I opened my eyes once he left our room silently at 7 in the morning. That's what he had been doing from the past two days. He used to come home at 2am and leave again at 7am. He thought I would be sleeping but little did he know that the last two nights I didn't get a wink of sleep because of him. Perhaps he forgot that I couldn't sleep without him taking me into his embrace.

It's not his fault but mine as I started getting habitually depended on him.

Post breakfast, everyone left to carry on with their respective work leaving me all alone at home. Sam left to her NGO while Shreya left to the hospital as she had an appointment for Rey's regular check up but both of them promised to return back before lunch.

I was reading a book in my room when one of our servants entered with a parcel in her hand. She told me that the parcel was for me and left after passing it to me. I frowned and hesitated to open it as there was no sender's details written on the parcel but still the curious cat inside me forced me to open it. Little did I know that I was going to get a major shock of my life by seeing the content of the parcel.

It had few pictures of me and Veeranshu in which we both were looking much younger and more closer than I could ever imagine. I was kissing his cheek in one and we were sharing the same ice cream in another. Some pictures looked like selfies and the others looked like they were captured by a third person. I noticed that the background in the pictures didn't at all look like it belonged to any places in India and it didn't take much time for me to understand something there.

Thousands of emotions started erupting in me and all could I do was slumping down on the floor. I had no control of my own tears as they started flowing out of my eyes without any limit. Initially, I always had a doubt on him because whenever we were close to each other, I always felt a sense of déjà vu especially when he hugged me or kissed me. At present when I thought about it, I could feel how dumb I was to ignore all those feelings that were indicating something about my past. I was blinded with the happenings in the present and completely ignored about my conscience which was trying to alert me all the time.

I still remembered how once before my marriage, Sam told me that her son would help me to learn about my past as he knew something about it but now only I understood that her son had also played a major role in my past.

When I was looking at the pictures one by one, I felt a lump in my throat when I noticed someone more familiar besides him. It was none other than the DEVIL. Even though it wasn't much clearer, but I could easily recognise her in it. It was a selfie taken by him where I stood between them, posing for the camera and she was biting my cheek while hugging me tightly.

So you were also hiding everything from me right, Devil?

I chuckled at how everyone made me a fool and got up from the floor after wiping my tears. Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I called the person who was with me from the past 5 years yet managed to make a fool of me all the time. "Devil! Where are you? Come here right now!" I screamed out loud and waited for few seconds but I lost my calm when she didn't appear in front of my eyes. "Devil!!!!! I need to see you. Come in front of me right now!" I yelled again.

I started losing the control over my rage when I didn't get any response from her. Being determined to meet her anyhow, I walked towards the balcony and stood there, holding the railing. "Devil! I'm giving you 10 seconds only. Come here or else I swear I will jump from here right away!" I shouted loudly and clenched my fists while counting the seconds. I opened my eyes when I counted ten and looked around for her. "So you are not going to come, right? Don't worry. I will come to see you in your world soon." Saying this, I moved ahead to climb on the railing and the next instant I heard the voice of the person I was waiting for.

"No! Don't do that, Bani!" I turned around when I heard the panic-stricken voice of her and she appeared in front of me with having her head held low. 

"So, you wouldn't have come here if I didn't threaten you to jump from here right?" I asked mockingly and she raised her eyes a little to look at me.

"No, it's not like that." She mumbled and I made a tight grip on the railing to control myself from losing my calmness.

"Then like what? Are you gonna cook up another story to make a fool of me again?"

"What's wrong with you, Bani? Why are you talking like this?" She trailed off and I gritted my teeth. I walked into the room and took the picture in my hand to show it to her.

"What's your real name?" I asked her and she sighed seeing the picture in my hand.

"Angel." She mumbled again and I glared at her challengingly with crossing my arms. "Okay relax. I'm Pari." She said immediately and I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Is that your real name or you are lying to me again?"

"No, I swear on my mom it's my real name. I'm Pari."

"Okay. What is my real name?" I asked her and she widened her eyes.

"Hmm Bani?" It came out from her mouth more like a question.

"Are you sure? Bani is my real name?"

She nodded at me frantically, showing her puppy eyes. But this time I was determined to not to fall in her stupid trap. "I know you don't trust me but if you want, I can swear again. Your real name is Bani." She said again.

"Okay. Who are you to me?"

"We are best friends since high scho...oops." She quickly covered her mouth, making me raise my eyebrow at her.

"Best friends since high school? Whatever! Look, I'm really losing my patience with your uncooperative behaviour now. You know what I need so just tell me everything without wasting our time. I need every single detail of my past right now!" I ordered her in a stern tone and she gaped at me.

