A big sorry for the delay 🙏🏻🙏🏻

Hi!

Before we begin with the chapter, I have something to say. I could feel that most of you want Naina to tell Sameer about her family, her brother and the situation she is facing. But I'm not bringing that in the story yet for a reason. If, for one moment, you forget all about Samaina and what they have been, and just see Sameer and Naina as first time characters of this story, would you still feel the same?

Here, Sameer has been always judgemental and arrogant, at times humiliating too. Though he has helped Naina at times, he never forgets to bring up the matters of money and status. In such a scenario, how can Naina bare her family equation to him? It's not just about the house. If she shared her need with him, she would also have to tell him all that she had to go through, with her father and brother. Don't you think talking about relations that have been ugly and sour is difficult? Would she be comfortable in telling such things to someone with whom she just has to spend a stipulated time, under a contract? Naina has always struggled alone. She would be guarded in her behaviour, scared to let anyone else in. Who wants to show their vulnerable side to someone who they think hates them. Even if we get friendly with people at work or other places we frequent, something that hurts us deeply is our very own secret. The trust that is needed to show such a side of yours to someone has still not developed between them. And for Naina, who has been alone in spite of having a family, this trust would not come that easy. He is not a stranger, par woh abhi uska apna bhi toh nahi hai.

Of course, they'll get together eventually, for ever, but the road to that blissful destination would have several ups and downs.

~~~~~

Naina spent the day at office keeping herself immersed in work. She handled all calls, attended the meetings, answered mails, sent required details of ongoing projects to clients... did everything she could to not have even a moment's time when she would be idle. But once the office hours were over, her mind instantly jumped back to those few moments of morning. Sitting in the metro, she could recall every single second, from the time she stepped out after bath, till Sameer left for the airport. her initial response in the morning was that it was perhaps a dream. But it wasn't. Even after Sameer was gone, a strange comforting warmth had surrounded her, making her feel lighter than she had felt in days. Yet, more confused than ever.

Once she was home, she was kind of glad that Sameer was not there. She wasn't ready to meet him. He had asked her a question, which she could not answer. He had looked into her eyes, his own devoid of the usual high handedness or ridicule, and asked her to think about it.

'Agar tum chaho toh call kar lena, warna jab main wapas aunga, tab bata dena. Lekin Naina, iss baare mein sochna zarur. Hum ek hi room mein rehte hain, aur aise mein hum ek dusre se beparwah toh nahi ho sakte. Short term hi sahi, par hamara rishta toh hai. Main sach mein tumhare liye Natasha jaisa dost banna chahta hun, jisse tum apni tensions share kar sako. And I promise, iss baar main apni baat se peeche nahi hatunga. Please tum mujhe ek mauka toh do. You won't regret it.'

She had not expected such words from him... The Sameer Maheshwari. She had seen his compassion for others on several occasions. He had been good to her too a few times yet he would show such empathy was what had left her perplexed.

After dinner, which she could barely eat, Naina sat in the bed, replaying his words in her mind. Sleep was far from her, the confusion taking control of all her senses. She did not know how long she had been sitting at the same place, lost in thoughts of this new version of Sameer when a sound from somewhere in the house startled her. She quickly reached for her phone to check the time. It was almost three a.m.

Suddenly she sat up in alarm as the same sound was heard again. It was faint, but it was definitely a sound... of drawers opening. A chill swept through her. Was there an intruder in the house? Who else could it be, at three in the night. But how could someone enter that easily? She was aware of the security system. It was impossible to get inside without crossing the areas which were monitored and had a handprint identification access. The alarms were sensitive to movement of even a stray cat.

Naina thought of calling up Ambika, then stopped. It was too late in the night. If the sound turned out be just her imagination, she did not want to put unnecessary scare in the mind of the family. It was better to go down herself and be sure before alarming others.

Slowly, she opened the door of her room and looked around. There were two rooms between theirs and Anaya's which were used for guests or relatives. They were empty for now. The corridor was dark and silent. There was no light visible under Anaya's door either. With soft steps, she started to go down the stairs. The living room was dark, but there was a hint of some movement around the dining area. If there was indeed a thief, why would he lurk around here instead of searching for valuables, which would definitely not be in the kitchen or dining room.

'Kahin mummy ki tabiyat toh kharab nahi ho gayi?' The thought struck her like a bolt when another sound confirmed a presence in the kitchen.

