"What are you thinking, beta!" Vidhushi's mother asked her daughter as they silently ate the idlis given by Advith for supper.
{Beta means Child}

Vidhushi looked at her mother. How could she tell her that she was thinking of another man?

"Nothing. Just...work." She lied.

"My daughter has started lying to me, huh!" Her mother playfully asked.

"No, mumma! It's just...someone said something to me and....it hurt me." Vidhushi confessed recalling when Advith promised that he would forget her. But, isn't that what she wanted. Then why was she feeling sad?

"I thought my child never bothered over what others think or say about her! Isn't that your mantra for life?"

"I know. But this person....he wasn't being selfish. He said for my own good."

"That's....new!"

Before her mother could ask her any more questions, she quickly changed the topic.

"Do you like the idlis?" She asked while savouring the taste of the delicious sambhar. Advith was right when he said that she hadn't tasted the original flavour as of now.

"Yes. Your friend is a really good cook! I will send some laddus (sweets) for your friend. Okay?"

"Sure. That would be nice." She answered remembering that we must never give an empty utensil to anyone.

While washing the dishes, she thoroughly cleaned Advith's tiffin. And like a radio channel, her mind replayed their dialogue. In the end, she got so frustrated that she slammed the tap by a plate by mistake.

'What's the matter with me!' She asked herself, confused by her own emotions.

She shook her head vigorously and imagined herself turning on the intelligent mode. She had to calm herself down. No thinking means no problem. She told herself.

At night, Vidhushi picked up Kunal's incoming call in the very second ring. He was back in Goa yesterday itself.

"Hi, wifey!" Kunal said seductively as he sang laying on his bed, missing her presence deeply.

"Hi, Kunal. And we are not married yet." She spoke tiredly.

Kunal ignored her comment as he asked her about her wellbeing.

"How are you?"

"Good." She answered not caring to ask for his. He would be good anyway.

"How's your work going?" He asked sensing that she wasn't in a good mood.

"Good." She answered not wanting to talk to him....or anyone.

"What happened, Vidhu?" He asked, not able to hold his curiosity anymore. She was his love and he couldn't see her upset.

"Nothing happened, Kunal. I am just tired. Can we talk tomorrow?" She asked politely.

Kunal sighed. He understood that she won't tell him anything. And that hurt him. He wanted her to be as comfortable with him as he was with her. But, she always stepped back whenever he took a step towards her.

"Okay. Good night." He sighed wondering when she would 'love-talk' with him.

Vidhushi lazily threw her phone on the bed and laid on the bed.

Don't think of Advith. Don't, don't, don't.

She kept on telling herself and lulled herself to sleep. Only, she slept after a very long time.
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Vidhushi yawned in front of the laboratory computer as she searched for her results when a knock resounded in the room. She turned around excitedly thinking it was Advith. She had brought his tiffin box as well as the laddus that her mother had kept for him.

But her excitement burst when she saw that it was her colleague.

"Hi, Vidhushi! Dr Nambudiri is calling you." Her colleague informed.

"Okay! Thank you!" She smiled and switched off her computer before going out to see her guide.

After three knocks, she entered inside and met with two youngsters who were standing in front of Dr Nambudiri.

She acknowledged their greetings as she herself greeted her guide.

"Good Morning, sir!" She said as she sat in front of him after he signalled her to sit down.

"Vidhushi, I am quite impressed by your results. I am sure you can narrow it down to few millimoles, right?" He asked, referring to her about her combined research project.

"Yes sir. I have a theory about it. And as soon as the required chemicals come, I'll start the experiment." She answered professionally.

"Very good! I am sorry to interrupt your work, Vidhushi, but my college friend has requested me to train these two interns here. It is their college's compulsory project. And as you know that I hardly get time to visit the lab, I request you to guide these two kids in their project." Dr Nambudiri requested.

"Of course, sir! I have trained interns before. I will surely help them in their project." She answered while giving a gentle smile to the two college students.

The kids returned her smile.

"Okay. That's settled then. Another important thing." Dr Nambudiri was about to continue when a knock interrupted their conversation.

"Come in." He answered.

"Hello, Uncle!" Came an excited and jolly voice that stunned Vidhushi at her place.

"Oh no! Not again!" Dr. Nambudiri sighed seeing his nephew's face. "What do you want this time?" He asked as he entered.

