"Since my childhood, I used to see our parents fighting. They started fighting and abusing each other after every little thing. They used to fight at the dining table, they used to fight during our school time and it continued after we came back. Only fight, abuse and shouting. Dhruv and I were too small to understand the reasons. For us, their quarrels became a habit and a mundane course. We started thinking that as if it's a rule of marriage. Although our mother never raised her hand on their children Dad was not that much generous. To be precise, he mostly beat me as compared to Dhruv. You know that I am only a year older than my brother. However, I always had a notion that as I am the older one maybe for that reason Dad is a bit stricter and harsher towards me. I never thought that it could have some other reason too."

Cabir finishes the line with a sigh. He is still kneeling on the floor and his eyes are fixed on Navya's face. However, she can feel that his concentration is not on her rather his mind is wandering on some array of memories. Some seconds of dead air pass on and Navya breaks it finally,

"What was that reason?"

Her words break his reverie. Navya observes pain and discomfort in his eyes. it seems he is hesitant to open up further. Cabir gets up from the ground and walks towards the glass wall. His back is facing Navya. She can still see his clenched jaws.

"You don't have to tell if you are not comfortable..."

She mouths. Cabir slips his fisted hands into his pocket and counters,

"Nobody can be comfortable to reveal the secret of his birth. But I will have to tell the truth, otherwise, you will always have the notion that I used you for my benefit. Well, at the age of eleven, I came to know that Dhruv and I are uterine brothers. Means we have different fathers. My uncle, whose business we are running now was my biological father. My mother loved my uncle but he broke her trust. She was pregnant with me when my legal father married her. He knew this matter and I think he married her out of pity because his brother cheated her. Or maybe my uncle gave him money to settle his sin because my mother's husband used to be a greedy person. I am sure he showed this generosity in the return of money. My mother tried to forget her past and started her married life with a person who could never forget that his wife was not a virgin. He even tried to abort her first baby that is me but I was stubborn enough to mar his plan and was born amidst all adversity. Dhruv came just after a year. Initially, I couldn't understand why my father hates me so much. I mean he didn't even love his own blood but his hatred towards me was very transparent. He used to abuse me, beat me and scold me for no reason. That time my innocent mind tried to console my wounded heart that perhaps he is an angry man. Perhaps he doesn't know how to love and care. On the other hand, my mother couldn't save me from his rage as she was already indebted to him for using his surname. Years passed and I somehow learnt to co-exist with the fact that I am an unwanted soul. Dhruv and I always had a good bond because we both had each other to share our problems. Our parents were always busy in their disturbed world. Meanwhile, I came to know that my Dad is not actually my Dad. I still remember the words that he yelled to Mom. 'He is a bastard...like you are a whore. Consider yourself lucky that I still allow him to call me Dad. He should be killed inside your womb. God, why I missed the chance!' That day I learnt the actual reason for his hatred. He even tried to kill me before my birth. This truth shook me from the inside. I decided to run away. But after two days Dad died in an accident. Dhruv was with him and he said Dad fell in the river when they went fishing. He didn't know how to swim and drowned. Mom sent both of us to a boarding school in Panchgani. I found out later that my biological father I mean Uncle Pritam bore all the finances. Perhaps he tried to pay back his mistake or maybe he wanted me to become his heir as he was childless. He gave all his property to the one whom he denied once. What a game of time and circumstances!"

Cabir turns. A mournful grin is plastered on his lips. Navya asks,

"That means, you are the sole owner of Dhawan Industries? Does Dhruv know? I mean..."

Cabir interrupts her surprised words and mouths in a composed and tired tone,

"He only knows that I love him and made him a 50 percent shareholder of this company. But he doesn't know that we are uterine brothers."

Navya keeps looking at him for a while. Till now, she considered him as a business-minded, heartless and emotionless person who doesn't know what is love and trust. But every coin has two sides. She parts her lips,

"That's why you don't want to marry me. Because you never saw the positive side of marriage. You don't want to keep this baby because you think that if someday, I marry some other man, that person will treat this child in the same way your Dad used to treat you?"

"Yes, I don't want to marry you because I have seen the filthy side of this bond. It's like a prison. You want to run away but your limbs are chained. You want to scream but you are gagged. You are out of love but still, you have to drag the burden. My mother was a commodity to my Dad. He used her in bed and he used her to extort money from my uncle. Apart from that, she had no value to him. Marriage my foot! All farce, all hypocrisy. And this baby! Can you guarantee me that after your marriage, you will save him or her from that person's cruelty? No, you can't because you will feel guilty to give birth to this child. Some day you will repent to not abort the baby just like my mother used to do. Do you know how it feels to be unwanted?"

