"Care for an explanation?" Sharon asked angrily as she entered Taani's room straight after dinner. "Everyone, including Swayam, thinks that's my test kit."

"Thanks for having my back there," Taani replied timidly.

Sharon sat beside Taani, "I will always have your back. But that's not the point. Why do you have a test kit?"

"That's self-explanatory, isn't it?" Taani tried to joke.

Sharon shuddered, "This is not the time for jokes."

"Okay," Taani raised her hands, "I am sleeping with a guy, since sometime."

"You have a boyfriend?" Sharon asked.

"Well, he is not my boyfriend," Taani explained, "I just enjoy spending time with him. Kind of like no-strings-attached situation."

"How long has this been going on?" Sharon asked.

Taani shrugged her shoulder, "A couple of months... I was late this time. So I bought a test. It was sheer bad luck that mom mistook my bag for yours."

"Does the guy know?"

"No," Taani responded. "I didn't want to bother him. Moreover, this was never supposed to get serious. It was just a distraction."

"I don't believe Swayam's little sister is saying this!" Sharon chided Taani, unintentionally.

"What's the problem, Sharon?" Taani raised her voice a little, "I am not a kid any more. I am almost 23; very soon I'll be forced to join the business. I am just letting some steam off."

Sharon held her head in her hand, "Your mom announced in front of everyone about the test and now I have to explain Swayam why I have a test when we have never-," Sharon stopped.

Taani raised an eyebrow, "You and Swayam have never...?" she trailed off.

Sharon felt her cheeks blushing, "We are just... waiting... for the right moment."

"Since the past 7 months?" Taani asked. "Wow. Is everything fine? I know your marriage didn't start off right but I thought you guys had mended that since the past couple of months."

"We have," Sharon responded, "or at least we are trying to. It's just that I want to take things slow. It's the first time for me and Swayam also has been through so much, I don't want to be impulsive."

"So, between the two of us, you are the hopeless romantic?" Taani teased. "You'd have to be in love with someone before you get intimate."

"And you are the reckless one!" Sharon reprimanded Taani.

"Sharon, enough with the preaching, please," Taani retorted, "There are all kinds of relationships out there. Maybe you shouldn't be judgemental."

"I am not being judgemental. I am talking about caution. You were reckless. You should always use protection," Sharon responded. "I don't believe I am giving you tips for safe sex!" She muttered to herself.

"So, what will you tell Swayam?" Taani asked.

"That is not important right now," Sharon replied, "First we need to get proper tests done. These home tests are not fully reliable. I have a friend who is practicing with a gynaecologist. She is trustworthy. I will make an appointment. We'll have to be careful. No one in the house or outside should know. A scandal is the last thing we need right now."

---------

"So..." was the first word out of Swayam's mouth when Sharon entered the room, later that night.

"So?" she repeated, clearly knowing what he implied.

"Are you going to enlighten me as to why you are carrying a pregnancy test?" He jumped straight to the point.

Sharon sighed. She couldn't tell him it was Taani's. He would most probably go berserk. It couldn't be hers – for obvious reasons. She blurted the first lie that came to her mind, "It's a friend's."

Swayam crossed his arms in front of his chest, "Friend?"

Sharon nodded, "Yes, a classmate actually. I met her today and she must have put it in my bag by mistake."

Swayam thought for a while, "Are you trying to insult my intelligence?"

Sharon furrowed her eyebrows.

"Sharon," he continued, "I have known you for quite some time now and I know you are lying."

"I am not," she protested. She was not lying rather partially covering the truth- it wasn't hers and Taani was her friend-of-sorts.

She continued, "If you know me then trust me when I say it's not mine."

Swayam opened his mouth to say something but decided otherwise. He gave a slight nod and crawled into the bed without saying another word.

Sharon stood in the room- suddenly feeling cold and alone.

---------

It took Sharon some time to get her friend to arrange a consultation with the gynaecologist. This had to be a secret affair – no one could even get a whiff of this. A day later, Sharon and Taani were waiting outside the doctors. Taani had gotten there directly from college and Sharon came from home. She didn't use the car, rather booked a taxi to be on the safe side.

