Myra stared at her husband blankly. She could not believe words hit her eardrums.

"Are you sure?" Meera grinned inwardly but masked her inner bliss with tormented expressions on her face.

Myra turned to her sister blankly when her voice rang in her ears.

"Yes." Neil replied with a quick nod. His eyes were continuously shifting between both sisters.

But hearing his casual, impromptu reply, Myra turned to him fully gaping like a fish. He could not meet his eyes with Myra's eyes baffled once.

Meera gave a brief glance at her sister who had turned the statue before moving back towards her room. Insecurity inside her heart multiplied. From last month she was successful in suppressing her inner anxiousness observing her husband's pull, his honesty in their relationship, but today for the first time, his abrupt request left her in a state.

"I am in study." He spoke carefully to escape making his way towards his study room.

Neil was totally aware about the mental trauma she would be facing because of his actions, but at this moment he also needed to buy some time to gain equilibrium between his mental and psychological state. His mind shouted, 'You have to do this,' shushing his crumbled heart.

Myra turned to see Neil's back. He was taking small defeated steps engrossed in his own thoughts. He was going away from her. She was totally buried in her perplexed state. Her mind and heart could not decipher the sudden change of her surroundings. Her legs started wobbling. It was hard for her to maintain her composure, she slumped down on a nearby couch when her body gave up.

Neil entered inside. His eyes were radiating his distraught emotions holding a plethora of feelings as guilt, anxiousness, fearfulness, anger, hatred.

Tearful, sceptical gaze of Myra had churned his entire existence. After a long time her eyes have flickered with distrust of him. He cursed himself for being the reason behind her pain. He had always wished to fill her life with peace and happiness but his latest actions were contradicting his own wish.

He settled down on his chair behind the office desk tiredly looking far.

His phone started ringing, breaking his trance. He ended up being the listener for a few minutes on the call.

"I don't care. You have just a week, if you cannot then consider yourself as fired." He threatened before cutting the call not waiting for an answer from the other side. He rubbed his throbbing forehead due to last night's episode.

He busied himself in his office work opening up his Mac hiding himself behind the study room's closed door. Still one part of his heart was craving to see his nightingale, it was whispering to him to break all the odds and engulfed her in his secured embrace, but again his mind overpowered.

It was late afternoon when he heard a knock on the door. He gave permission and raised his eyes to look after the visitor, it was his wife, Myra with a plate filled with food.

"Myra, you know. You don't need to ask for my permission." He replied without a thought. Earlier he had thought it must be some servant asking his permission to enter.

"It's 2 pm, and you did not come out for lunch. I thought you must be busy so I brought your lunch here." Even though Myra was upset with him, she could not endure him staying empty stomach for a long time.

She kept his plate of food and glass filled with water on the coffee table, and turned to leave without uttering anything, this was so unusual to her. Earlier, whenever she came with his food or coffee, she spent some time with him chatting about routine, casual things but today was different. Simple change in their routine made Neil restless.

"Myra, don't you have any questions for me?" He asked, dropping his shoulders, staring at her aloof stand.

She stayed silent but halted at her place. He got up from his seat and moved towards her. He held her palm and moved towards the couch along with her. He made her sit, settling himself beside her but not releasing her hand from his.

"Don't you trust me Myra?" He asked when she did not voice out a single word but kept on staring at their intertwined hands.

"Trust?" She replied blankly, not moving her gaze.

She continued thinking for a few moments, "I do want to trust you, Neil. And till yesterday, I was trusting you blindly. But you should also know that when a game of hide and seek comes into play in a relationship, the foundation of trust in that relationship starts to shake." Myra replied, still engulfed with her own turmoiled mind.

He downed his eyes in guilt, as he could not straightly look into her pale ones.

"I hope it won't happen in our case." She asked, being optimistic, hoping to get a positive reply. She released a deep breath looking far away.

"Of course, not Myra." He caressed her knuckles with one whereas with free hand he held her chin to make her look into his eyes.

Myra kept her questioning eyes on him.

'What are you hiding from me?' Message was passed and received. Both shared a long eyelock.

"Last night, I visited her." He tightly closed his eyes before confessing.

