If Vivaan was flabbergasted with this news then Nihal's condition was no better.

Everything went downhill the moment he entered this town. These strangers bowing their heads at the sight of him, like he was some royalty, was creating havoc in his mind.

He hurried past those strangers and reached the hotel Hritika was staying at. Already knowing the room number, he didn't bother stopping at the reception and directly took the elevator.

Hearing the knock on the door, Hritika quickly washed her face to remove the tear stains and went to see who was the one outside.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Hritika questioned with wide eyes upon seeing Nihal standing there with a bag hoisted on his shoulder.

Sighing, he pushed past her shoulders and entered inside.

"You should learn manners. Is this the way you greet someone?" Nihal sighed, faking disappointment.

"Welcome. Please make yourself comfortable. Would you like some tea?" Hritika exaggeratedly greeted him with a twisted smile.

Shaking his head with a light laugh, enjoying her sarcastic response, Nihal pulled her in a hug.

"Don't you dare think that I would not see your red eyes underneath your drama. Why were you crying? What's wrong?" Nihal asked in a soft caring voice.

Pulling out of the hug, Hritika rubbed her eyes a little.

"I wasn't crying. Shampoo went into them while I was washing my hair. You worry too much. Now tell me why are you here?" Hritika lied through her teeth, chuckling a little to show that she wasn't hurt.

Nihal stood silent for a second and then answered in a sombre tone.

"Something sounded off when you called last night. Plus you asked about that man knowing fully well that it was an unspoken rule in our house to not talk about him."

"Oh that...," Hritika scratched behind her ears, not knowing what to say.

"Let's sit and talk. I want to hear what's troubling you and please don't lie to me," saying that Nihal went to sit on the couch, forgetting his bag at the door itself.

Huffing a little, Hritika too followed him.

"It's nothing really...," Hritika started but looking at Nihal's raised eyebrows she gave up and told the truth. The truth about what she saw and not about what she concluded.

"You mean someone had the same birthmark as me?" Nihal asked while looking at the birthmark on his wrist.

"Yeah, same design but his mark was a little lighter than yours," Hritika said, biting her lips in anticipation.

"I got this mark from Dad and he too got this from Grandfather. As far as I know Dad didn't have any siblings and his cousins were also from his mother's side. He must be a distant relative," Nihal muttered thoughtfully.

"Distant Relatives?" Hritika questioned, hope clear in his voice.

Nihal nodded with a little shrug.

"I guess so. When I had asked about this mark, Mom had told me that all men in my father's family had this mark. Like a lineage or something. So maybe be the person you met would be related to me somehow but as Mom was never introduced to Dad's family and Dad is also a no show, I don't know anybody."

Hritika finally took a breath of relief. Seeing her smiling widely and this time an actual smile instead of a fake one, made Nihal curious.

"Your brain is up to something, isn't it?" He asked in a suspicious tone.

"I miscalculated something. You don't know how happy I am to know that my calculations were wrong," Hritika answered, confusing the hell out of Nihal.

It wasn't necessary that her Uncle cheated. There was a greater chance that the guy she met was Nihal's cousin. His age was just a coincidence. Yeah, that was it.

"Hritika and miscalculation? This is something that cannot be digested easily," Nihal queried with raised eyebrows.

"I am a human. I am allowed to make mistakes. Especially this mistake. I am so happy that my stupid conclusion was found wrong," Hritika answered with a roll of her eyes.

She adjusted herself, stretching her arms out and sitting comfortably, a total contrast from her previous stressed posture.

"I thought stupidity was my copyright," Nihal pouted and received a long, hard stare in response.

"Oh right! How can I forget?" Hritika sat up straight in alarm.

"Now what?" Nihal asked.

"There's a chance that the guy is still in this town. Do you want to meet him? Let's go and search for him." Hritika stood up and tried to pull him up.

Instead of getting up, Nihal pulled her down. Hritika made an angry face at him as she sprawled down on the couch because of his force.

"You are ridiculous," she muttered while sitting down properly.

"There's no need to search for him," Nihal mumbled in a cold tone.

"But...but I thought you would be happy upon finding your family." Hritika didn't understand what was going through Nihal's mind.

"You are my family and that's enough," Nihal spoke in a stern voice.

Though his tone was cold, his feelings were full of warmth.

"I am glad to know that I am important to you but finding a new family doesn't mean forgetting the old one," Hritika tried to make him understand.

"Don't. Don't even try to use your motherly voice to change my mind. This time it won't work. My mother was never accepted by them then how can I go to them and expect something. And I don't need a new family. You are enough for me. My elder sister, my partner in crime, my mother, everything," Nihal said, melting Hritika's heart.

She pulled him for a tight hug and cried silently.

Her Aunt was the one who took care of her after her parents death. She treated Hritika like she was her own child. So naturally being the elder child, Hritika took over the responsibility of Nihal when her Aunt died.

Though Nihal was her cousin, their connection was a lot stronger.