Trisha.

"It was as simple as that?" Varsha asked me and I nodded.

"Yes" I said "Sanjana, Be my girlfriend" I imitated him.

"Either he's a playboy or He's head over heels in love with you" Varsha said.

"Yea right!" I Snorted in an unladylike fashion "Love!"

The guys and Aditi was silent.

"What do you think?" Varsha turned to them "What will you do if you are interested in a girl?"She asked.

"Asking you to be his girlfriend on the first date?" Aditya said "If it was me, I would be worried about scaring you away" He said.

Karthik nodded. "For me, I would not mind about confession and all, As long as the person who I love is close to me, I will be happy" he said.

"But why are you looking at Aditi, Karthik?" I teased him. "Even if you are not bothered about a confession, It look like your actions can convey the message well" I said.

"Trisha" Karthik smiled sweetly at me "I will surely pay you back when your time comes" he said and varsha chuckled.

"What about you, Shahid?" Aditi ignored us and turned to shahid.

"When I was in college, Jasmine was in love with me and I had no idea" He said "I was her senior and I was serious about my works"

"Then how come?" I asked him

"I was the project head, I was kind of like a leader, You see, I was serious and dedicated to my works, So my professor probably didn't get anyone else who was loyal to the syllabus like me" He said bitterly. "I was alone most of the time, Don't get me wrong, I was friendly with all, But I knew that I am different from others, I knew that I am neither rich, nor from an influential family, So I had to take care of myself" He said.

"Most of the people at college thought that I Am very arrogant because of my serious attitude and called me 'big head' behind my back"

"Whoa, You were that serious!? What happened then?"

"You got my character, right? Now jasmine" He smiled slightly, Painfully.

"She was entirely opposite from me, She had a lot of friends around her, Or you could say that everyone from the watchman to the canteen workers were her friends, She was a bright and bubbly character" He said affectionately. "She was rich and she was living with her mom"

"Then how come you two ended up together?" It was Aditya now.

"I was their project head, Most of the students drop out of the project by the end of the year, But jasmine was always very dedicated, we had a formal relationship, We greet each other and say bye at the end of the class, There was nothing more than that..Or at least that's what I had thought that time"

"I really admired her dedication to the project and she often came to me about discussing it, She even went to library with me to research and I swear, I never suspected anything out of ordinary until the rumours started" Shahid said.

Everyone was listening intently at his story now. It is the first time shahid is opening up to us.

"Then one fine day, one of my friends asked me "how is your jasmine doing?" and I was taken aback at that, I tried to explain to them that there's nothing going on between us, But then, All of them started to attack me, I could not even answer the their questions properly" He said.

"They wanted to know why she's so dedicated to my project, They wanted to know why she was always around me whenever I am alone, Why she is the only person who's helping me with my researches and etc..oh..and they also pointed out to me that she's the only girl who was seen to have lunch with me" He said and all of us laughed.

"Then? Did you finally realise it?" Varsha asked him.

"No" he shook his head. "you guys don't know how strange it was then! I never even imagined such a thing" he said. "So when she suggested about accompanying me to the library the next time, I protested. I told her that we will have the project meeting only at the scheduled time and that she doesn't have to follow me" Shahid said. "I really was trying to help her from unwanted gossips"

"You are such a jackass!" Karthik said. "Then what happened?"He asked.

"Whoa! She..She exploded, That too in front of the whole class I was managing, She announced that she like me! She said that's why she was trying to spend time with me, She was really angry that everyone but myself in the college was already aware of it!" He exclaimed "And yea..She threw the project papers in the air and told me that she 'she doesn't care a damn about that stupid project' " Shahid stopped. "Then she walked out of the room leaving me there to manage the situation" He said.

All of us laughed at that.

"Cool...Serves you right" Aditi said. "Then you started loving her?"

"Hey, don't underestimate me, I was Mr.Big head, Right, So I ignored it and went on with my studious life" He said.