Cabir yells at Navya while rushes forward. Navya doesn't reply instantly. She keeps on staring at his reddish face which is distorted with frustration and agony. Slowly she lifts from the chair and faces Cabir. Her eyes are iron-hard with determination.

"Yes, I can guarantee you that I will protect my child from all adversity. He or she will be my first priority. And about marriage...well, I am not saying that I will never get married because I love you. If any person comes to my life whom I can love equally as I love you and more than that I can trust him, I will definitely give myself a second chance. But still, my child will be my top priority. I will be a mother first then a wife."

Saying this, Navya approaches the closed door of the cabin. Cabir is still looking at her with a perplexed face. Navya halts for a moment and flips to say again,

"One more thing I like to say to clarify your concept of marriage and love. Your Dad married your Mom not for love but you could have married me for love because I know I am the only girl who resides in your mind and heart. So, there is no question of the negative side of marriage. But here you proved that blood shows its colour. Once your father left your Mom because he was not sure about his love and now, you did the same thing to me. But I am not like your mother. I don't consider my child as my regret."

She opens the door and comes out of the cabin just to bump into Dhruv. He steps back to save a collision,

"Oh...watch it!"

He yells. Navya utters a sorry and passes him. Dhruv observes her disappearing. A cryptic smile creeps on his lips. He mumbles,

"Love is dangerous...it ruins more than restores."

...............................................

The room is partially lit as a night lamp is on. Nandini can't sleep without pitch-black darkness but tonight is special. Manik kept the night lamp on as he was telling Nandini about Notorious 5, Abhimanyu and Mukti. He didn't hide anything as he wanted to cool her mind down. He knows that Nandini is worried about what SP Bhosle said to her. Manik strokes Nandini's untied tresses as her head is rested on his bicep. One of her hands is shackling around his belly and her left leg is placed on his lower portion. Nandini never sleeps like this. It is he who always keeps her in his tight embrace as it gives him peaceful sleep. Her softness and smell keep away the nightmares. But tonight was different. She only initiated the intimacy and during the process, Manik felt that she is welcoming him with too much intensity. She was hugging and kissing him in such a way that he might disappear if she leaves him. Manik looks at his side and observes her to take breath calmly. He pecks her hair and then carefully unshackles himself from her grip. Nandini stirs a bit and then grabs the comforter to continue her peaceful slumber. Manik covers his upper torso with the discarded tee shirt and comes to the balcony. He sits on the wooden recliner and lights a cigarette.

"Why Bhosle is after my past? I thought he came here to disturb my present. I thought he would tell Nandini about my plans but here he wants to alert us about my enemy and that is from my past. According to him, I am trusting on wrong people. Who are these wrong people or should I say the wrong person? A person can trust on who are very close to him. Does it mean a close person of mine is breaking my trust? Who? Abhimanyu...How? He died long ago. Then? Arya, Cabir, Dhruv...no...no...they have no reason to betray me. But Why Nandini said that line? After I told her about Mukti's death and how Abhimanyu was indirectly responsible for that, she asked me if I am really sure that Abhi only circulated that video and not any other person who might be involved in this love story. When I told her that Mukti never loved Abhimanyu and she might have another lover, she turned down my claim. She said with conviction that if Mukti had a secret boyfriend then he would have come forward after her death. Love could have been a secret when she was alive but not forever. Maybe she is right. I can't deny that girls are more sensitive to analysing love and relationships. And I never heard Mukti saying that she secretly loves someone. Instead, I used to think that she likes Abhi only...Uffff...what a complexity!"

Manik runs his fingers through his unruly hair. His train of thought breaks when something hard ricochets on the wall behind him and falls on the ground. Manik leaps up and rushes to the railing to see the person who might hurl something from the garden area. However, he can't see anyone. With clenched jaws, he turns back to pick the thing up. The balcony is lit with the garden lights, so, he easily locates the thing. He picks it up. It's a paper wrapped around a small pebble. Manik opens the crumbled paper and reads in a suppressed voice,

"I am alive. Meet me at your lake house, now. Don't say anything to your friends."

Manik repeats the line two or three times and then mumbles,

"Should I go?"

Author's note: How do you feel about learning about Cabir's past? Do you think he's right about his thoughts on love and marriage? Also, who asked Manik to meet? Was it Abhi? And did Abhi manage to escape from Dhruv's house? To find out, keep reading. "I apologize for suddenly disappearing for a long time. I had some family issues as my father-in-law was severely unwell. Thankfully, by God's grace, he's now stable. Thank you for your support and for waiting for my return. Love you all.

Suk