SS: Tu rooh ka humnava hai. Yeh jismon ka rishta nahin. Update Page 67 - Page 13

Hey everyone,

Just like the previous chapter, this one also shows the progression of Saira and Neil.

But the question is will their attraction to each other make them lovers or best friends forever ?

The real story will start from the next chapter. I am eager to write it.

Till then I hope you will like this one. Thanks for reading and the lovely comments.

Neil and Saira entered together in the house. Naira complimented both of them for looking nice. Saira also did the same about her green velvet kaftan. Neil rolled his eyes to tease the girls as if he wanted to say « Girls will be girls ».

Naira's cousins and her husband, Yohann's, friends and colleagues were there too. Neil and Saira mingled with the crowd. He saw her with Yohann for the first time and immediately understood why she never joked about him or never agreed to make fun of him whenver he and Naira used to talk about him. Saira was exactly the same as Yohann when they were together. He loved this about her. She was like a chameleon, changing her personality according to the person she was talking to. With Naira and him, she was the savage, adventurous, smart and funny girl. With him alone, she often was artistic, poetic and philosophical. While he was observing her, he didn't realize that one of Naira's cousins was hitting on him. Sharifa tried hard to get his attention but she could see it that Neil couldn't take his eyes off Saira, the girl she never liked but always tolerated in parties because she was her cousin's best friend.

Neil walked towards Saira who was looking at the garden from the glass back door and stood next to her.

« These goats look exactly like their owner. », he mocked Yohann.
« Heyyy, don't make fun of my bro, OK ? », she replied in a gangster voice.
« Let's meet Yohann 2 and Yohann 3. », he continued.
« Stop ! Don't be mean. He is a nice guy. », she said.
« Of course. », he replied sarcastically. « Come ! », he added while ready to open the door.
« No way. I am scared of animals. », she stopped him by holding his hand.
« Scared and you ? », he chuckled. « So is this savage queen only savage with words but a chicken inside ? », he asked.
« This savage can kill you. », she pushed him against the door and approached him dangerously.
« Definitely. », he comfirmed enjoying her boldness and having her so close then joked again, « But can't approach a goat. ».
« Whatever. », she rolled her eyes and walked away leaving him with a smile.

The table was set with Arab cuisine. Naira sat with Neil and Saira to eat and share their usual fun moment.

Later when Neil was helping Naira with the speaker to put some music on, a ray of light blinded him. At first he ignored it but the persistence forced him to look in the direction from where it was coming. Struggling to see, a smile appeared on his face. Saira was sitting crossed legs on a chair, focused on her phone, sweeping her hair on one side. The reflection of the light was bouncing off her watch. Naira smiled amused by the filmy scene and went to call her brother to ask how to fix the thing. A little pensive, Naira put down the phone. Neil clicked a picture of her and sent it immediately to her. Her phone vibrated and she checked it. She smiled seeing the picture and looked around till she spotted him.

A while later, Yohann joined his wife in the kitchen where she was alone.

« I know he is your best friend and the idea of seeing your two best friends dating each other excites you but you also know how he is in real life. He isn't serious about relationships. », he said.
« He is not a bad guy, Yohann. », she replied.
« I didn't say he is a bad guy. In fact he is an awesome guy. But we know that he starts dating someone and as soon as things get serious he breaks up with her because he is not in love. », he said.
« Maybe she is the right one for him. At least he won't play with her or anyone's heart. He is always straightforward about his feelings. », she said.
« What if unintentionally he breaks her heart ? What if she falls in love with him ? », he asked.
« She is a strong girl. No one can break her heart. Let them be, Yohann. If things go right they will end up together or else they won't. Stop worrying for her. », she said.

Yohann sighed and left.

In the living room Neil could finally play the music on and everyone started dancing. Neil invited Saira for a dance. Sharifa waited for Neil to leave Saira and explore other dancers but he was too busy with her. In the middle of the dance, Saira looked at her watch. She informed him that she was getting late. Both went to Naira to tell her that they were leaving.

« Thanks for the amazing food and inviting beautiful people. », Neil said brushing his shoulder with Saira's with a playful smile.
« Beautiful like me. », Naira self praised even though she understood his eyes looked only for her friend.
« I wasn't talking about you. », he joked.
« How would you see this beauty when your eyes are somewhere else ? », she asked with a smirk.
« I love you my beautiful Nini. », he hugged her. « Bye ! », he added.
« Thanks for throwing such a beautiful party. Bye. », Saira hugged her friend.
« Thanks for coming. Both have a safe drive. », Naira accompanied them till the car.

Neil dropped Saira a few blocks away from her house. Both came out of the car to say bye. It started to rain so she asked him to go back to the car and she will run to the house. He agreed to it and was about to round the car when she pulled him against her. Surprised, he took support with his hands so that he doesn't crush her against the car with his weight. She rested her head on his chest to hide her face.

« What happened ? », he asked puzzled.
After some time she looked up, « I just saw my Indian neighbor. If she sees me with you she will gossip that I am dating you. »
He burst out laughing and looked intently at her whose face was just an inch away, « Interesting ! »
« What ? », she asked confused.
He came back to senses, « I mean... interesting how you also have this vulnerable side of you. »

Interesting ? Obviously he was attracted to that typical shy Indian girl side of hers but what he found more interesting was the way she wildly pulled him against her and being so close to her made him realize how beautiful she was. She was the perfect muse of his paintings. The rain intensified and they were fully wet. She looked irresistibly hot in her wet saree and her wet hair but he controlled himself from doing anything. He moved away and she said bye with a soft voice. After giving her a smile, he got in his car while she ran to her house.