"Meera?" words were out even before Myra realised. She gulped audibly.

"Yes." He nodded reluctantly. He felt her jerk and loosening her grip over his hand. But in a moment he held her palm in his hand again.

"I am sorry, I went without telling you but it was on purpose Myra. I had to. Till yesterday, I was under the impression she would make a wrong move or would try to contact the person and then we would get a lead but she did not. Every passing day was taking a toll on me to know about our real enemy. So..." He tried to explain carefully, forming a sentence. One word here or there would impact his blissful future.

"So you went to her room?" She completed with questions, darting her eyes in his. This time she could not suppress her resentment.

He felt her shudder. She gulped audibly.

He simply nodded his head not meeting his eyes with hers. He looked upwards for a moment asking the almighty to grant him some strength.

"She said; she was trapped. She confessed; she was forced to be a mole to ruin the Singhania Business Empire. She was blackmailed by my rival Ryan Martins." Neil provided a summary of his and Meera's talks about last night. He purposefully omitted details about finding the truth behind Meera's medical reports.

"And you believe her?" She asked with a thumping heart.

"No!" It was an immediate, straightforward answer from Neil.

"Then why did you stop her?" she countered not understanding his current stand.

Her question pushed Neil in a cyclone of thoughts. He turned silent in the absence of a satisfactory answer.

Myra kept on staring at his anxious face.

Staring at his silent statue demeanour her heart and mind came to an unwanted conclusion. She got up from the couch, when he did not respond back for the next few minutes.

"I... I... I can't be inhumane to her in this condition." He fumbled while battling with his eyelashes to hide his lie. He hated himself for lying to her.

He gulped one more time with a thudded heart, "I just want to mentally convince myself that she was lying in the past and she is faking now as well with her will... and no one had blackmailed her for it."

Myra could not believe it, hearing his vulnerable self-defence.

She did not say anything but left the study room quietly hoping the voice of her broken heart concealed inside her ribcage. Tears started streaming over her cheeks as she took steps away from him.

Neil's heart was pierced with a dagger looking at her defeated retrieval.

"I am sorry Myra, but I can't help it." He mumbled hoping his soulmate would listen to the plea of his heart.

Myra came back to her room submerged in her own misery. Today, again the hope of the castle she had built over the last few months has started shaking due to cracks of hidden games he was playing.

'What do you want Neil?' She stared at their picture, which was on her side of the night table. The first couple picture Neil had captured on his phone on that blissful morning at his parents house.

She took the frame in her hands caressing his jawline, reminding the ecstatic moments.

"Please don't break me this time Neil.... I won't be able to gather myself." Her tears fell on his cheeks. She did not realise how long she sat holding their pic reminiscing about the golden time of her life.

"Mumma" Neev was awake after his afternoon nap. He rubbed his eyes, after adjusting with bright light in their room his vision settled on his mother. She was resting on the bed in a sitting position, with closed eyes. Even though he was just 1and half years old, he could see dried tear marks on his mother's cheeks.

"Mumma" He cried, protruding his lower lip out.

"Mumma" this time he yelled in a little louder voice.

Neev's voice, jerked Myra from her reverie. She straightened immediately to see her son jumping in his crib holding its rail. Tears have formed in his eyes.

"Mumma come" he raised his hand calling her.

"My baby." She rushed to him  instantly. Gathering his little figure in her embrace she felt solace in her crumbled heart. She sniffled, gulped closing her eyes

"Mumma" He mewlled in her shoulder blade.

She patted his back, kissing his hairs. "My baby." And tears streamed over her cheeks.

"Mumma Kissie '' He felt his mother's tears on his cheeks. Neev's eyes also filled with tears looking at his mother. It was his way to make his mother happy by taking away her sorrows.

Myra smiled looking at his concern and his ways to make things right for his beloved mother. Her heart overwhelmed with his innocent gesture. She planted peppering kisses all over his face.

"Is my baby hungry?" Myra asked smilingly. No matter whether any big storm came in her life or the happiness of the world touched her feet, for Myra, her son was her whole world.

