02-07-2026, 12:04 AM
Chapter 103: Stones and Bricks
The waves gently kissed the shore as Nikitha continued, her voice soft but steady, carrying years of buried pain.
“It was the time I almost thought Jay and I were finally becoming a real couple,” she said, staring at the dark sea. “We had agreed to see what the future had in store for us. But it didn’t work that way. I only felt obligated in the relationship because of all the sacrifices Jay had made for me.”
She took a shaky breath.
“In order to protect our secret, Jay got into a relationship with Anjali. At first, I was shocked. I wanted to fight him. He said Anjali was getting too close to uncovering things about him, so he had to play foul and keep her in check. But then I reminded myself — I wasn’t his real wife. This was just a marriage of convenience. I had forced myself into his life.”
“Whenever I looked at his interest in Anjali, I thought… maybe if I had never entered his life, he would have met someone who truly matched his preferences. When we returned home and he didn’t even care to say sorry or try to appease me, I became certain that I was a forceful presence in his life. That feeling kept returning, again and again.”
“For almost a year, it was torture for me. I never raised a single concern.”
“Sex between us was regular in the beginning. At first it was pure heat and passion. Then it slowly became a duty… then just a routine. When I wanted it to feel like love, he never reciprocated. I felt so empty inside. Luckily, we were still good friends, so I didn’t take it completely to heart. But I never realised how deeply I had fallen in love with him over time.”
Nikitha’s voice trembled slightly.
“That’s when the scenario changed. You came into the company. At that time, I was madly in love with Jay. But the moment he told me about you eyeing me and that he had made some kind of deal… I felt disgusted. He had his reasons, his hands were tied. You said you would overlook the Jay-Anjali scenario. Deep inside, I would have been happy if he had fought for me. But when he spoke about it like it was just a news story, I felt disappointed. I started questioning whether I really loved him or if it was just familiarity and duty I mistook for love. I realised he had never truly seen me as his real wife.”
“Still, I didn’t complain. It was a split-second thought that stayed with me forever. I joked about it and buried the feeling. I even laughed and told him, ‘You actually sold your wife to safeguard yourself? Glad I’m not your real wife then. At least I know my market value now.’ I had never seen myself as so cheap before… but I consoled myself that it was the practical solution to keep you away from doubts. So i played along to the deal. That’s how you truly came into my life.”
She looked at Tharun for a moment.
“Somewhere around that time, I remembered the words I once shared with Jay: ‘If we don’t meet a proper better half… even if we have affairs outside, our friendship and understanding will safeguard our relationship. We would crawl back to each other without ego.’”
Nikitha continued, “But the moment you truly entered our lives, things changed. My romantic life with Jay actually improved for a while. He didn’t judge me when I teased you with playful texts and minor flirts. But that spark faded quickly. On the other end, whatever you did to impress me made me want the same from him. I never told him. When you flirted with me, he would stay close — it felt like a playful game for us. We never imagined you could change so much between us.”
“But that didn’t stay long. My wanting only increased. The urge you showed, the special attention you gave me… I had never received that from Jay. Then you surprised me by coming home that day and kissing me. That night I saw a side of Jay I didn’t want to see. He tried to show ownership over me.”
Nikitha’s eyes were wet now.'
“That was the real crack. He said something like, ‘That bastard Tharun… when Anjali goes to him, I fucked her senseless to show her who she belonged to. You… you’re my wife. You are mine. Will I just watch?’ In his eyes, Anjali and I were the same. Your Side Chick and I are same? Am i an object? If he truly considered me his wife, he should never have agreed to that man-to-man understanding. My marriage with him ended that very night.”
Tharun intervened - So Sharmi is not the reason why you dont want to be with him? is the crack appeared even before.
Nikitha: Yes.
Tharun: Then why did you not leave him early?
Nikitha: I just want to give some time to him, i believed he will realize.
“I genuinely wanted him to realize what he had done to me — how he had treated me. I demanded that I needed to feel loved. Slowly, stone by stone, brick by brick… everything we had built started falling apart.”
“It was time we started dating properly, but deep inside I carried so much guilt. You gave me all the love I had been craving. You started winning me bit by bit, while Jay failed miserably.
I suffered every time he suffered. The more i navigated towards you, it hurts me deeper with the thoughts of Jay.
“Sometimes, letting one go is also love,” she said quietly.
“I realised I loved Jay too much to keep hurting him… and to keep hurting myself by staying in a relationship where love had become one-sided and painful. I cannot be a dutiful wife without feeling loved in return.”
and the time when he finally made me realize about his love it was too late, i had crossed lines i shouldn't have.
