Chapter 12

She was avoiding him. In fact, she was treating him in a way that was a dream come true for any leader of a company. And that was getting on Arnav's nerves.

It had been almost ten days since the evening he made the mistake of letting his emotions get better of him. And given how she was, he was very sure that she would make her unease or better yet irritation about the whole thing known to him. He was prepared with the whole speech. An apology in fact. However, that Khushi-bashing he was expecting and hoping for, never came.

Khushi brought the changes so subtly, that it took him few days to realise what she was actually doing. The blinds in her office, that he very childishly ordered to be removed when she first arrived, were back, obscuring any and every view of her from him. She also started joining most of the common meetings they had virtually. And the ones that needed her physical presence, she made sure to never sit next to him. She asked him questions, she answered all his questions, but her eyes never rested on him for more than a few seconds. In fact, he was trying to remember the last time she was alone with him in the same room.

For everyone around them, her behaviour would have seemed completely normal, but he knew her enough by now to realise that she was actually boxing him up inside professional barriers, dissecting any personal threads that may have loosely existed between them.

It was Sunday evening and Arnav was sitting in his home office, desperately trying to get some work done. However, as the tiny pop up appeared on the bottom right-hand side of his screen, announcing the 2 hours slot added to his calendar for a meeting between him, Khushi and NK for next day evening, he couldn't stop the tired groan that escaped his lips. He knew he had no right to be irritated about how she had retraced her steps as if nothing happened between them. He knew he shouldn't have hugged her. He really wanted to apologies to her about it. But, behaving as if that evening didn't even happen was something he was not ready to accept. The thought of having just a professional relationship with her and nothing more made him feel nauseous.

"You are looking at that screen as if you want to punch it. Want to share what has got you all twisted up?"

Arnav scrunched his eyes tight. How did he forget he was not alone. Anjali was sitting at other end of his office, researching some of the concepts she was thinking of using in the latest series of books that she was working on.

"Its nothing Di. Just...umm.. work stuff"

"Wow. And I thought you will be vague about it"

Arnav chuckled softly as Anjali pulled away from her desk and walked up to the small Nespresso machine in the room to make a cup for him, and then heated some water to make herself another cup of herbal tea.

"Here"

"Thanks Di". He took a big gulp of the caffeine he didn't even realise he needed, and sighed.

"Now! What's going on"

Arnav chuckled again. Did he really think his sister will let it go. "I....", he frowned. He didn't want to outright lie to her. But, he didn't have enough surety of his own jumbled thoughts to share anything intelligible with her. "I am not sure"

Her eyebrows raised and he held up his hands, "I am not deflecting Di. Trust me. I wish I knew. But somehow my thoughts have got me all confused"

"About what? Or, should I say whom?"

This time Arnav raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Come on, I am not blind. I can see when you are not yourself"

"Fine". Arnav blew out a long-winded breath. Might as well share his dilemma with some one as he was not getting anywhere on his own.

"How do you walk the thin line between doing what is right and doing what you really want to do"

Her cup stopped halfway as Anjali blinked - once, twice, thrice. "You are still being vague"

"I know. But this is the extent to which I am ready to talk about this"

"Alright then". She moved to sit on the bench next to one of the windows in the room. "Umm, just go slow. Test out the reaction to your actions. If it is positive, then you toe the line slightly more. If not, you rein yourself in. You keep doing that until the line is no longer there. Just the balance of what makes sense for you"

Arnav laughed. "And you thought I was vague"

Chuckling in response, Anjali turned to face him. "It all comes down to trust Arnav. And that takes time. You need to be patient"

"I am Di. I just, I worry that...", He closed his eyes. Not ready to say what he was feeling to anyone, not even to his sister, not yet at least. Especially, when it made no sense to him at all. He was worried that Khushi would keep retreating, and once her mandatory period here at HQ was over in six months, she would move back to states. He had no idea why that thought was so unsettling to him.

"What?"

He opened his eyes and gave a quick smile. "Nothing Di. Forget about it"

Anjali sighed. She knew when she could push him to tell her what he was feeling, and when she couldn't. And, she knew this moment was the latter. So, she just nodded her head.

"I will check out if dinner is ready. Come down in half hour?"

"Sure Di"

She walked away, but before she could leave him be, she paused, unable to stop herself from trying to put his mind at ease. She had an inkling to what or better yet who was bothering him so much.

