Daksh stood still, breathing heavily. It felt like somebody had punched him right in the face. For the first time in his life, he felt defeated. He felt his heart shattering into a million pieces.

Because what’s worse than knowing you want something, besides knowing you can never have it?

He felt Mitali's hand grip his , pityingly. No, the last thing he wanted was to see anyone pity him. He hated pity.

He freed himself from Mitali's grip, and stormed back to his room. And tears came before he could stop them, boiling hot then instantly freezing on his face, and what was the point in wiping them off? Or pretending? He let them fall.

Mitali helplessly saw the situation unfold. She knew comforting Daksh was something she could not do. She knew what that feeling better than anyone else. What it felt like to see someone you love with someone else.

But there was one thing that she was sure that she would do. And that was to stop her friend from digging her own grave.

She was about to go up to Ananya,who was now saying her goodbyes to Ishaan, and probably promising to meet him later. But sudden thought struck her and she decided against it. Many of Kavya and Jai's relatives were there. And she knew that if she confronted Ananya, she would surely loose her cool. So she decided to wait until the mehendi function was over to confront her.

Both of them,if required.

              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shanu: Kya?!

Mitali nodded her head in distress, after deciding it was best to discuss the matter with Shanu. After all, Shanu was the only person to know Ananya longer than anyone else.

Shanu was about to face palm herself but decided against it. Because the  mehendi in her hand wouldn't really look good on her face.

The mehendi girl who was busy drawing on her other hand, glared at her. Shanu and Mitali gave her their best fake smile and she went back to doing her job.

Shanu:(in a whisper) Par kyu? Kaise? Yeh sab kab hua?! Tune mujhe bataya kyu nahi?

Mitali:(whisper) Mujhe bhi aaj subah hi pata chala hai Shanu. And honestly,tu pehli bandi hai jisko maine yeh baat batai hai.

Shanu: Nahi Mitali! I'm sure tujhe koi galat phehmi hui hai. Anu spent 6 months to get over that guy. I have seen her struggle. Why would she go back to him after all of that?

Mitali:(sighing) I wish I was wrong, Shanu.  But we saw them,in each other's arms, talking and laughing.

Shanu: Wait...... we?

Mitali: Yeah, well......... Daksh was with me. He saw them too.

Shanu's face fell. She closed her eyes in frustration.

Shanu: Oh My God........I feel so bad for him. Sahil told me that he sensed something was off when Daksh came to their room. But he didn't question it, thinking it was probably something personal. Oh God...

Mitali: Where is he ? Did you see him?

Shanu: I don't think he came down.

Mitali: (eyeing Ananya,who was busy laughing and taking pictures with Tapasya) Well, can you blame him?

Shanu: But Mitali, we've got to do something. We can't let Anu go through that same pain again.

Mitali: I know, I know. Don't worry, okay? We'll talk to her after the functions' over. I'm sure she has a good explanation for this.

Shanu: I hope so.

Mitali: Yeah, but listen, this is only between me, you and Daksh, okay? No one should know about this, not even Sahil. Okay?

Shanu: Of course,yeah.

Mitali:(looking at Anu, who was now eyeing her and Shanu suspiciously) Try to look happy,okay? Pretend that nothing is wrong. Especially in front of Ananya.

Shanu: Okay.

Mitali nodded and left.

Mehendi girl:(to Shanu) Didi,aapke hath mein kiska naam likhu.

Shanu smiled and blushingly replied,

Shanu: Sahil.

The girl smiled and started writing the name on her palm.

Shanu's outfit:

Suddenly there was an announcement on the mic,

Jai: To Ladies, since aaj aap sabhi kafi helpless hai , we boys have decided ki aaj raat ka khana aapko khilayenge hum! To boys, apni apni respective partners ke paas chale jaye!

All the guys went and sat next to their respective partners. Mitali expectantly looked at Adi to sit next to her, but Adi ,in an attempt to make her jealous, went and sat next to Trisha.

Trisha, all giddy with excitement, said,

Trisha: Adi! I knew you would sit next to me. But you know what, I can't see anything from here, let's go and sit there (indicating to a seat).

Adi followed her line of sight and found that she was indicating to the seat next to Mitali's.

Well, sone pe suhaga!

He smiled flirtatiously and said,

Adi: Anything for you.

Trisha, excitedly stood up and almost dragged Adi to the seat. Now Adi was sitting in between Mitali and Trisha.

Mitali rolled her eyes in frustration. This was definitely getting on her nerves.

Trisha: Oh hey, Mitali , right?

Mitali unwillingly turned around to face the duo.

Mitali: Yeah. And you were?

Trisha: Trisha!

Mitali: I'm sorry?

Trisha: Trisha.... Trisha!

Mitali: Oh I heard. I'm just sorry.

Trisha threw her a quizzical look while Adi was trying hard not to laugh.

Trisha: Anyways, don't you have anyone to feed you? I see you've got mehendi on your palms. How will you eat?

Mitali: Oh honey it's fine. I'll manage. You know I don't really care if my mehendi messes up. The girl who was drawing the design asked me if I wanted to write anybody's name on my palm, you know the cliche , and I told her to write the name of the guy who I am in love with. See....