Also, “The moment I realised he could take other women, I understood he wouldn’t stop with just Anjali.
Even after claiming he loved me, he continued approaching Sharmi. We saw them together the other day. I hope she marries him. I have decided to move on with you.”
Last evening, i urged Sharmi to take a decision to marry him.
“Today we are here. Right now, I have only one thing in my mind — let him live his life and I will live mine. Separated, for the better. It’s a decision I took over time… and it became final after we consummated our relationship last night.”
Tharun listened quietly, then asked, “I understood everything… but why did you finalized the decision after we had sex?”
Nikitha looked straight into his eyes. “The moment I slept with you, everything I built with him was broken. I broke the trust. I broke the love. Do you think it would be okay to go back to him and say I had sex with Tharun and expect him to forgive me?”
Tharun smirked and looked at her understandingly.
Tharun asked one final question.
This is just a What if question. Think and answer: Okay, we started our life now, you are forcing yourself out of Jay circle. What if Mithra comes tomorrow and wants me back? And I have to leave you? Will you be able to convince Jay to take you back? Do you think he will accept you?”
Nikitha looked at him for a long moment, then stood up and started walking back toward the villa without answering.
Tharun rushed after her, gently stopping her. He told, its just a What if!!
Nikitha replied calmly, “Before taking the flight, I already moved out of Jay’s house. I’m staying temporarily at a women’s hostel. Maybe I’ll make it permanent instead of shifting between you two.
And for the record, I guarantee you — I won’t stand in the way of Mithra.”
“Calm down,” Tharun said softly. He pulled out his phone, opened WhatsApp, and handed it to her. “Search for Mithra’s contact.”
Nikitha asked why?
Tharun: Just do it!
There was a long message sent last evening — exactly when she and Sharmi were talking.
It read:
“Mithra, I have decided to call off our relationship. Years of love, but I never felt I got anything back. I cannot stay in this life. I’m moving on and you should too.”
The message was sent but unread.
Nikitha looked up at him, surprised. “How did you send this before knowing my decision?”
Tharun smiled gently. “I predicted it. The moment you said ‘take me somewhere’, I realised you had started giving me space. You just hadn’t announced it yet. I wanted to surprise you… but you surprised me instead.”
His hands reached her shoulders. “I love you to the fullest. I’ve read you even before you could say it.”
Nikitha’s face softened with gratitude. She caught his hand and said, “I’m sorry I could not love you back right now… but i will....”
“You dont need to say anything i understand.” Tharun whispered.
He put his arm around her. “Lets go...”
As they walked back, Tharun added, “You and Jay had a seriously interesting tale. Anyone wish such dramatic tale. You both loved each other without realising it.
Any how, I’m glad Jay slipped
Nakitha: Why?
Tharun: Because i got you now..
Nikitha was no mood to laugh.
Tharun continued however, I didn’t think he would stoop so low with that letter.
Nikitha’s voice grew firmer. “Tharun, I somewhere still feel that he is not the person who might do such things...”
“But he agreed, right? He admitted it,” Tharun said.
“That’s the most disappointing part,” she replied. “I could not see him turn into a villain. I moved out when I felt he didn’t protect me. But looking at everything…”
Tharun stopped her gently. “Don’t say you’re going to find the truth.”
Nikitha sighed. “I wish… if he wasn’t the one who wrote them, I still want to believe that. But when Jay himself agreed, I couldn’t think otherwise.”
The beach fell silent except for the sound of waves. The first light of dawn was beginning to touch the horizon.
As dawn began to break, the beach fell silent except for the gentle sound of waves.
Nikitha had chosen Tharun — not out of overwhelming love for him yet, but because her love for Jay ran so deep that facing him after that night felt impossible. That was the clear, unspoken answer Tharun decoded from everything she had shared.
It heavily raised his insecurity. For a moment, he wanted to tell her to take a full day to think, to breathe, and then come back to him only if she was sure. But he held his tongue.
Her entire story had also given him a clear glimpse of where he stood in her heart. He was the one she turned to for clarity. For healing. For the kind of love she could finally feel. Those three reasons were enough for him right now.
Tharun tightened his arm around her shoulders, determination burning quietly in his chest. He had already won her body. He had won a relationship. Love… he trusted it would come soon. He was ready to fight for it — to win her heart completely, day by day.
The first rays of sunlight touched the sea as the two of them walked back toward the villa, a fragile new beginning unfolding between them.