"I will just nod at her whenever I see her and nothing else was there, Then one day, Her mentor mam called me and told me that she's very depressed and that she's falling behind in her lessons, she even showed me the comparison between her performance, I couldn't believe that it was because of me, It felt silly that she's so serious about me and in the end, I managed to convince her mentor that there's nothing between us" I said. "It was kind of.. alien feeling to me to have someone love me so much too, It was difficult for me to believe it" He said.

"Then when I saw her in the campus, She was totally a different person, she was not that bubbly, cheerful, happy-go-lucky person, She was reserved and down, But I still couldn't understand why she would be so affected by someone like me!" He said."So from that day onwards, I started to notice her, I swear, it was not intentional, But it just happened, I started to know about everything related to her, How she was proposed by someone and all"

"What happened then?"

"It was my last semester exams and I just decided to concentrate on my studies, I got selected in the campus interview in a big company too, Then one day, her mother came to visit me" He said.

"The moment I laid my eyes on her, I knew that she was high society, Exactly the type of people I really hated back then, And I was right, She said that I seduced her daughter after seeing her money and that I am trying to use Jasmine to upgrade my social status" He said.

"I really was mad at the accusation, I told her that I don't want her daughter and sent her away, The next day, It was our farewell day, I decided to talk to Jasmine for the last time and in between the programme, Someone told me that she's waiting for me in the classroom, The first thing that came to my mind was her mother's face and I walked there" he said.

It was too silent as everyone was waiting anxiously.

"She was starting to tell me something, But I didn't give her any chance and shouted at her, I told her that she's a nuisance to me, I told her to not disturb me ever again, I told her that she's a rich spoilt brat and that I will never accept someone like her, I told her that even if it's between a street girl and her, I would only accept the street girl without a penny in her hand than her"

All of our faces turned sour at that.

"You really are at jerk!" I exclaimed as everyone else agreed with me.

"What happened to Jasmine then?"

"She..she cried at and ran out of the room" Shahid sounded so emotional now.

"I was still fuming angily when her friend-priyanka came to the room and placed a diary in my hand, She just told me one thing- "you really are not worth it, I told her that so many times, You really don't deserve her!"- She glared at me before running after Jasmine"

"I was shocked then, I didn't know what to do, I was so straightforward that I didn't want to read someone's journal, But at the same time, It was killing me to know what was inside, I went through the pages and couldn't believe what I read there" he said.

"it was the depth of her love to me, She described her mansion as a jail, she said that her mother is always bothered about the status and the money only, That she has already found someone who could help her escape that jail and then it was a shock for me to read about myself there, A totally different world was inside, All her expectations, disappointment about me not noticing her, Sadness that I don't care about her, Everything was there" I said. "it shook me to the core and it also broke my heart" he said. "I realised that she was not the rich spoilt brat I had taken her for, Rather, She was a sincere person and the love she had for me was real, I returned back to my room with a heavy heart that day, I knew that it was too late to turn back the time then, I even thought that I had may be rejected the only person who would ever love me like that" I said. "I was already selected in the campus selection and I was supposed to leave the next day, So I called her friend one last time and told her to tell jasmine sorry from me"

"But then.." I started and shahid smiled.

"My train was early in the morning and I couldn't even sleep the night, when it was finally the time to leave and I opened the door, I had a shock waiting for me" He said.

All of us looked at him for more.

"She..she was there..Jasmine was there, waiting for me to open the door, She was wet from the rain and her dress was dirty, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw her, She slowly got up when she saw me, I was so shocked that I didn't even know what I should do, I just called her name, and both of her eyes started to flow down, She told me that she left her house and that her engagement was fixed without her consent and she was there one last time to see me, She said she knew about her mother visiting me and she guessed why I was too angry that day"

Shahid.

I closed my eyes for a moment, Picturing everything that happened that day.

I was still at the door way, rooted to the spot, Not knowing what to do and helpless to wipe her tears.

"Please come in" I managed to tell her atlast and she looked at me, Doubting me.

