Rudra didn't know why Bhavya was so angry when she returned from the bathroom. The knife in her hand that was digging into the pasta nearly cracked the plate.

"What's the matter with you?" Rudra asked as he yanks the knife out of Bhavya's iron grip.

"We have to stick to Gauri like glue tonight! Those girls are trying to harm her! Something about people in another room. It sounds shady!"

Though Rudra knew these girls were mostly jealous but to think that employees from Oberoi Fashions to stoop this low was surprising.

"Calm down. We will follow her. Besides...Dilpreet is there by her side. Nothing will happen."

Back at the table Omkara had noticed that Gauri kept looking at his Chicken Marsala.

"Do you want to try some?"

Indeed Dilpreet's dish looked delicious and she was wanting to try cooking another Italian dish besides Chicken Alfredo but she was too shy to ask. So when she was caught staring Gauri felt extremely embarrassed.

"That's okay...I can..."

Dilpreet's actions were so quick and swift that by the time she was able to decide on what to say there was a small portion of Chicken Marsala on her plate.

"Here. It's pretty good." said Dilpreet as he smiled at her.

Seeing Gauri being so relaxed around Dilpreet was making Ajay extremely jealous. He kept downing drink after drink until Daksh stopped him.

"Slow down man. We still have karaoke. Chill."

Feeling a bit tipsy Ajay took his friend's advice and sat through the grueling dinner without taking another drink. But when the waiter came with the check Ajay felt that this time he would surely impress Gauri.

"Here. I will pay for this dinner tonight."

Everyone cheered Ajay on while Gauri sat there feeling a bit uncomfortable. She hated letting people buy her things because she always felt that people tend to want you to return the favor. Even Omkara could tell by her eyes that she did not like the gesture but in this situation he knew that she had to learn to adapt. In the future she would sure to run into people who would foot the bill to uphold their image and to reject it would be taboo.

"Thank you for dinner."

Her voice was soft and low but Ajay surely heard it because the smile on his face was so big that you could no longer see his eyes.

"You are very welcome!" Ajay happily answered.

Even with all that reasoning in his head Omkara couldn't help but feel angry seeing Ajay smile so happily. "Why did she have to thank him? Could have just remain silent." Now thinking things over Omkara had made another decision. "In the future if she is to attend any lunch or dinner outing I will also accompany her so that the person to pay will always be me. She should only have to thank me from now onwards."

While Gauri was feeling awkward towards Ajay she was unaware that the man sitting beside her was already thinking possessively of her. His eyes were watching her every move and wondering just how to keep her to himself. When their eyes finally met again Gauri couldn't tell just what exactly Dilpreet was thinking but her heart was erratically beating uncontrollably.

"Something wrong Dilpreet?"

Her big doe eyes brought him out of his craze for her.

"Nothing. Just full."

Her warm smile reminded him that he should enjoy his time with her tonight and when she handed him a cup of hot tea he gladly drank it.

"It'll help you digest. Italian food can be pretty heavy due to the sauce and pasta."

Dinner was over around 7:30 and Gauri was dreading that the night was not over yet and when someone yelled out "The night is still young!" she couldn't help but let out a sigh. But then she felt Dilpreet lean over and the minute she felt his warm breath on her ear she shrank back into her chair.

"If you are tired we can just stay at the karaoke for a bit and I will make an excuse for us to leave early."

She knew her ear was probably red like a tomato so she quickly nodded her head to his suggestion hoping that he would quickly pull away without looking. But when his fingers brushed against her earlobe Gauri's cheeks grew hot.

"Are you okay Gauri? Your ear is red. Was the drink too strong?" Omkara worriedly asked as he continues to caress her warm earlobe.

Unable to take it Gauri grabs onto Dilpreet's fingers to stop him. "No. The drink was delicious. I just feel hot that's all."

"Well just hang in there. We are about to leave and head towards the karaoke bar."

If Omkara had it his way he would never take Gauri to this kind of establishment. These places although fun for a group of friends it also caters to men who like to drink, sing and call on women. Many times his married business partners would always drag him here so that beautiful women can sit with them as they sang and drink. Omkara could never stand these places so he would always leave after one drink but he knew what goes on in these dark rooms.

Once they arrived at the bar Omkara parked the car in a well lit area.

"Make sure you stay close to me okay Gauri. You have never been to these type of places so getting lost is very dangerous."

As she unbuckled her belt Gauri was taken back at how loud the place was and they haven't even step foot inside.

"Okay."

She was thankful towards Dilpreet for driving slower then the rest because it gave her time to cool down and rest. So when they actually arrive everyone was already sitting inside a private room singing, dancing and drinking.

Ajay: I thought you guys got lost.

As he tried to pull Gauri to sit beside him Ajay noticed that Gauri's hand was already held tightly by Dilpreet and once again he was sitting by this man who has been in his way. This man was like a wall he couldn't climb over to get to Gauri and it was aggravating. Since his passage to Gauri was blocked Ajay changed his plans. Once everyone sat down Ajay poured Omkara a shot of Hennessy.

"Come Dilpreet. Drink up."

Even before he could refuse Ajay had already cleared his cup so in turn Omkara had to do the same. He was too familiar with outings like these and he didn't want Gauri's co-workers to see her as an uptight person who couldn't even loosen up. So if he can shift the drinks towards himself then he would gladly accept it.

It was good thing that he had a high tolerance for hard liquor because Ajay seem to keep refilling his cup. Just when he was about to drink again he felt her hand loop around his arm.

"Dilpreet...."

"Do not worry. I know my limit." Omkara assured as he lifts his mask to take the shot .

