Randhir's POV

How could she! I thought as I punched the punching bag in my room. Boxing was another sport I did other than swimming, but I didn't compete professionally after an accident that involved my knuckles getting broken. Bhabhi refused to let me do boxing again so I just did it to relieve stress.

But how could Nidhi do a romantic duet with someone? Without my knowledge? And moreover, why am I so jealous? After thinking, I realized that I pounced on Nidhi without finding out the full details. It was my fault.

Damn your ego Randhir!

I walked out of my room and slowly peered into Nidhi's room. She had fallen asleep in the swing in the balcony. There was a cool breeze outside. I picked her up and she snuggled in my arms. I felt a new emotion that I never wanted to let go of. I wanted her in my arms. I wanted-

What was I even saying? Nidhi was my best friend and was currently very mad at me. So I just had to console her now.

I had a plan.

Nidhi's POV

I woke up in the morning tangled under the sheets. I didn't remember falling asleep in bed? What if it was Ran...no. I probably would have slept in here. Probably just didn't remember it.

I picked up my phone from the nightstand and checked if there were any calls from Kirti. There wasn't a single notification except for Naina's Facebook post, which was a link to her interview for winning the Miss Gorgeous of the year title award in a magazine. It reminded me of unnecessary things, like my own family telling me that I was a disgrace and needed to stay away from them. But I dismissed all those thoughts.

I decided that it wouldn't be nice of me to stay here as an uninvited guest so I packed my things, showered and got dressed in a flowy red kurti top with black leggings. I put my hair in a side braid and did the slightest amount of makeup.

I pulled my suitcase downstairs where I saw Akhil bhai and Aashna di sitting in the dining table, eating breakfast. Randhir was no where to be seen. I wonder where he...

"Before you ask, Randhir has gone out on an important errand." Akhil bhai said, looking up from his newspaper.

"What's with the suitcase Nidz?" Aashna di asked, pointing to my Pullman.

"It wouldn't be nice for me to stay here anymore as an uninvited guest di..." I trailed off.

"Then stay invited! David, please hide her suitcase for the next week." di said and the butler took away my suitcase before I could protest.

"Di! I need my things and besides I have college!" I protested.

"All lectures canceled courtesy of the heavy snowfall in Washington." Akhil bhai called out.

"See! It will be dangerous for you to go back to Washington. Besides you won't get a plane and it will just end up in a lot of confusion. Please stay with us Nidhi. We really want you to stay with us." Aashna di begged.

"Fine." I said with a smile. "Now can I have my clothes back?"

"Clothes? Hon, we are going shopping today! You need some western outfits and it's been so long since I have gone shopping with a girl! We will have so much fun!" Di said.

"Di, I don't wear.." I protested.

"Nonsense, you will get some. And it's my treat." Aashna di said. She was so kind to me. I hugged her tightly. At least as much as I could, because of her belly.

"Bhabhi, before that I want to take Nidhi somewhere." Randhir said from behind. My smile faded away at his voice. I didn't want to go anywhere with him!

"Go ahead. Nidhi, go with him and come fast or else your Aashna di will bore me to hell." Akhil bhai said, earning a hit from di. I couldn't say no to Randhir in front of them so I just plastered a fake smile on my face and went with him. After I got into the car, I faced him.

"I am not going anywhere with you Randhir." I said coldly.

"Too late Princess, we have already started." he said with a smile. I crossed my arms and looked out the window. This guy was seriously bipolar! His behavior yesterday was totally different from his kind behavior today.

Then I spotted the hospital. The same hospital Kirti was in! "Why are we here? Is something wrong with Kirti?" I asked him in panic.

"Calm down Princess. Now, get into this." he said. It was a pair of scrubs and a hospital cap with a mask. I put it on top of my clothes. Randhir helped me tie the mask at the back. Then he did the same and we walked into the hospital.

"What are we doing?" I asked impatiently.

"Wait Nidhi. You will know in good time." Randhir said. Then I spotted Athei (Aunt) and Athimber (Uncle) standing outside Kirti's room. My knees buckled at the sight of them. Randhir took my gloved hand in his and we walked towards Kirti's room. I pushed my glasses further up on my nose, self conscious.

"We need to go into Kirti's room. The Senior Doctor has paged us for a psychological analysis." Randhir said to Athei and Athimber. They just nodded and we walked inside.

I saw the doctor hunched over Kirti. But, it wasn't a doctor?

"Neel?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"Hey Nidhi. I guess it's time for me to make an exit now." he said. The nurse, Meera? followed him out. I would have to question these two later. But I saw Kirti sitting there with a smile on her face. She had dark circles and looked ghastly pale.

"Kir!" I said and hugged her. She hugged me back. I could see the various bruises that were on her body.

"I told you Abhay wasn't a good person! Why wouldn't you listen to me?" I asked.

"I'm sorry." She said and burst into tears. She then told me about the events that happened yesterday afternoon. I could hardly believe it was only yesterday. It had felt like a million years had passed. Abhay had apparently seen her speaking with one of her male colleagues about a work related matter. He had dragged her, forcibly driven her to his apartment and had beaten her up. He had almost raped her but the police had arrived in time.

I hugged her as she told me the entire thing. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you." I said.

"Nidhi, I'm sorry but we need to leave now. Otherwise your aunt and uncle will get suspicious." Randhir said apologetically. Then he handed Kirti a silver flip phone.

"I know it isn't much but you can call Nidhi whenever you want to. Just hide it from your parents." Randhir said. I looked up at him. How could the same coldhearted person who had insulted me time and again for being a woman do such a kind thing for me and Kirti? He should have technically acted hostile towards Kirti and blamed her for the act, based on his past behavior but he was supporting her?

"Thanks Randhir. Please take care of Nidhi for me." she said.

"I will." he replied. We both put on our masks and walked out of the room smoothly. After leaving the hospital, I took off my scrubs and hugged Randhir.

"Thank you so so much Randhir. You have done something that is priceless and I will never forget it." I said.

"I am sorry about yesterday. Neel told me everything and I realized that you were talking about me." Randhir said.

"From next time, please talk to me if you have any doubts or suspicions like this. I don't like it when we fight so much." I said.

"I will do it from next time Princess. I promise." Randhir said with a smile.

"Heyyyy! How are you feeling now?" Meera asked as she walked towards me in her usual cheery tone.

"I am fine and thank you guys. What are you doing here anyway?" I asked.

"We have one week off and we were bored. So we took the last available flight to San Francisco." Neel said.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go and have fun!" Randhir said.

A/N: Hey Guys! How was the chapter? I am having a crappy day because of a certain meeting my parents had with my math teacher. Ugh...now I have to sacrifice my Friday evening to study for the SAT's instead of partying or watching Netflix :(

1) Randhir took Nidhi to meet Kirti! Wasn't that sweet?

2) Weekend Plans? I plan on spending my valentine's day as a single person, in bed watching Sanam Teri Kasam, again. And a bunch of Bollywood and Tamil movies just to make myself feel bad about being single on the day of love :D

Please keep voting and commenting!