"If you are that sure then just order me how to proceed further. I will act in accordance with it." Devin replied as he still wasn't convinced of Yul but didn't want to refute him further.
"Wait a second! What do you mean by 'You have lost her once?' You knew Liya from before?" Devin thought through the words Yul had said and found it puzzling. He already had many doubts when Yul had asked for another DNA test between Inu and Liya. And then when Yul asked to cross check Liya's details with the person they have been searching for. Everything was starting to make sense now.
Now, that was a secret only Yul knew. He walked towards the glass window and opened it, to let the cold air from mountains to enter. At far the fog covered mountains that bordered Poonj was becoming more visible as sunlight penetrated through into the forests. And the mountain temple was barely visible on the top of one of the hills nearer to the city.
"Do you know, what is the biggest mistake I have ever done in my life?" Yul asked while staring at the mountains.
"Hiring me as your assistant?" Devin was being sarcastic.
Yul smiled on hearing that but continued to talk in a very serious tone, "It was when I decided not to approach Liya back then. I thought it was the best thing I could do for her. Letting her live her normal life instead of pulling her into this web of dangers because of my feelings, was the best way to protect her. But see what happened then. She must have been through hell and back in these past years, just because of my decisions. If I hadn't made such a decision, then we wouldn't have been in this mess right now."
Devin stood up on hearing Yul talk about the past. Yul was being emotional. It made Devin ask in between, "So you are saying that you liked Liya? But how? And when? Why I don't even remember seeing her?"
"Remember the hospice we sponsored five years ago, as part of grandfather's memorial? There… she was a regular volunteer from the hospital to give routine check- ups." Yul replied.
"Really? But I don't remember her!" Devin became curious as he had no recollection of Liya from back then.
"You never stayed for long. But I have spent days there, just to see her…"
Devin was surprised to hear Yul confess his feelings and at the same time felt betrayed as Yul had kept this a secret for years. It was hard to believe that there were things he didn't know about Yul, although he had followed him like a shadow for more than a decade.
"So you had recognised her from the start? And you hid it from me? I feel betrayed now… And how did I miss such a thing…? Ah...! Never mind… That's not important… So she is the person we have been looking for and it was because you liked her… and all these while I believed she was some… "Devin stopped in between because he was going to say 'hidden mistress of someone in the family.'
He couldn't say it anymore because she actually became the secret love of his boss itself. So Devin swallowed the rest of the words he was going to say. Yul wasn't paying attention to Devin's questions as he was missing those days, when he visited the hospice just to see her.
Seeing Yul didn't hear everything, Devin quickly asked another pack of doubts, "Yul, if you really liked her, then why did you not tell her? If we want to protect our loved ones, then don't we try to keep them close? Who pushes them away? What were you thinking at that time?"
Yul was brought back from his memories on hearing Devin call his name. He replied, "Mother was pushing for my marriage with Isheen at that time, although I had refused it from the get go. So if I had approached Liya then, all the blame would have fallen on her. I didn't want anyone to find out about Liya and cause her troubles. Moreover I thought I had time; I planned on meeting her slowly after everything had settled down. But she went missing soon after that."
Devin heard everything and then replied, "You were being very stupid! You should have at least told me. We could have figured out a solution…"
"Yes, I was. Now that I think back, I think I was more afraid. I was afraid of getting rejected and made all those ridiculous excuses to satisfy my ego." Yul's regret was very evident in his words.
"Who would reject you? You are the uncrowned prince of Poonj. There is no way any lady from Poonj would do that…" Devin tried to ease up the situation by boosting some morale.
Yul just nodded his head and replied, "No, she would. I know that much for sure about her." There seemed to be something more about that story but Yul didn't want to disclose any further.
Devin also didn't probe into it more. So he asked the more important questions to be addressed, "So the real reason you pushed for the marriage is because it was Liya and not for the child."
"Yes, of course it was for her. It's not that I don't care about Inu. It's just that I care about her more."
"That's good to know. I had actually thought that…" Devin didn't finish his words but instead looked at Yul.
"Or else what did you think? I am not that stupid to sacrifice my self-esteem and marry my brother's woman. It would be totally unfair to all of us, including the child. And it would make me feel as a cheater. Why in the world would I do that?" Yul explained his thoughts.
Devin was relaxed to know the real reasons behind the marriage deal as he had always felt that Yul was blinded by his motherly love, and would do anything for Thamina, disregarding himself. And at the same time it was not something Devin could comment about, and this tortured him a lot. Now that everything was cleared up, Devin felt his boss to be very clever to use the situation for his advantage.
"So what should we do next?" Devin asked now that he was fully convinced of Yul's reasons.
"Burn those papers. I don't want any evidence to be traced." Yul said pointing at the file in front of Devin.
"Will do that immediately… And what about Inu's real mother?"
"Look into it quietly. Just to know who it is, so that we can be prepared. But keep it a secret. It's obvious that she abandoned her child. So we don't want to have anything to do with her in the future."
"Sure boss… I will make the necessary arrangements." Devin took in the command and became ready to leave the office.
Devin asked before closing the office door with a tease, "Now you are going to officially court your wife, aren't you?"
"Get lost…" Yul replied with a laugh and returned to his seat. 'Yes. I am going to court my wife.' He said merrily and opened the pending works to be done.