"Kya hua? Kyu chilla rahi hai?" Parminder Ji asked her daughter over the phone call.

"Ye Sidharth bhi na, subha se toh bada muh fula ke ghoom raha hai. Lekin ghar aate sath mere pe chillane laga! Iski problem samajh nahi aati meko." Shehnaaz replied, stirring the spoon in the vessel.

"Ladayi ki tum dono ne?" her mother asked.

"Ladayi nahi Mumma, maine toh ulta madat ki thi uske bhanje ki." she answered.

"Tu uske bhanje ko kaise janti hai?" her mother shot another question.

"Aise hi, aata jata tha toh jaan pehchaan ho gayi. Achi dosti bhi ho gayi humari, college jaata hai, Shehbaz se 1-2 saal chhota hoga." she replied, also letting her mother know about the gambling and returning the debt drama which caused the tiff.

"Haaye toh tune kyu paise de diye?" her mother dramatically gasped.

"Amma! Vo baccha vaha dara hua tha aur aise time me mai paiso ki sochti?!" she questioned her mother back.

"Puttar, ye unka aapas ka mamla tha. Agle din uske ghar vale aajate aur de dete paise!" her mother answered, as obvious as she sounded Shehnaaz didn't find it right.

"Lekin Mummy-" she was countering when her mother didn't let her.

"Apna nahi socha? Mahine ka kiraya kaha se deti yadi vo paise nahi lauta ta toh? Shehbaz ko bhi paise bhejti rehti hai, jama karna kab seekhegi tu?" her mother scolded.

"Maa! Kaha ki baat kaha leke ja rahe ho? Maine bas vahi kiya jo uss time mujhe sahi laga. Uss bacche ko log dara rahe the!" she reasoned.

"Lekin meri bacchi, tu ye nahi samajh rahi hai ki ye teri jagah nahi hai ke tu uski madat kare. Vo toh baccha hai, ghar valo se dar gaya toh dost ke paas madat lene aaya lekin tu toh badi hai na, tujhe ye mamla uski family ko hi dekhne dena chahiye tha." her mother replied and Shehnaaz took a minute to grasp what she was just told.

Maybe that's why Sidharth was making an issue out of it, he was mad at her for hiding about the thing as well as the fact that she helped his nephew out of the way. Maybe she did not think of this matter as seriously as he took it and might set them off. Well, apart from the fact that she could be overthinking she knew there's always a maybe. He hadn't even cared to come up and introduce her to Preeti in the morning, another hint. And the thought was enough to set her on a worried mode.

"Sidharth, sunna!" Shehnaaz knocked at his bedroom door.

"Baat karni hai, subha se mauka nahi-" she was saying when he opened the door, dressed up in a pair of blue T-shirt and jeans.

"Kaha ja raha hai?" she asked.

"Kya kaam hai?" he asked back. "Baat karni hai." she replied.

"Baad me karenge." he said and made his way towards the main door.

"Nahi. Subha se baat nahi kar raha hai tu, kal raat ko bhi theek se humari baat nahi hui thi." she requested, holding his hand mid way.

"Listen to me once, no!" she requested.
"No, I don't want to and nor do I have time. I've to be somewhere else." he replied, brushing her hand off his.

"Aise mat karna. Sun toh le, mai janti hu tu kyu gussa hai! Lemme explain!" she whined, trying to cover the gap they had in between.

"Tumko ek baar me samajh nahi aata kya? I don't have time for you now!" he stressed on his words, keeping the gap.

"Yaar, meri intention baat chhupane ki nahi thi! Lekin kardi maine galti. Sorry! Nahi chhupaungi aage se kuch, promise." she said, curling her thumbs under her toes nervously when there wasn't even a tint of change in his expressions and those cold eyes.

"Tera family matter tha. Nahi karna chahiye tha mujhe kuch, bas uss moment me jo sahi laga maine kar diya. Mai nahi karungi aage se aisa kuch." she added, pleading to him. She could keep some distance from Adved if he wanted that.

Sidharth however wasn't expecting this, in the explanation. "Baat family matter ki nahi hai." he replied.

"Toh tu maan kyu nahi raha? Tujhe lagta hai maine jaan ke tere se baat chhupayi?" she asked.

"Ha!" he replied.

"Adi ne khud bola tha tere ko nahi batane ko! Blame nahi kar rahi hu usko, lekin mai samne se aake tujhe batati ki usne aise satte laga ke paise kamane shuru kiye hai aur ab fass gaya hai in chakkaro me. Tu manta? Tujhe vishwas hota? Tujhe jo bhi lagta, Adi pakka mere pe phir kabhi bharosa nahi karta!" she stated, blinking away her tears.

He did take a moment to think about it, though she had a reason but not good enough to keep it from him. Trust and love are the two important things a relationship needs to exist mutually.

According to his data analysis, she didn't love him yet it was already known and that she didn't trust him enough had been just revealed. Whatever the matter would have been, he would have believed her. It was just the realization that kept him from talking to her, even though being an adult talking and clearing the thing was an option but he opted for the other. He left to have dinner with Vardhan and his woman, as per the invitation received.

Shehnaaz however accepted the fact that she unintentionally pulled herself into a situation. She lost her appetite and stood on the balcony, staring at the city lights blankly. A little later when she was in her room, she heard the door opening and closing, marking his return.

"Sidharth.." she walked out of her room, trying to talk again.

"Mujhe neend aa rahi hai." he replied, leaving the kitchen after having a glass of water.

"Toh tu baat nahi karega mere se?" she asked.

"Kar toh raha hu!" he shrugged, without even looking at her.

"Aise nahi, normally!" she mentioned.

"Acha thik hai, tu change karle phir hum yaha sofe pe so jate hai." she suggested, on finding out that he didn't wish to talk.

"Mai apne room me ja raha hu." he replied.

"Change karke aaja, thik hai?" she asked.

Damn her eyes, She could really melt him like that, with that one look but he still dodged her words and made it to his room.

"Mai quilt leke aa rahi hu." she informed and ran into her room to get one wishing he'd join her.

"Mai yahi so rahi hu." she announced, adjusting the pillows and covering herself with the quilt, when he didn't return.

Is he still mad? She thought and her mood dropped believing her mother's words. Maybe she didn't have a good enough position in his life, but what about the fact that he once said he was falling for her?

A lone tear escaped her eye, she wiped it and sat up when her phone buzzed with some notifications. It was just some memes her friends had sent, also there was a message from Adved, she ignored it without a thought.

The initial attraction that a person has for someone doesn’t always last. The attraction lures you in, however, it doesn't have the same effect after being around it for a duration. Relationships aren’t built solely on attraction and excitement. Instead, what two people develop over time becomes the tenacity that keeps two people together.

It was written one one of Yasmin's post on instagram. And Shehnaaz felt it, they hadn't even hugged today but she had felt his warmth slipping away since last night already. Maybe they didn't have that, the tenacity, the strong will to hold on to something.

She recalled Yasmin's other words about having different opinions with Sidharth regarding a subject, well she just experienced the exact thing. Both of them differed a lot in the situation.

She kept her phone aside and closed her eyes, believing that he must have slept without her and trying to do the same when she felt a hand snaking around her waist.

"Sidharth.." she whispered.

"Hm, soja." he replied, spooning her after covering himself with the same quilt and holding her by his side.

"Tu gussa nahi na?" she asked, with high hopes inside.

"Nahi, ab soja." he replied, kissing her head and hugging her back. 

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Here's another chapter.. I believe we have come a long way enough to actually understand what's love.. And what else u need besides love in a relationship..

Sidnaaz currently happen to have some differences in opinion..

What and how do you think of them?