ki tumhare personal gain ke liye main tumse shaadi kar lun? Why would I do that?'

Sameer's eyes darkened. It was indeed his personal requirement but he didn't need to be reminded of it... because it sounded like some shady deal this way. Whereas, he was paying her a substantial amount to play a part to enable him achieve his goal. And now he needed her to continue with the act. It was inescapable.

'Fayda tumhara bhi toh ho raha hai.' His tried another approach to make the reason lucrative for her, 'aur aage bhi hoga. Shaadi ke baad tum...'

Shock mixed with anger was evident in her eyes as she interrupted him, brushing off his reasons in a tight voice, 'Tumhara dimag kharab hai kya? Shaadi kaise kar sakte hain hum log? Tum shaadi ka matlab jaante ho?'

He met her gaze, sure about what he was saying, 'Tum divorce ka matlab jaanti ho? Tumhara fayda toh isme aur bhi bada hai. Abhi sirf main paise de raha hun. Divorce hoga to achhi khaasi alimony milegi.'

Naina was aghast, 'Tum nakli shaadi karna chahte ho? Kuch din ke liye?'

'Toh tumhe kya asli wali karni hai, janmon janmon wali?' He shot back, though he was a little surprised by her reaction. Why would she ever be interested in a marriage in real sense if she was so much against falling in love with anyone, as per her claims.

Naina threw her hands in air, her defiance unwavering, 'Karni hi kyon hai? Humne toh poora plan decide kiya tha. Ab change kyon kar rahe ho?'

His patience was running thin, 'Apni marzi se nahi kar raha. Bataya na mummy ko pandit ne bola hai ki shaadi ki date abhi hi hai. Honestly, main khud kisi pandit ke chakkar mein nahi padta lekin mummy ko samjhana impossible hai. Woh shaadi jaise bade faisle ke liye shubh muhurat puch kar hi baat final karengi.'

'Toh tum maante ho na ki yeh ek bada faisla hai? Iska matlab is faisley ke liye bola jaane wala jhooth bhi bada hua na?' Naina asked in desperation, 'Fir tum isey lightly kyon le rahe ho? Dekho, tumhari family ko is tarah dhoka dena mere liye toh possible nahi hai. Tumhe bhi aisa nahi karna chahiye.'

Sameer's brows furrowed in frustration, 'Main tumhare paas moral lecture sunne nahi aaya hun. Mujhe bhi pata hai kya sahi hai kya galat. Aur yeh shaadi, yeh nakli kaise hogi agar hum dono apni marzi se, saare customs ke saath karenge? Jaise sabki shaadiyan hoti hain waise hamari bhi hogi. Bohot se logon ko baad mein realise hota hai ki woh ek dusre ke liye theek nahi hain isliye woh alag ho jaate hain. Hum bhi ho jayenge. What's the big deal? Aisa toh hai nahi ki divorce lene wale hum pehle couple honge.'

Naina took a moment, watching him in silence. She did not want to make a mockery of such a sacred bond. Even if she herself was not interested in getting married, it did not mean that she found the whole idea of marriage obnoxious. It was good for people who really felt that they would be incomplete without each other, hence decided to spend their lives together.

She let out a sharp breath, 'Shaadi hone se pehle divorce plan karna is a big deal, Mr Maheshwari. I don't think main kabhi shaadi karungi, lekin agar kabhi karne ka socha bhi toh usey todne ke iraade se bilkul nahi karna chahungi.'

'Listen Naina,' Sameer ran a hand through his hair in exasperation, 'Mera iraada bhi aisa nahi tha. Aur tumse shaadi karna bhi mere plan ka hissa nahi tha. Lekin situation achanak change ho gayi hai. Mere paas time nahi hai kuch aur sochne ka.'

She was not ready to believe him, 'Yeh toh koi reason nahi hua ki time nahi hai. Tum apne gharwalon ko abhi bata do ki hum dono ka breakup ho gaya hai. Fir humein shadi kyon karni padegi?'

The tension of their argument was visible on his face as he blurted out, 'Agar maine aisa nahi kiya toh meri family ki inheritance se mujhe nikaal diya jayega.'

Naina watched him with narrowed eyes.

