'You did what?' Pragathi typed after reading Vikram's message in their group chat.

'Vicky boy... you have been a complete idiot' Chris replied.

'I didn't expect this from you' Dhwani replied.

'Naveen... why are you silent bro?' asked Pragathi.

'I went to get some tea. I like drama. You guys continue. Let me enjoy.' Naveen replied.

'I know I have been an idiot. I need your help now.' Vikram texted.

They gave a lot of suggestions which included apologizing, giving a bunch of flowers, thinking of a new ship name etc., He disliked all of them. He decided to talk to her normally as if everything was fine. Like the conversation never happened.

He went to have dinner. He made a list of things to discuss during dinner. 'These topics will make her forget being mad at me. She will talk normally again.' He sat down by the table and waited for her.

"Where is Shubha?" asked Latha.

"Shubha madam is not feeling well. She said she will have her dinner in her room later" said the maid.

"What happened to her?"

"Nothing serious madam. Just head ache."

"She must be tired. This food is too spicy. Ask her to eat fruits for dinner" said Latha.

"I'll take them to her" said Vikram immediately. "Well, I have something to discuss with her. About the, er, the upcoming scenes of the film."

"Okay." Latha didn't suspect anything.

He finished his dinner quickly and went towards Shubha's room taking a bowl of fruits. "Hello Shubha."

"Hello sir. What brings you here at this hour?" Her tone was extra-polite which made him understand she was still angry.

"These are for you. Mom sent it." He gave her the bowl. She started eating apple slices from the bowl.

"I er, I made a deduction. Your favourite disney princess is Snow White. Right?" He asked.

"What?"

"Because you are eating apple slices when there are so many other fruits." He pointed towards the apple. "Just like Snow White. She likes apples. She almost dies after the Queen makes her eat poisoned apples."

Shubha looked at the apple slice suspiciously. She put it aside. "Oh! Come on. I didn't poison it." Vikram sighed.

"I know. I won't go to the extent of accusing you of poisoning me. I am not foolish."

"Why don't you trust people?" Vikram asked what he has been trying to understand since she met him.

"I have trust issues. Trusting someone blindly will ruin a person." She answered.

"I disagree. I trusted you. You didn't break my trust. You just need to find the right person to trust blindly" said Vikram.

"That's my point. The right person. But when you are not wise enough to conclude whether the person is good enough to be trusted or not, the best option is to trust no one."

Vikram detected pain her voice. Pain that had nothing to do with their conversation about ship name. It was much more intense than that. Suddenly he realized, behind the exterior of a strong, intelligent and brave girl, there was a broken heart.

"Shubha" He was careful not to address her as Subbu. "If you need anything do tell me. I will get it for you."

"Thank you sir." She didn't let him speak any further.

"Good night Shubha." He left for his room. He didn't sleep that night. He wanted to know what hurt her. He called Naresh, his manager and asked him to find out what it was. He also placed an order for a flower bouquet to apologize to her.

He received a reply from Naresh the next morning. "It's not the usual ex-boyfriend thing. It's her uncle." Naresh gave him details of how her uncle betrayed her.

"The man who took her in after her parents' death, backstabbed her?" Vikram was shocked.

"Yes. That's what her colleagues told me" said Naresh. "At least she has got a better job now. Where no one will hurt her."

Vikram felt horrible for hurting her. "Thanks Naresh." He ended the call. He decided to keep apologizing until she forgave him.

He looked at the time. It was 6 am. He never woke up so early in several years. He went and collected his order himself. He got a pair of red roses for free as the in-charge was a big fan.

He returned home. "Vicky, who are those flowers for?" asked Latha.

"For you mom" He lied.

"Why?"

"Happy Mother's Day" He gave the bouquet of white tulips to her.

"Mother's day comes in May. Right?" Latha frowned.

"Everyday is Mother's Day when I have a mother like you."

"Funny kid." She smacked his head and left with the bouquet.

He looked at the red roses. 'At least I have these.' He started thinking what to write. He, who could write a ten-page essay about films, found it difficult to write a simple sorry message. He finally decided to write only two words. 'I'm Sorry'.

He put it right outside her room and waited for her to come out.

After a few minutes, she came out of her room. She almost stepped on the flowers when he yelled. "Shubha! The flowers."

She picked up the flowers. The sorry message fell down. "The maids must have dropped it." She placed them in the nearby vase.

Vikram facepalmed. He called Chris for help. "What should I do now? My garden doesn't have any flowers except jasmine."

"What will you do with jasmine flowers? Make a garland? Girls love soft toys. Give her one." Chris replied.

"What if she doesn't like it?"

