Prerna unfolded and folded her clothes for the third time, irritation clearly visible in her stance. She turned and looked at the clock, what seemed like for the third time in last ten minutes but time seemed to move with snail speed. It was still 1 in the afternoon.

Prerna sighed, and picked up her phone, staring at Rishabh's contact for few minutes, yet unable to decide if or not she should call him.

Last night, she had been frozen in her place to see the ever so great Mr. Bajaj, the certified villain - standing so lost and defeated like his world had just ended. She had watched him mumble something to himself, but she could not hear what and unable to see the misery etched all over him, she had walked back to her room, lost in her thoughts, and had been tossing and turning in the bed, but neither sleep graced her, nor Mr. Bajaj came back to their room. It had been more than twelve hours now and there still was no sign of him, the gatekeeper had let her know he drove off to somewhere in the middle of the night.

Prerna could not shake off the concern she felt for the man. It didn't take rocket science to realise he had his own skeletons of the past that had shaped him the way he had become, but it there was one thing that had actually made Prerna develop a respect for him, it was the fact that he didn't shy away from accepting his flaws and his ill ways. He had not, even for once, pretended to be the hero of her life despite saving her and helping her through multiple times.

Eventually she gave up on waiting and worrying and decided to go for a walk instead. Atleast it would help her divert her attention of her husband, or so she thought.

When the driver stopped by a near by park, Prerna got out, carrying a water bottle in her hand. The sky was cloudy, making the weather almost pleasant. She instructed the driver to pick up Kuki from school first and then come back to pick her up, and then walked to the empty bench instead. A few small children were playing around, giggling within themselves. The sight made Prerna smile to herself, while she palmed her stomach.

"I can't wait for you to be here too baby, Just about five months to go", she spoke to her child, and chuckled, " Are you equally excited to be with me?", She caressed her stomach and sighed in solace.

Another feminine silhouette caught her attention when she sat beside her. Prerna looked up to see a beautiful girl, almost her own age, Raven brown curls falling all over face and a warm smile.

"To be mother?", The woman asked, and Prerna nodded, smiling. It felt good to talk about loud about her pregnancy.

"Three and a half month in", Prerna gushed, and the woman smiled, her eyes lighting up.

"Wow! By the way I am Snigdha", she extended her hand and Prerna shook it, nodding, "I am Prerna".

Snigdha frowned at the name, but then let it go considering there could be more than one person with the same name, and moreover Anurag's Prerna wasn't pregnant, was she?

"First child? You must be really excited!", Snigdha asked making Prerna chuckle.

"I am. Excited and nervous. And a little guilty about being careless with my baby too", her eyes went melancholic as she thought about how stupid she behaved throughout Komolika's fiascao, not only hiding the truth from Anurag but also putting herself and the baby in grave danger multiple times.

"Hey hey, don't go all sad now, I am sure you must have had your reasons for the same, and I can say you will be great mother. And your husband would be there to help either way- by spoiling the baby rotten?", Snigdha tried to lighten the situation, and it did made Prerna laugh but soon it also made her want to cry.

For she knew, Anurag would spoil the child rotten, and so would Rishbah if she lets him - he had already become so protective of the baby.

"I wish my life was simple enough for me to enjoy my pregnancy", Prerna confessed, "I am at a crossroad where I don't even know what to make of my life anymore".

Snigdha heard Prerna speak and smiled softly before putting her hand over her.

"You know the best thing about meeting strangers? You can tell them anything and get if off your chest. They probably won't meet you again - so even if they judge us, doesn't matter", Snigdha spoke and Prerna looked at her for a second before breaking into a teary chuckle.

"I am not married to the father of my child. I had to leave him to protect him. And I thought I would always hate the guy I married - given he literally used my helpless situation for his benefit - but I can't seem to hate him now. Everyday I discover something about him that is so not the devil he claims to be. And the guy I love - he isn't ready to move on either.  He keeps pursuing me and hurting himself in the process", Prerna narrated her life history in few sentences before sighing heavily, "Growing up I had these beautiful notions about life, about love. All these fairytale dreams. And I was obsessed with this tale of thorn birds - sacrificing yourself to the bone for the sake of your love. I thought the pain was poetic, that the heartbreak was the fruit of soulful love. And now when life in a twisted way fulfilled my fantasies, I don't know what I am supposed to do".

There was a heavy silence between the two woman as Prerna finally felt relived talking aloud about her life choices while Snigdha took in the story, understanding the gravity of the situation.

"You know just a month ago - I would have called you stupid for your actions, laughed on you for your choices, but today I understand, maybe because I am myself in love, or rather falling in love with someone who loves someone else", Snigdha answered and Prerna immediately looked up at her, before both of them began chuckling out loud.

