As he dragged her back into the hall Preeta yanked her hand out of his stopping Karan in his stride

"Yeh kya batameezi hai?"

"What?" he asked trying to take hold of her hand again

"Don't touch me!"

He looked at her exacerbated, this day was turning out to be the longest day of his life! First the drama with Mahira and now Preeta. Why couldn't these crazy women just behave normally he thought.

"Yaar tumhari problem kya hai? Jab tumhe kuch kahena chaahiye tha tum chup chaap wahan khari thi aur aab mujhe kahe rahi ho 'don't touch me'?"

"Tum ho meri problem! Tum na mujse dur raho!" and with that she started walking back into the hall only to be stopped by Karan.

"Kahan ja rahi ho?" he demanded

She looked at him as if he was crazy but chose not to reply and continued to make her way into the hall. Following close behind he realised that once they entered the main hall he wouldn't get a chance to speak to her and so he once again grabbed her hand and pulled her into the closest set of doors which happened to be the storeroom.

"What the Hell!" she shouted

"Baat kar raha hoon mein tumse!"

"Mujhe tumse koi baat nahi karni aur nahi hi tumhari koi baat suni hai! Now leave me alone!" she said tugging at her hand which he was still holding

"Nahi suni? Meine tumse poocha nahi hai Mrs Luthra! Baata raha hoon!" he snapped back

Knowing how stubborn Karan was, she gave up struggling and looked at him waiting for him to finish what he wanted to say so that she re-join the celebration.

"Bako!"

"What?" he asked half amused and half irritated

"Meine kaha bako! Mere paas zyaada time nahi hai tumhari baate sunne ke liye... toh jaldi kaho aur mujhe janaane do"

Karan took a deep breath to calm himself, he realised that forcing Preeta or arguing with her wasn't going to get him anywhere... so he calmly began

"Mein... woh mein..."

"Yeh bakri ki tarha meh meh kya kar rahe ho? Jaldi bolo..."

"Yaar tum dono bahene mujhe bakri bulana bandh karo!" he snapped remembering Shrishti saying the same thing

"Shrishti? Tum Shrishti ko kyun la rahe ho beech mein?"

"Mein la raha hoon ya tum..." he stopped abruptly realising they were going off topic

"Tum..." Preeta started to argue but Karan placed his finger on her lips to stop her from speaking, the movement effectively bringing him closer to Preeta.

For a few minutes the couple remained lost in one another until Preeta realised their position and took a step back bringing Karan back to reality.

"Woh mein..." he started again sensing she was about to interrupt but this time he didn't give her the opportunity "Mein tumse Mahira ke bare me baat karna chaahta tha"

"Mahira ke bara mein?"

"Ha woh mein ussese shadhi nahi kar raha"

Her heartbeat increased a little hearing him repeat his earlier words but she was still unsure of what to make of things

"Toh?" she asked

"What do you mean by toh?"

She rolled her eyes and replied "I mean toh as in issme mein kya karu? Tumhari life hai tum jis se shadhi karna chaaho karo nah karna chaaho na karo mujhe yeh kyun baata rahe ho?"

He pulled her closer, "Tumhe farak nahi paarta agar mein kissi aur se shadhi karu?"

She was silent for a few minutes before replying "Na... nahi... mujhe koi farak nahi paarta, tumhe jo karna hai tum karo".

"Yahi baat meri aankho mein dekh ke kaho" he demanded. She reluctantly looked into his eyes but was unable to find the words causing him to smirk. His smirk irritated her and she jerked herself out of his grip and repeated her words

"Mujhe koi farak nahi paarta!"

"Paarta hai! Aur paarna chaahiye!"

she looked at him confused at his statement "kya?"

"Meine kaha paarta hai aur paarna chaahiye – farak... Haa akhir biwi ho meri haq hai tumhara!"

"Nahi m..."

"Sssshhhh" he said placing his finger on her lips again "Mujhe bhi farak paarta hai... farak paarta hai jab mein humhe uss Rajveer ke saath dekhta hoon... jab mein tumhe uss gulati maar bandar ke saath dekhta hoon... jab mein tumhe Shiv ke saath dekhata hoon... Farak paarta hai babydoll... yahan dard hota hai..." he said pointing at his heart while gazing into her eyes "Janti ho kyun? Because I love you! Pyaar karta hoon mein tumse aur tumhe khudse dur nahi jane doonga... tum sirf meri ho..only mine!" he said moving closer to her.