The waves gently kissed the shore as Nikitha continued, her voice soft but steady, carrying years of buried pain.
“It was the time I almost thought Jay and I were finally becoming a real couple,” she said, staring at the dark sea. “We had agreed to see what the future had in store for us. But it didn’t work that way. I only felt obligated in the relationship because of all the sacrifices Jay had made for me.”
She took a shaky breath.
“In order to protect our secret, Jay got into a relationship with Anjali. At first, I was shocked. I wanted to fight him. He said Anjali was getting too close to uncovering things about him, so he had to play foul and keep her in check. But then I reminded myself — I wasn’t his real wife. This was just a marriage of convenience. I had forced myself into his life.”
“Whenever I looked at his interest in Anjali, I thought… maybe if I had never entered his life, he would have met someone who truly matched his preferences. When we returned home and he didn’t even care to say sorry or try to appease me, I became certain that I was a forceful presence in his life. That feeling kept returning, again and again.”
“For almost a year, it was torture for me. I never raised a single concern.”
“Sex between us was regular in the beginning. At first it was pure heat and passion. Then it slowly became a duty… then just a routine. When I wanted it to feel like love, he never reciprocated. I felt so empty inside. Luckily, we were still good friends, so I didn’t take it completely to heart. But I never realised how deeply I had fallen in love with him over time.”
Nikitha’s voice trembled slightly.
“That’s when the scenario changed. You came into the company. At that time, I was madly in love with Jay. But the moment he told me about you eyeing me and that he had made some kind of deal… I felt disgusted. He had his reasons, his hands were tied. You said you would overlook the Jay-Anjali scenario. Deep inside, I would have been happy if he had fought for me. But when he spoke about it like it was just a news story, I felt disappointed. I started questioning whether I really loved him or if it was just familiarity and duty I mistook for love. I realised he had never truly seen me as his real wife.”
“Still, I didn’t complain. It was a split-second thought that stayed with me forever. I joked about it and buried the feeling. I even laughed and told him, ‘You actually sold your wife to safeguard yourself? Glad I’m not your real wife then. At least I know my market value now.’ I had never seen myself as so cheap before… but I consoled myself that it was the practical solution to keep you away from doubts. So i played along to the deal. That’s how you truly came into my life.”
She looked at Tharun for a moment.
“Somewhere around that time, I remembered the words I once shared with Jay: ‘If we don’t meet a proper better half… even if we have affairs outside, our friendship and understanding will safeguard our relationship. We would crawl back to each other without ego.’”
Nikitha continued, “But the moment you truly entered our lives, things changed. My romantic life with Jay actually improved for a while. He didn’t judge me when I teased you with playful texts and minor flirts. But that spark faded quickly. On the other end, whatever you did to impress me made me want the same from him. I never told him. When you flirted with me, he would stay close — it felt like a playful game for us. We never imagined you could change so much between us.”
“But that didn’t stay long. My wanting only increased. The urge you showed, the special attention you gave me… I had never received that from Jay. Then you surprised me by coming home that day and kissing me. That night I saw a side of Jay I didn’t want to see. He tried to show ownership over me.”
Nikitha’s eyes were wet now.'
“That was the real crack. He said something like, ‘That bastard Tharun… when Anjali goes to him, I fucked her senseless to show her who she belonged to. You… you’re my wife. You are mine. Will I just watch?’ In his eyes, Anjali and I were the same. Your Side Chick and I are same? Am i an object? If he truly considered me his wife, he should never have agreed to that man-to-man understanding. My marriage with him ended that very night.”
Tharun intervened - So Sharmi is not the reason why you dont want to be with him? is the crack appeared even before.
Nikitha: Yes.
Tharun: Then why did you not leave him early?
Nikitha: I just want to give some time to him, i believed he will realize.
“I genuinely wanted him to realize what he had done to me — how he had treated me. I demanded that I needed to feel loved. Slowly, stone by stone, brick by brick… everything we had built started falling apart.”
“It was time we started dating properly, but deep inside I carried so much guilt. You gave me all the love I had been craving. You started winning me bit by bit, while Jay failed miserably.
I suffered every time he suffered. The more i navigated towards you, it hurts me deeper with the thoughts of Jay.
“Sometimes, letting one go is also love,” she said quietly.
“I realised I loved Jay too much to keep hurting him… and to keep hurting myself by staying in a relationship where love had become one-sided and painful. I cannot be a dutiful wife without feeling loved in return.”
and the time when he finally made me realize about his love it was too late, i had crossed lines i shouldn't have.