She rushed down the remaining steps and darted towards the kitchen, only to stop at the door suddenly. Inside, Anaya was standing against the counter, with a pan on the stove, and swaying lightly, probably to music. Her phone was placed closeby, with its screen casting a bluish glow around. She had not switched on any other light. Naina couldn't help but smile. The sole reason of all her anxiety was a craving for midnight snack by Anaya. Just then, Anaya turned around to get something from the drawer on the side panel.

'What the...' She gasped, pulling out her earbuds as she took a step back, then heaved a sigh of relief, 'Kya bhabhi, you creeped me out.'

Naina stepped towards her, keeping her voice low, 'Aur tum jo yeh khatar patar kar rahi ho raat ke teen baje? Mujhe laga koi chor hai.'

'Chor?' Anaya giggled, turning the music off, 'Hamare ghar mein? Bhai ka lagaya security system itna kadak hai ki kabhi kabhi hum log hi ghar mein enter nahi kar paate toh bichara chor kahan se ayega.'

'Kya matlab?' Naina furrowed her brows.

The sound of boiling water made both of them look at the pan. Anaya quickly opened the drawer and took out two packets of Maggie, then turned to ask, 'Maggie khaoge?'

Naina shrugged, bobbing her head. This brought back the memories of Natasha. Sometimes, the two of them would keep talking till very late in the night, and get hungry. Maggie was not just comforting, but the easiest food option for such hunger pangs. Anaya quickly finished the task, arranged two bowls in a tray and divided the steaming noodles equally. They settled on the tall chairs near a counter beside the refrigerator.

'Waise Bhabhi, aap iss waqt kaise uth gayi? Maine itna shor bhi nahi machaya ki aapki neend khul jaaye.' Anaya asked, taking a forkful in her mouth.

'Main soyi hi kahan thi. Sab kuch silent tha isliye halki awaaz bhi sunayi de gayi. Awaaz se main darr gayi. Isliye dekhne aayi thi.' Naina replied innocently, unaware of the way Anaya's smile twisted.

'Oh, toh aapko neend nahi aa rahi thi.' She dramatically let out a slow exhale, 'Haye, saiyan bina nahi kat ti raatein.'

Naina looked up sharply as the meaning of her words dawned on her, and her face turned red, 'Aisa nahi... I was working. Kuch... kuch reports aur presentations banani thi woh...'

Even to herself, it sounded lame. So she turned quiet. Anaya's smirk was making her extremely conscious, especially since she had actually been unable to sleep because she had been thinking about Sameer.

To put the focus away from herself, she shot the same question, 'Tum bhi toh jaag rahi thi. Kyon?'

Anaya shrugged nonchalantly, 'Binge watching. New season aaya hai ek show ka. Uske end hone ke baad thodi bhookh lagne lagi isliye maggie banane aa gayi. You know bhabhi, aise raat ko akele maggie khaane ka mazaa hi alag hai.'

Naina smiled, 'Pata hai. Main aur Nutty bhi kabhi kabhi aise hi karte they.' Then teased her, 'lekin humne kisi ko daraya nahi kabhi, tumhari tarah. Achha tum security ke baare mein kya keh rahi thi?'

Anaya swallowed the mouthful, then leaned towards her, whispering, 'Jab bhai ne security system lagwaya tha tab Dadaji ne kaha tha ki itna sab karne ki zarurat nahi hai. Lekin bhai toh bhai hain. Unhone kisi Japanese company se install karwaya hai. Main door pe handprint aur face scanner toh aapne dekha hi hai. Lekin bahar ke passage pe weight scanner bhi hai. Usmein hum sabke weight feed kiye hue hain. Jab bhi kisi ka weight zyada fluctuate hota hai uski entry band. Pappa kai baar atak chuke hain. Mummy kehti hain unki diet control mein rakhne ka yehi best option hai.'

Naina chuckled, 'Haww bechare papa.'

Anaya had no sympathy though, 'I don't think woh itne bechare hain. Agar mummy itni strict na rahe unke saath toh papa abhi tak double ho gaye hote. He's so fond of eating.'

That earned another laugh from Naina. She added on a more serious note, 'Waise bhai ne kaam toh achha kiya hai. He has live feed in his laptop aur ek connection ghar ke ek laptop pe bhi hai. Koi bhi camera footage dekh sakta hai.'