"You know Prerna, contrary to you, I grew up with far more realistic notions. And so, all I can say is you don't have to take this pain and keep suffering. And it's absolutely okay if you are seeing a good side of your side husband and not hating him anymore. It is not necessary to suffer Just because you made wrong choices in life and that you did - not sugarcoating - You broke someone's heart and your own with it. I won't tell you what to do and what not to do -you must understand that better but It's absolutely okay to find happiness again, even it's not with your lover. I had read a quote long ago and it stayed with me. It says-

You are allowed to be alive. You are allowed to be somebody different. You are allowed to not say goodbye to anybody or explain a single thing to anyone, ever — Augusten Burroughs

So stop holding yourself back because of your guilt. If you can rectify your mistake and go back to your lover - do that but if you can't - there is nothing wrong to be try and accept happiness with what you have now. That guy will also find happiness again, I will pray for him too", Snigdha's words acted as a balm to Prerna's wounds. She felt like a huge load had been taken off her chest. Tears rolled down her cheeks but a beautiful smile graced her too.

"And what about the guy you love? He loves someone else?", Prerna then asked, and Snigdha pouted.

"I am heavily friendzoned. He loves someone who has apparently moved on, married someone else. But his love for her - hasn't decreased one bit, only intensified. He is literally destroying himself in her love", Snigdha shook her head and then suddenly exclaimed, "Actually you know what, your thorn bird theory - it suits him too. And I like an idiot, despite knowing that he deeply loves someone, couldn't stop herself from loving him. He is too good to not be loved, so not my fault honestly", Snigdha laughed, followed by Prerna.

"I don't think he will ever love me that way, but I am not worried. Maybe he was destined to come into my life so I could learn the art of letting go - to love someone for love, not for the sake of being loved back. And all I really want anyway is to be just there for him - to make him see that he can he happy beyond his shattered love life too, that he is someone without his lover too. I only want him to be happy", Snigdha spoke softly, Anurag's smile filling her memory.

Prerna heard her and smiled, closing her eyes to quickly send a prayer upwards - wishing a happy ending for this beautiful love story she was listening to.

The horn of a car broke their conversation and Prerna turned around to see Kuki waving at her from the car. It made her giggle.

"I have to go", she spoke and Snigdha nodded. They both deliberately didn't wish each other a good bye, for they hoped for more interactions. It felt nicer to have someone to talk to.

Prerna came back to the car, happier and content than before. She pulled Kuki to her lap, and kissed her cheek, making the little girl laugh. Kuki kissed her cheek back, looping her arms around her.

Sometime late evening, Prerna watched Kuki grow restless as she would keep looking at the door every few minutes. Prerna immediately realized she was waiting for her father. To Prerna's amusement, Kuki had quickly finished her homework before itself and had already eaten without creating a fuss. It was near to eight but Kuki had already made her bed and changed into her nightwear.

"Kuki? You want to sleep early today?", Prerna asked her, and she shook her head. Then she paused for a moment and looked at her, contemplating if or not she wanted to share this information, but Prerna's expectant eyes convinced the girl easily.

She gestured to her father's picture and made a sad face after that, explaining how her father dearest was usually sad today and she had to cuddle him,make him feel better and make sure he would sleep.

Prerna watched her wide eyed, realizing it was probably something she didn't know but everyone else did. It was a part of Bajaj family and she was yet to know.

So when Kuki finally heard the horn of her father's car she jumped out of the bed and politely asked Prerna to leave. Prerna understood that too, so she left the room but hid herself in the vicinity outside, wanting to have a glimpse of Rishabh first.

Rishabh walked inside, his blazer in his hand, his tie loosened and hair messed up. He hurried past the steps and almost ran to Kuki, who immediately opened her arms seeing her father. Rishabh hugged her, kissing her head, taking deeper breaths to calm himself in his little girl's proximity. Kuki pulled him up to the bed and and lay down, patting the bed beside her. Rishabh smiled, Kuki was so much more mature for her age, especially when it was about her father. He held her close and lay down too, and with Kuki running her fingers through his hair, he finally fell asleep after having the toughest 24 hours of his life - like every year.

Prerna watched them, standing at the door.  A hand on her shoulder made her aware of another presence and she turned to see Maasi standing beside her with misty eyes.

"Rishabh's mother - my best friend, had killed herself on the eve of his sixteenth birthday", Prerna gasped hearing her, her eyes wide, "It's always a tough day of the year for him - the one he spends in isolation and eventually finds comfort in Kuki", she continued, and then sighed deeply before looking at Prerna.

"Come and eat something. It's not good for you to be hungry for such long times", she patted her shoulder and left, leaving a disturbed Prerna who had finally understood his need to have a loving mother for Kuki - he simply didn't want his daughter to have a life without her mother - like he had had.

Closing the door behind her, Prerna walked back to her room, dazed. She could not stop thinking about Rishabh - especially the side of him she didn't really know.

She hadn't had the chance to have any conversation with him the entire day since he had ghosted her. She only hoped for a better day tomorrow and she already knew what was was going to ask him. She only hoped he agreed!