Sharon was tapping her foot nervously as she waited outside the doctor's chamber. Swayam was giving her the silent treatment since the past two days. He wasn't talking to her much. She would have to come up with a better lie, she thought.

The silence was broken by Taani's voice, "This is taking forever..."

Sharon nodded.

"We can trust these people, right?" Taani asked.

Sharon nodded again, "My friend doesn't know the girl is you. She thinks it's me. I just got her to make the arrangement. And the doctor won't spill. She is obligated to do so by the doctor-patient confidentiality. So, we should be good."

"I know you think me to be a fool," Taani spoke.

Sharon turned to face her, "I don't think low of you. You are an adult and you are open to have your own experiences. I don't judge you at all. It's just that I want you to be aware of the consequences of your actions. If the results are positive and you are...," Sharon paused, "...pregnant, have you thought what you'll do next? Are you ready for something like this?"

Taani shrugged, "I don't know..."

Taani was called inside by the doctor. Sharon waited outside the room with bated breath. After half an hour Taani came out.

Sharon immediately rushed towards her, "So?"

"I am not pregnant. Doctor says I might be late because I have been stressed."

Sharon sighed a breath of relief, "That's great." Then added, "Not the stress part."

Taani sat beside her, "Thanks for being a rock through all this. You handled it all so well."

Sharon smiled, "Don't worry about that. I would rather you come to me and talk about any problems that you are facing. I know you are not keen on joining your family business but don't stress about that. I come from a business family too and I have no link with it. We'll figure something out. Sharon placed her hand on Taani's and gave a slight squeeze.

Taani smiled. "It is so tough going through all this alone. And then he came along. It felt nice to forget about my worries, even if for sometime."

"Do you like this guy?" Sharon prodded.

"He is a decent person but I am not ready for anything serious right now. Neither is he. And yes I like him but just a friend – as a friend with benefits maybe."

Sharon cringed at the expression and Taani laughed aloud, "You need to loosen up."

"Well, and you need to be careful from now on...," Sharon suggested.

"Yeah," Taani agreed, "dodged a bullet here."

"You never told me who the guy is," Sharon asked as they stood up began to walk.

"Umm," Taani stammered, "It's not a big deal."

Sharon narrowed her eyes, "If it's not a big deal, you can tell me."

"Well," Taani began, "I'll tell you but you have to promise you won't do anything."

"Why will I do anything?" Sharon asked skeptically.

"Well... It's Rey."

---------

Rey was sitting in his office cabin, going through a project when Sharon barged in.

"Are you crazy?" she yelled at the top of her voice.

Rey looked at his sister, she was fuming. "Sharon calm down, I'll get you some water."

"Rey you are sleeping with Taani!" she lowered her voice to an angry whisper.

Rey pinched the bridge of his nose, "I don't believe she told you."

"I don't believe you slept with her! Especially after I told you not to get involved with her," Sharon spoke angrily, "I told you she is a good person, not some trashy girl you can use to rebound."

"It's not like that," Rey tried to calm Sharon down, "She entered this...," Rey searched for the right work, 'relationship' was not it, "...thing of her own accord."

"Taani is my family, like a sister to me...," Sharon began.

"And you feel the need to protect her," Rey interjected, "But she is capable of making her own decisions."

"She is," Sharon spoke, "But not with you. You are my brother. It's just too convoluting. You have to end this."

Rey shook his head, "Sharon, you are my sister and I love you but you don't get to make that decision. It's up to me and Taani."

"Excuse me?"

"We have tiptoed around you because we knew you'd freak out. We are not school going kids Sharon. You are her sister-in-law, not her nanny. And no matter how genuine your concern is or how protective you feel for us, it is not your call."

Rey's words did make some sense to her. They were adults, free to make their own choice. She didn't exactly have any right nor need to interfere. She didn't want to acknowledge it though.

"You better not hurt her," Sharon gave him a stern look.

He sighed, "I won't."

"And why are you meeting Vicky?"

Rey gave her an incredulous look, "Vicky?" before it hit him, "you mean when I met him at the tennis club café? He invited me to lunch, wanting to discuss something mutually beneficial to him and me. He wanted me to join him in his new venture."

