Sameer was at the desk in his room, sending some important documents to Jimmy for the meeting next day. Naina was in Ambika's room, helping her with the change of dressing. Ambika had been feeling fine though her injury still needed the dressing since the cut was quite deep. Besides that, she had recovered completely. Sameer wanted to complete his work before Naina came to the room. After rechecking all details, he mailed the file to Jimmy, and shut his laptop, letting out a relieved breath.

'Thank God maine pehle hi documents prepare kar liye they. Warna pata nahi kitni der aur lagti. Naina ko disturb hota.' He mumbled to himself before a yawn escaped him.

He stretched his arms, feeling the tiredness in his limbs and swayed them lightly, his eyes shut. The sharp crack of glass breaking echoed through the quiet room, piercing through the haze of his weariness. His eyelids fluttered open, and for a moment, he blinked in confusion, trying to piece together what had just happened. The glass that was kept on the edge of the table had been knocked off accidentally. He glanced down at the floor. Shards of glass lay scattered in every direction. A sigh escaped his lips, a mix of frustration and resignation. He had forgotten about the glass. Thankfully, there was no water in it. But the floor was covered with splinters.

He sprang up from the chair, and weaving his way through the broken pieces, walked to the washroom to get the mop. Just as he stepped out of the washroom, and was still in closet area, he caught Naina's voice, talking on phone. The voice was clear and close, making him realise that she had come to the room. What if she didn't notice the shards on the floor in the muted light of the only lamp that was presently lit in the room?

'Wait. Wahan mat jaana.' He called out, his voice cracking slightly in trepidation as he ran out.

He had reached the closet door when he saw her walking past him... the phone against her ear, a lively smile on her lips, and carefree expression on her face as she talked animatedly. She had not heard him, for sure, because she walked straight towards the desk, without looking around or even at the floor.

'Naina.' Sameer stepped out hastily. The fear of her stepping onto the broken glass was enough to override any hesitation. Without thinking, he slipped his arms around her waist from behind and effortlessly lifted her off the floor, pulling her back towards safety.

Naina froze in his grasp. Her voice went silent mid sentence, her wide smile taking a moment before replacing the shock that washed over her. Her eyes rounded with a mix of surprise and indignation, completely caught off guard by his sudden move.

This reaction was expected from Naina, but it was his own reaction that startled Sameer. Picking her up was involuntary, but the moment he felt her so close to himself, he was taken aback by her warmth and softness. For a split second, the panic that had driven him faded, leaving an awareness that sent a jolt through him. Her hair brushed against his cheek as he held her, and her subtle scent filled the air around him, making his heart race. The warmth of her body seeped through his clothes, reminding him of their proximity. In that brief moment, everything seemed to slow down. His grip was meant to be firm to protect her, but now it felt engaging yet awkward as the realization of the intimacy dawned on him.

Slowly, he loosened his hold and placed her down on the floor before stepping back.

Naina turned sharply and exclaimed, her voice tinged with indignation, 'What the hell?'

'Yahan... glass toot gaya. Tumhe chubh na jaaye isliye tumhe roka.' He stated, his voice flustered but on the edge of worry.

'Bol ke bhi rok sakte they.' Naina uttered in a dry tone, though her irritation had faded.

'Bola tha. I swear.' He quickly pinched his throat, 'Lekin tum phone pe thi isliye shayad... tumne suna nahi.'

She didn't say anything after that. It wasn't his fault this time. She had been too engrossed in talking to Natasha.

With a startled realisation, her eyes darted to the phone, and she quickly raised it to her ear, 'Nutty?'

'Haan meri jaan.' Natasha said with a hint of tease in her voice, 'We can talk tomorrow. Abhi kuch aur chal raha hai shayad. Give me all tea on it later. Abhi maze karo sweetheart.'

'Shut up.' Naina was flustered, but Natasha had already ended the call. Naina rolled her eyes. It was typical of Natasha to read every situation wrong.