"Jasmine please, Come in" I told her again "or you will catch a dreadful cold" I insisted and she slowly walked inside, Her whole body was shivering and she stood there without knowing what to do while I brought her a clean towel.

"Are you..Are you angry with me" She asked me tentatively, Not taking the towel that I was holding to her.

She has no idea what I am feeling now, I am trying to get hold of my emotions, I am still trying to process that Jasmine is still here in front of me while I had already thought that it's all over.

"Shahid?" She looked at me "Am I intruding?..I ..I know that you are leaving..today,So.."

"I am sorry jasmine" I told her slowly "I am sorry that I didn't acknowledge your love before, I am sorry, That I doubted you, I even yelled at you, I Am really sorry" I whispered.

We stared at each other a moment.

"You..Are you-" She gasped as I pulled her to my body and hugged her tightly.

"Hey..I..I..am covered in..dirt..I am.." She stopped and I tightened my arms around her.

"I don't care" I murmured.

We stayed like that for a few minutes before she looked up at me. "I'm..just like the street girl..you mentioned, I don't..have any penny with me, Is it okay?" She asked me and I wrapped her more closely to me in answer.

"I love you, Jasmine"

She clutched me tightly and I felt my shirt was getting wet from her tears, So I just held her to me, Consoling her.

"Leave with me, Jasmine, Let's get married" I told her and I felt her stiffening inside my hands.

Trisha.

"But when I finally realised my feelings, I just hugged her and asked her to marry me" shahid stopped.

"What!?"

"As simple as that?"

Shahid smiled and nodded.

His eyes were filled and none of us could say anything to console him.

He cleared his throat.

"So my point here is, If you like someone and realise it, It doesn't have to be so complicated, Or need a lot of time, sometimes it's much easier to come straight forward and ask that person directly instead of going around in circles" he said.

"So you think Arjun is interested in me to have asked me like that? "

"Could be" he nodded.

"Okay, But what happened after that?" I asked shahid, Now curious.

"Yea, Did you get married after graduation?" Varsha asked.

"Her mother filed a case against me, Stating that I brainwashed her daughter but The final verdict was favourable to us" Shahid said. "So we got married" he laughed. "It was after marriage that we actually dated and all"

"Whoa!" Aditya said. "I never thought you will go against the rules, You were stiff and serious" he said and shahid smiled.

"When you love someone, You will break your own rules" He said. "That's not strange" He looked depressed suddenly. "I couldn't protect her" he said. "I loved her with all my heart, But at the end, She died because of me, protecting me with her body and I could not even..see her a last time, I was in coma when..when her..family received her" his voice trembled.

Aditya.

Shahid's voice shook as he talked about jasmine.

I remember what happened that day, When shahid woke up from the city hospital and knew about his wife's death, He had refused to believe that, He was difficult to control and psychologically broken.

And when he finally accepted it, He wanted to file a complaint against surya group, And all of these started after that.

"She didn't die because of you, Shahid" I told him firmly "it's not your fault" I said. "you were ready to give up everything for jasmine too, Both of you were trying to protect each other"

"When I opened my eyes and heard the news, I..I couldn't believe it, My family..The only..thing I held close to me..The only thing that mattered to me.. was shattered. My..Jasmine..was already gone and my baby girl..missing" He struggled to get the words out. "it was a nightmare. If it was not for saving my daughter, I would have killed Abiram, with my bare hands" He stopped.

"We will take him down, Shahid" karthik said slowly "We will make sure that he pay for his crimes"

"And we will find izzy" Aditi said "we will protect her.

Even though none of of have actually met Jasmine or Izzy, Everyone of us is feeling so much attached to them.

"Shahid" Varsha said. "We will pay them back for every single thing we had to suffer for, We are already halfway there, It's only a matter of time"

There was something in the way she said that, I felt uneasy suddenly.

I turned to Varsha.

After my little confession to her last time, I have tried to control my feelings around her.

I know her psychological condition more than anyone as I was her doctor at one point of time.

At first, Her company went down, Her father was missing and She was attacked by mahesh, Shattering her whole world.