Riddhima: Come Gauri...drink too. If not at least sing a song. You can't just sit there all night watching the rest of us have fun.

Ishana: Yea Gauri. Sing! Sing! Sing!

Soon everyone was egging her on to sing.

"Okay."

The room was dark with only some dim flickering lights so Omkara did not want her to part from him but he knew that the pressure was unavoidable. When he saw Gauri stand up to head towards the front where the karaoke screen was he wanted to follow. However Riddhima was quick to come sit in Gauri's place and grabbed his arm.

"Let her have some fun. Why do you have to stick to her like glue Dilpreet. Come....have a drink with me."

When Ajay saw that Riddhima had sunk her clutches into Dilpreet he leaped up from his seat to go to Gauri who was still looking for a suitable song to sing.

"How about we sing a duet Gauri?"

When she heard his voice come from behind Gauri took a step back to create a gap between them.

"I don't know any duet songs."

"It's okay. Just follow the words. It's just for fun."

It was too late to sit back down because the song was starting.

Her voice was sweet like chocolate melting in one's mouth and the glare of the screen made her look so beautiful. But when he saw Ajay standing so close to her Omkara wanted to throw his empty glass at him. "Why is this song so long?"

Riddhima could feel his sour mood and kept on refilling his cup. "Drink some more Dilpreet."

"Why is he still not drunk?!" Riddhima thought to herself. It didn't matter how many times she refilled his cup he was still lucid. But then suddenly he stood up and his fists were clenched. Riddhima tried to pull him back down but his eyes were locked on to Ajay.

Gauri could not believe Ajay was not only singing but forcing her to dance with him. She tried to push him away praying the duet would end but Ajay was relentless in pressing his body against hers. However when she felt helpless she saw Dilpreet's dark eyes appear in front of her and the next thing she knew Ajay was gone. Since the song was nearing its ending there was no words to be sung and she didn't know why but she felt like grabbing onto Dilpreet. Her hands clung to his shirt while she dug her head deep onto his chest. Omkara gently held her waist and the two danced for the remainder of the song.  His fresh scent was soothing and when the song ended she did not want to return to her seat where they would be bombarded with drinks.

"Can we go home now?" Gauri softly asked

"Okay."

But soon after they returned to their seats Riddima was able to drag Gauri away.

"Gauri help me to the restroom. It's safer to always go in a group."

"I'll come too."

Riddhima started to laugh at Dilpreet "Let is girls have time to talk about you boys." After winking at him she left with his Gauri.

Bhavya and Rudra has been waiting all night outside the doors. Who knew that you spying would be so hard especially when these rooms were pre-booked. Luckily there was an empty room just two doors down.

"I see those girls dragging Gauri somewhere! Imma go get her!"

"I'll come with you."

"You stay here Rudra. Seems like they are going to the restroom. You can't follow me there."

"But...."

Bhavya darted out the door when the girls walked passed leaving Rudra behind. But this place was so popular that the bathroom was jammed packed.

"Damnit! I can't see them!"

Unbeknownst to Bhavya Riddhima and Ishana had led Gauri out of the restroom leaving Bhavya to scramble through the crowd thinking they were still in there somewhere.

The halls were smoky and dim making it hard for Gauri to see her way back but she found comfort in holding Riddhima's hand. But then out of nowhere she felt a cloth cover her nose and mouth. She tried to scream but her vision was getting a hazy.

Having Ishana here was a blessing because there was no way she would be able to carry Gauri into the next room from theirs. When she knocked on the door a group of three men opened the door.

"Finally. We were beginning to think you'd change your mind"

"Here's the other half of the money. Just pose with her and I'll take the pictures."

Riddhima pushed an unconscious Gauri towards the ill mannered man and instructed him to have her rest on his lap. When she felt that she had gotten enough pictures she told Ishana to go get Gauri.

"Go get her. We better return."

But when Ishana was about to grab Gauri the man refuse to let her go.

"What are you doing?! Let her go!" Yelled Ishana.

"Let her go? Such a waste. You have your photos now it's our turn to have fun.

Riddhima: that was not part of the plan. Now let her go!

When Riddhima also tried to pull Gauri away she felt another man grab her.

"Let go of me right now!"

The three men threw both women on the booth like chairs and laughed.

"Let's have some fun."

Meanwhile Omkara was getting a bit worried so he left to find Gauri only to bump into A worried Bhavya.

"What are you doing here?"

"Dilpreet! We need to check on the room next to yours! Gauri's in danger! I thought she was in the bathroom but she's not there!"

Omkara didn't wait to hear Why he should check the room that was next to his. All he knew was Gauri was no longer by his side and it didn't feel right.

Gauri could hear someone yelling and her body felt weak. But then she felt someone touching her thigh and immediately she knew something was wrong. She could now clearly hear Riddhima's and Ishana's voice as well as strange men. A man with a horrid scent was hovering over her and Gauri was panicking. She kicked and swung her hands around till she felt a bottle.

*Crshh*

She slammed the bottle onto the man's head and freed herself from underneath him but she was still feeling groggy. She heard the man grunt and felt him yank her arm. With her vision still blurred Gauri tried to grab whatever she could while screaming for help.

"Dilpreet! Dilpreet! Help! Dilpreet"
Tears running down her face as she tried to fight off the strong man when suddenly she found another bottle.

*CrsHhh*

Blood was dripping from her hand and his head but her eyes were too blurry to see whom she had just hit. With broken glasses at her feet Gauri frantically did not stop swinging until her wrist was caught. The broken bottle fell from her hand so she kicked and screamed until she heard his voice by her ear.

"It's me."

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