pooja is looking at her. she doesn't ask a single thing the moment she is inside her car. naina takes back seat and holds saira but not so close. she is wet...still. whole ride goes in silence. after a long journey naina spots pooja's home. at least she has a home. 

she takes both in. pooja takes sleepy saira from her and signs her to dry herself. she points towards bathroom and tells her that essential commodities are available there. naina nods and goes in leaving saira with pooja. 

pooja looks at child. she has heard from naina how cute she is. how adorable she is. she has seen her herself. this kid is naina' life. Naina can not leave her for a second. and people say that stepmoms are the worst of a kind. what about the first wife of captain Rizvi! has anyone tried to know what she did? she shakes her head. this child is indeed a blessing. well, every child is but not everyone is treated like one. in case of saira as far as pooja knows she has been an asthma patient and perhaps sick of her dad too. she can't tell if the girl enjoyed her nascent days alone with someone like Naushad. she is no one to comment but she can tell one thing for sure. naina has given saira what she always lacked. a mother' love. but about her nuptial relation she has no words. she has seen naina cheery and shy always when it was about naushad. today when she phoned her and asked her to come immediately she never ever imagined she'd be bringing saira with her tonight and there'd be no signs of Naushad. she saw naina broken and vulnerable. this woman has born everything to the extreme. first parents then brother then she is married to naushad. and naushad already had a wife who made a fool out of him and left him with bitterness. she doesn't know how naina was cheery all this time. how she always managed to smile even though she had a huge burden of grief and sorrows on her back. naina is strong she knew but she proved herself iron lady...

she takes Saira to her bedroom. Ali is always away on postings. when they have their postings together, she stays with him in his quarter but when he is away from Shimla, she prefers her mom' house. her mother gifted her this house. it was an old shanty. the whole area was covered with greeneries. she renovated it. now it feels more home than any other place. she lays her down and covers her. she looks angelic. she cant stop herself from pecking kid's forehead. it was a miracle this girl didn't wake up though her parents just made too many nights sleepless.

she hears naina calling her. she attends her and offers her coffee. naina denies.

'dekh, mere se ana kani karegi to pit jayegi. coffee bana rahi hu air maggie bhi. kapde badal aur kitchen me aa. i have lied saira in my room. she is good. now its your turn to have something in your empty stomach.'

'i dont want anything. me tujhe koi taqleef dena nahi chahti. rahne de na ye sab.'

'taqleef to ab de rahi he tu naina. dost bolti he aur dosti nibhane bhi nahi deti...kyu?'

naina is left speechless. she has no other option but to agree with her. soon she is with pooja in kitchen. pooja is making coffee and boiling noodles at the same time.

'tujhe pata he ye coffee mujhe meri sautan lagti he. ali ka jab bhi call ata he uske hath me ye coffee jarur hoti he. aur aajkal naya trend aaya he. dalgano coffee. chammach lekar hilata rahata he  coffee powder ko. marjaniyo ne army wale ko bhi busy kar diya.. ye sab na is trend setters Naam ki bala ka Kamal he. me bol rahi hu..shadi ke baad se patiyo ka phone chhen lena chahiye. mera wala to Mujhe bhaw hi nahi data..aur to aur aajkal photo bhejta he to two bhi cup ke sath. aane do use ghar. uska cup aur sar sath hi todungi. aur ye lo...maggie bhi taiyar ho gayi. tu bowl me maggie nikal..me tab tak cup me coffee dalti hu.'

naina sees pooja and then picks two bowl. she puts much of maggie in one bowl and less in other. the one with less quantity is for herself. she searches for fork. pooja has poured coffee in mugs and she takes her bowl out.

'wo mera that pooja..' naina whines.

'kam khayegi to thak jaayegi jaldi. jyada kha..der tak abate karenge.' 

naina looks at her..pooja holds her hand. 

'baato ka matlab ye nahi ki Mujhe teri problem sun ni he abhi. tu aram se kha..aur mera dukh sun. mera pati na bewafa ho gaya he. kal tak mere  picche bhagta tha, jab se wo posting par gaya he..usko meri koi fikra hi nahi. i hate him.' 

naina smiles.

'tujhe pata he...us se shadi karne ke liye Mujhe kitne sare jhooth bolne pade the. mene to pregnancy ka bahana bhi kar liya tha..fake report bhi le aayi this khud hi print karke. lekin wo pahli dhamki me mean gaya. mene bola tha ki agar apne papa se shadi ki baat nahi ki butter knife se apna hath kata lungi. agle din hi mere sasural wale mere ghar aa dhamke the.'

naina this time laughs a little.

soon maggie is done away with. coffee mugs are empty. and naina feels a bit light. 

