I was trying my best to sleep, but whenever I closed my eyes, the same incident that had happened a few hours ago was replaying in front of my eyes. I didn't expect that things would turn out this way. It was definitely a rollercoaster ride today. I looked at the time in my mobile. It's past 1am, but sleep was far away from me. I looked beside, Sravya and Siri were sleeping soundly. I sighed and moved down the stairs to the kitchen without disturbing them. I fetched myself some ice-cream and moved towards the balcony. It's a common balcony for my room and the guest room beside it.

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

"Anna!", I called Arjun anna who was already present there. I was surprised seeing him here at this time, on the top that he was smoking (ewww).

"What are you doing here at this time, pumpkin?" He asked me, crushing the cigar in his hand.

"May I also know the same? What are you doing here without sleeping?" I asked him settling myself on the sofa placed there.

"I'm not feeling sleepy", he said.

"Same here", I said, munching the ice-cream.

"Who eats ice-cream at this time?" He asked, looking at me.

"Me, and what's with the smoking?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"You know the answer for your question, pumpkin", he said.

I sighed. Whenever his mood is pretty bad, he smokes. The only thing I dislike about him is his demeanour after his impulsiveness.

"If you are still blaming yourself, then don't. It's just the situation and we can't stop what is written in our destiny", I explained to him calmly.

"I just don't know. I never in my dreams thought that she was like this, pumpkin", he said, closing his eyes.

"That's the reality, Anna. One day or the other we have to face it. And, I'm glad that you accepted Diya vadina. She is definitely not like her", I told him.

"She is the worst nightmare that happened in my life, whereas Diya is a beautiful dream", he said, with a smile.

"Oho, it seems like my brother is falling for his fiancee", I teased.

"May be", he said with a smile playing on his lips. I'm happy for him. He is finally receiving the happiness he deserves.

"Maya! Maya?"

We heard Sravya shouting my name. Why does she have to shout every time? I thought she slept, but how come she was here?

"Girl! Stop shouting. My poor ears will become deaf today only. What are you doing here? I thought you were sleeping", I asked, looking at the mad girl who was now sitting in front of me and gobbling my ice-cream (my baby).

"I felt thirsty, so I woke up. When I looked beside, you were not there, and I saw the balcony lights were on. So here I'm. And, you guys were gossiping from morning leaving me", she said pouting.

"Whatever!" Saying that, I snatched my love from her.

Gosh! What a drama queen she is. She is now giving me that innocent look, staring at my ice-cream. Huh, as if I'm going to melt.

"What?" I asked, raising my eyebrow.

"Ice-cream", she said, pointing towards my baby.

"A big no. I'll not share my baby with you. If you want, then go and fetch yourself some from the kitchen", I told her sternly.

"Pretty please", she said, making a puppy face.

"Urgh, girls, will you both stop your bak bak?" He said, making a bad face.

Sravya rolled her eyes in annoyance and asked, "Now tell me, what happened in the evening? And what were you both doing with that girl?"

"She was congratulating the couple of the day whole-heartedly", Anna said with sarcasm.

I just chuckled, listening to his words.

"Oh! Come on, stop playing around the bush and tell me what happened actually", she said with irritation.

Arjun Anna told her everything, while I just stared blankly at the dark sky. I don't want to reminisce about all those things, but they were not leaving my mind.

"How dare she? Bava, I'm telling you that girl is crossing her limits. Was there anyone else while she was talking to you?" Sravya said angrily.

"I don't know. I was in the storeroom searching for some old tables when I heard her blaming pumpkin. Thank God, they were standing near the storeroom, and guests were also eating dinner at the time; otherwise, I don't know what would have happened," Arjun Anna explained.

"Hmm. What do you want to do with that girl now?" She asked, turning towards me.

"I'd have nothing to do with that girl", I said, shrugging my shoulders.

"Girl, are you serious? That stupid girl is literally blaming you that you used her brother for money and left him, but in reality you guys were never in a relationship. Heck, you even loathe that man's presence. Did you forget all the things that happened years ago?" Sravya yelled at me.

"I didn't forget anything, Sravya. I didn't forget all those days when I'd have nightmares. I didn't forget those days when he tortured me daily with his messages and calls from different numbers. I didn't forget all those days when he demeaned my feelings. I didn't forget all those creepy stares he gave me whenever we met at family gatherings. I didn't forget how he insulted my friends just because they supported me. I didn't forget all those days where I lived in fear that he would approach my parents and ask for my hand. He told me that he would respect my feelings and give me my space, but in reality, it's totally the opposite. I never gave him any hope, Sravya. It's him who always builds his hopes high. I straight away told him I was not interested in any relationship then or now. I told him no when he proposed to me, but that creature didn't understand that. What's my fault if he didn't understand my words? How can I love him when I've been in love with Avi for years?" I said, yelling back at her.