Then when she was starting to recover with everyone here, Her father was murdered and she couldn't even see him for a last time.

I know that the incident has changed her completely, She was raised like a princess who never experienced anything bitter in life and Her world was upside down in a moment.

On top of everything else, When she learned about her best friend; Sam's betrayal, She was devastated.

Varsha had been too quiet and withdrawn for the last few days and with everyone's care and help, She has started to recover again.

I know what she need now is not a lover, But a good friend.

That's why I have been trying my best to do everything to support her and help her move forward.

I had been standing by her subtly, letting her know that she can trust me and depend on me.

The other's have been a great support too, Together we were able to bring her out if her depression.

But what worries me more is the changes I see in her.

She's now more passionate in the plan to take down surya group than ever before.

I wonder if she has really given up the idea of killing Mahesh or Sam for revenge, We haven't discussed about it, But more than anything, I am worried about her current mental state.

"What are you going to do about the Latest, Varsha?" Aditi asked her. "It's time for you to take a decision soon" She said.

"My company is already half dead" Varsha said. "I cant-"

"You can't treat the employees like this, You need to take responsibility for them" Aditi said. "Just because Your company doesn't have the capital doesn't mean that it's hopeless, If it was hopeless, Then Surya group won't be trying to merge it" She added.

"What do you think I should do then?" Varsha asked and Aditi got up.

"Wait for me" She said before going inside.

Everyone looked at her and then turned to me.

"Aditi is passionate about her works?" Trisha asked.

I smiled painfully and shook my head.

"No" I said. "She wanted to be a Doctor like everyone else in our family, She wanted to be a pediatric oncologist like our mom and help small children, Both of us were in the medicine school together with Aditya" I told them "Then that incident happened and She couldn't be a doctor anymore" I said.

"Then why business management? There are tons of other fields that's linked to health care" Karthik said.

"Surya group" I said simply. "They are pure businessmen and they took our inheritance away, She wanted to get it back fair and square" I said "She's more interested in the management and had been planning it for ages" I said. "She follows everything that's related to surya hospital groups" I said "Her dream is to restore the Dhyani hospital groups"

"Whoa! Surya hospital groups are like strong pillars of Surya corporation, It will not be easy" Shahid said and I nodded.

"She's aware of that more than anyone else" I said. "Because she's been following the surya hospital and The current ceo-Abiram surya narayan for ages now" I stopped as I saw her coming back with her laptop.

Karthik.

I watched her as she was explaining to varsha about investment and I was surprised.

This is a new version of Aditi that I don't know of. And To me, she was equally, If not more, Alluring.

"So you mean to say that I need investors to start with the latest again?" Varsha Asked and Aditi nodded.

"Once you get enough funds, you can settle your debts and Start anew" Aditi said.

"But who will invest in a sinking ship?" Varsha asked again as all of us listened to them.

"That's the tricky part" Aditi said "Varsha, There's a lot of methods to find investors" She said.

"All you have to do is, Show them that you got potential" Aditi said. "In your case, Your brand was widely accepted and you even entered foreign market before, So the demand will be higher" She said.

"Then why did you say that it's tricky?" She asked.

"Because surya corporation is involved" Aditi said slowly. "most of them won't dare to invest in you as it's a major risk" She said. "And even if someone did decide to invest, I think surya group will interfere" she said.

"So we don't have any way?" Varsha asked. "what will you do if it was you?" She asked.

"Um..I will find someone strong to back me up and help me stand on my feet" She said. "But there's risk in that too, For example, If you want to work with big firms who can compete with surya group, They will be as greedy as surya group" Aditi said.

"You mean" I said "that she will have to merge with another corporation?" I asked and Aditi nodded.

"That's the only way for Latest to come back to life now" She said.

"Then what's the difference, Aditi" Varsha looked disappointed "It all came to the same thing"

"It is different, Varsha, For one thing, you will keep the firm and save your employees" Aditi said firmly "The other thing is, You make sure that your brand is alive and under your control" She explained.