"You remember all those years back you approached that man from one of the old fashion houses in Mumbai - umm, something Das?"

Arnav frowned, unsure where Anjali was going with this. "Kishore....Kishore Das. He was the COO of Blue Chic Enterprise. And, he almost threw me out of his office"

"Yes. Because he thought an eighteen year old who was still in college had no standing. If I remember correctly, he didn't even bother looking at your designs"

Arnav nodded. That day still fresh in his mind like it happened yesterday.

"Did you ever think what would have happened if he would have looked at your designs and accepted your ideas?"

He laughed. "Many times. I am sure I would have joined that place as an intern. I might have been promoted few levels up in all these years, but I would have been looking for a job right now, as Blue Chic declared bankruptcy last year"

Anjali smiled, "That rejection lit a fire in you that I never saw before. You were always hardworking and brilliant, but that meeting drove you to prove yourself so much that a year after that you had opened AR in that tiny garage in our old home"

"How can I ever forget. And funnily enough, Mr Das sent his resume to AR last year. I did want to give him the fair consideration though, so I asked Lavanya to conduct his interview. But, looks like he couldn't get past our first round. Why are we talking about that but?"

"Because, you didn't worry about the line then. You knew exactly what was needed to be done to get what you wanted"

"I think this situation is slightly different than that Di"

"Maybe. But you are still the same Arnav. That line you are trying to walk, don't. As Shayam always says, go with your gut, like you do for every other thing in life. Just be yourself and give it time. Give her time"

Arnav looked up, and Anjali smiled warmly. Smile that said loud and clear that she knew exactly whom was she talking about.

He cursed softly and she laughed in response as she walked out of his room.

This was not the first time one of his family member had asked him to go with his gut. But, was it even possible for him to follow his gut when it came to Khushi? Because his gut was screaming at him to not let her go, which didn’t make much sense as there was still so much they didn't knew about each other. May be that hug and the weird electricity that always seemed to exist between them was all a fluke. But, if it wasn't, there was no way she could hug him the way she did and behave as if it was nothing. He knew why she was doing this though. He knew she was just protecting herself.

May be that meant that she too was affected by him the way she affected him? Because otherwise why will she bother creating this distance between them. Or, may be she really wanted nothing to do with him, and those tall walls around her were just her way of telling him to get lost.

He pressed his fingers to his forehead and groaned once again. When did things get this complicated, he had no idea.

---

"Sorry, sorry, I am late. Damn! your interns sure can talk", NK bristled into Arnav's office

Arnav looked up from his screen, as he saw NK dump his laptop and few documents on the big oval table that occupied one half of his office and sniggered. "Right. And you did nothing to tempt any attention from them"

"Not at all. I was just walking by and they started showing me what they were up to"

"Of course. Just remember that when I get a call from HR escalating about one these conversations you are having with my over eager interns - I do not know you"

NK placed his palm on his heart, eyes wide with mock hurt. "That hurts Bhai"

Arnav shook his head and laughed loudly. He had been noticing NK since the day he unofficially joined AR. The way he eased into their office culture gave Arnav hope that everything in his family will be ok after all. Everyone already had been informed that NK was back and was living in Arnav's penthouse. And even though he still needed some time to shore up the courage to move back home, Arnav was happy that at least NK was back in the same city as all of them. And for now, it was enough.

Another knock followed and Khushi entered his office turning his smile in to a sigh. He knew she was waiting for NK to come to his cabin first. He saw her in the corridor minutes before and hoped she will give up and just come in. But, keeping in with the trend she had been following, he knew there was a slim chance that she will allow herself to be alone with him.

"Arnav. NK" she nodded her head toward both of them and moved to take a seat opposite to NK, very sure that Arnav will take the empty chair next to his brother.

"Khushi" came a soft reply, and Arnav walked over to the chair next to Khushi, knowing very well what she had done and what she wanted. Any other time, he might have respected her unsaid wish and sat away from her, but her inability to spend even few minutes next to him irritated him, and so he toed the line to do what he really wanted to do.

He pulled back the chair next to her, placed his coffee mug on the table and sat down on the chair heavily. He then turned to look at her, almost as if daring her to react. And she did not disappoint as her spine went stiff. Her fingers that were moving on her keyboard paused, just for a second, but that slight pause was enough for him to know how aware she was of him, just like he was of her.

