"What is going on?"

The whole room spun and zoomed in towards the person standing at the doorway. The question seemed to stop time and space. The voice made her startle with alarm as she shifted her horrified gaze in that direction. She arose instinctively without taking her eyes off the person at the door. The silence that ensued was too thick to ignore.

Meanwhile, the person who uttered those words slowly put down the duffle bag from his shoulder beside his feet while eyeing everyone present in the room. Shreya noticed from her peripheral vision Ritu was about to take a step forward but Tiyasha grabbed one of her arms refraining her from doing so.

"What's all this?" Gyan questioned again as he took forward steps and finally coming to a stop at a hand distance.

She couldn't believe her own eyes what she was seeing. Priyasha gasped audibly from somewhere behind her while Ritu snapped a picture of her twin. Her jaws dropped observing the unbelievable change in his appearance. He no longer had long hair. His black hair was cut short, and it was neatly brushed. He was wearing a white cotton full-sleeved shirt, whose ends were lightly folded, and a pair of beige trousers with suede light beige loafers. A silver watch was around his left wrist. He looked too out of his character, in fact, he looked like a completely new person. She noticed the lip-ring was gone. He wore a light stubble, and looked pacified... rather grown up.

"Gyan!" Priyasha got up and came forward. "What is this?" She reached around and touched the back of his neck, as if, trying to make herself believe what she was seeing was real.

Gyan blushed slightly as his eyes found their ways to Shreya. He smiled... and it both melted and shattered her heart at the same time.

Priyasha asked again, "What is this, Gyan? And where were you? You only told me you'll be on a trip for a month. But where were you exactly?" while caressing his face and head.

"Maa, I'll tell you later. Now stop embarrassing me, and tell me what is going on here? Who are these gentlemen?" He gestured towards the marriage and law officers.

Priyasha dropped her hand and turned around. Her gaze shifted to Abhiraj, who cleared his throat and exchanged a brief glance with Vijay who was sitting beside him.

"They are marriage and law officers respectively. They came to legally solemnize Abhimanyu and Shreya's marriage."

"What?" Gyan's eyes moved forward and backward between Abhiraj and the officers before they settled on Shreya. He looked completely flabbergasted. They held each other's gaze for a few seconds until her eyes wavered and she looked down.

Gyan eyebrows creased as he looked at Abhimanyu then back at Abhiraj. "What? I don't understand." He repeated.

Shreya realized he hadn't seen the clip. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so clueless.

Priyasha grabbed one of his arms which he got rid of immediately. "Someone, please speak up! What the hell is going on here?"

"I am telling Gyan." Ritu chimed in. "She made a move on Dadabhai then blackmailed him to get marry to her. But Papa and Maa are covering for her. So that's that!" Ritu said in a single breath.

Abhiraj chided, "Ritu, don't talk nonsense!"

However, Gyan intervened. "That's impossible! Shreya is not like that. I don't believe it."

Ritu countered, "You will, when you see the clip."

"What clip?" Gyan asked, dumbfounded. "What is going on? Shreya..." He reached forward, grabbed a hold of her hand swiftly and yanked on it. "Come with me! You don't have to participate in such circus, for whatever it is!"

But as soon as he did so, Abhimanyu held her other hand and prevented Gyan to take her away.

Meanwhile, she didn't realize when she had started to sob. Her cheeks were already damp from the tears streaming down uncontrollably. She couldn't believe Gyan was the only person who trusted her just like that. He was the only person who didn't doubt her for once. She didn't deserve this precious man's amity. She never valued it as much as he deserved. Perhaps, that was why she was suffering like this. It was her punishment.

Gyan glared at Abhimanyu. "I won't let it happen. You can't win all the time. She's, my friend!"

Abhimanyu's poker face did not show any emotions. He looked straight into his brother's eyes and said in his deep but flat tone. "She's, my wife." Shreya's head snapped in his direction as the words rolled out of his mouth. Did he really mean that? Gyan clenched his jaws while Abhimanyu added, "Let her go. Don't create a scene here. We have guests over."

Gyan blinked. His eyes strayed from his brother's face to the officers watching them intently. He clenched his jaws and threw another glare filled with fury at his brother before releasing her hand.

Shreya's eyes dropped quickly on that spot where he had held her a second ago before her eyes retraced back to his face. She saw hurt flickering through his eyes which he tried to mask with fury. She shook her head slightly trying to convince him it was not what it appeared. Reality was far beyond and worse than this. But before she could make him read and understand the language of her teary eyes, Gyan brushed his fingers through his hair, looking severely dejected. Pain flickering through his eyes while there was a contradictory smirk on his pressed lips. He tilted his head back slightly and scoffed. His eyes shifted from Abhimanyu and focused on Shreya as he gave some understanding nods. His face contorted from agony which made it all too obvious that how broken he was feeling at this moment. He took a step back slowly. Then another. And another... before turning back and leaving in a frenzy. He did not look back at her again.

Abhimanyu let go of her hand after Gyan was gone before turning towards the officers. He exchanged some words about the additional formalities that were still left.

Meanwhile, her heart shattered into pieces. Ritu let out a dismissive snort before turning on her heels and left. Tiyasha took away Dev with her, and Rishi followed her. Dibyendu got up and walked towards the guestroom they were staying.

The pang in her chest returned with full blast while she kept watching helplessly the way Gyan went. She just realized how much that man loved her. For the first time she felt the ache of love. They say, love isn't supposed to hurt. Then, why was she hurting? So much that it was difficult for her keep breathing. Tears fell silently which she kept wiping with her handkerchief and tried not to make a sound. It felt as if she just lost a huge piece of her torn heart, and now it wouldn't stop bleeding for the rest of her life.