In a resigned voice, Sameer whispered, 'Yeh baat sirf family business ya jaydaad ki nahi hai. Maine itne saalon mein kabhi socha tak nahi tha ki mujhe apni company se, apne kaam se alag hona padega. Mere liye sirf ek job ya designation nahi balki papa aur dadaji ke naam se jura ek rishta hai hamari company. Meri identity hai yeh, isey kaise chor sakta hun. Tum shayad iss baat ko nahi samajh paogi, lekin yeh inheritance mere liye financial se zyada emotional requirement hai.'

He thought that she could never understand the meaning but Naina knew exactly how it felt . Inheritance for her was not really a tangible thing, but a part of life that defined her, that was responsible for making her what she was today. When that part of life slowly slipped away from your hands, it left a deep void inside you.

The same feeling was gnawing at her heart and mind ever since she came to know that her childhood house would be gone forever. She had realised that she was not to be blamed for her mother's death and had finally accepted that the real purpose of Anuj was to make her feel guilty for the same. Or why would he reveal this now, when he wanted to take her attention away from the sale of house? Why he, or anyone, never told her how her mother actually died, instead of just saying that she wasn't well and could not survive. Anuj definitely wanted to dump her with a revelation so profound that she could not recover from it easily.

And that was the reason she wanted to get back the house. She wanted to arrange the money that Tina had asked for.

If she could feel so attached to something that did not even bring up a genuine smile on her face, it was obvious that Sameer was unable to let go of his inheritance.

'Naina? Tum sun rahi ho na main kya keh raha hun?' Sameer's loud voice brought back her attention to present moment.

Taking a deep breath, she nodded, 'Sun rahi hun. Aur samajh bhi rahi hun. Dekho, shaadi karna toh possible nahi hoga. Lekin main tumhe help karne ke liye ready hun. Just give me some time. Main kuch sochti hun ki tum is problem se kaise nikal sakte ho.'

He tried to explain again, 'Yeh koi choti moti problem nahi hai Naina. Warna main aur Munna Pandit iska solution aasani se nikaal lete. Yeh meri life, mere future ka sawaal hai. Iske baare mein jitna marzi soch lo, solution bas ek hi niklega... ki mujhe agle mahine shaadi karni hai. Bas karni hai.'

'Yeh toh nahi ho sakta.' Naina declared with finality.

Sameer felt the weight of her words drowning him. A part of him knew that she had a right to step back, but deep down, he felt that if he did have to get married at this stage, he could not think of anyone other than Naina as his wife. His chest felt tight as he grappled with the realisation.

Looking away, he hesitated for a while, the memory of his words to Munna causing a ripple of anger wave through him... at himself. If Naina had heard his opinion about herself, he wouldn't have been standing here.

Linking his fingers and clicking them together, he said in a firm voice, 'Shaadi toh ab ruk nahi sakti Naina. Na hi main kisi aur se shaadi karunga. Tum isme mera saath dene ke liye jo chaho woh amount maang sakti ho. Iske baare mein achhe se soch lo. Main kal call karunga. Good night.'

And he walked out, shutting the door behind him.

When Natasha arrived little after midnight, she found Naina in the living room, wrapped in a shawl, her hair oiled and tightly wound on the top of her head. Whenever Naina did her oil therapy in winters, she would wash her hair in two hours. Today, she was seated in the same state even at this hour meant it had been several hours since she applied oil to her hair.

'Aaj firse tel laga liya, woh bhi itna saara? Baalon mein kya pakode talne hain tujhe?' Natasha chided, placing her bag on the cabinet and taking off her heels, 'Aur lagaya bhi toh ab tak shampoo kyon nahi kiya? Agar cold ho gaya toh? Yaar tu na kabhi kabhi bilkul bachhi ho jaati hai. Sab kuch batana padta hai.'

When Naina did not answer, she walked upto her, 'Kya hua? Not feeling well?'

Naina looked up at her. Natasha was shocked to see the confusion in her eyes, along with her lined forehead.

She kneeled in front of the sofa, 'Kya hua Naina? Anuj bhaiya ne fir se kuch kaha kya?' That was the first thing that came to her mind seeing her distressed state.

Naina took a deep breath, 'Sameer... wants to get married... to me.'

Next update on Monday