'movie dekhegi? ye SAW series dekhni thi. akele itni cheer phaad dekhne ka man nahi he. bol dekhe to play karu.'

naina shakes her head. 

'itna pareshan mat ho. I am good.'

'okay. but your free to do what you want. its as much as your house as mine. so please formality mat karna.' pooja warns her. naina smiles a little. she asks for saira. pooja shows her room. she at once rushes in.

pooja comes behind her.

'i am in the next room. if you need something call me.' 

naina for a second is impelled to deny but tonight it seems like the long night is not ready to leave. she needs someone other than bed. she asks her to stay..

she is sitting quietly. pooja is on other corner keeping an eye on her and texting someone along with it. 

naina looks around. whole bedroom is shouting how bad pooja' choice is. she has tried to mis lavender with barbie pink and has drastically failed. for pink flowers doesn't suit in lavender vase and that too something like a horn pipe. she never knew pooja's choice was this much horrible. on the front wall there is a huge portrait of pooja and Ali. it makes her uncomfortable. she is not supposed to stay in someone' bedroom.

'if you are having second thoughts because I and Ali have had sex on this bed then I have changed bedsheets multiple times since he left for his posting. second our own service doesn't count. third other room has a single couch. I am alone this month so I never tried to do extra work of dusting rooms. isliye bedroom offer karma pada. now don't think to much and get a sleep. kal hamari chhutti nahi he. at least meri to nahi he. come on sleep now.'

naina nods. she switches off the light on her side. but her eyes never shut. after passing so much emotional turbulence and shocks she doubts if sleep will even come close to her. last night she was with naushad having the best night of her life and now she is away..on someone else's bed, in someone else's bedroom. pooja is her friend and she is doing her duty very well but she is friend. a friend can not fulfill void created by a husband. 

husband! has he ever tried to be one?

for all he did was performing the duty of a caretaker or maybe a guardian. naveen indirectly imposed him to be her husband. he who hated womankind. naina tries to remember how long she has come since the death of her brother. almost sixteen months. she has cried and cried for him many days. and there was nobody for her except her daughter. she remembers how she used to sneak and lay with her. she a small kid tried to make her smile with her innocence. she came to her for her stories but she brought comfort along. her smiles brought naina bliss. her tiny finger, cute talks and whining cries and too many demands just pushed her always. they showed her new relation, a new paradigm. she held onto saira... did she committed a mistake! 

after marriage what someone is supposed to do? be an alien in the house you are living? don't reciprocate affection? she has no idea when a lone tear slides down. naushad wants her to be indifferent to everything she felt in that house she cant do this...she cant.

she does not know when she starts sniffing and then finally crying. pooja switches on her light and comes to her. she takes her to the couch. gives her a glass of water and pats her head. 

naina sips half...but almost the same amount is leaving her body through her eyes.

'He...He....spent the night with me. he asked me to hold him. and in morning it was nothing to him.' she cries bitterly..

'tell me, pooja, how he can tell me to forget what happened! i was naked under him. my soul my body I opened everything. he says it was nothing. what should I do?

am I being a sentimental fool when all these months I try to be there for him? I am trying here. he runs away. I never complain. he wants me one night because he wants to move on. I give in then next morning it is named as a night together! me kya karu!! me bhi insan hu. mujhse aur nahi jhela jata. he has his shades. his insecurities. but I have nothing. mere pass mera kuch nahi he..na ghar na rishte. ma baba aur bhaiya is duniya me nahi he. sirf aur sirf saira he..lekin wo bhi uski beti he. kal ko wo ye bol de ki Mujhe saira wapis chahiye, what'll I do! me court me ye bhi nahi bol sakti ki biological mother hu. i deserve her. ye nanhi si jaan mujhko ammo nahi bula sakti thi because Naushad told her not to. meri in sab me kya galti he! i want a life. i want a relationship. I want a person for me. I am a human being. me koi robot nahi hu. mere bhi emotions he. and in the end he....he has only just one answer...

ye shadi sirf naam ki he. ' she sobs uncontrollably. pooja hugs her.

for a second she wants to tell Naina that everything will be ok but she doesn't know. she never got the chance to meet naushad and know him. and on a second note, she can not comment either. predicting someone else's relation is just like counting star. she will have no correct answer. 

naina sobs and sobs. she lets her. perhaps this is the only thing she can do. beating the shit out of someone else's husband is not a good idea. Ali is not here to bail her out. her parents will do nothing but extend the days of remand. 

naina cries and cries. it seems like the days when naveen had left her. those six months alone in nainital. now one day of shimla has been added to those days....