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I lay awake in my bed, after two consecutive nightmares. There was still dark out, so I tried to count the rotation of antique fan on the ceiling. The soft golden glow of the night lamp created a large shadow of the blades.

"Jayden," I muttered in my mouth. The sound of it seemed alien as if I had no connection to it. The sound of the insects outside had ceased, and I could now only hear the distant creaking of the rotating blades and my hammering heart. I took the pillow and hugged it, tears spilling out of my eyes, soaking on the damp cotton. In front of my eyes, I saw the faces of Sid, my mother, my father, and Lyra. What was their intention? Just to spy on me? Then again, they must care for me. That was why they wanted to know about me? Was I being harsh on them? And maybe they had changed as they say.

I felt the need to read the letter they left for me. What was the point now? The letter was still in the drawer of my bedside table. I went berserk when I heard a sudden knock on the door.

"Who is it?" I called out, clutching the sheets tightly over me.

No answer. Though sound of the knocking was soft.

I slowly moved out of bed, picked up a rusted and empty vase from the table and held ready to strike if the sound continued. Then when I heard a familiar voice, I dropped the vase and hurriedly opened the door.

My mouth fell open, as Jayden stood before me, wearing a weak smile and a particular expression of relief. Was I dreaming again? I was rooted on the spot.

Without saying anything, he entered the room and closed the door behind me. He then fished out his cell phone and called somebody. "I found her. She is okay." And with that, he ended the call and stared fixedly at me.

"Why are you here?" I managed to ask. My heart pounded against my chest.

"To talk some sense into a crazy, stupid girl!" he replied, with his hands in his pockets.

"You...You," I muttered, fresh stream of tears spilling out of my eyes. Whether I was angry, or happy to see him, I could not tell. "I hate... I hate you!"

"I know," he answered, lowering his gaze. "I should have been truthful."

"I don't care now! I don't want to see you, anymore," I muttered, partly lying.

"Sara," he came forward, taking a step, within inches of me. "I know I ask too much from you. But please, listen to my side of the story. Here..." he placed the letter from my parents on my hand. "Read it first."

I took it with trembling hands and sat on the bed. Slowly, I fumbled with its fold and opened it.

My dear Sara,

Today when I saw you in that state, I could not take it. I am heartbroken, sweetheart. I know what we had done, is wrong. But darling, you know only the half truth. We wanted you to tell you everything, waiting for the right moment all along. And our relationship suffered and suffered. Soon, there was a deep crack and everything fell apart. Can it not be mended?

Now, as we both saw you, we had to tell you the truth anyhow. It would never be the right time. So here it goes...

Lyra suffered from Leukemia from the time she was four. Yes. I know. I know it is a shock to you. When it was first diagnosed, imagine our condition. The floor slipped beneath our feet, our Lyra was a cancer patient. I have saved countless numbers of lives, but when it was time to save my own daughter, I could not. We did everything we could. We started her treatment from the best of its field. When she realized that she would not survive long, she took a promise from us, not to tell you. She always said Didi should not know. She will cry because of me.

Partly because of her promise, and partly because we thought it was best for you not to know of her real condition, we kept the truth from you. Months passed, we visited every possible facility, every doctor in the US, and still, we could not save your sister. We could not give any attention to you, of which we felt bad. But beta, we were bound. We simply couldn't. And when the time came, Lyra kept crying, saying that she would miss you the most. But again told us not to tell you. She could not bear to see your suffering. We then sent you to your Nani, and we lost both of our daughters in succession.

We are sorry, beta! If we could, we would do all that the other way round. I regret it every single day. There was not a day when we didn't miss you. Please understand us.

There is one another thing you should know. Since your Nani died, we couldn't know how you were. And it kept us worried almost every day. We tried calling you, but you never responded. Desperately, we tried contacting your friends, Tanya, Kushal, but they both did not respond to our calls. And then, when Siddharth Parker, a friend of mine, said that he was going to India, precisely working in your publishing house, I could not help but tempt at the prospect of knowing about you. So Siddharth kept informing about you, not revealing his real identity to you. Again, this was out of bounds. I know we went out of line. Please forgive us. If possible, think of the circumstances, we all went through. If you ever forgive us, all we want is a call from you, of your well-being. That is all! We have already lost our space from your heart.

Forgive us.

Your Ma.

I couldn't know how much time passed, as I cried and cried. I felt Sid's hand draped around me and my head on his shoulders. Finally sobbing incessantly, I slipped into deep sleep.

When I woke up, bright sunlight bathed the room. Opposite by the wooden table, sat Kushal, smiling at me. "What is happening?" I croaked, completely dazed.

"You slept," answered Sid; he was sitting near the bedside, in a small chair.

Then it came back to me in a rush. "Lyra!" I whispered and sat upright on the bed.

"I am sorry, Sara!" Sid whispered, moved to my side in a second.