Vidhushi hadn't turned around which meant he hasn't seen her. She thought of escaping or vanishing. Why was she scared of seeing him? It wasn't as if she had done something wrong. Suddenly she felt self-conscious.

"Kids, you may go out and wait for Ms Vidhushi in the laboratory." Dr Nambudiri conveyed the message and the kids complied.

Meanwhile, Vidhushi also stood to escape the situation.

"Sit down, Vidhushi. I have another matter to discuss with you. Advith will go away soon, hopefully." He said and looked at his nephew sternly, hoping he wasn't here to fool around again.

Advith's expression too changed from happy to serious mode as he saw her...the girl who has been nagging his mind all day and all night without even putting any effort!

Without acknowledging her presence, he came towards his uncle and passed on an envelope to him.

"Achan wanted to invite you to Shruti's engagement party, tonight." He informed. {Achan means Father}

"Why all of a sudden? It was scheduled for the next week right?" Dr. Nambudiri asked.

Vidhushi silently heard their conversation, wondering who is Achan and Shruti!

"Her fiance got an urgent project. So, his family decided to engage them first before he left for Germany." Advith answered plainly. His mind was going haphazard to just take a look at Vidhushi. But he was a man of promise. And he had promised her that he would forget about her. So, no sneaky acts.

"Oh! Is that so! Well, thanks for bringing the invitation, Advith. I'd be there tonight." Dr. Nambudiri replied and kept the card in the drawer.

"I'll see you tonight, then." Advith said and started walking towards the door, completely ignoring her existence.

Suddenly, she remembered that she had to give him the box. And she had the feeling that she wouldn't get this opportunity again. What if he doesn't come back here anymore. What if she never meets him again! She decided that she had to use this chance. But he had left the room by now.

"It's strange. Yesterday, I saw the two of you sitting under the tree and today, you both act as if you don't even know each other! Is everything okay?" Dr. Nambudiri asked her curiously. He was an open-minded person and he understood the emotions of youngsters very well. That is why he was Advith's favourite uncle.

Vidhushi was surprised to hear these words coming from her guide. She didn't know that he had seen her and Advith yesterday!

"Yes, Sir. We just happened to meet yesterday. Nothing important." She hid the truth.

Her guide simply nodded and kept his nose from poking into their matter.

"Alright. Coming to the matter in hand, I wanted to ask if you are comfortable in attending the National conference this Saturday? We will leave on Saturday and come back the other day. The accommodation and all is taken care of by the host. I was asked to accompany one guest with me and I believe you will benefit a lot from this conference." He informed.

Vidhushi couldn't be more happy and honoured.

"Sir, I'd love to attend the conference." She answered with a smile.

"Good, go and fill the online application form. I will mail you the website link." He said and Vidhushi thanked him once more before running out of the room.

The conference news made her happy but her mind was engaged in something else.

She ran towards the staircase to see if Advith was there. But he wasn't.

She was about to go back to her room, deciding that she would give the box to her guide who would return it to Advith tonight as they were meeting. But, then she decided to try to find him for the last time.

Running towards the railing that gave the complete view of the parking area, she scanned to see if he was there. But he wasn't there as well. Sighing and blaming him for running away too soon, she was about to take a step back when she saw him entering the parking area with keys jingling on his fingers.

She wondered how to attract his attention. She waved her hands so he would see her but he was in his own tune.

At last, she had to pick up the last resort.

She screamed his name.

He, along with some other people passing by looked at the source of the noise startled.

When he saw her, he narrowed his eyes in confusion. Why was she calling him? Wasn't she the one who pushed him away first? What was she playing at?

Vidhushi signalled him to wait through her hands, to which he nodded.

Advith waited for the girl while she ran to her cabin and picked up the lunch box.

Huffing and puffing, she ran towards him. He could see that she tried her best to beat her own record in running.

"What?" He asked, his voice coming cold and edgy.

Vidhushi caught her breath while disliking the tone he was using.

"Your lunch box." She also replied distantly.

He chuckled.

"You broke your promise for a mere box! Should I think that you are just messing around with me...trying to find a reason to talk to me?" He asked.

She narrowed her eyes.

Okay, she wanted to talk to him but she wouldn't steep so low to get his attention in this way. Plus, it was for his own safety that she was pushing him away.

"Think whatever you want, Advith. I am not here to change your mind or mentality. I just wanted to return your favour. Thanks for the idlis." She said and pushed the box in his hands.

Advith held the box in his arm and saw her turning around to leave.