"Aaj mein tumhe dil se sorry bol na chaahtaa hoon aur hamesha ke liye aapne saath lejana chaata hoon!" he declared "Kya tum mujhe maaf karogi? Bolo Preeta... kya tum mere saath humare ghar chalogi?"

She was lost... lost in his words, lost in his eyes which were showing her dreams of a happy life! But her father always said; what's more frightening than not having any dreams at all is when a beautiful dream turns into a nightmare!

...And that is what followed... Slowly Preeta saw her beautiful dream of marrying a man that loves and respects her turning into the nightmare that was her reality! Karan's words ultimately bought back memories of that faithful day when she had put all of her trust into the man standing in front of her... a man that had punished her for a crime she had never committed... a man that had left her broken in the middle of nowhere less than hours after marrying her.

Her own screams from when she chased after this heartless man's car begging him not to leave her that day echoed in her ears muffling everything else he was saying. The louder the screams became the more her anger sparked and she pushed Karan back creating some space between them. She then stormed out of the room without a word.

"Tum mere savaal ka jawab diye bina nahi ja sakti" Karan pressed again chasing after her angering Preeta further. She would have continued walking without giving him an answer had he not grabbed her arm again spinning her around in the process so that she was now facing him.

"Jawab chaahiye tum hai? Toh sunlo – Mein tumhare saath kahi nahi jaung because I hate you! Sunna tumne Mr Karan Luthra I hate you! Jab bhi mein tumhe dekhti hoon mujhe tumhara dhoka yaad aata hai! Yaad aata hai woh din jab mein tumhare saamne bheek maang rahi thi ke Karan mujhe aapne saath lejao meine kuch nahi kiya! Lekin tab... Tab tumne meri ek bhi baat nahi sunni! Aur aaj tumhara maan badal gaiya toh soocha are Preeta toh hai hi bewakoof usse ek sorry bol dunga toh woh mere peeche peeche aa jayegi! Lekin aisa kuch nahi hoga! Mein tumhare saath kahi nahi jaungi! Aur kya kaha tha tumne ke mujhe farak paarna chaahiye ke tum aapni life me kya karo? Kyun? Kyun farak paarna chaahiye? Issliye ke tumne mujse shadhi ki hai? What rubbish! Mujhe tumse yeh tumhari kisi bhi cheez se koi farak nahi paarta! Mera tumse koi lenna denna nahi hai! Are mein toh us din ko kosti jis din mein tum se mili!" she screamed

"Mein tumhare paas nahi tumse dur rehna chaahti hoon!" she said pushing at his chest causing him to move backwards "Tumhe samaj aaraha hai? Dur raho mujse! Just leave me alone!" her pain vibrating through her whispered words.

Her words hurt but seeing the pain and anguish in her eyes hurt so much more...

"Pr..."

"Pari? Tum theek ho?" Veer walked up to duo who still stood staring at one another. At the sound of his voice Preeta's shoulders tensed and she quickly wiped the tears from her face and turned around to face Veer.

"Ha Veer mein theek hoon" she smiled "Woh mein... hum lights check karne gaiye the..." Veer looked at Karan and then back to Preeta and realised something big had happened but he didn't ask, he knew Preeta well enough to know that if she wanted him to know she would have told him!

"Tum yahan?" Preeta asked trying to ease the awkwardness

"Ha woh Sarla Maa tumhe dhoond rahi hai"

"Maa? Saab theek toh hai?" Preeta panicked worried about the aftereffects of the earlier scene with Mahira.

"Are tum parishaan kyun ho rahi ho? Saab theek hai! Akaash aur Shrishti ki sagaai ho gaiyi hai toh saab tumhe dhoond rahe the dinner ke liye" he said glancing at Karan to see his reaction. But to his surprise Karan didn't seem to register any of their conversation.

"Dinner..." Preeta looked at Karan and then back at Veer "Ha chalo" they started to walk towards the hall when Preeta stopped and looked back at Karan who hadn't moved. She knew she had hurt him but what could she do? Her heart couldn't handle his games and he needed to realise that she wasn't a toy that he could play with when he felt like and throw away when he got bored! But her heart seemed to be playing its own games with her!

Sensing her turmoil Rajveer asked Karan to join them for dinner and the trio made their way into the hall in silence.