"Hey Khush. All good"

She gave out a shuddering breath. NK's voice pulling her out of the mental breakdown she was having. Finally snapping back to the land of living, she registered what NK had called her and looked up with a frown.

"Nikunj Sigh Raizada. Can you refrain from shortening my name please, like you did with yours"

NK winced and looked around as if she just announced this to the entire office.

"Khushi, please can you not call me by that name. It makes me sound like a 100 year old"

This made her roll her eyes and Arnav gave out a loud laugh, grateful for the break in the tension that was taking hold around him.

"Did you find anything on Acme?"

Excitement glinted in NK's eyes, and he nodded while connecting his laptop to the projector in the room.

Arnav and Khushi both twisted their chairs, as several documents lined up on the big screen in front of them.

"I dug a little using the information you guys gave me on Acme and Suraj, and boy I hit a jackpot. I am creating proper documentation of my findings, and will send it to you all, but long story short your instincts about them was right. Now, one of my old colleague is still digging, but one thing that jumped up to me so far is this...", he hit enter on his keyboard and switched his screen to show another series of official looking documents with different organisation names on their header.

"Have you heard of these companies before?"

Arnav and Khushi, both squinted their eyes on the screen, as if the act itself will suddenly jog their memory.

"This one", Khushi jumped up, "Soch Inc. I have heard of this one. Think they produced raw materials to most of the leather manufacturers in India. But, they had this huge accident few years back. It was a big news. Some kind of electrical failure caused a big fire in their factory and distribution centres. And they managed to get one of biggest insurance claim for that. Not sure about the other two"

"Absolutely correct. The next company was a fabric manufacturer, who underwent a huge loss as one of their ship went down in the Indian Ocean, carrying a big percentage of their consignment. They too made millions in a giant insurance claim. And this last one", NK got up this time, too excited to keep sitting, "They ran one of the largest hedge funds in Singapore, and after mere 10 years, declared bankruptcy. An investigation followed, but they found no wrongdoing. Those hedge funds by the way were worth more than $750 millions"

To say that both Arnav and Khushi were confused would have been an understatement. Although the reports looked riveting, they were not sure what that had to do with Acme or Suraj.

"By the looks on both your faces, I can safely say that you think I have lost my mind"

"That thought did cross my mind, yes" Arnav frowned and NK excitedly flipped his screen again.

"All these companies had one thing in common. Their owner was - drumroll please - Suraj Khanna"

"WHAT!!"

They both bellowed together, their backs almost coming off of their chairs.

Khushi snatched the document that NK laid in front of them few minutes back, and stared at the information in them.

"NK these companies are registered under different people. Soch was under some Rajan Mistry, that fabric manufacturer was run by some one called Cyrus Johnson, and the Hedge fund was partnered by Brajesh Shah, and some Mr. Sood"

"Yep! And they all are aliases, of Suraj Khanna"

Arnav eyes widened. "Are you implying that all those accidents and insurance claims of these companies are frauds then?"

"Yep again. I tracked at least half of all those insurance claims, and the profits from the hedge fund to five different accounts, all in Caymans, all registered under Suraj's name"

"How do you know, Caymans doesn't give out the information about their client"

"Umm, yes. But, one of the director of the bank which houses these accounts owed me one. There was a story I was working on few years back, and lets just say, he still drives his Ferrari because I choose to let him"

Arnav raised his eyebrows at this, and NK raised his palms, "All legal, I promise. But there are many ways to exploit the loopholes in the system"

"I bet" Arnav shook his head.

"Anyways. The problem is that he will not give any official statement about this. So if you are looking to use this information legally, we will have to figure out a way to obtain this some other way. What do you want me to do Bhai? I can continue digging more, see what else these assholes are hiding. But, as I understand, you have an option to terminate your contract with them and we don't have to deal with them at all? Let me know. Although personally, I would love to know more about these freaks"

"Then I want you to continue digging. Something doesn't add up. If these people are looking to make some quick bucks and hurt AR in process, I would like to know about it, and redirect them to prison instead"

"Excellent. I knew you were going to say this. So, I took some steps already. My friend who is helping me with this, one of his associate is interviewing for the position of Suraj's assistant as we speak. I thought it will be helpful to have an inside man"

"What happen to his old assistant?", Khushi frowned

"Well Khush, lets just say the old one took an early retirement", and before Khushi could say anything to him for murdering her name again, he quickly continued.