Pocketing the phone, she looked at the mess on the floor. Shards of broken glass lay scattered around the table.

'Mohan ko clean karne ke liye bol diya?' She asked, giving a strange look to the mop that he had dropped near the closet door.

'Main kar dunga.' Sameer picked up the mop, gripping the handle with both hands and bent down to gather the pieces as he mumbled, 'Woh shayad apne room pe chala gaya hoga. Usey bulana theek nahi hai. Bechara thak gaya hoga.'

Naina was genuinely surprised. Sameer, of all people, taking up a cleaning chore without his usual habit of calling out for Mohan was unexpected. As far as she could remember, he would always seek someone without a thought about causing inconvenience to them.

Her gaze shifted to him, watching as he tried to sweep up the chaos he had caused. He seemed different. She had only seen such thoughtfulness in him for his family and a few friends. Fixing things himself was something that never occurred to him, and thus, he was inapt at it. It was evident from the way he awkwardly maneuvered the mop in his hand, taking much longer to cover the whole area. After he collected the broken pieces at one place, he crouched to gather them in the dustpan, his brows furrowed in concentration as if he was doing something far more complicated than cleaning up shattered glass. But in his haste, or perhaps due to his unfamiliarity with the task, he wasn't careful enough. One of the sharper chip pierced the edge of his finger, and he hissed in pain, pulling his hand back instinctively.

'Damn.' He muttered, looking at the small cut on his finger where a thin line of blood was beginning to emerge.

Naina, who was watching quietly till now, stepped ahead swiftly, kneeling beside him, 'Dikhao.'

'It's okay Naina.' Sameer hid his hand behind his back. He did not want her to see him like this, in pain and vulnerable because of his own clumsiness.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, 'It's not okay. Dikhao mujhe.'

Her tone did not have any trace of anger, unlike his expectation. When he did not react, she reached for his arm and pulled the hand forward, despite his resistance. She pulled out a paper napkin from the box on table and dabbed at the cut gently to wipe the drops of blood that had collected over it. Then she lowered her head to inspect the wound.

'Antiseptic lekar aati hun. Don't move.' She ordered before getting up to hurry towards the closet.

Sameer chewed his lip, his eyes following her in awe and confusion. First, she did not reprimand him for the way he lifted her, then did not say anything about him breaking the glass and creating such mess, and now, she was tending to his small cut like it was some big gash. Usually, he did not even bother about this type of injury. It would heal on its own in a few days.

Naina was back with the first aid box. After wiping it with a wet cotton swab, she sprayed some antiseptic on his finger. The sting hurt more than the cut itself, and he couldn't hold back a sharp intake of breath. An involuntary reflex made her look up at his face, before turning her attention back to his finger. Sameer could not move his gaze away from her. It wasn't just the sting of spray... her soft touch was equally responsible for his reaction. The way Naina delicately held his hand, the feathery brush of her fingers against his skin, the silken ends of her hair that were now grazing his arm... everything was sending shivers down his spine.

It was only when Naina got up, holding the first aid box, that he came to his senses and looked at his hand. There was a small bandage around his finger, covering the surface completely. He stared at it, unable to suppress a strange feeling of satiation. It wasn't a simple bandage, but Naina's care for him.

'Thank you.' He uttered in a soft voice when she was back, 'And I'm sorry.'

She did not reply, nor was he expecting anything. He bent down to pick the dustpan again. Naina immediately snatched it from him, her voice echoing with urgency, 'Careful.'

Sameer glanced at the glass pieces, then nodded, 'I'll take care. Tum bhi peeche ho jao. Kahin tumhe na lag jaaye.'

Naina did not leave the dustpan when he tried to take it. Sameer gave her a puzzled look.

'Bikhre hue tukre sametna itna aasan nahi hai. Pehle kabhi kiya bhi nahi hoga. Tumhe lagta hai aaj kar loge?' Naina asked coldly.

