And, no matter how many times, Ananya wanted to discard the truth as a lie, she couldn't.

"You are my ma!" She insisted.

Meena gave a meek smile to her.

"I am. But, I can never take my sister's place...your mother's place." She said but before she could elaborate, Ananya interrupted in frustration.

"Giving birth does not make someone a mother! You took care of me and bhai when our mother left us for another man! The one who takes responsibility for the child is the real mother. For me, you are my mother. Not that woman who abandoned her own children!" Ananya fumed.

"Don't talk about your mother this way, Ananya." Meena added sternly.

"Why not? Tell me. Did I say anything wrong? Maasi?" Ananya asked to which Meena sighed.

They had this conversation a few years back, too. But, no matter what Meena would say, Ananya would always hate her mother. She couldn't blame her either.

"I am sure that my sister had her reasons." Meena again tried to justify her sister.

They were silent for a while before Ananya spoke again.

"I am not a mother, yet. But, I know that I'd never abandon my child in any case! I'll fight for it till I die. How can I then accept that woman as my mother who left me and bhai...that too for another man? I don't even remember her face! But, I know, bhai does. And, I know that he still misses her. He still carries her photograph in his wallet, for God's sake! He loved her so much! But, she left him too!... How...how could she leave me behind? She clearly knew that her husband would kill me if she'd leave me, since everyone knew that I was illegitimate. I am a product of her infidelity, after all! But, she left me! She left me when she knew that I'd be tortured forever. But, still...she left me." Ananya's voice choked as tears fell freely now.

Meena quickly hugged her and caressed her head to calm her down.

"Then, you took our responsibility. Papa married you to punish my mother. Despite knowing everything about him, you married him. You left all your dreams and freedom...for us. You took care of me and bhai as our mother would never have. I have only seen you. I only have your memories. Even though you live away from me, I only think of you. You are not just my maasi, you are much more than my mother. You are my ma." Ananya completed slowly.

Meena sighed before giving her an explanation.

"When you call me 'ma', you link me with Viraj's father. But, when you call me 'maasi', you relate me with my sister. I want to be related to my sister...and not that psycho person." Meena explained.

Ananya looked at her in confusion.

"Why do you love her so much? She ruined your life when she knew everything. She knew father would hurt you to take his so-called revenge. Why do you still take her side?" Ananya asked.

"Because, I know my sister. I know everything about her life. I know that she was tortured every second that she lived with him. His love for her was her poison...her shackles. Why wouldn't she try to run away?" Meena said while referring to Viraj's father.

"Then why did she conceive me with another man? Why did she complicate things for herself, bhai, you and...me? She would have just run away somewhere and never come back!"

"Love is not easy to ignore, my dear! Your father showed her the life that Viraj's father never did. She loved your father..."

"And not her own children? No matter how much you justify her, maasi, I will always hate her."

Meena sighed again. Her thoughts went to the memory lane automatically.

'I am going insane, Meena! Dev has lost his mind completely. If...if anything happens to me...promise me...promise me that you will take care of my daughter. You won't let anything happen to her. Promise me, Meena. Please. I am begging you!' Meena recalled her sister's last words to her on the telephone before the phone got cancelled. She still didn't know what her sister was thinking at that time. All she got to know the next day was that her sister had left...forever...leaving the two kids under her care.

Meena walked towards the window and gazed at the sky.

"Ma?" Ananya called for her.

"I miss her. If she would have been here...she would have taken care of everything. She always managed to take care of everything. Sometimes...I just don't know what to do! Sometimes, I want to kill Dev. But, I get scared. What if I fail? He will hurt you and I can't let that happen."

"Are we going to live like this...always?" Ananya asked, desperately.

"I don't know. I don't know." Meena murmured. They seriously had no idea as to how long they will have to suffer Dev's torture.

"Why is father still taking revenge on you when my mother is not even here to see it?" Ananya asked, almost to herself. She completely understood why Viraj's father hated her. But, she couldn't understand why Meena was punished as well?