Meanwhile, the officers informed all the formalities were done and that they were now lawfully wedded husband and wife. Abhiraj and Vijay shared their words of appreciation as the officers left, but not before giving her a few speculative looks.

Priyasha came forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. She gazed at the former helplessly who seemed to understand what was going on. She nodded quietly. "If you want to talk to him, you have my permission."

Shreya sobbed more profusely now as her eyes strayed towards Abhimanyu, who seemed to have no effect whatsoever. Priyasha prodded. "I am telling. Go." And that was enough for her to run towards Gyan's room in the first floor. She did not wait for her mother's consent, or Abhimanyu's. She must talk to Gyan as soon as possible.

Hopefully, he wouldn't do anything stupid when he'd see the clip or know the truth.

She found his door unlocked. He did not even bother locking the door. She entered the room and spotted Gyan half lying on his bean bag with a bottle of alcohol in his hand.

She went to him hurriedly and collapsed before him. "Gyan!"

He didn't move or look at her. He just lifted the bottle up and drank from it undiluted.

"Gyan, please! This is wrong! Don't do this to yourself!"

He stared at the ceiling and kept chugging down the alcohol. Shreya sat up on her knees and reached forward to take the bottle from him.

"Don't you dare!" He growled. He moved the bottle away from her reach. "I don't want to hurt you, Shreya. Leave me alone." He took a small pause then snorted at his own words. "You've already left me though!"

"No-no! I'm not!" She shook her head frantically. "You're not understanding, Gyan. Please let me explain." She went ahead and tried to take the bottle from him again which was already halt empty. The spur of the moment action that took place after that, she wasn't expecting at all. He lifted up his free hand and pushed on her causing her to stumbling behind and crashing on the ground hard. She hissed at the pain that coursed through body and which she had to ignore.

She sat up whimpering while Gyan had already stood up and now drinking the alcohol bottom up.

She hastily stood up, hugged him from behind and sobbed. "Gyan, please listen to me!"

"There's nothing left, Shreya. You never valued my emotions anyway. Why now?" He drank again while his free hand clutched on her hands that were wrapped around his waist. She was sobbing full on now. "You chose him. He always wins, doesn't he? He always does. Whatever I have ever liked, it's always him who got the best of it. He's the favorite one anyway. Even, he won you. I loved you. I was willing to change myself for you. Even I went to Coimbatore, at the Isha headquarters. I took a month-long inner engineering program. All to make myself better, who's deserving of you. But you... you didn't acknowledge my emotions. You didn't even..." he trailed off momentarily before adding, "You chose that incompetent selfish scoundrel..."

"NO!" She sobbed while shaking her head furiously. "Your brother is sick, Gyan. He's not a scoundrel."

"Of course, he's sick! A sick scoundrel! Tell me something I don't already know!"

She tightened her hold around his waist and sobbed. "No, Gyan, no! You're getting it all wrong. Your brother... needs help! He's got the rare condition of SPD – a kind of psychological disorder. He's unwell!"

Gyan stopped fidgeting. Thick silence ensued in the room. Some heavy moments passed them frozen to their respective spots. Then ever so slowly, he forced her hands to loosen before turning around and staring down at her. His brows were knitted in a confused frown.

"What do you mean?"

She sobbed. "He's suffering from a rarest personality disorder. People with this condition don't desire close relationship, not even with his own family. He doesn't prefer having emotions. That's why he appears so cold and detached!"

He blinked, too stunned to say anything. He tilted his head and studied her crying face carefully. "What do you mean?"

She cried harder. "Your brother has schizoid personality disorder. He must have developed this condition after he was sent abroad or even before that, during residential schooling. No one can really say."

"Schizoid persona... tell me in lucid language Shreya. I am not a psychology major. What is all this?"

Then she told him. Whatever happened since the night, and everything Priyasha related to her. She gave him a brief understanding of Abhimanyu's rare condition also.

"And you sacrificed yourself for that?" Gyan ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "Oh- no no no! You cannot ruin it like this. This is not supposed to happen! Damn it! Why are Maa and Papa doing this? They should've known my heart too! They always think of his convenience. But what about me? I need love too! Where is my share of their love? Even they gave Dadabhai (older brother) almost sixty percent of Permabell's share, and the rest will be mine and Ritu's, equally. But where the fuck is the equality?

"Sometimes, I think I have always been a replacement. When he wasn't here, they treated me well, as if in his behalf. But now that he's here, they are taking away everything from me to give him. As if to make out for all those lost times. Why? What's my fault to start with all this? I didn't ask to be born. They brought me to this world! Then why must I tolerate this discrimination?

"I deserve better. Don't you think?" He rambled in a frenzy. "Why must I suffer because of their misdeed? They never treated Ritu like that! Trust me, it's suffocating to live here. This disparity chokes me relentlessly! You know what? My parents have one son and one daughter. Their favorites. But me? What about me? I was unwanted! I should've known better and left permanently! I returned just for you, Shreya." He looked at her with a steady, demanding gaze. "I love you. You cannot marry him just because he has some psychological issues. You cannot. I never received what I deserved. Please, don't do this to me again." He pleaded. "This is fucked up! I cannot-"

Shreya collapsed on the ground, shedding uncontrollable tears as he confessed to her.

When he noticed that, he followed suit and sat on his knees before her and held her by the arms. "You cannot do this to me. To us! I know you love me. Please say you love me! I know, you do! Please give me love." He panicked and didn't realize when tears started rolling down from the corner of his eyes. "If you marry him, you'll be unapproachable. Why don't you understand that? Shreya! This is fucked up! Why do you have to do this?"

"Because someone has to!" She covered her face and cried louder. "Someone has to!"