"You love, bava?" Arjun asked.

"Huh!" I said.

"Dumbo, you said you love Kittu Anna", Sravya said, smiling.

A small smile crept onto my lips. Yes, I have been in love with him, but I'm not ready to accept that.

"Hello, madam! Back to the earth", she said, hitting my head, for which she received a glare from me.

"Okay, keep that aside. You are the one who has endured pain all these years. But she has blamed you, and you are saying you've nothing to do with that girl", She asked me.

"I really don't know Sravya, for now my mind is completely shut down. And, blaming others is not a new thing for her", I said, closing my eyes.

"Pumpkin?" Anna called me.

"Yeah!" I said.

"Do you really love bava?" He asked me.

I looked at him, and then at Sravya. I got up from my seat and moved towards the railing and looked at the sky. It's dark everywhere as it is drizzling lightly. The moon is obscured by dark clouds, and there are no stars to be seen.

"Yes, I loved him from the age when I didn't even know the meaning of love. At first, I thought it was a crush that would fade with the years passing. But my feelings for him grew stronger with the passing of time. That's when I realised it's not just a crush, but something more beautiful than that", I said, looking at the sky.

"Gosh, I never knew my sister was in love all these years. But, why did you never confess your feelings for him?" He asked me.

"I was afraid. What if he didn't love me back? I didn't want to lose the bond we share. So, I started maintaining a distance from him, but ended up getting closer to him. So, I just left it to destiny. Also, you know about Nanna and Amma, right? You know about the expectations they have on me", I told them.

"Okay, we understand your point. But, what if things have gone wrong? I mean, now you guys are going to tie the knot within a few days. But, what if the propasal didn't come and your marriage was fixed with some other guy?" She asked me.

"As I said before, I left things to destiny. So, I would have accepted the fact that he wasn't meant for me. I know, things would have been difficult, but I was accustomed to it. Because many things have happened in my life exactly opposite to my dreams and wishes", I said.

Arjun Anna and Sravya hugged me and wiped away my tears. Gosh! Why do these tears always have to betray me?

I just separated myself from them and said, "I'm okay guys."

There was a brief silence for a moment.

"Bava, what should we do now? What if that girl said the same thing in front of everyone? We can't take the risk, at least not now", she asked, breaking the silence.

"I want to talk to him once in person", I said, composing myself.

"Huh?" Sravya said with shock.

"Are you in your senses? Do you even know, what you are saying? Why do you want to talk to that guy now?" Anna yelled at me.

"I'm, in my full sense, only Anna. What should I do, Anna, sit in a corner and cry for the blame she had put on me? I was the one who bore all the things. When I was thinking it was over, that girl came out of nowhere and said I trapped her brother in my love, used his money, and left him. I never loved him, Anna. I immediately rejected him when he proposed to me. He was the one who stalked me like a creep. When I blocked his one number, he used to call or message from another one. You don't know, Anna, how I used to get uncomfortable just with his gaze, how I used to escape from the place where he used to be there at family gatherings.

He demeaned my self-respect and questioned my character just because I rejected him. You know, Anna, he thought I rejected him because he didn't have good looks. That was what he thought about me, and he said he knew me better than anyone. Though I'd shut him completely and shown him his right place, I guess he didn't change. If he thinks I'm weak, then he is definitely wrong. Till now, I've never talked to him in person. For once, I want to talk to him and clear everything. I'm going start a new journey in my life, Anna. And I definitely do not want him as a hurdle. Now, I've got one more family to answer if any mishap has happened, Anna", I explained to them.

(My body is shivering all this while, of course; opening all those wounds again is not easy.)

"Maya, just relax. First of all, calm down", she said, hugging me.

"Okay then. If that is what you want, ow what should I do?" He asked me.

"Tell him to meet us tomorrow, I'll manage something at the home. We will fix a place and tell him to come there. You have to take me there", I told him.

"Okay, as you say. Umm, do you have his number?" He asked me.

"Why would I still keep his number with me? Wait a minute, look in family groups; you might find it", I told him.

"Hmm. Anyways, let's sleep now. It's quite late", he said, looking at his mobile.

I looked at the time in my mobile it's 3 am now.

"Okay, guys. Good night", saying that, he moved towards the guest room.

"Anna", I called him.

"Yes", he said, turning back.

I motioned for Sravya to leave the room and approached him.

After seeing that she left, I told him, "Our talk is still pending. I know you still have some questions to ask. Even I have. So, we will continue this afterwards and I definitely want some answers."

He groaned and nodded his head. After that, we left for our respective rooms.

Stay safe and be happy.