A hint of smile curved one side of his lip, 'Kabhi kiya nahi toh kya, ab karna chahta hun. Apni har galti main khud sudharunga. Jo maine bigada hai, main hi banaunga.'

Her eyes met his, trying to decipher if he meant more than the actual meaning of his words. Silence stretched between them, neither of them looking away. The way light caught up with Naina's face, the way her silken tresses reflected the shimmer of the lamp, Sameer couldn't help but think how incredibly beautiful she looked. He felt an invisible force drawing him to her. He wanted to give in to this pull, to end this distance between them, to drown in the warmth she radiated, to lose himself in the comfort of her fragrance. Unknowingly, he took two steps towards her.

Before he could act on his whim, Naina's voice shook him out of the yearning.

'Nahi. Tum rehne do, main saaf karti hun. Tumhe chot lagi hai.' She stepped back, seeing his forward movement to be of the intention of taking the mop and dustpan from her.

Any amount of reasoning did not make her relent. She pushed him out of the way and with expert strokes, swept all shards onto the dustpan in no time. It was only later, when Sameer lay in bed, pretending to be asleep that his mind swirled with a new confusion. Was Naina's concern for him a sign of her softening? Or she took care of his wound just because she was kind hearted? How could he find out? How would he differentiate and know if she showed some signs of melting towards him?

*****

'Mummy, aap hi chale jao na.' Sameer whined yet again, 'Mujhe akele jaana achha nahi lagta.'

He was seated at the breakfast table with Naina and his mom. Ambika had informed him about an upcoming wedding of a family friend's daughter. She was unable to go because of the bandage on her head. And Girish was accompanying Anaya to Italy on the same morning since she had to procure some specific jewels for her new designs.

'Sameer,' Ambika insisted, 'Bachhon ke jaise mat behave kar. Koi nahi jayega toh unhe bura lagega beta. Ab tere alava aur kaun bacha hai yeh bata? Papaji ko bhi uss din Mumbai jaana hai, aur Naina der tak office mein rukne wali hai. Kya main aise...' She waved her hand at her head, '... iske saath shaadi attend karungi? Har kisi ko kahani nahi sunani mujhe.'

Sameer had himself lied about Naina's schedule when his mom asked for their plans for Friday night. He wasn't aware of the wedding then, but he didn't want Naina to take any exertion due to some social commitment. Naina had regularly been going to office after Ambika was discharged from hospital. Sameer wanted her to take leave and rest at home but she did not agree. However, he had conveyed to Munna that she shouldn't be given any work pressure.

Naina had given him a surprised look as he quickly stated that she would be busy in office till late on Friday. To stop her from speaking, he had held her hand under the table, hoping she would take the cue. Now, he was in a fix.

'Ek shaadi mein nahi gaye toh kya ho jayega mummy?' He reasoned, 'Waise bhi main Srishti ko theek se jaanta tak nahi.'

'Nahi jaanta?' Ambika chuckled, 'Tum sab log usey kitna chidate they jab chote they, bhool gaya?' She then looked at Naina, 'Srishti chashme pehenti thi. Aur yeh saare badmaash bachhe usey chashmish bulate they. Kabhi kabhi toh woh rone lagti thi. Tab in ladkon ko daant padti thi. Par next time jab hum log milte toh fir wahi haal rehta tha inka. Becahri bachhi ko bohot tease karte they.'

Naina raised a brow at Sameer, 'Yeh toh main clearly imagine kar sakti hun.'

Sameer frowned at his mom, 'Aur woh jo humein junglee bandar bulati thi? Ek baar ped pe kya chadh gaye they usne permanently hamara naam rakh diya. Isliye tease karte they usey. Warna chashme to Riya aur Nitin bhi pehente they. Unhe koi kyon nahi tang karta tha?'

'Achha achha.' Ambika raised her hands to end the discussion of childhood, 'Purani baaton ke peeche ab tak thodi ladoge. Dekh beta, jaana toh zaruri hai. Rohini card dene aayi thi tab usne specially tere aur Naina ke liye kaha tha. Meri condition woh samajh sakti hai par hamare ghar se koi bhi na jaaye yeh toh achha nahi lagega na?'