"The advantage of using a soft toy is, if she gets mad and hurls it at your face, it won't hurt you."

"I'm serious."

"I don't understand why you are so desperate. Is there anything--"

"Nothing." Vikram replied before he could complete the question.

"If there is anything you better tell me. Don't hide anything from me." Chris's tone was serious.

"I'll talk to you later. Bye."

Vikram bought a new teddy bear. He took a marker pen and started writing sorry message when Shubha knocked the door. "Vikram sir, here's your newspaper-- Aren't you a bit too old to be playing with stuffed toys?"

"This is for someone else." He put the pen aside. "How is it?" He hoped she would notice the sorry message.

"Actually I never really liked this type of toys. Maybe you should ask someone else." She gave him the newspaper and walked away.

He tried to give up. "She is talking to me. Why should I bother now?" He asked himself.

'Because you know she is not happy' answered a voice inside his head.

He sighed. He knew it was true. He didn't like it when she felt unhappy. He couldn't erase her pain. But he could give her a few moments of happiness.

He decided to give a sincere apology directly. He found her in the living room. "Shubha, can I talk to you for a few minutes?"

She nodded. "Not here. Maybe in the garden. Only if you like it."

She nodded again and followed him. "Yes?" She asked after five minutes of silence.

"I'm sorry Shubha."

"Why?"

"You know why."

"If that is why you are saying sorry, then you don't have to. I should have known. I mean, Nisha is big star. She is your friend. You have a good ship name. There is nothing wrong in that. It's just my own insecurity that made me talk like that."

He felt his heart leap. Insecurity? Could she possibly mean what he thought it was? He felt good. "Why do you feel insecure?"

"Because I am her replacement. It has been a month and still people view me as her replacement. I feel burdened. If I don't match up to her standard then I will be mocked. If I am equally good, then it's no big deal because everyone is already good. Whenever I hear her name I feel insecure." Shubha explained.

Vikram felt disappointed by her answer. He expected something else. Something more personal like I-feel-jealous-of-all-girls-who-are-close-to-you kind of answer. He shook his head.

"I don't know what everyone else says about you. But for me, you are not a replacement of anyone. You are irreplaceable in my film as well as my personal life. You are the one who stood by me during my testing times. Not her. Never compare yourself with her. You are special" said Vikram, sincerely.

"I'm special?" Her eyes twinkled.

"Yes. She is just a friend. You are more than that." He said without thinking. "I mean, you are also my tenant. You are both friend and tenant." He tried to cover up.

"Thank you sir."

"And there is one more thing. I stayed up all night--"

"Wait. You stayed up at night? You are lying."

"No. I'm not." He said in an amused tone.

"Then I think your brain is malfunctioning." She declared.

"What?"

"Vikram sir never sacrifices his sleep for anything. He sleeps for fifteen hours a day." She teased him.

"First. It's eight and half. Not fifteen. Second. Vikram sir can sacrifice his sleep if he has to think of a good ship name for him and his pair in his upcoming film." He waited for her to process the information.

"Ship names are too childish-- Wait. What! A ship name for us?" She asked excitedly.

"Vikram and Shubha. How about.... Vibha?"

"It's," she couldn't find another word, "perfect."

"So, am I forgiven now?"

"On one condition. Don't call me Shubha." She found it odd when he called her by her first name.

"I thought Shubha madam feels irritated when she's called Subbu." He grinned.

"I got used to it." She giggled. "If this is it, I will take your leave."

"No. Wait. Thanks for taking me out for shopping. It felt good to be in a public place without bodyguards. Can we go out again next week? I will carry your shopping bags. I promise."

"I don't know. Managing a film star is a tough job. I'll think and let you know." She said making him smile.

He returned to his room and called Chris to tell him what happened. "You like her." Chris concluded.

"What? No. I don't like her. I just..... like her." He said after thinking for a moment.

"That's what I said." He could hear Chris laugh.

"This liking is different from that liking." Vikram argued.

"Vicky boy. Lie to someone else. I have known you since we were kids. You like her. Or maybe it's not mere liking. Maybe something more."

"I don't know what you are talking about. Okay. Spend some time with your angel" said Vikram.

He sat in his room thinking about what Chris said. At first it seemed like rubbish. But the more he thought about it, the more it started making sense. He finally shook his head to stop thinking.

'I'm not a teenager. Subbu and I are just friends.' He tried to convince himself.

---***---

Hello everyone.

How do I promote this story? Is there any way other than posting message on my message board? Writing a message on my own message board is attracting unnecessary attention from unwanted sources. I'm confused.

And who is your favourite character by far?

Don't forget to vote and comment. Thank you.