"Bani, please calm down first. I know you are really eager to know everything after getting the proof in your hands but I'm sorry, that's not my place to tell you everything..... But you will eventually get to know everything by tonight. This is for sure." She told me in an assuring tone and I narrowed my eyes at her.

"I don't get you. Why can't you tell me everything? And how will I get to know everything tonight?"

"You will ask the right person tonight, Bani. He will tell you everything. In fact, he is the one who is more connected to you than me." She blinked in assurance.

"Are you talking about him?" I asked her and she nodded at me. "Wait a sec. You said we are best friends since high school and now you are saying that he is more connected to me than you. I don't really get you. What are you trying to say now?"

"You will get to know it tonight, Bani. Just keep calm and wait until tonight please. Don't lose your patience. Let him explain everything to you first and I will come back to you again later." She said, trying to escape from me but I decided to stop her.

"Wait, don't go! Arghhh Pari!" I sighed exasperatedly as she disappeared immediately without even listening to me.

Now I have to wait until 2am for him to come back home and tell me everything?

Soon Sam and Shreya came back home and started pestering me to have my lunch with them but I refused strongly and locked myself inside the room. I felt like the time was moving really slowly and I started losing my patience until at one point, I decided to go to his workplace and ask him everything right there but I refrained myself from doing so as I shouldn't disturb him from performing his life-saving duty there.

I felt like my brain would explode anytime thinking about the pictures and the throbbing pain inside my head started again as I was stressing myself too much. I decided to hide myself in a place where I would be surrounded by calmness and darkness for some time and climbed into an half-empty wardrobe to get some peace of mind. But soon that was snatched away from me when I heard his voice. He returned home earlier and I listened to his voice finally after two long days.

I was forcing myself to be calm in front of him but I completely lost it when he kissed me forcefully and I pushed him away with such a force that made him stumble back two steps.

"Don't touch me!" I gritted my teeth and he asked me why with pained expression on his face.

I gave him the parcel I received and asked him to open it. His eyes widened the next moment when they recognised the pictures one by one. I knew it was totally unexpected by him as both the mother and son duo were deceiving me all this time and I was trusting them with my eyes closed.

"Do you have any explanation for this, Veeranshu?" I asked him and he just stared at me with too many emotions in his eyes which I refused to analyse as I needed my answers most importantly at the moment. "I think I asked you something." I asked again and he closed his eyes, sighing heavily.

"Bani, mom said you haven't take your lunch yet. Let's have our dinner first." He said, pushing my buttons and I lost it there.

How dare he neglect my question now?

"No! I want to know every single thing that's related to my past right now!!" I shouted my order at him and he was clearly taken aback with the tone I used.

"No, I think you--" He started but I cut him off.

"I don't want to hear a NO from you now, Veeranshu. I'm so done with your NOs. Please not anymore! I'm tired of it already. Just let me know everything without making me beg you like I always do!" I joined my hands as tears of frustration started forming in my eyes.

He tried to hold my hands but I pulled back and glared at him. "Can't you get it when I say don't touch me?"

"Swee..sweetheart, why are you talking to me like this?" He asked in a broken tone which literally broke my heart too but I decided to not to let the emotion take over my determination.

"What else do you want me to do now, huh? What are you thinking about me, Veeranshu? Am I looking like a dumb puppet to you and your mother that you both have been fooling me until today?"

"What? Bani, please don't--" He trailed off but stopped when I showed him my palm.

"Please stop it! Don't try to think of another lie to trick me again. Enough of taking advantage of my weakness. Not anymore! Just tell me what do those pictures mean, Veeranshu. Who were you to me in the past?" I asked, hoping for an answer but he just remained his silence there and lowered his head.

I held his chin and made him look up at me. "I have told you many times to don't ever lower your head." I told him and he stared at me with unshed tears in his eyes for a second before taking me into a hug. I tried to push him away but he asked me to stay like that for some time to which I agreed reluctantly. "Don't think you can distract me again this time. I want to know the truth today." I said and he hummed at me.

Few minutes later, he broke the hug and looked into my eyes. It hurt me a lot to see his eyes covered with pool of tears but I didn't let my heart to get softened by it. I was resolved to know my past without any stupid excuse.

"I will tell you everything now." He said in a melancholy tone, making my breath hitch in my throat. I nodded at him with the readiness to acknowledge my past.

Hey sweethearts, I'm sorry for the delay again. But I promise the next chapter is on the way as I have already started working on it. From next chapter onwards, it will be in third person's PoV as it's going to be about their past which includes many different perspectives in it.
It might take a few chapters to complete their past so please read them with some patience 😜❤️