Why was he sweating before doing anything?

I only wanted to see whether he was interested in physical intimacy or showed even a sign, but his reaction wasn't something I had expected. He looked like he was in an inner conflict — as if he wanted to do it, but something... some fear was holding him back.

When he locked himself inside the washroom, looking as pale as a ghost, I realised that he was dealing with something from his past which still haunted him. When he didn't come out for a long time, I went to check on him and knocked on the door. I could hear some mumbling from inside the washroom and wondered who he was talking to.

Suddenly, the door opened, and I took the phone from his hands when I heard his mother call my name from the receiver end. I felt sadness covering me as I let her words sink in, while Yuvaan looked lost. She told me to give him some time and not judge him for his actions.

I agreed, and she told me to tell her son the positive affirmations till he calmed down and didn't look suicidal. I knew there was something up with him, but I didn't interrogate him as I was afraid that something bad might happen. After cutting the call, I repeated the things my mother-in-law told me, and soon, Yuvaan's face started getting its colour back.

I stared at him intensely, trying to figure out what might have happened for him to be scared of getting close to me.

Was he abused? Did he suffer from some childhood trauma too? But didn't he say that he had sex before, so why was he so afraid now?

When we were busy with our small counseling session, I blurted out that I loved him. And not so surprisingly, he also repeated the same. But I thought that he hadn't noticed it, so I continued with earlier stuff, but he caught my try on changing the topic soon and told me to say it again.

I refused and told him that he imagined it. He wasn't convinced and was back to his usual self. I was glad about that but sighed as I knew he wouldn't let me sleep without hearing those words again. I left the washroom and got back in bed.

"Do I need to change clothes?" I asked.

"Nope."

"Okay, then. Sleep now. We have a busy day ahead."

He took his spot on the bed and wrapped his arms around me. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"You sure you won't panic again?"

"If you say it again then I won't." He grinned.

"In your dreams."

I closed my eyes and felt his lips on my forehead. He told me that he knew I was acting, and when I opened my eyes to glare at him, he pecked me on the lips.

"Even if you won't say it, I don't mind saying it again and again. I love you, I love you, I love—"

"I love you too, so let me sleep now."

A huge smile broke out on his face, and he finally quietened down. I relaxed and snuggled closer. I fell asleep within seconds and woke up with a bright mood, thanks to the good sleep I was getting nowadays.

Following our usual routine, we got ready for our office and reached the head company to take care of the tasks. While Yuvaan was busy in his work, I was working on non-profit projects with my best friends, who had come to my office to assist me.

"You look different," Upasana told me.

"Yes, I cut my hair a bit."

"Not that, idiot."

"She means that you look extra happy today," Keerti explained.

I shrugged and told them to focus on work. They called me a party pooper and giggled while looking through the glass partition between mine and Yuvaan's cabin. Both of them shared a mischievous look and nudged me.

"Why is Jeeju glowing like a new bride?" Upasana asked.

"Did you two finally...?" Keerti teased.

I gave them a flat smile. "Yes, we finally did."

My friends widened their eyes in shock. "Really?"

I stared at them for a minute and burst out laughing. They smacked me behind the head and told me to stop pulling their legs.

"Spill the tea already," Keerti threatened.

"I told him that I love him," I said.

"That's it?" Uppu furrowed her eyebrows.

"Yup."

Both of them sulked and accused me of keeping secrets. They weren't convinced that just because I confessed that I loved Yuvaan, he would smile like he won a lottery. I decided to ignore their stares and continued our work.

Before the lunch break, Shaurya arrived and informed us that he won a very important case which was going on for almost three years. We congratulated him, and he gave us some goodies to celebrate his win. I kept the present beside my action figures he had gifted me.

I noticed Upasana staring at numerous toys placed on my shelf, and she got up to grab one, but I told her not to do so. She stared at me weirdly, and I shook my head when she still didn't listen. In order to annoy me, she took a toy duck and placed it on her head. She did a small dance and made 'Quack' sounds.

"I said don't touch my things," I grumbled.

"Oh, come on. Why are you being so stingy? It is just a—"

Before she could complete her sentence, Keerti hit her on her shoulder and placed the toy duck back on the shelf. She scolded Upasana, who pouted and looked at me as if I murdered her.

"Don't worry, Reyna. We won't touch your stuff," Keerti said.

She reminded Upasana about the incident when we were in third year. Uppu's eyes widened in realisation, and she facepalmed. She nodded as she remembered everything and got back in her spot.

"Sorry, man. I forgot about it. Thank god, Keerti was here, or you would have killed me," she said.

"Stop exaggerating," I retorted.

"Oh yeah? We don't know how possessive you are? Seriously, I was just picking up your fallen Barbie that time, and you beat me to pulp."

