Climbing up the stairs in speed which I didnt know I could run, I reached my room and dug up my phone from my pocket. Dialing the number which I know by heart since the last 4 years. I waited for the endless ring to stop. After what felt like an eternity the voice on the other side answered.

"Maya? Our session isnt for another 4 hours". Dr. Mehta sounded worried.

"I know. . . I said breathlessly I need to talk to you"

"Whats wrong Maya? Did your dad do something-" I jumped in before she could complete "NO no. its not dad this time, surprisingly. Its Adhi. Hes here."

After vomiting all the details to dr.mehta and feeling not even a little better, I waited for her reaction. I was hoping for a scolding, but instead she burst out laughing.

"You spiked the orange juice with vodka? How does know one figure out the difference between vodka and orange juice?" she laughed.

"Honestly? I have no idea. But that is not the issue here. My cousin is going to marry adhis brother. Which makes him my family" I grinded my teeth "oh and do you know who adhis family is now? Ajay Malhotra, who was the principal who terminated me from my college. It all makes sense now, how he wasnt involved in all the after effects of the video, how adhi was wiped out from the whole case. Ughhhh!!!" I fisted my hands in my hair.

"Oh my. That is a lot of info for one drunk night." Dr. Mehta sighed.

"Right? Its all so fuc.. Screwed up" I quickly refrained from cursing. Dr Mehta was big on language.

"Did you try talking to him? He said he wanted to talk right?"

"With adhi? Like hell im gonna talk to him. He can go to hell for all I care" Adhi doesnt deserve a second chance, and he isnt gonna get it.

"Maya you and I both know thats not true. Try to talk to him. Get his side of the story. It will finally give you the answers to your questions and you will get closure. You can finally move on"

Did I want that? Moving on? All these years, the only fuel for everything I did was anger. And surprisingly it made me productive. I had made peace with my side of the story. I fell in love with an asshole. He cheated me. Thats it. Thats all I know, thats all I want to know. What if finding out the truth was even more painful. Can I handle that? Can I handle getting my heart broken again?

"I dont think thats a good idea." I said

"Why not? Are you scared to know the truth?" she asked. Her voice coating with the comforting of a mother.

"Im no scared. Im just. . . I just dont wanna go down that road again. I dont think Ill come back from there if I did." I confessed.

If it wasnt for Tara finding me covered in blood from slit wrists and taking me to amummas place im not sure I would be alive right now. If it wasnt for preethy dragging me to see a therapist, I would have been rocking in a corner.

"No you wont. Trust me. With the level of improvements youve made, youll never go there. Even if you did we all will be there to pull you back." I felt her mentally giving me a tap on my nose. Like she does every time.

"okay ill try. Im not gonna force him into talking to me or anything. If he wants to talk I wont refuse I said dismissively "

"attagirl" I could feel her smile in those words.

I have been sitting on these stairs for forty five minutes. If any of mayas family sees me, theyll think im a creep. She has been talking on her phone for a while. I heard her laughing and complaining about me to someone. Thats when I walked away from her door and sat here.

She must be talking to her boyfriend. I mean what was I expecting, that she will wait for me all these years. After I destroyed her education, defamed her in front of the whole campus, humiliated her and her family she will never come back to me. I was a fool to kindle my hope.

May be I should leave. There is no point in waiting for her if she doesnt want me around. I stood up from the stairs and patted my pants for dust. As my hands reached to pat behind I felt two hands slapping hard on my ass.

what in the f.. I stopped my curses midway when I saw little twin girls with their curly hair in pigtails grinning at me. My lips automatically curved into a smile as I took them in. They were just a little younger than arya.

"hello there. I cooed." They were adorable

"hii" both of them said at the same time.

"who are these lovely ladies?" I reached for their curls and the one in pink slapped my hands away.

"mom said we shouldnt let strangers touch us" she frowned and as if in a mirror her sister too mirrored her action. She raised her toy gun at me, pointed to shoot.

I gasped and raised my hands up, "your mom is absolutely right. I shouldnt have touched you maam. My apologise". I knelt. "please dont shoot me"

The one in red giggled "its a toy gun silly, it cant hurt you". She swatted the gun away from her sisters hand "keep the gun away adha, your scaring him"

Adha looked at me and hid the gun behind her back "are you scared ? "

"very much. Please keep the scary gun away from me" they giggled again.

"maya aunty was right. guys do get scared if you stand up to them. Right adhi?" adha asked and my head shot up.

"how do you know my name? did maya aunty tell you?" I asked, hope blooming inside me.

"your name is adhi too? My name is adhi too. Hello im adhiti varun. This is my sister adha varun" adhiti said raising her chin up high and hand left out for me to shake.

The smile spreading on my lips wasnt gonna leave anytime soon" hello adhiti, adha im adhitya sankar. Nice to meet you ladies."

They giggled again and shook my each hands and pulled me to my feet." oh my, you are heavy". Adha said and immediately slapped her hands to her mouth.

"adha you dont just tell someone they are fat" adhiti hissed.

My eyebrows shot up to my head. "what?" my voice came out squeaky

"I apogolise for my sister, she is young" adhiti said her voice firm and confident.

"sweetie its apo-lo-gise, not apogolise. And arent you guys twins?" man these girls are so much like their aunt.

"thats what I said apogolise". Adhiti said again a frown forming on her face.

"yeah yeah, apogolise got it." God these kids and arya would make good friends. I should probably introduce them. Arya was feeling left out with all our relatives treating her as if shes an alien. Apparently a child from a second marriage is considered taboo. Bunch of bullshit.

"and adha is 5 minutes younger than me. So im the elder sister". Adhiti braced her arms on their hips.

Chatting with the girls for what felt like hours I forgot where I was. They were showing how to make a giraffe out of a square piece of paper. Mine looked nothing like one and the girlss were spot on. Without the spots of course.

During our origami adventure I forgot whom I was waiting for. And I was nothing less than shocked when I saw her looking at me with nothing less than murderous rage in her eyes.

I stood up from my seat on the floor and smiled " hii maya"

she looked at me once and turned her attention to the girls " bun buns... what are you guys upto? oh my god! did you guys make this?"

"yeah and adhi uncle helped." adha beamed at her.

"did you know he and I have the same name. adhitya and adhiti. we are both adhis." adhiti giggled climbing into maya's lap.

"yeah I know. why do you think I always call you bun buns?" maya started tickling the twins and their giggles filled the air.

I felt like someone slapped me with an iron box. she hated me so much that she wouldnt even call her niece by her name, because it resembled mine. I messed up so bad that I made her suffer years later even when I wasn't around. god this is fucked up.

I mustve been murmuring the last sentence cause maya shot me a look which clearly said 'shut the fuck up.' maya stood up from her saet and pulled the twins to their feet.

"comeon buns lets get you to your mom, she was looking for you" she started to walk away when a tall slim girl in skin tight jeans and red sleeveless top walked in to the room and called out her name.

"what is it mahima? and why are you wearing heels indoors?" maya asked the same questions which forming in my mind. mahima was wearing a red glassy heel which must atlest 4 inches indoors.

"im practising, for my pageant. you cant lose touch you know," she looked in my direction and twirled her hair in her fingers. Oh my, she was hitting on me.

I quickly flashed a small smile and excused myself from the room when mahima called after me.

"don't leave, you are adhi right? amumma is calling you. both of you to her room. she said its urgent"

I quickly turned to look at maya and found her looking at me. her brows knitted in confusion.

why did her grandmother wanna see me?

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

❤❤