"Really, Eva?" I chuckle at her stupid jokes. Soon after Neil, Niam and Navya exited from our flat Eva came to have some chit-chat time with us.

"Yes! I mean I had asked him twice are you sure you want to marry me, he was like yes, yes, yes! Then I said to him I have married twice then got a divorce twice because I find divorce quite cool. Then his expressions were so funny, oh god! He ran away from there without even sparing a glance at me." I, Myra, and Zar laughed at her incident with a stranger.

"Come on, I don't want someone to marry me because I am the owner of so many apartments or because of my beauty." She rolled her eyes as she chuckled.

"Exactly! Marriage is the worst part of life." I add recalling my marriage, "Besides the divorce part is quite cool. I just love the way I threw the divorce papers on my Ex-Husband."

"No, sweety. Marriage isn't the worst part." Eva holds my hand. "It depends on how partners handle it. Marriage can be the best part of your life if there are understanding, support, and care. You should give space to each other and trust each other." She is more like an elder sister to me and my friends.

"Eva, if you seriously think marriage can be the best part of your life then why don't you marry?" Zar raised her eyebrows, how can I forget she hates marriage because her parents don't live together. She was forced to stay with any one of them and she wasn't ready to leave one so she left both.

"Yeah, but for making marriage the best part of life we have to find the best partner which I don't get. You know greedy guys are not something I wish for." Eva laughs.

"Exactly! Everyone will find their prince charming someday." Myra answers going back to her dreamland.

"Oh, drama queen, come out of your dreamland. Prince charming and stuff sounds good only in shows and stories." Zar smacks on Myra's shoulder getting her out of dreamland.

Now, this is something different, Myra deeply believes true love exists.

"You people don't believe in it let me at least dream peacefully!" She throws her hand in the air frustrated.

"Stop believing in this fake stuff, Myra. This is only going to break your dreams, nothing like this exists." I recall my marriage incident. How foolish I was to trust someone who I barely knew.

"Avni, If you buy a kg of mangoes and one mango is not sweet doesn't mean all the mangoes are bitter. Maybe first you got a taste of bitterness, maybe now you'll get a taste of sweetness. You never know anything is possible." Myra smiles at me and Zar as she tries to explain to us, trust me she is the positive friend you'll ever find.

"Myra is right. Learn something from her, you kids." Eva laughs as she glances at me and Zar.

"Yeah, Yeah! Let's have dinner." Zar rolls her eyes before leaving to the kitchen. Myra follows her while I arrange the table for us.

"Avni." I hear Eva's whisper, I hum arranging the plates asking her to continue.

"How can you ignore the handsome hunk?" I look at her with wide eyes, she quickly pulls me and I sit on a chair next to her.

"I have seen you entering his flat every morning and all the stuff going on. Remember there's a camera in every corridor." She smirks at me, "You are so close yet why so far?"

"Eva, I don't know what it is. We are just friends and I love his kids. As a friend, I help him and his kids, that kinda gives me peace." I leave a heavy breath.

"Let's discuss this topic some other day when you understand there's something more than 'Friends' okay?" She presses on the word friends as she chuckles.

"What's going on?" We look at Myra and Zar who are standing there with a questioning look.

"Nothing! Were discussing the hotness of Mr. Neil Khanna. Avni says he looks hot and charming." My eyes widen at her remark.

"Eva!" I slap her arm. "There's nothing like that guys!"

"Yeah, there's more than that." Myra takes a seat as she winks at me.

"I don't find Neil hot at all." Zar rolls her eyes sitting beside Myra.

"Hell, have you ever seen him correctly? He is damn hot!" I slap my hand on the table with finality in my words.

The next second I receive teasing glances from the three girls. I close my eyes in embarrassment and frustration. Zar was playing Avni what was the need to react? What was the need to take it seriously?! Now suffer!

"That means you have seen him correctly? Avni?" I open my eyes to see three of them leaning against the table and looking at my face with teasing and winning smile. I hate it when someone gets power and I have to sit silently.

"Stop giving that look. Have your dinner." But they continue to stare at me.

"Myra how he says?" Zar snaps her fingers as she glances at Myra then at me. "Bye, Avni" She mimics Neil's voice.

"Aww!" Eva keeps a hand above her heart dramatically.

"Guys, please!" I roll my eyes, my cheeks start to heat up.

"Are you blushing?" Myra says out loud and I can't handle it anymore. I run towards my room precipitously, I could hear them laughing in the background!

Shutting the door behind me I fall on my bed as a shy smile forms on my face. I go back in my memory land, how things have been changed between me and Neil.

Acceptance is very essential in life.