"I also wanted to get hourly report of Suraj's whereabouts. So, I am hiring a private investigator to help me on this. I know this guy, I have worked with him before. And the first thing he will suggest will be to bug Suraj’s car"

"That I know is illegal"

"Pretend you didn't hear it"

Arnav chuckled again. Why was any of these suggestion from NK was shocking to him was beyond him. This is what he did. And this is what he was good at. "Fine. Anything else?"

"I thought this bug should make it easy for me to construct his daily pattern using the traffic and other public cams. But, his house and office are in outskirts of the city. And for few miles around his house, there are no public cameras. So, I am also replacing one of his security guards. He should be able to help me fill this hole in his daily schedule"

"This all sounds really risky NK. If your initial reports are right, then we are dealing with criminals. Won't Suraj be able to detect the bug and all these changes around him?", Khushi sighed

"I would like to believe that the chances of that happening is very low as I am usually good at what I do" NK finally sat down, his face growing serious, "If we don't do this, I can't think of any other way to investigate them. You guys went via the legal channels, and you found nothing on them. They are really good at covering their tracks. It took my friend seventy-two hours to start seeing this information. And that is only because he is really really good with computers. We can bring police into this later but right now, I can't think of any other way"

Khushi nodded her head in understanding. She knew NK was right, but part of her couldn't help feel anxious. What if this all went horribly wrong?

"This is really great NK. Lets do regular catch ups on how things progresses with this. Can you drop a message to Aman? He should be able to set things up"

"Sure Bhai. I will see you both later", NK smiled as he walked out of Arnav's office.

Arnav then swivelled his chair, coming face to face with Khushi, who still looked deep in thoughts - her eyes glued to the documents NK left behind.

"You ok?"

"Hmm", Khushi looked up, almost as if coming out the trance she was in, "Yes. I am just worried. NK's plan sounds good. But, are we taking a huge risk? What if they find out? We can get into real trouble. May be we should withdraw our contracts and be done with this"

"And tell the board what? Nothing has changed. We still have nothing legal to show anyone. We cannot use any of the materials NK showed us. I agree this is complicated. But, I cannot help but wonder that there is something more to this. They have been doing this for far longer that what NK was able to find. And, I cannot tolerate people who try to cheat their way to success or who try to play with others trust. I know this is risky, but if in the guise of letting them manufacture a small part of our accessories we can stop them from doing this to anyone again, I am willing take a bit of risk"

Khushi nodded as her breath hitched, his words washing over her. Why did he always had to say all the right things. Suddenly the awareness that they were alone after so many days again made its way into her mind.

She had to get away. Now.

She closed her laptop shut, and stood up. "Right. Umm, I will see you tomorrow then"

His eyes followed her hasty steps as she collected her things to move toward his door. He wanted to scream. He wanted to reach out and repeat the madness of taking her into his arms again. He wanted to do something, anything to stop her from continuing to dig this deep hole between them.

"Can you drop me home today?". He frowned as the words came tumbling out his mouth. You seriously couldn't come up with something better. Idiot!

Khushi's steps slowed. "Umm, what?"

"My car broke down this afternoon. I called the company but they couldn't get anyone here today. I was going to call the taxi, but looks like it is going to take them more than an hour to get here. So, will you be ok to drop me. I am on your way to Buaji's house", he then paused, not able to believe the stupid lie his brain had decided to come up with, "If you are ok to, of course. If there is a problem, I can wait for the taxi"

She narrowed her eyes at him, not able to believe that the billionaire standing in front of her had just one car at his behest. She wanted to say no, she should have said said no, but, just like always, his closeness managed to turn her brain into a mush, and she heard herself saying, "Ok. sure, no problem"

---

There it was again - that zipping current - the moment Khushi's finger touched Arnav's as they both reached out at the same time for the music player. She groaned softly as every single fibre of her body became aware of how close he was sitting. When did her car become so small.

She then caught a faint whiff of his cologne - crisp and masculine, with spicy undertones. Dammit, focus Khushi!

Her eyes glued to the road ahead, her fingers curling around the steering wheel in a deathly grip as for some insane reason she felt his eyes on her. She slowed down her speed as few cars backed up in front of her on the road, and before she could stop herself she turned to look at him, immediately realising what a huge mistake that was. It was almost as if he was looking for a weakness, almost as if he wanted to prove some kind of point.