Also, “The moment I realised he could take other women, I understood he wouldn’t stop with just Anjali.
Even after claiming he loved me, he continued approaching Sharmi. We saw them together the other day. I hope she marries him. I have decided to move on with you.”
Last evening, i urged Sharmi to take a decision to marry him.
“Today we are here. Right now, I have only one thing in my mind — let him live his life and I will live mine. Separated, for the better. It’s a decision I took over time… and it became final after we consummated our relationship last night.”
Tharun listened quietly, then asked, “I understood everything… but why did you finalized the decision after we had sex?”
Nikitha looked straight into his eyes. “The moment I slept with you, everything I built with him was broken. I broke the trust. I broke the love. Do you think it would be okay to go back to him and say I had sex with Tharun and expect him to forgive me?”
Tharun smirked and looked at her understandingly.
Tharun asked one final question.
This is just a What if question. Think and answer: Okay, we started our life now, you are forcing yourself out of Jay circle. What if Mithra comes tomorrow and wants me back? And I have to leave you? Will you be able to convince Jay to take you back? Do you think he will accept you?”
Nikitha looked at him for a long moment, then stood up and started walking back toward the villa without answering.
Tharun rushed after her, gently stopping her. He told, its just a What if!!
Nikitha replied calmly, “Before taking the flight, I already moved out of Jay’s house. I’m staying temporarily at a women’s hostel. Maybe I’ll make it permanent instead of shifting between you two.
And for the record, I guarantee you — I won’t stand in the way of Mithra.”
“Calm down,” Tharun said softly. He pulled out his phone, opened WhatsApp, and handed it to her. “Search for Mithra’s contact.”
Nikitha asked why?
Tharun: Just do it!
There was a long message sent last evening — exactly when she and Sharmi were talking.
It read:
“Mithra, I have decided to call off our relationship. Years of love, but I never felt I got anything back. I cannot stay in this life. I’m moving on and you should too.”
The message was sent but unread.
Nikitha looked up at him, surprised. “How did you send this before knowing my decision?”
Tharun smiled gently. “I predicted it. The moment you said ‘take me somewhere’, I realised you had started giving me space. You just hadn’t announced it yet. I wanted to surprise you… but you surprised me instead.”
His hands reached her shoulders. “I love you to the fullest. I’ve read you even before you could say it.”
Nikitha’s face softened with gratitude. She caught his hand and said, “I’m sorry I could not love you back right now… but i will....”
“You dont need to say anything i understand.” Tharun whispered.
He put his arm around her. “Lets go...”
As they walked back, Tharun added, “You and Jay had a seriously interesting tale. Anyone wish such dramatic tale. You both loved each other without realising it.
Any how, I’m glad Jay slipped
Nakitha: Why?
Tharun: Because i got you now..
Nikitha was no mood to laugh.
Tharun continued however, I didn’t think he would stoop so low with that letter.
Nikitha’s voice grew firmer. “Tharun, I somewhere still feel that he is not the person who might do such things...”
“But he agreed, right? He admitted it,” Tharun said.
“That’s the most disappointing part,” she replied. “I could not see him turn into a villain. I moved out when I felt he didn’t protect me. But looking at everything…”
Tharun stopped her gently. “Don’t say you’re going to find the truth.”
Nikitha sighed. “I wish… if he wasn’t the one who wrote them, I still want to believe that. But when Jay himself agreed, I couldn’t think otherwise.”
The beach fell silent except for the sound of waves. The first light of dawn was beginning to touch the horizon.
As dawn began to break, the beach fell silent except for the gentle sound of waves.
Nikitha had chosen Tharun — not out of overwhelming love for him yet, but because her love for Jay ran so deep that facing him after that night felt impossible. That was the clear, unspoken answer Tharun decoded from everything she had shared.
It heavily raised his insecurity. For a moment, he wanted to tell her to take a full day to think, to breathe, and then come back to him only if she was sure. But he held his tongue.
Her entire story had also given him a clear glimpse of where he stood in her heart. He was the one she turned to for clarity. For healing. For the kind of love she could finally feel. Those three reasons were enough for him right now.
Tharun tightened his arm around her shoulders, determination burning quietly in his chest. He had already won her body. He had won a relationship. Love… he trusted it would come soon. He was ready to fight for it — to win her heart completely, day by day.
The first rays of sunlight touched the sea as the two of them walked back toward the villa, a fragile new beginning unfolding between them.
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