"Ice kim" He asked, raising his eyebrows making the most innocent face hoping his mother would fall for his trick.

"Ok" He smiled brightly when his mother agreed to his demand.

Meera was in her room, today, she felt she had won half of the battle. Last night, she could not sleep thinking about her options to stay back under this roof. She had not expected Neil to readily agree for her further stay after his silent departure last night, but he did and that too in front of her twin sister. It was a cherry on top moment for her.

After a long wait, Neil has chosen Meera over his wife. Though he did not say anything further but his limited, reserved responses gave new hope to Meera.

'He did stop me, means he is believing my words.'

'Maybe not totally but to a bit of extent. I have to gain his trust. I have to make sure Neil believes in the theory I have put in front of him.

'My even tiniest tear, my slightest of pain, my grief still haunts you, still creates havoc in your heart. That means, old love is still alive somewhere. But for now more than love I need him to trust my words.'

'He should believe that I did everything under the influence of Ryan to save my marriage with him. I was hopelessly in love with him... Oops! not I was... I am hopelessly in love with Neil, actually.'

Once he is convinced and I gain his trust, it won't be difficult to remind him about his love and obsession for me... it will automatically flourish our relationship and once he gets trapped it won't be any hard to throw that bitch out of this house.'

'I know Neil, you are an emotional fool when it comes to your first love which is me.... No one can forget his first love... And I... I was your obsession.'

'And my sweet little sister... you will never be able to compete with me. Start counting your days...' Meera slumped on bed grinning from ear to ear, celebrating her win.

When Myra came down with Neev for his evening snack, she prepared Neil's coffee as well but unlike everyday, she sent coffee with Julia.

First, Neil was stunned to look at Julia with his cup of coffee as usual, he was expecting his wife with her handmade coffee . When he asked Julia about Myra, she flatly replied in short, "Myra is with Neev."

Julia's reply gave one more scar on his heart. She left without saying any other word, from the day he had brought Meera at their home, Julia was one of the members from his family who had been giving him silent treatment.

Neil came out from study and took the stairs and moved towards his room. His head was throbbing with a severe headache. He did not even have his coffee. He entered his room to find it empty. His eyes roamed over the entire room but his wife and son both were nowhere to be seen.

"Myra" he called out, but there was no answer.

He thought to check downstairs, when he came outside he heard his son's voice from the room beside him. The room where Myra used to stay a few months back. He stepped inside when he saw Neev was on bed playing with his toys and Myra was arranging Neev's and her necessities in the room.

"What's going on here?" He asked absentmindedly.

Myra felt his presence in the room as well as his clueless ask.

"Dadda" Neev flashed his bright smile showing his elephant toy to his father. Today, it was for the first time he was seeing his father.

Neil passed fake smile to his son before concentrating on his wife

She gave a brief look at his side but resumed her work without replying back to him.

"Myra, I asked you something." He turned her towards him holding her arm. "Why are you and Neev here?"

"Please, Neil, I think this arrangement will be better for both of us for now." She replied not meeting her swollen eyes with his inquisitiveness.

"But why?" His heart was thumping inside his rib cage.

"This distance is needed... it's required for me. It... it... will be helpful for you to take .... Make a decision." She stammered, biting her lower lip. Thinking about absurd thoughts her eyes turned watery again.

"What decision?" He tried to peep inside her soul. He cupped her face, "Myra, she is no one to me." He blurted out with fear thinking of the worst.

"Then why is she still here?" Her one question silenced him for a moment.

"Myra, I know it's difficult for you to bear her presence in the home and trust me, I don't want to see her face either... But..." His eyes filled with tears. His heart craved for her trust.

"I want you to trust me Myra. I will never let her ruin our relationship. Her presence doesn't matter as my heart and soul have burned every memory of her. She means nothing to me... Please trust me for one last time." He bent, to touch his forehead with hers. Sensing his actions, Myra turned to the other side.

"Ask her to leave, right now?" She asked him sternly, yanking his hands away.

"Don't you trust me?" He asked, dropping his shoulders.

Myra's heart crumbled resulting in a tear streamed over her cheek. "What if, whatever she said that she was blackmailed and forced... turned out to be true? What will you do, Neil?"

