Naisha's mind was still at unrest. Neel's expression clear in her mind. Something was bothering him. Should she ask him?

She took a deep breath and walked towards his room with Ishaan still in her arms.

She knocked on his door and he opened after a few seconds.

He looked like a mess. Her eyes fell on his room which he was trying hard to hide. The place was a disaster.

"What?"

He asked and she looked at him.

"Baat krni thi aapse."

"Abhi nhi. Kal baat krenge. I'm tired. Go and sleep."

Although his words were harsh but his tone was soft.

"Neel? Aapko pata hai na that if you ever want to talk about something or share something mao hamesha hu. I may not be your age but I am mature enough to understand. Advise shayad achhi na de paau lekin I'm a good listener."

He looked at her for a minute. It seemed like he was fighting his inner self and finally spoke.

"I just want you to go to your room and sleep."

He was shutting his emotions off. Avoiding till he could pretend it doesn't exist. His way of dealing with things that pain him.

She sighed and moved back to her room. She placed Ishaan on the bed and laid beside him softly patting his chest.

10 minutes later, she heard a knock on her door. Thinking it to be her di who was here to get Ishaan back to her room, she opened the door, only to find Neel standing there.

"Baat krni thi."

He spoke in a vulnerable whisper and Naisha made a side for him to enter inside. She shut the door and looked at him. He moved towards the balcony without any word and she followed after making sure Ishaan was asleep and placing pillows around his little body.

She saw him leaning against the railing and stood beside him. She kept her hand on his and he looked at her for a brief moment before looking back.

"That woman...she gave birth to me and bhaiya. But she's not our mother. Maa koi shabd nhi hota na. Maa ek emotion, ek feeling hoti hai. And we can never associate that feeling with her. She was never there. She never bothered."

Naisha kept quiet and just let him speak. She could see tears in his eyes. Tears which he was controlling not to let them flow.

"I never had any memory of her in my childhood because she was never there. 10 saal ki umar tak yahi puchhta raha ki mere sab friends ki mummy hai meri mummy kaha hai. Phir laga ki shayad wo nhi hai. Iss duniya mai nhi hai. 15 saal ka tha when I saw her for the first time. Ghar aayi thi papa se paise maangne for her sustainance. Papa denied and that's when I got to know that the woman is the one who gave birth to us."

A tear betrayed and fell from his eyes which he wiped quickly and walked towards the other side and sat on the floor with his back against the wall staring into oblivion.

Naisha sat beside him and just listened to him, letting him let out his pain and anger.

"That was when I got to know everything. She and papa had an arranged marriage. Papa apna business start-up kar rahe the so he couldn't give all his day to her. But he loved her and always made time for her. Took her out on dates, give her gifts, he did everything to keep her happy while managing his work at the same time. But seems like it wasn't enough for her."

Naisha could guess what could have happened but she let him speak.

"I was very small, just a baby of 3 when papa found out about her cheating on him. She brought the man in his home, in their room and did it all on their bed. Mai itna chhota tha ki mujhe kuch yaad bhi nhi lekin bhaiya ne bataya tha ki papa was so heartbroken that he cried. I had no memory of papa crying. Ever. But uss aurat se divorce ke baad bhi papa smabhal gye because he had us."

He then looked at her with tears now flowing freely.

"But you know when she came home after all those years demanding money and papa denied, you know what she did. She said something which broke papa. Completely. And that was the first time I ever saw him bawl like a child. My superhero cried because that vile woman told him that the kids he was raising as his own might not even be his own blood. That we might not be Papa's sons."

Naisha looked at him with her own tears falling from her eyes. His pain hurt her so much. And that's when she realised how deep was in her feelings for him.

"But papa never got it tested because unki himmat hi nhi hui. And bhaiya didn't bother. But I wanted to prove it to the woman who made my father cry that she was wrong. That we were Papa's sons. So I got the tests done."

His voice broke at the end and Naisha's stopped breathing. Why did he sound in pain. The tests should prove that they were their father's sons.

"Bhaiya is Papa's son."

He said and Naisha clutched his arm waiting for him not to say what she was thinking. But he did.

"I'm not. Meri...meri kabhi himmat nhi hui ki papa ko ye baat bata sku...ki bhaiya se keh sku. Kya kehta...ki mai aapka real sibling nhi...half sibling hu...that I'm the illegitimate son...that I'm a...a bastard child. MERE UPAR BASTARD KA TAG LAGA GYI WO AURAT! I HATE HER!"

He yelled and cried and Naisha held him in her arms. She rubbed his back and kissed his head.

"You're not. Don't call yourself that. She is a bitch! And the man she cheated on with, he is a bastard. You're not Neel. You were a baby with no fault of yours."

He looked into her eyes and hugged her tightly. His hid his face in her neck and cried.

"Was this the reason you swore off women?"

She asked remembering his statement and he pulled back and nodded.

"Me and bhaiya both."

She smiled and said.

"He is now married to my sister and their month old son is sleeping inside the room now."

"I know. Crazy right."

"Very!"

She giggled and he looked at her while speaking.

"The right woman does that to you."

She looked at him with a soft smile.

"I don't count you in those women, Naisha."

Her smile fell and she looked away.

"I know. You consider me too young for you."

He held her chin and made her face him.

"I didn't mean that. I meant that you're an exception to them. The only exception I ever want to make. You make me forget every pain. Sab kuch asaan lagta hai tumhare saath."

She looked at him shocked. Was that a confession?

"I'm done pretending and hiding my feelings Naisha. Aur jooth nhi bol skta. You're much more to me than just a friend. Iss dil mai aur zindagi mai aise utar gyi ho ki ab mai utarna bhi nhi chahta."

He said cupping her cheeks and she looked at him with eyes wide with disbelief. He leaned in and she placed a hand on his chest.

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