Her breath hitched again, a nanosecond too long and a huge smile took hold of his face. Khushi fought to get her breathing back under control with a grimace. It had only been a slight slip but he'd seen it. Had he been watching for it? And that was exactly why he was so dangerous. The only person in her life who made feel scared and safe at the same time.

"Umm, you missed the turn Khushi"

And she cursed some more, as she took a steep turn around the closest junction, and got back to the street she forgot to even see before.

"Must be something fascinating that you were thinking about"

"Excuse me?"

"You missed the street that you take every day. I am saying, it must be a fascinating thought that made you miss it"

Khushi cleared her throat. "I was just thinking about the meeting I have with Lavanya and others tomorrow morning"

"Really. That it, huh. Hmm, I had a completely different picture in my head"

She opened her mouth to reply. Say something to wipe that smirk, she knew was adorning his face, but she gave out an irritated growl to not able to think of anything, and kept her mouth shut. Praying to get to his house soon, and vowing to never make the mistake of letting him anywhere near her again.

---

"Coming in?"

"No Arnav. Some other time. Its getting late"

"Of course. Its just that Payal had been talking about you a lot since last few days. She misses you"

Khushi frowned at this. "But, she was at Buaji's house entire last week"

He kicked himself mentally. In his desperation to not let her go yet, he forgot such a simple fact.

"Ah yes. But, she keeps saying that you were apart for so long that no amount of time together feels enough. I thought it will be a nice surprise for her if you dropped in. But, its ok. I am sure you will see her another time. Night Khushi. See you tomorrow"

He closed her car door behind him, his heart twisting and turning and wishing for a miracle.

He barely took few steps and as if the universe answered his wish, he heard the familiar click of the door closing and locking behind him. "May be few minutes won't hurt"

A small grin peeked out before he hid it, and turned toward her with a nod.

He then quietly took out his phone, and quickly typed out a message as he followed Khushi inside his house.

---

Payal sat down in her room, tired from a busy and emotional day at work. She had to perform an emergency C-section in afternoon when her patient went into cardiac arrest while giving birth. It was touch and go for a moment, but she and the little girl who came into the world moments later were real fighters.

Her eyes were still closed, when her phone pinged loudly at her side.

Arnav:

Say yes to what you hear & go with the flow!

She narrowed her eyes, trying to decipher what it meant. Unable to get her brain to cooperate, she tapped the icon on top to call Arnav instead. However, the sudden voices from downstairs had her disconnecting the call.

"This is such a great surprise. You should do this more often". Came the surprised and excited voice of Anjali, as Payal made her way down the steps and gasped. "Ku"

"Jiji"

Payal hugged her sister lovingly. This is what she needed to divert her mind from the stressful day she had.

"How come you are here? Not that I am complaining"

"Oh Jiji. You should have just messaged me. Why don't you come and stay at Buaji's for more days?", her words muffled against her shoulders as Payal frowned. What was she taking about?

That's when she looked up at Arnav who stood right behind Khushi, and was nodding his head at Payal's direction. And then it dawned on her. The connection between his message and what Khushi just said. And Payal smirked.

---

"I am not sure Jiji. Buaji will be worried"

"Come on Ku. It is late for you drive. And I spoke to Buaji already, she is happy for you to stay the night"

"But, I don't want to cause any trouble"

"What trouble can you cause. And haven't you seen how ecstatic everyone is that you are here. Come on, just stay. I have put some clothes for you in the guest room. Why don't you freshen up and we can do something together. Please!"

Khushi sighed. How could she ever say no to her sister. "Fine. I will be back in a bit"

Payal's eyes followed Khushi as she disappeared up the stairs, and then landed on Arnav, who was busy typing something on his phone.

"Thanks Bhai"

Frowning, he looked up from his screen and raised his brows, "For what?"

"For making Khushi come tonight"

"Oh, I had nothing to do with it. She was dropping me off, and decided to see you, all on her own"

"Right. So, that message you sent me earlier, and what Khushi spoke when she came in, was what, coincidence?"

"That message was just tip of the day. Words of wisdom you see. And Khushi just happen to come home the same day I decided to send you that message. So yes all a coincidence. That is my story and I am sticking to it"

Payal gave a loud laugh, as she bent down to give a quick hug to Arnav.