Varsha nodded now.

"And if you are really lucky and they like Latest, Then you can ask them to have a time period for the merging, For example, You are ready to work together with a different firm for a given period of time-Say five years" Aditi explained. "Then you get to decide if you should continue with them or stay independent" She stopped and Everyone nodded.

"That's..That's actually a good thing" Varsha exclaimed. "I can depend on them for survival and once I'm back on my feet, I can be independent" She said.

"It's more difficult than it seems, Varsha, Most of the firms already know what happened to latest, And they knew that you need help now, so I Am afraid that they have the upper hand here" I said, Being truthful.

"You are saying that they will take advantage of Latest's current situation?"Aditya asked and Aditi nodded.

"I don't know the rules of merging or acquisition, Guys" Trisha spoke up suddenly. "But I do know some news, Palace group is Surya group's greatest enemy, Narayan caused problems and  splitted from them and formed the surya group" Trisha said. "So if you want to negotiate, I will place my bet on palace group" She added.

"I second that" I said "From what I know of palace group, They won't be intimidated easily, Surya group cannot interfere if you decide to merge with palace group" I said "But I think They are as bad as surya group too"

"I heard they are like a tight knit family" Shahid said. "They don't even accept security officers from outside" he said. "If you want to merge with them, You will have to work twice more hard"

"I don't care as long as I can revive my dad's company" I said "I am willing to do anything for that" Varsha said and Aditya's eyes snapped to her.

"Varsha-"

"What? You want to stop me from making a deal with them?" she looked at him.

"No" Aditya shook his head "let's do it if that's what you want" He said. "you have my support, But let's discuss every possible outcome before deciding to sign the contract" He Said.

Varsha looked surprised. She nodded her head, Looking relieved that everyone is okay with the plan.

"Thank you" She said, Then turned to Aditi.

"Um..even though I have been the director of designing in my company, I know nothing of management" She said "I will need to bother you then"

Aditi smiled, and I was actually surprised at the warmth of it.

"Sure" She said. "Even though surya hospital group seem out of reach now, I can atleast try and help latest" she said.

"So the first thing you need to make is a terrific business proposal" Aditi said "Because palace group is not like the other normal firms, If your proposal is not good enough, It will be thrown to the waste bin along with the future of Latest, So you have to think it well before we start working on it" Aditi said.

Varsha nodded.

"I understand" She said. "Since it's fashion industry, I would like to design something new before meeting them "

"Good" Aditi smiled. "Then I will help you to create a good Business proposal" She said.

The way I see it, Even if Aditi is not following her dream to be a Doctor, She's good at what she does!

-  -  -  -  -

Arjun.

I was surprised to see shweta waiting for me in the office.

"Arjun" She got up while I walked inside. "you are here finally"

I was on my way from the court.

I opened the door to my cabin room.

"Come in shweta" I told her and walked inside.

Shweta followed me inside and took the opposite seat from me.

"What brings you here?"

"Father asked me to Consult your team to draw up the papers for my new apartment" She said.

"Varun is already working on it" I nodded.

"Sir!"

Karan opened the door in force, looking out of breath, "They Got priyanka, Abiram trapped-"

"Karan" I said sternly while He noticed shweta and stopped.

Priyanka is shahid's and jasmine's friend who was hiding Aiza; Shahid's daughter.

"This is urgent" Karan told me again. "Everyone is at the conference room"

"Get me these important files from my apartment karan, I don't know how long the meeting will be" I gave him a file, Then turned to Shweta.

"Shweta, I need to attend a meeting now" I told her "karan will drop you off-"

"Don't bother, I have to talk to father too" She said. "You can carry on then, I won't disturb you"

When She walked out, I turned to karan.

"Are you sure? Abiram's men found her?" I asked him.

"Yes, You need to go there now, I heard Abiram ordered her to be murdered and he also told them to take shahid's daughter from her" he said and I got up.

No wonder he was so quite these few days!

------------------------------------------