I jerked his hand away and gave him a stern look. "I don't know how the two of you find me, but I want to be alone!"

"He found you, dear. I am just accompanying him," said Kush, warmly. "Just listen to him for once Sara. It pains me to see like this. I will wait outside."

We watched as he closed the door behind him.

"So you are Jayden...?" I began, reserving my cold look.

"Yes," Sid nodded, sighing.

"Then why would my mother call you Siddharth?" I asked, hating myself to be curious about his case.

"It's a long story," he answered, moving his hand towards me.

I shrugged and looked straight ahead. I longed to caress his face, his hair, maybe feel his lips too. "You want me to listen? So here I am!"

"All right." He smiled, stopping my heart for a short second. "I will tell you from the start."

I nodded, my ear stood in attention. Meanwhile, I drank the sight of him.

"I am Jayden, Jayden Parker," he paused, seeing my thunderstruck expressions. "Yes, I am the son of Jason and Naina Parker. Your mother saved me and tended me when I had the accident when I was fourteen. Since then, she became not only a family friend but also one of my closest confidante. When the time came to join my dad in his office, he suggested me to get an experience in working on different levels. But as everybody treated me like a Prince in DC office, Dad suggested me to work here in Mumbai with a different identity, so that the experience would be of use. And then I learned about you and Doc's relationship. I volunteered to do this side job for her. I must admit, it had my selfish intention as well. See, when I first looked at your pictures, I was intrigued about you. With my recent breakup fresh, I came to Mumbai. I had no intention of falling in love with you dear, but when I saw you at the purple party, you awakened something inside of me; though I was a little ignorant at that time. Initially, I let you believe that I was taking you on a date, the truth was I needed to know about your life: so that I could tell Doc about it. I never thought that I could so desperately want you, so in times I pushed you away and sometimes, I could not help but pull you towards me. I remember our kiss, Sara, I was bewildered. Never had I known what such kiss feels like! My soul was entwined into yours, that night."

"What about you asking me as a date to the gala? What was your intention?" I raised my brow in question.

"I had finally accepted that instead of being miserable for not having you in my life, I thought of being with you. I told my parents about you, and they wanted to meet you. What better time than gala? Doc and Pradeep were there, so were my parents. I was ready to tell you everything and hoped that when your parents meet you, you will forgive them. But nothing of that sort happened. You ignored me and your parents. I was furious. Never had I felt this out of control. Then, before I know it, you were with Kush. And then, I respected your wish and let you go. But then, you asked me to accompany you to Kaushik's; I decided that after this, I would go back to DC. To my astonishment, things turned out different: you finally confessed your feelings. What a night it was! Believe me, Sara, yesterday I wanted to tell you at the time of dropping you off at your apartment. I was so close."

I recalled the worried expressions when he had said that he wanted to talk with me. I sighed. How incredulous it sounded! I was not that special: how could he love me? He was drop dead gorgeous plus he had power and wealth. It was hard to believe his feelings.

"I know, you cannot trust me," he breathed. "I screwed up from the start! I won't blame if you blow me off."

After long minutes, as I gazed in his shining gray eyes, my insides melted. I felt overwhelmed. If what he says is true, then I can't deserve his affection. I misunderstood my parents in the worst way, I misunderstood him. I was not the best judge of character, nor was I sensitive enough of other's feelings. It was dawning on me. I had lost all those precious years to be with my parents; I lost their love.

"Please say something," said Sid, clutching my hands in his.

"I am not sure what to feel," I answered, truthfully. "I am overwhelmed."

"Can you forgive me?" he breathed.

I nodded slowly. "What happened that night was all true, right?" I asked.

"Yes, sweetheart. Every word I said about how much I loved you. It's true. I love you, Sara," he said, and slowly kissed my lips, binding the promise of two souls.

"I love you too!" I smiled, tears wetting my cheeks.

We embraced each other fervently, drowning in the warmth. Suddenly I remembered something. "You didn't answer my question."

"What?"

"Why my mother mentioned you as Siddharth, when you are Jayden Parker?" I looked up from his chest.

He smiled down at me and kissed my forehead. "I am both. As you know, my mom is Indian. She calls me Siddharth, but in records, by the insistence of my dad, I am Jayden Parker, JP. So my closest people call me Siddharth or Sid."

"Thank god!" I grinned. "Jayden felt alien to me."

"Well, call me whatever you like. I am only happy to be with you!" he laughed. His sound filled my heart with hope.

"Don't rejoice just yet. I will punish you for your lying," I warned, amusingly.

"Oh yes. Whatever you think is right. Just don't push me away," he grinned.

"Your punishment is that you will never lie to me again. And I expect full support when I talk with my parents," I said, kissing his chin.

"I am here for you always," he promised.

**One more chapter and its over. Pl share the story of Sara and Sid with your followers!!**