Arnav returned her smile, his eyes twinkling with that carefree happiness she thought was missing from last few days. "I need to make a call. Just give a howler when dinner is ready"

"Sure. And Bhai, really, thanks. It is not easy for Khushi to do something spontaneous. Planning her entire day and sticking to it is how she has been getting through these years. I have never seen her do something that did not come from her mind. So, thank you for making her do this"

Arnav gave a small nod, feeling at ease after many days. She was back here, under his roof. It wasn't a huge thing, but he felt it was at least a start. Her only memory of this house was a bad one, and he very well intended to make it into a good one before she stepped out his home tomorrow"

---

"UNO!", Khushi exclaimed, a loud laugh erupting out of Akaash who sat next to her.

"God! I hate these cards games, I hate them all" replied a very irritated looking Anjali, who looked bewildered at the thickness of the stack of card that she had in her pile.

"Seriously Di, you can play cards with fifty people, and somehow you will still manage to loose", sniggered Arnav, earning a scowl from her, and laughs from everyone who sat around the table.

Shayam dropped a quick kiss on her forehead, and collected the cards to shuffle them again. She was still busy sulking over the invention of cards, when an idea entered her mind.

"Khushi, what you doing on the weekend two weeks from today?"

"Nothing much that I can think of. Why?"

"We are taking a small vacation that weekend. It is just for three days as none of us could take more time-off. But, why don't you join us? It won't be anything crazy as I am just completing my first trimester, but I can guarantee fun. What do you say?"

Khushi's eyes widened, not expecting this at all. "Umm, I am not sure Anjali. I am still catching up with things at work. I usually use my weekends to concentrate on those additional bits. Where are you going?"

"Not sure. We let the planner of each of these vacations keep the location secret until we are there - just to keep things interesting. Arnav is planning this one, so only he knows where we are going"

"Oh wow, ok", she then chanced a look at Arnav, who was staring at her with unreadable expression on his face.

"Are you sure you can't come?". This time it was Payal who spoke

"You won't regret it", Shayam's smiling voice came next, followed by a firm "Absolutely" from Akaash.

She looked around, everyone looking at her with a small smile and expectant eyes.

"It sounds really great. But, may be some other time. It would anyways be a hassle to try and look for additional tickets now, isn't it"

"We will be using our jet Khushi"

Khushi exhaled as Arnav finally spoke. She nodded her head, but didn't dare to look at him again. No way in hell she had the courage to be around him for that many hours constantly.

"Yes, of course. I keep forgetting I am sitting in the house of a gazillionare", she finished with a soft whisper, making everyone chuckle in response.

She smiled too, and looked over at Anjali again. "I am really sorry Anjali. May be next time"

Although said softly, the finality in Khushi's voice made everyone nod in defeat.

Anjali knew that it was a long shot anyways. She just hoped that Khushi would give a chance to happiness and fun in her life.

---

Almost an hour later, Devyani yawned again and finally stood up.

"I think I should stop fighting my sleep now. You kids continue, I will talk to you in the morning", she then bent toward Khushi and cupping her face gently continued, "Khushi, you bring so much joy whenever you are here. You should stay here more often". She then lovingly dropped a kiss on her forehead making Khushi's throat tighten. She nodded her head in response, unable to put what she was thinking into words, as all the elders retired to their rooms.

Few more minutes passed as the rest of them continued lounging around the round fire place, playing games, and talking - none of them ready to end the day yet.

Arnav, who had the Play Station controller in hand, waited for the next game to que up on the screen, when a loud laugh travelled his ears, and he froze. Shayam just said something, which had Khushi laughing so hard that she was tears.

And he felt his entire world stop dead on its axis as he looked at her. Her beautiful fingers swept up her cheek, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. This made the tiny mole on her cheek bone stand proudly against her now blushing skin. She then bent toward Payal to say something, and his eyes dipped to her delicate neck. The desire to run his fingers across that skin fractured his ability to breath.

He felt his heart constrict with the familiar pain and unknowingly his hands rose to rub his chest, hoping to ease it, hoping to dissipate these waves of desire he was unable to get a handle on.

She was beautiful, she was perfection, in fact she was beyond anything he had ever known. He felt himself drowning, he felt himself floating, he felt himself losing his heart.