"It's his sick mentality. He is a sadist, my child. He finds pleasure in seeing us in pain and fear."

"I really hope...that...someday, he'd be treated the same way as he is treating us. I wish, bhai could take a stronger stance in front of him for us."

"Dev has successfully transformed Viraj into his own ideology. Viraj thinks the same way as Dev does...regarding us. The only thing that he couldn't remove from Viraj's mind is the memories of his mother. The only reason why he cares for us is that we are somehow related to his mother. But, I know that deep down, he too believes that we are responsible for his separation from his mother. I know he hates us too." Meena sighed.

"I don't blame bhai. He really loved her. And it is true that because of us, he had to lose her." Ananya said lowly and looked at her fingers. Despite the truth, he took care of their needs and tried to protect them as much as he could from his father. But the resentment had always been there in his heart. While Meena had encouraged his mother to run away with another man, Ananya was the product of his mother's betrayal.

"But, he loves you too. After all, he started painting again...just for you." Meena said, giving her a small smile and walking towards the bed again.

"Even I was surprised to see the painting. I thought he'd never paint again after mother left us." Ananya added with curiosity.

"I thought so too. I remember him painting as a kid. My sister loved his paintings. Even as a child, he was great at his work. He'd always paint for her to see her smile. He was too much of an attention seeker then." Meena chuckled as she recalled his childhood memories. Ananya imagined the scenario too.

Before they could continue, a knock sounded and they both froze. However, they relaxed soon after Viraj's voice entered in.

"Ananya." Viraj asked for entry.

"Come, bhai." She said aloud.

He opened the door and entered. He wasn't really surprised to see his maasi inside. Meena often sneaked into Ananya's room to spend some quality time together with Ananya. And, he was glad that she did.

"Maasi." He acknowledged her presence.

"Come, Viraj. We were just talking about you." Meena said.

Viraj reluctantly sat on the chair. He had come for a different reason, but he decided to skip it for now. He could spend some time with the women of his family.

"What about me?" He asked without a tinge of interest.

"About the painting, you made for Ananya. It is beautiful! I am so happy that you started painting again." Meena said with a gentle smile.

"She had once asked me to paint her. So, I thought I should do it for her." Viraj explained himself.

"When did I?" Ananya complained.

"You were a kid then. You don't remember it." He answered, partially hiding the truth.

'Nunu, this is such a beautiful painting! It looks like a real butterfly!' He recalled his mother's conversation. He clearly remembered how his mother used to call him 'Nunu'. It used to sound so innocent from her mouth.

'Do you like it?' He had asked his mother.

'Yes, my Nunu! One day, you should draw a painting of your sister too. She'd love it.' Her mother had said while looking at Ananya's little form.

'Okay, mummy. I will.' He remembered his promise. It was the last day he had spent with his mother before she left him...again.

"Oh! I will put it on this wall." He heard Ananya say and he came back to the present.

"How is Nupur and your relationship going, Viraj? I am so happy that you announced your wedding date." Meena asked, while changing the topic.

"It's good." He answered plainly.

"You should spend more time with her, Viraj. You are young now. This time won't come again. Go out on dates as most couples these days do." She suggested and Ananya laughed.

Both of them glared at her.

"What? I can't imagine bhai taking a girl on a date and going all romantic! I mean...he is not even capable of it." Ananya mocked her brother.

"With the right girl, every man breaks his own rules. Nupur is a good girl. I am sure Viraj will be all lovey-dovey if he spends some time with her." Meena said with a chuckle.

Viraj sighed and stood up. He wasn't going to listen to them talk about his love life which was completely absent.

"Did you open the gifts yet?" He asked the question straightaway to Ananya.

Ananya narrowed her brows.

"Why?" She asked.

"Did you or did you not?" He asked.

"Not yet. I will open them tomorrow." She answered quickly.

Viraj nodded.