Saira entered the house crowded by the guests. She greeted everyone from the living room entrance with « Assalamu Alaykum » and apologized for being late. She turned around to go to her room but bumped into a young man of her age. She apologized while he couldn't take his eyes off her. She was that rare beauty any man would fall in love at first sight. Her drenched body would turn any man on. One of the aunties showed up and introduced them to each other. He was her nephew. Samir Nasser, twenty seven years old and working as Human Resources Manager. She brought him and his parents to introduce Saira to them which Saira didn't know but her parents did. Seeing how her nephew was feeling shy and was blushing, she understood that he was interested to know her more.

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One weekend, Neil invited both the girls for a barbecue party. He also invited two of Naira and Neil's former colleagues from Asterix Amusement Park. His younger brother and sister had also accepted the invitation as well as his childhood best friend. Naira and Saira arrived a little earlier to help him with the preparations. When everything was ready, Saira wanted to see Neil's paintings. He brought her to his atelier where she got lost in his colorful masterpieces. She stayed mesmerized by one of the paintings of a couple. He whispered from behind that they were his parents. She found it quite adorable and touching. The latest unfinished canvas was about their Santorini trip. Seeing her frowning her forehead, he asked what was wrong. She hesitated before telling him that something was missing.

« What ? », he asked.
« Nothing, leave it. It's already very beautiful. If you decide to add it, it might ruin the whole painting. », she said.
« Now this will haunt me. So please tell me. », he pleaded.
« If my idea ruins your hard work, you will feel bad. », she said.
« I have painted so many things that I have my share of unsatisfied work too. », he informed her.
« Ok then may I ? », she asked before picking up the brush.
« Yeah. », he replied confused about what she was going to do.

She added a flowering tree at the foreground. The detailing impressed him so much that he was forced to ask if she did know how to paint. Trapped by the question, she admitted that when she was a teenager she used to paint for fun.

« And you were going to hide it from me. », he asked.
« I haven't painted for a decade now. », she replied.
« You are full of surprises, Miss Faris. Every day I discover something new about you. », he said.
« I am mysterious. », she said sensuously.

Saira gelled well with Neil's sister, Lily. She made a few confession about her brother. One of them was that he never speaks in Hindi with other Indians other than his family because his Hindi was terrible. Saira tried to make him speak in Hindi but came out unsuccessful.

They spent the evening between eating, having fun, cracking jokes and sharing their weird and nice talents. Neil asked Saira to share her writing if she was fine with it. Saira shared a few of her poems with all of them. Neil's childhood best friend whispered at him how artistically graceful she was. Neil devoured her with his eyes as he had the same thought as his friend.

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After they came across each other's passion, Neil and Saira attented many art exhibitions, poetry reading events and book fairs. Sometimes Naira would accompany them and sometimes not as she wasn't into paintings and books. Every time they were alone together, they would have deep conversations about life. If the conversation used to happen at a restaurant or café, people around would raise their eyebrows about the depth of the conversation. Sometimes they would also be a little playful or romantic and walk for hours in the beautiful streets of Paris. Week by week, months by months they got to know better about each other. What they wanted in life ? What they expected from people around them ? They got to know about their dreams and their fears. They understood each other's personalities. They loved their qualities and accepted their flaws. With passing time, they didn't realize how good friends they had become. For Neil Sai had the same place as Naira in his heart and for Sai Neil had the same place as Naira in her heart. Naira had given up on her duty as the cupid and let the two decide what they wanted with their lives. She had accepted to see them as best friends than lovers and the three of them became inseparable.

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The three were together since more than a year now and they hadn't traveled since their last Greek Isles cruise. They decided to take a few days off and go to the mountains. Naira was driving and Neil was next to her. Saira was in the back seat. They were having fun while the music was playing on.

« If only you knew how to drive, Neil and I could have relaxed for a bit. », Naira said.
« You should get your licence. Life is easier. », Neil remarked.
« I don't think I have ever said I can't drive nor did I say that I don't have my licence. », Saira replied.
« Huh ? But every time I asked you to learn to drive, you never said anything like this. », Naira was surprised.
« Exactly. I never said anything. You assumed things. », Saira replied morosely.
« Ok then why don't you drive ? », Naira asked confused.
« Because I don't like it. », Saira replied.

Saira rested her head against the window and closed her eyes. A silence installed for an unknown reason. They stopped by a little village to buy some snacks and drinks. They also clicked a few pictures near the picturesque view of the waterfall. Neil could feel that something was off with Saira but didn't say anything. They went back to the car. Neil was already in the passenger seat and Naira went in the back of the car.

« Please drive. I am extremey hungry so I can't drive. », Naira said.

Saira couldn't refuse as she wasn't ready to answer to any of their questions. She went to the driver's seat and started the car. She couldn't go far before being hit by a flashback. She immediately stopped the car, came outside and ran towards the waterfall. Shocked and confused, Neil and Naira came out of the car and joined her.

« Are you ok ? », Neil asked.
« Yeah. I just need to be alone for some time. », Naira replied.
« Why ? What happened, babe ? You ok ? », Naira asked worried.
Neil saw her trembling and worriedly said, « Saira what's wrong ? Tell us. »

Saira walked up closer to the waterfall and calmed herself down by the soothing sound of the water. The other two let her breathe, away from them.

« When I was nineteen, my childhood best friend and I were going somewhere. We were hit by a car. I was driving. It wasn't my fault but I WAS driving. The last thing I remember was that we were badly injured. I survived and he didn't. », Saira finally explained.

Shocked, Neil and Naira walked towards her and found her with teary eyes. Neil pulled her against him and hugged her. She finally burst out crying. Naira joined in the hug and silently both Neil and Naira comforted her. He finally understood why the other day she was so much affected by the pool of blood. Naira felt awful that during their five years of friendship she forced her to get a licence while she couldn't confess that she went through so much pain and guilt. That day the three of them promised that they won't hide anything from each other.