"Myra, I know she is your sister, but I know her more than you. I am guaranteed, she is faking again..." By every passing moment it was becoming hard for Neil to convince Myra.

"If you are guaranteed she is faking then why is she still at our home? Neil, you are contradicting yourself." Myra was tired.

"I have some reasons. Please... please let me handle this in my way Myra. I don't want to drag you and Neev in this chaos. You two are my precious possessions. I promise not to hurt you in any way." He begged.

"What are those reasons?" She crossed her arms in a challenging look.

"I said, I don't want to drag you and Neev in this." This time he spoke firmly.

"Then how do you expect me to trust on your promise to not hurt me? How do you think that I can start a new life when your horrendous past is freely wandering in front of us." It was for the first time Myra yelled at him annoyingly.

"I am trying to kill that past so our future won't have its shadow anytime." Current argument was taking a toll on his self control.

"From last month, you are giving me excuses for the past, present and future. I am tired of those. Let's get straight to the point Neil. Ask her to leave right now?" She demanded.

She waited for his answer for a few moments.

"And if you can't do this then it's perfectly fine. We can spend the rest of our lives like strangers. You don't have to make any efforts to flourish this unwanted, forced relationship." She concluded, she turned and showed her back to him.

Neil turned holding her arm and pulled her on his chest wrapping his both hands around her petite figure.

"My relationship with you, our marriage is my life. And every day, every moment, I won't stop making efforts to protect, preserve, and prosper the bond of this relation till my last breath. And Mrs. Myra Neil Singhania, you are my wife and; I, Neil Singhania is your husband. No one... I repeat no one can change this fact. If any one tries to even think to harm you or this relation... I will bury that person in his grave at the same moment." His voice was filled with sincerity, honesty but also was laced with extreme level of possessiveness for his wife.

Myra trembled in his embrace as for the first time she could feel his yearning in his eyes. His eyes flickered with the passion he has for her. He bent to kiss her forehead. "Just trust me please."

Neil felt someone hitting him on his knees, "Dadda Nooo."

Neev was screaming his lungs out from a long time but in their emotional turmoil both could not concentrate, resulting in infuriating their little bundle of joy.

Myra did not say a word but separated herself from his hold. She bent down to pick up Neev.

"Mumma, no Dadda." It was his way to tell his mother to stay away from his own father.

"Neev, baby let's go downstairs." She whispered in her son's ears audible to the person in front of her. She passed a brief look at her husband before leaving him alone in the room.

Later in the evening Neil completed his few important business calls and entered the dining area hoping to have dinner with his wife and son but again disappointment was waiting for him at the dining table. He waited but neither his wife nor his son showed up. Their absence took away his appetite. He hid his face palming with both hands.

"Neil, can I serve you?" Meera asked hopefully.

Hearing her voice, Neil got up from his chair and started leaving without saying a word.

"You shouldn't have stopped me." Meera's guilt stricken voice halted him in his tracks. "I don't want to be the reason for your sorrows. I know, Myra is as upset as you..."

"Meera, I have not permitted any outsider to intervene between me and Myra." He responded sternly, without even turning back.

"I am sorry it won't happen again. But thanks for trusting me and allowing me to stay here further." Meera took slow steady steps towards him.

"I don't trust you." It was an immediate reply from him.

"Then why did you stop me?"

"I stopped you because I want to prove to you that you are again faking. This is some plan of yours to step one more time in my life. But this time, I won't trust you. I will prove you are fake. You are a black spot on society also in the name of any relation. Once I prove you will have no way but to leave my house and my life forever."

"And what if I prove myself as genuine this time?" She challenged in a grief stricken tone. "Why can't you trust me at least for once? For the moments we spend together. For the love we shared long back. How can you forget? I was the love of your life." She put her hand on his shoulder hoping to rejuvenate their dead relation.

"Love?" He turned to stare in his eyes.

"Your first love." She cajoled.

"Yes... you are right. A man can never forget his first love and I am no different." He spoke tenderly, looking far.

Meera felt breathless due to extreme happiness for a moment hearing his words but was it for her or someone else?

*************************************************

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