Naina had been quiet till now, but she did not like that Ambika had to plead to Sameer like this.

'Mummy, main apna kaam reschedule kar lungi. Main aur Sameer, hum dono jayenge shaadi mein.' She declared before Sameer could come up with more excuses.

'Naina lekin tum...' He looked at her sharply, but she interrupted with a smile that was directed at him, 'It's fine Sameer. Munna will understand. Srishti ki family ke saath itne saalon ke relations hain toh humein ek dusre ki khushi mein shaamil hona chahiye. Kismat se milte hain rishte. Unko value dena zaruri hai.'

Ambika did not see any underlying note in what Naina said. She beamed, 'Sachh kaha beta. Chalo fir yeh pakka ho gaya. Friday ko tum dono Srishti ki shaadi mein jaa rahe ho.'

They both left for office after breakfast but later in the evening, Sameer asked Naina, 'Are you sure ki tum chal sakti ho? Maine mummy se isliye bahana banaya tha jisse tumhe office ke baad rest karne ka time mil sakey. Poore din ke baad late night tak party se tum thak jaogi.'

'Aisa kuch nahi hai.' She stated in plain voice, 'Main theek hun. Ek shaam bahar jaane se kuch fark nahi padega. Itne dinon se saari tablets kha rahi hun. I don't feel weak at all.'

'Nurse ne kaha tha one month ke baad ek baar fir se test karane hain. I think humein Saturday ko hospital jaana chahiye.' Sameer had been keeping the count of days ever since she had started taking the health supplements.

Naina gave him a weary look, 'Tum zyada obsessed nahi ho rahe meri health ko lekar? I said I'm fine. Mujhe har waqt iske baare mein baat karna achha nahi lagta. Please, let it be. Mujhe kuch nahi hoga.'

He looked at his finger that still had the band-aid around it, 'Mujhe bhi itne se cut se kuch nahi hone wala tha. Fir bhi tumne zabardasti ispe bandage lagayi. Health ki baatein obsession nahi, precaution hoti hain. Apni sehat ka khyal agar tum khud nahi rakhogi toh main iss baare mein baat zarur karunga.'

Naina rolled her eyes, 'Haan haan mujhe pata hai tum darte ho ki kahin tumhare saath rehte hue kuch issue ho gaya toh tum par baat aa jayegi. Don't worry, aisa kuch nahi hoga.'

'Nahi Naina main toh...' rest of his words trailed off as she walked into the closet to get her clothes for the night. Letting out a sigh, Sameer dropped on the couch. In spite of his every effort, Naina was not able to see the emotions behind his actions yet every step of his, no matter how small, was meant to show her that he cared, that he was willing to change and make amends. He knew he had shattered her trust and it would be a long way before he could earn it back, but he wanted her to at least accept his care. He felt a protectiveness for her, an unbridled need to hide her from any pain, any trouble, anything that brought a single crease to her brow. He wanted to see her smile, to see her happy... in real sense.

Nevertheless, there was a silver lining to the darkness of his dismal thoughts. Naina did not snap back at him as much as she did previously. There wasn't any real warmth in her demeanor but the coldness had been replaced by something else, maybe a hint of acknowledgement of their relationship... he hoped so. Even now, she did not argue with him, which would have been the case few months back. She preferred to go silent, but even her silence wasn't as bitter as it was earlier. Maybe she was tired of fighting, or maybe... just maybe... she was beginning to see that he was trying, that his efforts weren't just for the sake of pretense.

He clung to that sliver of hope, knowing it wasn't much, but it was enough to keep him going. If she could see even a fraction of what he felt, if she could recognize that he was genuinely trying to make amends, then there was a chance that he would soon be able to find a way to her heart. He wasn't expecting forgiveness overnight, but the absence of her usual resistance gave him the smallest glimmer of hope that he was on the right path.

Next update on Saturday