Saying that,she showed her palm to both of them. In small letters, across her middle finger was written the word,

Asshole.

Adi: But it just says asshole?

Mitali: Well, now you get the point, don't you?

Trisha: Oof who is this guy? He must be a prick to treat you badly. Unlike Adi, who is such a sweetheart! He's been so caring for me and now he's going to feed me too.

For a second, Mitali narrowed her eyes to decide whether the girl was actually oblivious or was just trying to run it in her face.

Mitali: (squeezing Adi's hand tightly) Yeah ,well champ here, is quite the charmer!

Adi let out a silent shriek , looking at Mitali, who was eyeing him with her brightest fake smile.

Trisha:(noticing Mitali and Adi) Uh......Mitali, your outfit is quite cute.

Mitali's outfit:

Saying that, she suddenly pulled Adi towards her, and said in the  fakest sweet voice Mitali had ever heard,

Trisha: Feedy me?

Mitali:(under her breath) Oh My God! I might vomit!

Adi nervously smiled and fed her a bite. Mitali was now sure that the girl was far more than oblivious. She surely knew that there was something between her and Adi, and was using every possible chance to swoop Adi in her clutches.

But little did she know that Adi wasn't half as serious as she was. He just had Mitali on his mind. He just wanted to make her jealous. He loved seeing her roll her eyes in jealousy when she saw him and Trisha getting close. And honestly, it felt quite okay to use Trisha as a pawn for this noble purpose. He knew that she would understand if he told her about the real deal.

Little did he know that this innocent game of his was going to become the biggest nightmare of his life!

             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shanu smiled as Sahil fed her the last bite.

Sahil: All finished? Good girl!

Shanu chuckled.

Shanu: Kehte hai ki mehendi mein apne boyfriend ka naam chupana chahiye. Agar usne dhundh liya to janmo janmantar ka rishta hota hai.

Sahil: Tum kabse itni filmy ho gayi?

Shanu: Mai paida hi filmy hui thi!

Both chuckle.

Sahil: To tumne mera naam chupaya hai?

Shanu: Maine kab kaha ki maine tumhara naam chupaya hai? Maine to sirf kaha ki aisa maana jata hai!

Sahil made a poker face.

Shanu chuckled and extended her palms towards Sahil,

Shanu: Dhundho.

Sahil smiled and got down to work. After about a minute or two, he found his name. But decided to tease Shanu a bit. So he said,

Sahil: Yaar kaha hai yeh naam? Mujhe to nahi mila!

Shanu: Arey vahi hai Dhundho to sahi!

Sahil: Mujhe to nahi mila! Shanu!

Shanu: Kya?!

Sahil: Kahi iska matlab ye to nahi ki tum or main..........

Shanu:(getting worried) Tum or main kya?

Sahil: Kahi tumhara aur mera........sath chhut to nahi jayega na?

Shanu: Na eta hote pare na! Achhe se Dhundho na Sahil! Kya tum bhi! Vahi hai Dhundho!

Sahil , not able to control any longer, burst out laughing. Shanu looked at him questioningly.

Shanu: Ab haas kyu rahe ho?

Sahil: Hasu nahi to aur kya karu? Arey meri bholi Shanu! Mujhe to mera naam kab ka mil gaya! Main to bas tere sath mazak kar raha tha!

Shanu pursed her lips and said,

Shanu: Sahil, yeh sab ko lekar mazaak mat karo! Pata hai mai kitna darr gayi thi jab tumne kaha ki humara sath chhut jayega!

Sahil smiled at her innocence and cupping her cheeks,said,

Sahil: Shanu, agar upar vala bhi chahe to humara sath nahi tor sakta.Together we shared a bond not even death would violate.

Shanu smiled at his reassurance as he engulfed her in a hug.

But what was that feeling within?, Shanu wondered. Why was she feeling guilty being in the arms of the man she loved? Why was her conscience pricking her when Sahil was saying all those words to her? Was it because she didn't feel like she deserved the selfless love from him? Or was it her inclination to that secret  which made her question her loyalty towards Sahil?

That secret troubled her every night as she debated with herself whether she should tell him herself or not. Many a times she thought of telling him the truth but then decided against it. She couldn't bring herself up to that.

She knew telling him about his father was probably the right thing to do but she dreaded to be the one to do so.

No way, she couldn't tell Sahil that Rudra Maheshwari,the man who he had looked up to his whole life, and who had also made his life a living hell wasn't actually his real dad.

No, she couldn't.

But then again,

Nothing stays a secret forever, does it?

               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Guys, so here's an update! This chapter is dedicated to my lovely friend Jelsie_White as it is her birthday today! Yayyyyyyyyy!!!! Happiest Birthday Alka! You were  the first ever girl to befriend me on Wattpad and today we celebrate our one year of friendship on Wattpad! You have been a great friend since the beginning of YBTM, helping me with plot lines, designing the cover and most importantly, encourage me to write my best!

A very big thank you for that! I love you loads ❤️

Anyways guys, if you liked the chapter and are excited for the upcoming chapters, please vote and comment 👍

❤️Love you loads ❤️
       Bosedisha