"I will be going now. Maasi, you should go back too. It's late and I don't want papa to realize that you met her without his knowledge." Viraj said to which Meena nodded.

"I'll see you at breakfast." Meena told Ananya who reluctantly said goodnight.

Ananya lay on her bed for about five minutes when she realized something. Why did her brother ask about the gifts? He had never been interested in it before! Is there some gift that he wants to see? She thought and the curiously resurfaced.

Coming out of her bed, she slowly opened the door of her room. She came out and looked downstairs from the railing. Seeing the lights of the guestroom on, her doubts were further raised. It was the same guestroom where the guards had kept all the gifts.

'Is it bhai? What is he doing there?' She thought and walked in the direction of the guestrooms.

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Viraj dropped his maasi to her room and started walking towards the guestroom where the gifts were kept. He wanted to know what Sneha had bought for Ananya. She had been so assertive yesterday and he wondered if she kept her promise. It was stupid of him to do something so silly...but he just couldn't hold his curiosity till tomorrow.

So, he walked downstairs and entered the intended guestroom. He switched on the light and a curse left his mouth. There were so many gifts! Some relatives had given Ananya multiple gifts.

"Where do I start from?" He thought and tried to recall the colour of the gift wrapper that Sneha had brought.

"Purple." He remembered and started searching for purple coloured gift wrapper out of the numerous ones. It took him more time than he had expected to track the specific item.

Finally, he spotted the small cuboidal shaped item that bore Sneha and Jyoti's names.

'Happy birthday, Ananya!' Was written on the top and below was written their names. 'From, Jyoti & Sneha'

And there was a smiley at the end. He couldn't help but chuckle at their childish act.

He carefully peeled the tape and removed the box. Keeping the wrapper aside, he scanned the box. It was plain blue in colour. So, he opened the box and removed the content carefully. The first thing that came out was a small card. So, he kept the box aside and decided to read the card. He knew it was meant to be read by Ananya, but, right now, he was just too curious to care about ethics.

It was a typical birthday card. In the front was a printed image of a cake with birthday wishes. He flipped it open and saw two sets of handwriting. One was beautiful while the other was...just too messy. So, he decided to read the beautiful one, first.

'Happy birthday, Ananya! I wish this year be the best for you and all your dreams get fulfilled...like ASAP! You are a great person and I hope you reach great heights! -Jyoti.' Viraj read the message.

And then he looked at the messy handwriting. He couldn't believe this writing belonged to Sneha! He had only seen her write once and that was in the restaurant where she practically only made a tick mark. She had written her name in block letters then, so, he didn't realize it or pay much attention.

He smiled as he traced his finger on the text Sneha had written. It was messy and not at all beautiful...But he could notice that she had tried to write as beautifully as she could. The curves at the end of each word showed that she was trying to be creative. It almost appeared...cute. But then, what did he not find cute about her!

"She is bad with her hands." He mumbled and then read the text Sneha had written. It was again a simple birthday wish for Ananya. He realized that they were opposite in yet another aspect. While his handwriting was clear and beautiful, hers was just merely legible. He chuckled at the realization.

Keeping the card aside, he finally took out the content of the box outside. His brows narrowed as he tried to make sense of the gift.

It was a small sculpture...grey coloured and what appeared to be of cheap marble. It was a cheap gift, he could easily tell. Mustn't have been worth more than 1000 rupees. But, he couldn't help but appreciate her choice of gift.

It was a sculpture of a mother holding a baby in her arms...almost shielding it in her blossoms. He looked at the curly hair of the woman in the sculpture. His mother had curly hair too. It was a coincidence, but he automatically remembered his mother.

'It's not even mother's day! Why did she give Ananya this?' He wondered.

"What are you doing here, bhai?" Ananya called for his attention when she saw him holding the sculpture.

Viraj got startled by her sudden appearance.

"Nothing. Why are you here?" He asked, while trying to hide the gift behind his back. She noticed him though.

