Two days later

Akash was busy and had no time to relax in the last two days because Arnav bhai had been out of town for business ,something that happened without notice that he had left the reins in Akash hands without much plan .

" Call me if you need to know anything,  " his  cousin told him, but Akash was reluctant to do so ,this was the time to prove his mettle . He had already gotten all the time off he deserve the past weeks when he was heart broken and he refuse to let anymore work time get affected because of it.

" Sir , everyone is waiting for you in the hall,  " his secretary told him , and he wondered why the meeting had to be held in the very same room Khushiji broke into that intertwined their lives.

Unlike that time ,the room was empty and dark . The ramp wasn't filled with models and there was no sign of his investors that he was about to walk away when a lone figure walked in the ramp looking scared and then the light flooded the room as his eyes found her in the building looking straight at him .

For a brief minute ,he had assumed she was a illusion that his mind conjured until he saw the mic in her hand and a cup of take away coffee.  Even a dream couldn't be this real ,yet she didn't speak for a moment that he was anxious to see if he can touch her to find if it was real or not.

The moment he stepped on the opposite side of the ramp ,she began to speak holding the mic a little closer then normal and he knew for the rest of his life ,he will never forgot them .

" I Love You Akash ,and I am sorry for walking away from us without giving you a chance . I let my past dictate my present and I underestimated your love for me ,I didn't even give you time to decide but made the choice for both of us and i realized my folly so here I am asking you if you can find it in you to forgive me , " her words, filled his heart with warmth as the scars over their separation healed , he closed the distance  between them and spoke up because he couldn't stay away from her any longer

" I Promise you Payal that my Mother will accept you ,because she loves me and I love you.  I know my mother , please trust me,  " he answered back because it was the truth .

Deep down he knew his mother will accept but when payal walked away he didn't want to try because he assumed it had been over between them .

" I know your mother too Akash ,she is the reason I am standing before you,  " Payal answered back,  surprising him as she turned to see his mother and Khushiji smiling at each other as co conspirators.

And it was that moment Akash believed everything will be alright between them ,he is yet to ask the important question asking her to be his wife ,which he will do once he planned a romantic date because she deserved it for finding the courage to come back to him , as it would show his intentions always have been along the same lines.

But for now ,he was content to listen in as his mother and payal told him the barest details on how they managed to even use their employees to trick him to arrange the proposal.  And he was relieved his cousin was out of town because he couldn't imagine ASR being okay with the extent Khushiji changed their schedule for the proposal .

                **********************

         
Khushi was beaming with happiness to see her sister happy until she felt his presence beside her, it didn't make sense he wasn't coming home till tomorrow ,she knew it when she planned for the proposal

They may have became friends of sorts but she didn't dare to tell him about the proposal fearing he may turn into ASR if he found out ,that how his employees call him .

Yet he was standing right beside her with a hint of smile as he gazed at his cousin and her sister.

" You have underestimated me yet again ,Khushi . My Employee love romance but they love their job more and if you think you could have pulled it off with my permission that where you went wrong ," he spoke up,  without looking at her and she was stunned that the man had allowed it to happen .

From what she heard from his employees, a small error or mistake was never ignored and what she did today was by far a biggest one they dared to participate and yet he didn't seem angry.

" Sorry ,"  she tried speaking up,  because this was her plan and she won't have Akash or her sister take the responsibility.

" Do I look like, I am angry . As I said wouldn't have allowed it happen if I didn't want it to , Akash and Payal deserves this moment . So how about we go and catch a cup of coffee together,  " he spoke up,  surprising her by his offer but she followed him until they entered the office cafe where everyone eyes focussed on them.

"Did the business trip go well?  " she asked him,  as he brought two cup of piping to their table .

" Yes,  " he answered back,  and went silent as she wondered why he asked her for coffee when he was going to remain silent till the end .

Back then she didn't know how he drove straight to the office just to see her burst into the dazzling smile of her when everything went according to her plan .

He knew she must have loved planning it out without him finding out ,it was the reason he never let it be known that he was aware of the plan , he wanted her to have one more spy mission in his office .

And instead of going home after he got down from the plane, he drove to the office just to see her ,yet he hadn't been able to tell her the reason of his visit ,so asked her for a cup of coffee as the last resort to keep her in his company for a little longer.

By the time he drove back home ,his cousin Akash was tasked with dropping the Gupta sisters home which meant he was driving his mamiji home.

He knew they have to talk but he at least planned to wait till he freshened up from the travel ,so had been surprised when his mamiji spoke up first on the drive back home .

" You knew about the plans for the proposal didn't you ,Khushi promised me that you were unaware of it,  " his mamiji asked him first .

" Yes ,I knew it, " he answered back,  not sure where his aunt was going with the questions .

" Yet you let it happen, why?  " she asked him instead.

" Because it would make Akash happy,  " he answered back , truthfully Akash would have been happy just to have Payal back and his reason as more to do with making Khushi happy.

" You like Khushi dont you , You may have thought you fooled everyone but I raised you Arnav beta and I know how you kept your eyes on her when everyone wasn't looking,  " she spoke up , surprising him by how observant she had been than others .

Yes ,he liked her love for the family and he liked her smile and he liked how she challenged him often and helped without expecting anything in turn but marriage wasn't for him and like wasn't enough to marry either

But his mamiji didn't need to know the reason it won't work ,so he only gave her a nod of acceptance and hoped she let it slide this time and not ask him more questions.

And to further divert her from the said topic ,he even asked her a question that he planned to ask a little later.

" Were you hurt when I cut the monthly  allowance,  " he spoke up,  surprising her by his admission.

" Yes , not when I didn't know where I went wrong , not when I was the only one with those rules and I had hoped though I can't take your mother's place ,you would see me as one and I felt like an outsider when you did so,  " she spoke up, he hadn't expected her to answer him quiet frankly like that which made him even guilty so he told her the truth with an apology

" I was trying to protect you from getting hurt in my own stupid way , after you brought the diamond necklace which turned out to be  a fake ,I had Anjali di take it from your jewel box and replace it with the real one made in the same design which I bought to ensure you don't find out .

And I had hoped limiting you allowance will ensure such errors doesn't happen in the future and you won't get hurt when you find out about it , I was trying to protect you not make you feel like an outside , I am sorry,  " he spoke up,  and waited for her to reprimand him for deciding for her .

Instead she broke into tears which alarmed him until she assured him those tears were out of relief rather than hurt ,he didn't understand her logic because she felt it was better to know the harsh truth than be protected by it but if it made her feel better than that was all he wanted at the moment

" I ask Akash to get you a new credit card , I shouldn't have taken it from you in the first place,  " he spoke up once she stopped crying .

" No ,ask him to get one for Payal betiya that enough for me , I don't want the card anymore,  " She answered back  

But Arnav decided to get her the card as well because he never want her to feel like an outsider ever again and when he reached home  .

Somehow he wanted to share it with Khushi as well ,so he called her and was surprised she answer at the first ring and then he wondered if she would be angry at him for calling her as he had no legitimate reason this time around

But was again surprised when she seemed happy that there were able to sort of their differences and as he continued to talk with her for the next fifteen minutes he wondered if she liked him as well .

Yet shook his head to drop those thoughts as he remembered what she told him on their first date that she wasn't interested in dating him and he doesn't think she changed her mind after that so even if he liked her ,he knew it won't go anywhere.

Because he still doesn't like marriage when it comes to him and she doesn't like to date anyone ,they both had different plans for their future , so it was better for him to keep the distance from her for awhile.

P.S :" That it for now . Let me know your thoughts and Feedbacks. Hit the votes if you liked it "

Juanita Reid