Acceptance is something that makes us happy. Accept what you have and your life will change, like a miracle.

I don't know about Neil but somewhere I have considered Niam and Navya as mine, I have accepted them as mine. There is an invisible connection between me and the duo. Like they feel happy with me and I feel happy with them.

Navya's and my choices are the same, our love for Ice cream and chocolates but I don't love milk and sweets, just like Niam. Navya and Neil can eat sweets the entire day. Niam is a carbon copy of Neil. He observes everything. Takes action after understanding it clearly.

Clam and Cool like Neil.

I know I'll be lying to myself if I say all I do for Neil is just to make Niam and Navya happy but I don't have another answer to why I care for him.

All the boys I have met in my life are different. Some care for you for no reason. Some hate you for no reason. Some act friendly. Some care for you for their pleasures. Some directly show their true colors.

I have boyfriends who stay friends with me, with whom I have studied, played and working too!

However, Neil is the first boy who cared for me for no reason. His small gestures say how much he cares for me. Though sometimes he irritates me like hell but then he makes me happy too. Just like on the Beach he didn't let me eat ice cream because I had already eaten too many but then he made me happy by giving me my favorite chocolate bar.

My hesitation in the morning to enter his room vanishes as soon as I find him pretending to sleep when he hears my voice.

His soft pull on my hand asking me to sit on his bed followed by a 'Good morning, Avni' in that sleepy tone is the loveliest moment ever. He looks so damn cute with sleepy eyes.

Every time he goes to the office, whenever we are about to disconnect the call his sweet 'Take Care Of Yourself' fills my heart with warmth.

His care for Niam and Navya was something I admired a lot, a nutritionist comes to his flat every weekend to check his kids. But he gave me a reason why I should care for him as he oh-so-lovingly ordered the nutritionist to take my check-up as well.

Now, every weekend I, Niam, and Navya sit silently under Neil's bossy gaze. He never lets us step out of the flat until the nutritionist leaves.

I am the kind of girl who never listens to anyone except Neela maa but I somehow end up accepting Neil's order because if I don't do he uses his ways to make me accept it.

I find Neil very precious to me, I feel comfortable with him. His eyes always shower care and protectiveness for me. It surprises me how he takes care of Myra and Zar in simple ways. Like he asks them to join us for dinner at his flat, sometimes he gets snacks for all of us when we three girls are busy working. Though we three girls are strong enough to take care of ourselves he always walks behind us to avoid any bad guys approaching us. His one glare and the boys know they shouldn't mess, haha!

However few questions keep disturbing me, Why do I care for him?

Maybe because he cares for me!

But why is he special for me?

Maybe because he understands me even without me saying it to him. He understands what I need just by looking in my eyes.

How come I trust him? When I have faced a relationship where trust was destroyed just after a week in marriage!

Maybe because he trusts me with everything he has if he didn't trust me he would have never given his flat keys to me. He would have never let me be so close to his kids.

I have done everything in the name of Niam and Navya. Making breakfast for Niam and Navya, dinner for Niam and Navya but maybe even Neil knows somewhere I have done this for him too.

I take my phone and open the gallery. I tap on the selfie which I clicked last week when we four - I, Neil, Niam, and Navya were playing carrom.

I trace my fingers on Niam and Navya's face and stop at Neil's face, admiring him, that smile on his face looks so adorable.

Suddenly, the sound of notification makes me flinch a little. Neil's message pops up, still in shock I click on it my WhatsApp opens.

Taking the elevator I impatiently enter the terrace. The cold breeze hits my face, there is a little painful feeling in my heart. Moving in completely I see Neil sitting on the swing as he slowly moves forward and backward.

"Sit here," He says his gaze fixed at the floor, I wonder how he and Niam find out everything even without looking.

Taking slow steps I sit beside him. The silence spoke between us, it felt like the silence before the storm. Absentmindedly he holds my hand and plays with my fingers.

I wanted to break the silence but I choose to stay quiet. He has called me here for a reason so he'll speak when he feels like it.

The worry lines on his forehead twist my heart painfully, moving his hands through his hair he turns to look at me. Our eyes met for the first after I entered the terrace, tension is apparent in his eyes.

"I..." He tries to speak only to struggle with words. I squeeze his hand slowly giving him the courage to continue.

"I have to go somewhere." He looks away as he declares, though it sounds simple in words it hits me hard. Still, I control myself, you can't cry in front of anyone Avni, never!

"For a week." He adds looking at me. I don't know why but all I want to do is cry, cry like hell.

"Please, don't stay silent. Say something." He holds my face in his hands as his eyes reflect with care for me.