"I was thirsty, so I thought of going to the kitchen. I saw the lights on here. Now, why are you here?" She asked and started walking towards him. She looked down and saw the card which bore Jyoti's and Sneha's names.

"You were opening my gifts?" Ananya asked while being completely confused.

"I..." He had nothing to say.

"What are you hiding behind?" She asked curiously.

She guessed that it was the gift given by Sneha and Jyoti.

Viraj reluctantly passed the gift to her.

"It's given by Sneha and her friend." He answered.

Ananya scanned the sculpture carefully and automatically a smile came on her face.

"This is so beautiful!" Ananya mumbled as she traced the stone.

"It's not even mother's day. Why did she give you this?" He couldn't help but ask.

"I told her once, that I really love my mother and that we don't get to live together. Perhaps, that is why they gave me this. That's so thoughtful of them. I will keep it on my side table so that it reminds me of ma every day." She said with a smile while referring to her maasi. She had received numerous gifts in her life...each more expensive than the other. But, nothing can exceed the value of a thoughtful gift.

"By the way...you didn't answer me as to why you are here...opening my gifts?" She asked when she remembered her intention of coming here.

Viraj sighed. He had to tell her the truth now.

"She asked me yesterday... regarding your choice for a gift. I told her that she won't be able to afford it." He said but she interrupted.

"Why would you say that?" Ananya whined.

"It was true. She told me that she'd give you a gift that you'd eventually like. So, I wanted to see what she got for you...out of curiosity." He finally explained.

"Well, she is right. I really like this. It might not be expensive, but, it is one of the best gifts I have ever got. I am glad that she remembered our conversation and thought about my feelings while she got me this." She said.

"I am going then." He said and started to leave, but she stopped him again.

"Bhai."

"Yes?"

"Ma and papa are going back to Delhi tomorrow morning, right?"

"Yes."

"You'll be dropping them at the airport?" She asked.

"I will if I don't get any urgent call." He answered, a little irritated by her questions.

"Okay. Actually, I...wanted to attend an auction at college." She asked as she realized that she may not get time to discuss this tomorrow.

"What auction?" He asked and turned to face her completely.

"The geography department is holding an auction tomorrow...for disaster relief. So, I was thinking of bidding on some items too. Tina and Shruti are coming as well." She explained.

"Isn't it Sneha's department?" He asked.

"Yes. She and Jyoti are also selling their items."

"Okay. You can go." He said.

Before he could turn to go back, she stopped him again.

"Then, I can use your card, right...since you won't be there?" She asked.

"Yes. Remember that you can't exceed the spending limit. I'll get the text message for every transaction that you do. And, I will match the transaction with the auction receipts." He reminded her in a gentle warning so that she won't misuse his credit card.

"Okay, bhai. Thank you." She replied and saw him leave the room.

Ananya looked at the piles of gifts in front of her and contemplated if she should open them now. Instead, she picked up the birthday greeting card written by her friends and started reading it.

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Sneha held her little box carefully as she took her token number for the auction. She entered the action room with Jyoti and they sat on their designated chairs. Unfortunately, they couldn't sit together since their roll numbers were far apart, and thus their token numbers for the function too.

Sneha waved at Jyoti from her seat and she waved back. She then looked at the auditorium's arrangement. It was decorated with posters and some advertisement banners. The invited guests and businessmen/businesswomen were seated at the front rows to get better access to the items to be sold. The students of the Geography department were sitting in the following rows in accordance with their enrolment numbers. Behind the students sat the general audience...students of other departments and family members who wanted to take part in the auction.

She was aware that the audience could bid on only one item. It was to ensure that everyone could participate actively.

Unintentionally, her eyes fell on Tina, Shruti and Ananya. They were waving at Jyoti. When they saw her, they waved at her too. Sneha waved back with a smile. She was happy that they came. Her eyes automatically searched for Gaurav and Natasha. She hoped he wouldn't break his promise. But, she didn't see him or her anywhere.