'Ghar mein cameras hain?' Naina was flabbergasted.

Anaya quickly shook her head, 'Ghar ke andar nahi, bahar open mein. Saamne, backyard mein, pool ke entrance tak...' She winked suggestively, '...par pool area mein bhi koi security cameras nahi hain. isliye aapko... I mean, you can plan anything.'

Naina rolled her eyes, 'Anu, tumhari imagination kuch zyada hi active nahi hai?'

'Not at all.' Anaya was quick to refute, 'Main bhi bhai ki tarah full on romantic hun. Aise logon ke paas na, ideas ka khazana hota hai. In fact, kabhi aapko help chahiye ho, bhai ko surprise karne ke liye, toh puch lena.'

'Mujhe... mujhe koi help nahi chahiye.' Again, Naina felt a blush creep up her cheeks.

Anaya grinned as she polished off the remnants from the bottom of her bowl, 'I know I know. Aap khud bhi expert ho, tabhi toh bhai jab dekho aapke khyalon mein khoye rehte hain. Unhe toh jaise kuch aur dikhayi sunayi hi nahi deta.'

'Anu, tum na...' It was getting difficult for Naina to sit here in the dark room and hear such things, 'main jaa rahi hun.'

'Achha achha sorry.' Anaya held her arm, holding her one ear, 'Bhai ke style mein sorry bol rahi hun ab toh maaf kar do.'

Naina had never seen Sameer do anything like this, 'Sameer ke style mein? Woh sorry bolta hi kahan hai jo kisi style ko trademark karega.'

Anaya's eyes widened, 'Haww, aapko sorry nahi bolte? Aane do unhe wapas. Papa hamesha kehte hain ki apni wife ko subah shaam sorry bolna happy married life ki guarantee hai. Main papa ko...'

'Nahi Anu, usne aaj subah hi bola tha.' Naina quickly defended, 'What I meant was... aise... jo tumne kiya...' She touched one ear, 'yeh maine kabhi nahi dekha.'

'Maybe aapke liye koi special style hoga.' Anaya winked again, 'No issue. Aapko disclose karne ki zarurat nahi hai.'

Naina simply lowered her head. Anaya was one step ahead of Natasha when it came to teasing.

'Achha bhabhi main aapko ek trump card dun?' Anaya's eyes shone with mischief as she clicked her fingers.

'Trump card?' Naina was curious, 'Kiske liye?'

'Arey apne husband ko apne control mein rakhne ke liye. Mujhe pata hai bhai thode se tedhe toh hain. Aage se jab bhi woh attitude dikhayein, aap unhe yeh dikha kar checkmate de dena." Anaya fished out her phone and started to swipe through her gallery.

Naina did not understand what she meant till she flashed the screen in front of her. Naina's eyes widened.

'Sameer?'

Anaya nodded excitedly, 'Mere first birthday ki picture hai.'

Naina could not control her chuckle, 'Birthday tumhara aur birthday dress Sameer ko?'

In the picture, Sameer was dressed in a frilly pink gown, his long hair tied up in two ponies, with cute bows of white satin ribbons adorning them. The shorter hair formed a cute fringe. He had a big smile on his face, and he did look like a pretty girl.

'Mummy ne hum dono ke liye same dress banwayi thi.' Anaya giggled, 'Unhe baby girls bohot pasand hain na. Toh unhone theme hi dolls ka rakha tha. Aur bhai ko bhi doll bana diya. He was very excited at that time. Koi doll banne ko kehta toh jhatt se eyes blink kartey.'

Naina held her stomach as she laughed, imagining him doing such a gesture. Anaya too laughed with her, filling her up with more of her brother's antics which, at that time, he thought were making others appreciate him.

Anaya added, 'Lekin ab toh bhai isey dekh ke phat padte hain. Unhone iska video bhi kahin chuppa diya aur album se saari pictures nikal li. Sirf yeh ek picture hai jo maine scan karke rakhi hai. Aapko send karti hun. Use whenever you want.'

Naina was still laughing when she went back to her room little later. She could not even fathom how Sameer would react when he got to know that she not only had seen the picture but had it in her phone now. This whole talk with Anaya made her feel better than she had been the whole day. She did not come to know when she fell asleep.

Sorry guys the chapter ends here as I didn't get time to add more

Will try to make up in the next one on Friday