Aditya gripped her arm and pulled her closer to himself and ignoring her gasp of surprise, he encircled his arms around her tiny frame. As if it was the most natural thing to do, he bent down and pressed a kiss on her head before resting his chin on top of it.

Zevah tensed at first but later relaxed and hugged him back. They stayed in that position for few more minutes before Zevah realized what she was doing and moved back. She looked around feeling awkward and embarrassed for ranting out everything to him but it also felt good.

"Zevah, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. Infact I'm thankful that you were comfortable enough to share it with me. So, it's okay." Aditya spoke seeing her face and she looked at him with something akin to admiration.

"So then why did they call you now? What do they want?" Aditya tried to sound normal when on the inside, he wanted to punch somebody.

"For marriage, of course. They've selected a groom for me again." She sighed and the way she said it so casually had him boiling.

"The fuck? And you're okay with that?" He snapped and she glared at him.

"Did you find my reaction back then okay?" She fired back and he mellowed down feeling guilty for snapping at her.

"I'm sorry, I just ─I'm worried about you." He said softly and she relaxed as well.

"Aditya, I know you're worried for me but please don't get involved in this." She pleaded and he let out a humourless laugh.

"Everything related to you will always concern me, Zevah , so don't tell me not to get involved because I was involved the moment you shared it all with me." He walked away after that and she was irked by his behaviour.

The last time someone tried to help her, it cost her everything. It was Srishti who had tried to help her before when they were on her back to get married and they threatened her with the orphanage. It would've been okay if it was just a threat but it wasn't. Turned out Mr. Mittal was sent by her father and he wasn't kidding about destroying everything.

Her father wasn't really a big shot but he had enough connections to bring her down any moment. She didn't know if Aditya was more powerful than her father but she didn't want him to get hurt or lose anything just because of her.

────────

Two days later, Srishti was normal and she actually wanted to go out to explore. She was in a different country altogether, couldn't miss the chance to know about it.

"Sahil, I want to go out today." She exclaimed in an excited tone rather which caused him to look up from his laptop.

The past two days, Sahil had been more attentive towards her and even if it was because of her periods, she liked it. She was slowly getting more and more comfortable around him and maybe he was too.

"And where would that be?" He arched his left eyebrow and I gave him a look saying how-would-I-know-when-you-are-the-one-who's-been-to-Berlin.

He rolled his eyes and went back to his laptop making me frown.

"Fine, I'll go with my baby." She stomped her foot and left but that definitely got his attention. If Ayaansh goes, his father does too.

So by the time she dressed up Ayaansh and got ready herself, she found Sahil all dressed up as well which caused her to smirk.

"Are you going somewhere?" She asked innocently and he gave her a look that clearly asked her to shut up but still a giggle escaped her lips.

Before any of them could say anything, Ayaansh all but ran to them causing her heart to leap out of her chest because there was a table at the nearest which he wouldn't even notice. But before Ayaansh could get hurt, he was picked up causing him to let out a squeal.

Srishti sighed in relief as Sahil picked him up and slightly twirled him around in the air. Ayaansh laughed merrily and she grinned at the sight.

Twenty minutes later, they were out on the streets of Berlin for some sightseeing. Ayaansh was with his father the whole time and Srishti was busy roaming around and staring at everything with fascination.

After roaming around for few hours, they decided to grab something to eat at a restaurant. Ayaansh was surprisingly quiet and wasn't cribbing for anything. He was at his best behaviour and it amused both of them.

"Was möchtest du haben schönheit?" Srishti stood there tongue tied as a seemingly cute guy asked her from behind the counter. He surely winked at her and she couldn't help the blush creeping up on her cheeks.

(What would you like to have beautiful?)

Before she could utter anything supposedly in english, she saw Sahil standing before her and covering her entire frame.

"Hier oben sind meine Augen!" Sahil said in a cold voice which made her frown even though she didn't understand a thing. The guy raised his hands up in surrender before he took their order.

(Eyes up here!)

As they sat on their table, Srishti frowned at Sahil who raised his eyebrows in question. Ayaansh drank his milk from the bottle staring at his parents.

"What did you say to him?" She asked with her eyes narrowed at him. He stared at her for a few minutes before shrugging.

"As if you understood what he said." He said casually but it irked her. She didn't ask anything further and they ate their food silently before leaving.

Sahil although calm and composed from the outside, he was confused with his own behaviour. Why did he feel so weird seeing that guy flirting with his wife? And if possible if annoyed him more when she blushed because of him.

Was he developing any kind of feelings for her?

When they were back home, Srishti placed Ayaansh in his crib since he had dozed off being tired. After they freshened up, Srishti brought up the topic again.

"Sahil, why were you so rude to the guy earlier? What did he say?" She was curious and since she didn't know German, she wanted to know what he had said.

"Nothing important. And I wasn't rude, he was just wasting my time." He replied scrolling through his phone. Srishti narrowed her eyes at his answer.

"It wasn't nothing and you and I both know that. He said something to me and so I have the right to know." She declared stubbornly and he clenched his jaw.

"If you are so interested to know then go back to that place and ask him yourself, stop annoying me." The words were more harsh than he intended to and she seemed to flinch a little because of it.

She slowly withdrew herself from the bed and walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?" He stopped her and she never turned around.

"To the same place where the guy spoke to me." She whispered before leaving and Sahil continued staring blankly at the space.

He tried to divert himself with work but when after ten minutes it didn't work and his restlessness grew, he dialed her number the next second only to find her phone laying on the bed.

"Fuck!" He threw a look at a sleeping Ayaansh and contemplated on what to do. Surely he couldn't leave Ayaansh alone but then he couldn't take him as well. What the hell was he supposed to do other than waiting for her to return?

Srishti walked on the streets of Berlin with her heavy heart. There was a limit to everything she could bear and everything she could bury inside her.

In her entire life up till now, she never got to know what is mother's love or what father's love is. All she received was those children's love and she was content with it. But like every other girl she dreamt of having a life partner who would love her, respect her, cherish her and care for her. Was wishing of a little something also too much?

Tired of walking, she spotted a bench and sat on it. Of course she remembered the way back to her home but she just needed a little alone time to herself.

Few minutes later, she realised someone sitting next to her and it terrified her. She was in a different country where she knew no one and now some stranger was sitting beside her. What was she supposed to do? Get up and run? Or pretend like she didn't notice his presence?

"Excuse me?" Her breath hitched at the voice and she started shivering a little. Closing her eyes tightly, she cursed herself for even getting out of the house without thinking.

"Hey, are you okay?" The person asked again and this time she realised he was speaking English instead of German. She peeked at him and was surprised to see an Indian face before her.

"Hello?" She snapped out of her staring session and looked away embarrassed.

"You're Indian." She stated dumbly and the mam chuckled. Way to embarrass yourself the second time.

"That's right, I am. By the way, what a coincidence, you're Indian as well." She glared at him for teasing her and he raised his hands in surrender.

"Are you here for a vacation?" He asked and she shook her head. She then stood up and so did he.

"I should go." She mumbled and turned around walking away.

"Wait, what's your name pretty girl?" He yelled and her eyes widened but still she didn't stop walking neither did she turn around to look at him.

"Fine, we'll surely meet again." This time she chuckled at his craziness because she was sure that she wasn't going to see him ever again.

When she got home, she braced herself for facing the monster. As she stepped in the empty living room, she sighed in relief and started walking towards the kitchen. Just as she was about to open the fridge, a hand slammed on it's door and she jumped back into someone's body.

"Where the fuck were you, Mrs. Srishti Malhotra?"

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