Shriya had never imagined herself sitting in a counselor's waiting room, stiff-backed and annoyed, while MK filled out a sign-in sheet like they were applying for a loan.
"We don't need a third party," Shriya muttered under her breath. "We are fine."
MK shot her a look—gentle, but tired. "We're not fine. You're not talking to me, and I can't fix what I don't understand."
Shriya folded her arms. "We can talk at home."
"We tried," MK whispered. "And it wasn't… working. Just one session. If it's useless, I won't ask again."
MK wasn't someone who begged. Not like this.
So Shriya swallowed her pride and nodded.
A moment later, the door opened. A woman in her forties stepped in—hair pulled into a low ponytail, glasses perched neatly on her nose. Her presence was calm, practiced.
"Hello," she greeted. "I'm Helen. Please, make yourselves comfortable."
Helen took one look at them—MK sitting with poised confidence, legs crossed, hands relaxed; Shriya upright like a soldier waiting for orders—and her eyebrows twitched with silent understanding.
"So," Helen began, "what brings you two here today?"
MK answered before Shriya could. "We're fighting a lot lately. Over the smallest things."
Shriya scoffed. "Small? Your colleague was holding your waist—"
"We were taking a photo!" MK protested.
"Ladies," Helen lifted both hands, firm but warm. "Let's slow down. How about we start from the beginning? How you met, what happened, what brought you to this moment."
It was surprisingly Shriya who spoke first.
She told Helen everything—her voice steady, but her hands twisting lightly in her lap. She explained MK's ex-husband and the scandal, the way she'd dug through MK's records and found nothing suspicious. She admitted to creating the scandal herself, how she lost control and kissed MK, how everything spiraled after that.
MK listened in shock. Half of what Shriya mentioned—the calls she made, the people she begged, the strings she pulled to protect MK—were things MK never knew.
"You… did all that?" MK whispered, speechless.
Shriya nodded once. "I tried to fix it. I thought… I thought I could make up for hurting you."
She went on, voice quieter now, describing those days after MK left the country without a goodbye, the way she'd waited, checking the door for a message, a call, anything.
At one point, Helen blinked rapidly, almost emotional herself.
"And then?" Helen prompted gently.
"And then she came back with Ashley," Shriya said, voice tightening. "Beautiful, perfect Ashley."
MK opened her mouth, but Helen held up a finger.
"We'll get to you in a moment," she said before turning to Shriya. "May I ask… what did Ashley represent to you?"
"Everything I'm not." Shriya's jaw clenched. "She's beautiful, calm, elegant. She looked like someone MK could proudly introduce to the world."
MK flinched at that.
Helen leaned forward. "Shriya, are you jealous of Ashley?"
"No," Shriya answered too fast.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Helen's voice softened. "Do you feel inferior to her?"
Shriya froze.
"You think MK might leave you for someone prettier, more stable," Helen continued carefully. "You're afraid you might not be enough."
Shriya swallowed hard. Her eyes dropped to the floor.she nodded.
MK stared, stunned. "Shriya… why didn't you tell me that?"
Helen continued, gently but without sugarcoating:
"You're insecure around beautiful people who get close to MK. You feel threatened. And those thoughts—those voices you hear—tell you you're not worthy of her."
MK turned to Shriya, heart tightening. "Voices?"
Shriya bit her lip. Hard. "They can be loud."
"What do they say?" Helen asked softly.
"That she'll leave… that I'm nothing special… that Ashley was better… that MK just came back because her rebound failed…" Shriya whispered, finally breaking. "They warn me. They remind me I'm ,replaceable."
MK felt something inside her crack wide open.
Helen then turned to her. "MK, how does hearing that make you feel?"
"I didn't know," MK said quietly, eyes stinging. "I had no idea she was struggling like that."
"Shriya, you didn't let yourself grieve the two years.
You didn't heal.
You waited, froze, and carried guilt you never processed." Helen said observing Shriya.
Helen nodded. "MK, you returned and expected your relationship to continue where it left off. Correct?"
MK hesitated. "Yes."
"I came back, I broke up, I apologized—why isn't it enough?" MK thought.
"You can't," Helen said gently. "Two years is a long time. You both have wounds that were never treated."
She let that sit, then continued.
"You cannot jump back to how things were.
You must build something new—
not pick up the old version."
"MK, love isn't only a feeling.
Trust is built on consistency.
You are back—but Shriya's heart doesn't trust the ground yet."