Her heart started thumping erratically and a lump began to form in her throat.

"Oh god Allah bhagwan !Mujhe shakti do,"she mind linked the Almighty.

"Payal,"he started softly, gently placing his palm on her hand that rested on the table,"please tell me ,What happened ? Did I do anything wrong?" It broke her heart to know that he had been blaming himself all the while.

She frantically shook her head as her eyes filled with tears."It's- It's not you."

His eyes were pleading her to open up to him. This side of his was the rarest. He looked so vulnerable just at the thought of her ignoring him.She wondered how he would react if she actually left him.

Why was he affected so much by her avoidance? Did he too feel something for her ,like she did for him?

Of course not. Why would he even glance at her? He probably saw her as nothing more than a family friend.

Her face went pale from all the over thinking and the horror of her own feelings.He had leaned in her direction as he demanded for her answer.

The look in his eyes compelled her to take his face in her palms and press her tender lips on his furrowed brows. And that's what she did.

When she pulled away, he looked like he was in a trance . His eyes were still fixed on hers.

She couldn't hold her emotions anymore and let out a strangled sob and closed her eyes tightly, letting her tears fall. She heard shuffling and when she opened her eyes ,she found him kneeling in front of her on the floor ,cupping her face in his large palm.

"Princess ,why are you crying? Tell me what's wrong. I promise I'll fix it."His wide eyes pleading and his voice frustratingly calm .

She didn't know what to say and that resulted in another set of fresh tears running down her cheek. Arjun wiped them away and tucked the stray strands of her hair behind her ears. He patiently waited for her to calm down ,which was out of character for him.

"I-I don't know , Arjun. I don't know why I'm .....b-being like this"She cried holding his hands.

Arjun was confused and surprised at her sudden change of emotions, straight from being defensive to crying like a baby.

Her body wracked due to her sobs as Arjun calmingly rubbed her palms.

She continued wailing,"I'm so-orry-y. I d-didn't m-mean for it to happen. I'm sorry . I'm such a mess. I h-honestly didn't mean it".

"What are you saying, princess? What did you not mean ?"Arjun cooed into her ears as he pulled her shaking body into his chest.

He rubbed her back in an attempt to calm her. But she was far from calm. Her mind was a chaos . She wanted to tell him what was terrifying her to this extent . But she couldn't bring herself to do it ,fearing the aftermath. It was a huge thing for her to even think about her feelings given her family upbringing , and confessing them was near impossible for her.

"Im s-scared , Arjun. I'm terrified. I d-don't know h-how it h-happened. I didn't mean it. I didn't want it."She went on with her scattered explanation making him even more confused.

He let out a loud sigh and hugged her closer."What are you scared of ,sweetheart? And what did you not mean to happen ? Come on, stop crying and tell me",he asked calmly even though his insides were frustrated and angry to see her like that.

This was it. She had gone too far and there was no turning back. She took a shaky breath in and mustered the courage and finally let the words out.

"I-I didn't m-mean to fa-fall in l-love with you."

Thank you so much for reading!