"And what did you say?" Sharon inquired.

"I said I would think about it," Rey answered honestly.

"What is there to think about?" Sharon fumed, "say no to him."

"I was planning on refusing," Rey replied, "but things are not great here. Swayam has mellowed down, after the Kria episode but he still doesn't trust me with the big decisions. I am capable of running this company, I was doing just fine before the acquisition. But now, I am just another employee with a fancy designation just for namesake."

Sharon furrowed her eyebrows, "Look Rey, I know you are going through a tough time. But trust me, Vicky is bad news. There is a reason why Vicky was thrown out of the Shekhwats' company. Just trust me on this."

Rey nodded. He had half a mind to ask her why she was concerned about Vicky but decided not to implore her. He could see that she was already worried.

Sharon left Rey's office and headed back home. Today was too mentally exhausting for her. At least Taani's test was done. Now she had to face Swayam. He had been ignoring her for 2 days straight. He would give her a one-syllable answer and then add that he was busy, when she wanted to start a conversation. She knew she had to give him more than a half-baked lie. But what would she tell him? She couldn't tell the truth and he was not letting this thing go. In his defense, no one would. Even she wouldn't...

---------

Later that evening, Rey had another visitor – Taani. It was the first time she had come to his office chamber. Their meeting would generally be in Rey's house when no one was there. It started from that small kiss in the party. The next time they had ran into each other at a café. Rey had invited her over to his house to hang out. At that time neither of them expected that anything would happen.

A drink later, they were kissing and before they knew it, they were awkwardly tearing each others' clothes off.

They did have a small talk on what's-next. They knew if word got out, their families would freak out, followed by some major drama. They decided it was best if this was kept under wraps. It was not like they were dating each other. Rey had made it clear that he was going through a break-up and he was not ready for anything serious. Surprisingly for him, Taani echoed his sentiments. She had a lot on her plate and a relationship was the last thing she was looking for.

Their "affair" went on seamlessly till a few days ago when Taani started to act a little sketchy. Rey thought that she wanted to say something to him but for some reason, always held back. And now he knew what.

Taani sat on a chair opposite to him and regaled everything – how she thought she was pregnant, quickly adding that she was not (much to Rey's relief) and how Sharon helped her.

"I'll be interning in this office soon," Taani informed, "in a few months, once I finish college. And I don't want things to be awkward between us. So I think we should... end it?" The last line was supposed to be a statement but it came off as a question.

Rey thought for a while, "Is it because of Sharon?"

"No!" Taani exclaimed immediately, "It's not because of her. I have so much going on. With this pregnancy scare and my studies and internship and my weird family, I don't want any more drama."

Rey nodded, "If that's what you want."

Taani smiled, "You are a nice person Rey. Unknowingly you helped me get through a lot."

"Don't tell me you are in love with me now," Rey teased her.

Taani laughed, "No hard feelings then?" She extended her hand to him.

He took it, "None whatsoever. I hope you find whatever it is that you are looking for."

---------

Swayam looked out of his office window. The sun was setting behind the city skyline. It looked so peaceful – a stark contrast to what he felt. His insides were in turmoil. He turned and looked at the man sitting in his office. There was a camera kept on the table.

Swayam walked backed towards the table and sat on his chair, across the man.

"You are sure about this?" Swayam asked, coldly.

The man shuddered under Swayam's intense gaze. He felt like if he made a mistake, Swayam would execute him then and there.

Slowly he nodded, "Sir, as you asked me to, I have been following your wife. I didn't report anything as there was nothing unusual. But today, she went to the doctor's- a gynaecologist, to be precise. She was there for quite some time. I was outside the entire time. I took pictures as evidence. Then she went to the Singhania office."

Swayam picked up the digital camera and flipped through the photos. Unmistakably, it was Sharon. He put his hand on his forehead and closed his eyes. What was happening all of a sudden? Sharon had a pregnancy test. For a few days she had been lying and now she was visiting a doctor. Why?

To answer this 'why' he had hired a private eye and now this man, this investigator had shown him proof.

He clenched his fist and took sharp breaths. Something started stirring inside him – the similar feeling he had felt 4 years back – betrayal.

---------