As Bhavya sat there angrily waiting for Dilpreet to take down his mask that had a bit of oil stains from eating the food she could see the worry in his eyes and that only infuriated her more.

"So? Are you going to take it off or not?" asked Bhavya.

At this point Rudra felt sorry for his cousin and even tried to change the topic.

"Come on Bhavya. Quit messing around with Dilpreet. I told you he's a nice guy. Why are you being so mean to him?"

Slapping her palm against the table Gauri could tell that her friend was really mad.

"Mean?! How am I mean? Who does this? This is just plain weird. He is obviously hiding something and I am not going to just turn a blind eye when he is to take Gauri out tomorrow! I don't even know him Rudra! So don't make it seem like I am the bad person here."

Omkara didn't care about Bhavya or Rudra at this point because all he could think about was "Will she hate me?" Thoughts of Gauri being angry at him started to make him sweat. He was even clenching his fists and tapping his foot lightly due to nervousness and this did not go unnoticed.

Truth be told Gauri wanted Dilpreet to take off his mask just to end all this nonsense but when she saw how it was effecting him she couldn't help but narrow her gaze.

"What is he hiding?" Gauri thought to herself. But then her hand touched the bandaid on her knees and a soft smile appeared on her lips.

"Bhavya."

Hearing Gauri finally speak Omkara was pulled out from his daze and looked at her nervously.

Bhavya had seen that stern look of Gauri's before and tonight she didn't want to be dismissed.

"Gauri! Aren't you tired of this charade of his? If he had no bad intentions then this would not be a problem!"

Even though Gauri knew Bhavya made a lot of sense but she also knew by touching her bandaids that Dilpreet did not hold any ill will towards her.

"Bhavya. When did I ever give you the impression that I would need you to worry about me like this? Have I become so weak in your eyes that you have to act this way? It was I who agreed for Dilpreet to take me tomorrow."

Bhavya was still fuming and her body showed it all. With tighten fists and are narrowed brows Gauri could only stand up from her chair to diffuse the ticking time bomb. Walking over to her friend Gauri wrapped her arms around Bhavya and whispered for only her to hear.

"I know you are worried but let me handle things regarding Dilpreet. It isn't right to attack him this way when he has done nothing. Instead he has only helped me since we met. Trust me okay?"

"But Gauri..how can you say he hasn't done nothing wrong? He's lying by wearing that mask. It's scary!"

Shaking her head as she hugs Bhavya tighter "There are men who don't wear a mask that are scarier because their mask are invisible and that is when you should be weary of what they are hiding. Do you understand what I am saying Bhavya?"

Gauri could feel Bhavya's body relax and she could feel her nods on the back of her shoulder.

"I understand. Even though Dilpreet wears a mask he is only hiding his face. But by wearing it he isn't trying to hide anything dark or sinister. But Gauri there's always a chance you could be wrong."

"I know. So let me handle things regarding Dilpreet. You need not worry so much."

Omkara dared not look over at the two women who were clearly having a private conversation regarding him. The only thing he hoped for was that they wouldn't kick him out just because he didn't know what to say. Rudra could see the worry in Omkara's eyes so he went over to pat his cousin's shoulder.

"Don't worry. Once Bhavya calms down it will be okay." And true to Rudra's words Bhavya let the topic go. The dessert course was pretty awkward as no one really spoke and soon the night was about to end. Rudra saw how unhappy the atmosphere was so he thought to help his cousin out tonight.

"Bhavya...can you take me home now? I have an early gig tomorrow."

Squinting her eyes at her boyfriend Bhavya knew his intentions. "Why? Have Dilpreet take you home! He's the one borrowing your car. Doesn't it make more sense for you to take him home and then take yourself home?"

Rudra's eye started to twitch in annoyance as his sharp woman was ruining his good intentions.

"Woman! I want to spend some alone time with you! Is that so hard?" yelled a frustrated Rudra. The next thing Bhavya knew she was being dragged out the door by her neanderthal of a boyfriend leaving Dilpreet and Gauri alone.

The silence in the house was unbearable for Omkara as he helped Gauri with the dirty dishes. He knew he should at least say something but every time he tried he felt something stuck in his throat. Feeling depressed Omkara just stood there to help dry every dish that Gauri was done washing.

When she finally handed him the last dish Omkara tried to dry it as slow as possible to prolong the time they had together in such close quarters before she would tell him to go home. Then her soft voice reached his ears.

"Dilpreet."

Just her calling his fake name made his entire body freeze up as he turned to finally look directly at her.

"Yes?"

"Are you wearing the mask to hide your face?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because....you might not allow me to be in your life."

"How so? Are you a bad person?"

"NO! I am not."

Seeing him try to strongly convince her that he was not a bad person made her smile.

"Then....do you not trust me to not judge you by your appearance?"

Heaving out a sigh Omkara didn't really know how to explain that he wasn't afraid of his appearance but rather his status.

"I trust you but that is not what I am afraid of. If I told you one truth would you let me keep one secret until I am ready?"

Now it was Gauri's turn to feel nervous because the thought of Dilpreet already lying to her did not cross her mind.

"You have lied to me?"

With his eyes full of shame and down casted she saw him nod his head slowly.

"My name is not Dilpreet. I made it up because I didn't want you to know my real name."

Forcing himself to lift his head to see her expression Omkara was met with eyes full of questions. He felt his heart churn in pain as she stayed silent.

"Gauri...please give me more time to be ready to reveal myself. I am willing to bet that by showing you my sincerity that even if you come to know my true identity you would not turn away from me."

Gauri did not know what to do with this new found information. She has been calling out a fake name all this time and here he was trying to ask for her to continue till he was ready? But why did he have to do all this? She was starting to be afraid of her own heart let alone knowing about his.

"Dilpreet...I think I must have given you false hopes. I am not looking for a relationship. If you are doing this to...."

She felt his hands capture both her shoulders.

"Dont' say it. All I want right now is your friendship but I will not lie to you by saying that I am not looking for more. All I ask for is a chance."

He could see Gauri struggle to answer him but Omkara was not going to give up.

"I ask for a chance to continue our friendship and when I am confident enough to approach you with my real identity...I can only hope that you will Let Me Love You."

Her heart was beating so hard that her chest was beginning to hurt for this was the very first time she wanted to let someone in so badly.

"Dilpreet..I...."

"Please Gauri. I promise I will respect your decision after everything is said and done but don't end it just like this."

His dark eyes were sucking her in and the sadness in his pleading voice was making her weak.

"Then you want to stay as Dilpreet?"

"For now."

"I can give you time based on friendship but as for more...I can't promise you that Dilpreet. I..."

Her mouth was suddenly covered by his warm fingers.

"For now..that is all I need. As for the future...let's not predetermine it just yet. Let's just have fun tomorrow?"

Grabbing his hand that was on her mouth Gauri pulled it away as she could see nothing but hope in his eyes.

"Alright Dilpreet."

"And one more thing...can you not have Bhavya pressure Rudra to reveal my identity?"

Letting a small laugh escape her lips "I will try..... but I can't control her so you might need to remind Rudra to be stronger in keeping your secret."

"Well it's late. I should be going." said Omkara.

As Gauri walked him to the door Omkara turned around to look at her once more. He notices some stray strands of hair blowing against her cheek so he reached out to tuck them behind her ears.

"I won't ever force myself on you. If ever you feel my actions are too much let me know because I might be clouded by my affections for you."

"Okay."

With her flush cheeks and glistening eyes looking at him Omkara was determine that he was going to try his best to win her over completely.

"I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yes. I'll see you tomorrow."

**Hope you guys like this update. Do vote if you did.**

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