She sensed she was being watched. Frowning, her eyes slid toward Arnav, catching his effortlessly and she gave out a soft gasp.

Everyone and all the noises around them fell away.

He was looking at her with so much intensity that Khushi couldn't stop the deep shiver that travelled up her spine. Those beautiful brown eyes of his were darker than usual and she felt her heart rate kick up. She instructed her brain to avert her eyes, she commanded herself to break this connection, she begged her heart to slow down, but none of them obliged. And second time that day Khushi felt the power of this man, a man who was no less than a force of nature, a man who had the ability to detonate her life with just a look.

"Alright then. I think I am officially wiped. See you all tomorrow. Sleep well"

Shayam's voice finally managed to snap them both back to reality, making them release their breath they didn't know they were holding.

---

Khushi closed her novel with a thud, and groaned. It had been almost an hour since everyone went to their respective rooms and were most probably fast asleep by now. But sleep still eluded her. She picked up one of the most boring book she knew of from the house library, hoping for it to help. But, seventy pages later, sleep was still nowhere in Khushi's horizon.

Finally giving up, she threw aside her blanket, and quietly, hoping to not make much sound - she made her way toward the balcony that was part of the guest room she was in. She wondered how many rooms this mansion had as the room she stayed in last time was different and had no balcony. Did her Jiji picked this room for her knowing how much she liked being near an open space?

Gingerly, she slid the glass door aside to step out on the cobbled floor and gasped. She was on level 2 of the house, and as the walls surrounding the balcony was made up of glass too - it gave her a beautiful panoramic view of the city around her. Mesmerised, she kept walking until she reached the edge, and peered down. Another loud gasp escaped her as her eyes fell on the most beautiful swimming pool she had ever seen in her life.

To her right, she located a small staircase that spiralled down the level toward the beauty in front of her. Unable to stop herself she tightened the woollen wrap around herself and made her way down. The staircase too was made up of glass and showed water gushing behind it, making its way into the pool as far as she could tell. What was it with glass and the owner of this house - she mused.

Few steps later she was finally standing on the huge, no-end-in-sight, patio. "Wow". A whisper escaped her lips.

Nestled between rows of huge trees, belts of flowers and bushes, laid a magnificent misshapen swimming pool. It seemed like the tropical patio and garden were created first, and then the space around it was just filled with blue water, making it look like a river twisting its way around the nature. One of its side was flanked by a stoned wall - stream of water flowing out of the several openings on top of this wall, burbling like a waterfall into the pool.

The whole place was lit up with randomly placed lights, along with tiny white lights that dotted the bottom of the river-like swimming pool.

Pristine white sofas occupied the available spaces - unmistakably designed to allow people to relax amidst the beauty of the plants around. There were also few deck chairs that sat closer to the pool, with towels and patio umbrellas next to them.

Cool air swished past her, as she smiled looking at the moon light dancing on the blue water in front of her.

She then twirled around to locate the room she was occupying for the night that had led her to this fortuitous discovery. But instead her eyes fell on the room that was right beneath hers. She couldn't tell what that room was as its walls - 'glass again' she thought - was completely shut with some sort of drapes from inside. It almost looked as if this piece of heaven around her was designed to wrap itself around that one particular room.

She started wondering what room could that be to have such an exclusive view at all time, but exclaimed instead as another unexpected addition to this paradise caught her attention. Few steps away from the mystery room stood a big, black and silver coloured telescope, its eye piece pointing intently toward the sky.

Her hands came up to her chest, as she ambled her way to it.

Carefully she removed the cover from its eye piece, and moved it around trying to get it to focus. She was aware of her limited knowledge about the telescopes, but its presence in a place like this beckoned her to at least try looking through it once.

She tried to loosen the screws atop the fork mount, but suddenly it wobbled. But before she could even think of stabilizing it, pair of strong arms came around her from behind. One caught hold of the mount and the other held the telescope in place, and she froze.

How did she forget where she was. How did he find her? Did she wake him up?

Apology died on her lips, as she felt his chest touch her back. She heard a sharp intake of breath- was it hers or his? And then he softly whispered in her ear, "I have adjusted the aperture now. Look"

Taking another shaky breath, she bent down towards the eyes piece again, and got lost in the beauty of what she saw through it. Arnav would have adjusted the telescope angle while she was daydreaming, as now she could clearly see the moon through it. Completely different than what was right above her in sky - grey surface with dark patches everywhere and it looked more than perfect.