He immediately grasped her arm and pulled her back to him.

"What are you playing at, Miss Vidhushi. You cannot come to someone of your own will and then go away just like that." He said. Their bodies were close enough for her to smell that pale cologne he was wearing.

She looked him in the eye as she had to strain her head to see him. He was a little tall. And with this distance, she had to struggle a little more to look at him.

"I came to give you your thing. And now that I have done it, I don't see any reason to stay. By the way who are you to judge my actions? You were the one who first ignored me in Dr. Nambudiri's office! "

"Oh yes, I did! And that was because you asked me for it. But if you keep on coming to me, then I don't think I need to keep my promise as well." He warned.

Was he implying that he wanted to see her more often and not ignore her? She wondered. Well, it warmed her heart.

Vidhushi sighed.

"Advith, I only wanted to return this to you. I do not have any other ulterior motive as you are suggesting." She said trying to pull her arm back in order to maintain some distance.

But he didn't let go. Instead, he held it more firmly to keep her close.

"Good." He said angrily. "Then tell your fiance too to stop bothering me with his threatening messages." He seethed.

That chilled her.

"What? Kunal! Did he hurt you?" He asked, getting scared because she knew what extent Kunal can get to.

Advith stared at her for a while. She looked so concerned about his safety. And he loved it.

"No. And he wouldn't dare to if he has some brains in his head. It is only for your sake that I did not charge him against anything. Or else, he would be rotting in jail, right now." He said.

Vidhushi wanted to cry at his naive thoughts. He didn't know how powerful Kunal was.

"Advith. I am sorry that he did that. I will talk to him about this." She said.

"Well, sure. You should do that. And tell him one more thing, will you." He brought himself close to her ear so he could whisper for only her to listen.

"I can get whatever I want if I want, and he won't be able to do a thing about it." He whispered and left her arm as he stepped back. She was frozen at her spot though.

She looked at him as he opened his car door while maintaining eye contact with her.

"Don't underestimate me." He said before entering his car and taking off.

Vidhushi repeated his parting words.

Who was he warning, Kunal or her? She wondered. She prayed for it to be her because she really didn't want him to clash with Kunal. Kunal could literally destroy Advith, she knew. Although, she still was unaware of Advith's capabilities.

Vidhushi entered the laboratory with a strange tug in her heart.

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Advith drove his car in anger. He wanted to forget about the little mail that Kunal had sent him. It was written in polite words but he was no fool to not understand the hidden meaning behind them.

He took the highway to his new partner's suite so he could deal with some business-related issues. But meanwhile, he wanted to give Kunal a piece of his mind.

But he was no fool. He knew that he must know everything about his opponent before plotting an attack. He had promised to give a good reply to the email to Kunal in his own language. But before that, he would act smartly and get to know this man better.

He dialled his most trusted friend's number whom he knew he could rely on.

"Hey, Advith! Didn't know you knew I was alive." His friend, Shantanu, spoke as soon as he picked up the call.

"Shut up, Shantanu! I need your help." He said.

"What happened, da (bro)! Why so angry?" Shantanu asked getting concerned because Advith never got irritated like this.

"Just some creep trying to overpower me. I'd show him his place. But, I need..."

"Yeah, I get it. You need his background info." Shantanu completed his thoughts.

"Damn yes! But not just his background. His everything. What he does and in what all things he is involved." Advith explained.

"Alright. Tell me his name and where he stays. And I'll get the details for you."

"I just know his name."

"Advith! There are thousands of people with the same name!"

"I'll forward you the email he sent me. You can track him down." He said.

"Fine. That's gonna be a difficult task, man! But, for you, I'll do that." His friend promised.

"Thanks, Shantanu. Just know that...this is important for me. So, do this a little discreetly because I think this guy is not a good guy. I don't want you to fall into some shit. Get it?" He asked.

"Yeah! Yeah! I get it. I will be discreet." He said.

"Thanks again, Shantanu. I will owe you forever." He smiled.

"No worries, Advith. You can always pay me back by giving your cousin sister's contact number." His friend joked.

"Go to hell!" Advith chuckled and cancelled the call.

His mind had only one thing right now. To save Vidhushi from this potential evil man. If he would show the true form of Kunal to Vidhushi, then he believed that Vidhushi would surely leave Kunal. But if he was proved to be wrong and Kunal turned out to be a decent guy, he promised to leave her alone.