I pursed my lips when my friends began coming up with incidents where I had went berserk and how scared they got whenever I got angry, while Shaurya enjoyed the story session.

"Our Reyu might look like an angel, but when she gets angry, it is worse than hell," Keerti teased.

"Really?" Shaurya asked.

"Yup. Personal experience." Upasana nodded.

Shaurya laughed when my best friends told him about my antics; I always had my eyes low in college, but nothing went unnoticed. Thanks to Keerti and Upasana, all of my glorious past was coming on surface. For most of the time, I was a shy and sweet person, but sometimes, I lost it.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

I picked up the call after seeing Advait's name, and he told me to go home that instant. There was a security breach again, and he was busy in some other work, so it would take him some time to return.

"Are you sure I should go?" I asked.

"Yuvaan told me to solve the matter asap, and Kiaan's lectures aren't over yet, so the only option left is you. Come on, don't waste anymore time and leave before your husband roasts my head."

"Okay."

I hung up the call and left in a jiffy after informing my friends that I would be back in a few hours. After reaching my home, I went straight to the security room and saw the technicians cursing while trying to defend our systems.

"What's the progress?" I asked loudly.

All of the employees gulped nervously when they saw me. I told them to give me the updates quickly before we lost our data. Some of the technicians didn't take me seriously and ignored me, but their in-charge was aware of Advait's instructions, so he gave me all the information I needed and the pendrive Kiaan had given last time.

"We are still not sure about the program used in it. We need either Kiaan or Advait Sir to execute it," in-charge said.

"Don't worry. I will try to see what I can do." I smiled.

I plugged the pendrive in the USB port and opened the text note. Kiaan had even written the instructions in code language. I told the security head to check the backup as I decoded the instructions in my head while checking what other employees were doing. As I saw what was going on each computer screen, I heard the taunts being whispered in hushed tones.

"Showoff."

"This is fucking programming, bro. Looks like Mrs. Raichand forgot that we aren't making buildings here."

"Bricks and mortar."

"Ambuja cement."

I stood behind one of the staff persons and grabbed the mouse from her hands. She shot me an annoyed plus scared look as I typed on her PC. Once I was done, I gave her the mouse back and glared at the rest of her colleagues.

"If all of you would have focused on your work instead of fooling around even in case of emergency then I wouldn't have had to come here myself."

Everyone averted their gazes, and I pressed the Enter key on the female technician's computer. Few seconds later, every screen had the decoded instructions along with extra directions to protect our data. They shared glances with each other but didn't open their mouth as I was still looking at them.

I went back and began my work. Kiaan announced his arrival five minutes later; he surveyed the work and nodded when he saw no issue.

"I knew I had nothing to worry about." He smirked. "How is it going, Reyna Bhabhi?"

"Smooth." I smiled.

I complimented him for the system he had programmed, and he gave me a teasing look as he came to see what I was doing on the main PC. He grinned and asked me how much time it took for me to decode his instructions.

"Four minutes and twenty two seconds," I said.

"No surprise."

Half an hour later, Advait arrived and scolded his juniors for lacking off. He ranted for some time before he assured that the situation was under control. Kiaan and I were discussing about why he got late, and our guess was right.

"Don't make fun of me, okay?" he said.

"Why did you visit Heena Di's boyfriend in the hospital? To kill him?" Kiaan joked.

"I would have if Heena hadn't warned me to behave myself."

When I asked him about the incident Shaurya had told me in the mall about Advait punching Heena's boyfriend, he informed us that he didn't want to leave Heena alone, but she was enraged and had told Advait to leave as a warning. He went to check on her boyfriend, or else Heena would have never talked to him.

We nodded in understanding and left the surveillance room after checking everything once more. Advait thanked me for handling the matter, but I shook my head.

"You can't get away with just thanks. You have to teach me something in return," I demanded.

"No problem. How about we start with doing a reki of our surroundings?"

"Sounds good."

While Advait taught me about how to be aware of my surroundings everytime and studying body language, Kiaan gave me some tips and tricks about CCTV cameras.

"Even if the other person manages to break down your behaviour or expressions, don't let him/her get to your mind. Once they have access to your thoughts, it's game over for you," Advait said.

"What if our mind is not in our control?" I asked.

"That's just your misconception, Bhabhi." Kiaan grinned.

"By the way, I heard that you confessed to Yuvaan. When can I see my niece's/nephew's face then?" Advait wiggled his eyebrows.

"Why don't you ask that to Yuvaan? If your best friend keeps running away from me then forget that you will ever become an uncle."

"I will talk to him then. But, if you guys succeed, you will have to name the kid after me."

I exchanged a glance with Kiaan when Advait started rambling about my kid, who hadn't even come in existence. We let him be in his happy bubble.

Well, I will also like to have a baby, but for that, I need Yuvaan's opinion too. But before we increase our family, let's hope he likes the surprise I have for him.