"That's great news. Going on a vacation?" I try to light up the environment. "Niam and Navya will enjoy. You should go." I look away trying to hide the disappointment that is visible in my eyes.

"I am leaving for some work. Niam and Navya will be here only." I look at him confused. I don't know why but my mind assumes he is going to meet his wife, maybe even that is possible! He never mentioned she's dead or they are divorced.

"Business trip?" I ask trying to keep my question about his wife to myself.

His silence confirms that it's not a business trip. "Something personal?" I ask hoping it to be false.

He simply nods his head looking away from me. I can't ask him about his personal life, it's his right to share it with me, if he trusts me enough or if he accepts me as his friend he'll share someday.

"Can you please take care of Niam and Navya?" He holds my hands again. "I have said them about it already. So, they won't enquire about me."

I hum slowly taking all the info. "Mom and Bebe will come here after two days. I asked them to not worry you'll take care of Niam and Navya but they were like they want to meet you."

He had mentioned about his Mom and Bebe before they are kinda special to him.

"You don't want to say anything?" He asks in a disappointed tone.

"Uh, when are you leaving?" I give him a small smile.

"Now." He says trying to find something in my eyes. I quickly look away before he reads me through my eyes.

"It's just a matter of a week." He holds both my hands. "I want you to take care of yourself." The way he says melts me down, no one except Neela maa and my friends cared so much for me.

"I'll miss you." He smiles at me before keeping his forehead in my hands.

I take slow breaths to calm myself. "Aren't you getting late?" I try to sound normal.

He looks into my eyes and sweetly tucks my hair strings behind my ears. "Take care of yourself. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

I nod, after a little silence his phone beeps, checking something he gets up. "I am getting late. Have to leave now."

My heart forgets to beat for a second, I stand up with my legs shaking. Why? Why does he matter so much to me? He turns around and holds me just when I am about to fall.

"You didn't eat dinner?" I simply look away, what will I tell him that my friends were teasing me and I forgot to eat dinner because I was dreaming about him?

"You are so careless." He rolls his eyes and picks me up in his arms. I keep looking into his eyes as I wrap my arms around him, he looks at the front walking towards the elevator.

We reach my apartment and he looks at me. I reach for keys in my pocket and open the door as he is holding me he can't open it.

Entering in he takes me directly to my bedroom. Making me comfortable on the bed he hands me a glass of water before exiting the room. After drinking I keep the glass on the side table.

It's been 15 minutes since he didn't come and I assume he has gone. A tear slips from my eyes. The door clicks open and I quickly wipe the tear away, he enters with a plate in his hands. Without saying anything he sits on my bed and takes a spoonful of rice. Silently, I open my mouth and eat it. From the taste of the food, I can blindly say it was cooked by me and he went to his flat and got food for me.

"You are getting late," I speak in between after eating few spoons.

"Nothing is important than you right now." He feeds me till the entire plate gets empty. After making me drink water, he checks something in his phone and gets up.

I see him struggling to say. "It's fine. You can go." I utter those words out keeping the pain away for some time.

"Sure?" He holds my gaze, I nod and smile at him.

"Please, take care of yourself." He leans forward and traces his hand on my face. "I'll miss you."

"Don't expect a 'Same to you' from me, Mr. Khanna" I try to sound joyful, he chuckles slowly.

"Take Care." He says again and walks backward still looking into my eyes.

"Bye." He adds reaching the door and after a second he disappears. I hear the door close sound, getting out of the bed I run out.

"Neil." I call out loudly when he is about to enter the elevator, "Take care and be back soon." I don't know why those words left but I found it necessary.

His face brightens and he nods at me. "Shall I go?"

"Go before I stop you." I fold my arms around myself, he chuckles in a low tone and leaves from there not before staring into my eyes.

After standing there for a moment, I get back in my room. Covering myself with a blanket a few teardrops slip from my eyes.

I console myself with few words -

It's fine Avni. It's not the first time. It's your fault you started expecting too much from people again.

Nobody stays forever, one day everyone has to leave, no matter how special they are!

He has his own life, stop entering in it. He only asked you to consider his kids as yours not him!

Stop giving a place to people in your broken heart, just stop it!

━━━━━━━━━━━━ ★ ━━━━━━━━━━━━

So, how was it?

I hope it was good!

About Neil's wife, you'll get to know as the story goes on!

Were you guys expecting something else? I think no one expected the emotional thing to come.

Where do you guys think Neil has gone? Any guesses?

Anyway, do vote and share your views.

Thanks for the love in the last chapter, will reply to the comments soon.

Thank y'all!