She didn't know for how long she stood there looking through the lens. Finally, taking her fill, she straightened with a big smile but immediately jolted again. Arnav still had his arms around her, holding the telescope loosely and looking at her with the same intensity she saw in his eyes few hours back.

Clearing her throat loudly she retracted herself from his arms and that brought Arnav out of his stupor.

"I am sorry Arnav, did I wake you?"

He smiled in response. "Not really. I was awake already. I saw you through my door when you walked in"

Her eyes went wide as she turned where he just pointed his fingers. How did she not guess that the room she was envying few minutes back housed none other than him. The blinds covered glass walls were wide open now - foot of his bed and part of his room visible from where she stood.

"Of course, this is part of your room"

"You can say that, yes. But I let others use this as well". He chuckled lightly

"I am sorry, I didn't notice. I saw this beauty in front of me, and I couldn't resist. And I just... I, umm, I should go. Night Arnav"

His smiled dropped. The insane need to not let her go took over again. "Coffee?", and she paused.

"Umm, I brewed a pot few minutes back. And I am slowly realising that like me, you too have a very weird relationship with caffeine"

She raised her brows in question.

"It either stimulates or sedates - all on our command"

She laugh softly. She should have said no. She was so close to escape. But, for the life of her she couldn't. And, did the only thing her body allowed her to - nodded her head.

---

They sat on one of the sofa outside, over looking the water swishing in front of them. Calm silence around them.

"This place is beautiful Arnav. Especially some of these plants. How do you maintain them?"

He smiled. "Thanks Khushi. But it wouldn’t be fair of me to take the entire credit. I have two gardeners who look after this place"

She gave a smile in response and he continued. "I love this place though. Helps me think"

"I can imagine that. And that telescope. I have to admit I don't know many people who has one of these"

"I have few. I am a collector"

"Of course you are"

Arnav gave out a chuckle and turned toward her slightly, "Back when I was young, you know ten or so years old, I wanted to work for NASA. Apparently, I use to sleep with whatever version of telescope we had then. Or, so I have been told"

"Wow, how did that change to owning a fashion house?"

Sad smile entered his eyes and he exhaled. "After Ma and Dad passed away, I think I lost my way for a bit. Lost hold of the things that gave me happiness. Anyway, by the time Di managed to knock some sense into me, telescope and galaxy became a thing of fantasy. This was one of those thing I use to do with them you know. So, it took me years before I could get near it again"

Khushi felt her heart twist with pain seeing the sadness that coloured his otherwise confident face. Not knowing what to say, she nodded her head, encouraging him to go on.

"Plants too. Another one of those things that Di and I shared with Ma and Dad. Ma especially use to spend hours on weekends, with her knees deep in mud. Trying to plant something new. I remember Dad use to make fun of her - asking her if she was trying to invent a new breed of plant"

"She sounds phenomenal. They both do"

Arnav closed his eyes with a curse. Why was he telling her about his parents. He opened his eyes ready to apologise to her, but he saw her smiling. That rare, lit-up-her-eyes smile, and he felt his heart thud. How was she able to feel his happiness and sadness, when she never experienced any of this in her life.

"You are actually phenomenal". He couldn't stop himself from saying as his eyes dipped to her lips, just for a second before he could catch himself. He then willed them to go back to her eyes again.

Her smile dropped and her breath stalled, every nerves going on tenterhooks. Air around them suddenly charging with the familiar intensity.

Dazed, he reached out to take her hands in his. She tracked his touch, and returned her focus to his eyes. Emotions and something unknown swirled behind his brown pools as her chest tightened painfully. Her entire body suddenly very aware of his proximity.

His fingers intertwined with hers tight, and he moved toward her slightly, and slowly, very softly, unable to keep the desperation out of his voice, he whispered to her "Come with me on the vacation Khushi. Please"

---

Note for Readers

Hello everyone! How are you doing?🙂

I know this was long one! Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as i enjoyed writing this particular one.

Don't forget to leave your comments below to tell me what you thought.

To everyone who commented on previous chapters - as always, thank you so much my lovelies! 💖

And to silent readers - hope to hear from you all too some day soon! May be today? 🤗