~~
After one week;
Kirti, Yuvika, Ashutosh, Vivek's family, and everyone were paying their tribute to the burnt van, taking it as Vivek and the driver's corpse. After all, they had implemented all the forces of The Raj to find any news of Vivek and Mr. Das, but they hadn't found any.
Kirti had ditched her project and came specially to the search and rescue operation of Vivek. Still, the marriage of Yuvika and Ashutosh was a secret from her. Not because they didn't want to tell her. But they were too busy finding Vivek. To care about anything else.
After the sudden departure of Vivek, everyone in The Raj was depressed. But since change is the rule of life. Soon, a new face takes Vivek's place.
Pranav Jadhav.
~~
A month passed and many things too
Pranav has been efficient enough to take Vivek's place easily. He had a friendly personality. Thus, Yuvika and Pranav have become good friends with time.
He would take care of almost every work, not giving the bossy airs at all. Even Ashutosh finds him comfortable to be around.
Though, Kirti and stuff remain the same.
She kept appearing and disappearing as usual. But, opening the restaurant chain's dream of hers had been fulfilled by Yuvika, as the girl knows how to live up to her name.
They have found a perfect site for the hospital and very soon the work will begin. The professional life of Yuvika and Ashutosh was going smoothly, but personal life, sigh!
It's like they have time for everything except for each other. When she is free, he is busy. When he is free, she is busy. Working on different projects at the same time complicates the situation further.
Luckily, they have taken tomorrow as a day off, one week ago. The entire process was funny in itself though.
As Ashutosh used the method of sticky notes to converse with her about the holiday, whenever he would find free time, he would check on her door to find any new sticky note attached on her door to which he needs to reply and vice versa.
They knew they were being silly. But still, they chose to use notes to communicate rather than simple mobile texts while holding another person's notes at special places in their rooms.
~~
Yuvika woke up with a start when she heard the knock on her door. After struggling, she finally reached near the door and opened it. Aish! She has just fallen asleep, around 2 am and it's just 8 am. She needs some rest.
She was ready to give a good scolding to the person, but a warm, gentle, breezy smile welcomed her, turning her speechless.
'Good morning, Miss Chauhan.' Ashutosh greeted her sweetly, but after giving her one head-to-toe glance he frowned. Why isn't she ready yet?
' G-Good morning, Boss. Just give me two… no five.. no ten minutes and I will be ready.' She said with an apologetic smile, earning a nod from him.
She was expecting him to leave, but he enters her room, scaring her unexpectedly. Gosh, this guy has been so humble and gentle the last month, that she had forgotten his dangerous side.
'B-Boss.' She couldn't help but call him out. Damnit. She really wasn't prepared for it. Daeng, she hadn't even slept fully. Why must it happen with her and that too in the early morning?
Fine, not that early, but in the morning, nevertheless.
'Hmm?' He waited patiently for what she had to say. But nothing came from the mouth of the bewildered-looking girl.
'What? I was just ensuring that you won't fall asleep again. Now, go and get ready. I will wait here. We are already late.' He urged her, bringing her back from her thoughts, turning her flush red.
'Or… you want something else?' He asked her with an arched brow, making her feel the urge of digging a hole in the ground. Damnit. She knows it's her fault, completely.
So, she shook her head then carried her clothes and ran to the bathroom, slamming it shut and locking it, to ensure no disaster happened in between them, earning a hearty chuckle from him.
She is really like a hamster. Cute but easy to scare.
Soon, she returns back, only to find him assessing her from head to toe, bringing the nervousness back.
Damnit. No matter how many times, she convinced herself that it was all in her mind and not in his intentions, still, she was beyond help. The flashes of that day still were revolving around her head.
On that day too, she had come out of the bathroom, after getting dressed, only to get devoured by him. Sigh!
'Miss Chauhan! Are you even listening?' Finally, his voice brought her back to the present.
'Yess Boss. Sorry Boss. No Boss. Sorry Boss.' She kept rambling, not knowing what was going on.
'Miss Chauhan, this is the hundredth and twenty-fifth time this week, when I am reminding you not to call me Boss.' He said with gritted teeth.
Earning a loud gulp from her. ' Yes, Boss. I mean, Yes, Mr. Pratihast.' She corrected herself immediately.
' I was saying, the purple color suits you greatly, rather than this blue one.' He repeated with a sigh. Just how can she be so absent-minded around him?
She works so well and is fine around others. Then, why does she have to zone out in front of him?
'Oh.' She replied, not quite knowing what she was supposed to do with this newfound information since her brain was still dealing with the loss she had suffered a month ago.
'Nevermind. Just get ready. We have to leave. Real quick.' He couldn't help but say, with a sigh. Just what is wrong with her?
~~
' But, where are we going?' When they had covered half of the distance to their destination, she finally asked, making him give her 'what the heck?' look.
'Wow. Do you know, you can easily get kidnapped, Miss Chauhan? No. Wait. You finally realize you should know where I am bringing you, after a one and half hour long drive.' He asked in a serious tone.
Daeng. How does this girl survive? How does her brain work? How is she still so well and alive, despite being so careless? How?
Making her embarrassed a little.
'I-I just got distracted.' She admitted with a sigh, making him sigh deeply too. Then, he stopped the car in the nearby place and faced her.
'What is it, Miss Chauhan?' He decided to make things clear, right here and now, right in the middle of the road.
'Huh!' She asked in confusion, still staring at the road.
'What is concerning you? What is it that is stressing you? Why are you behaving like a lost puppy?' He asked, genuinely worried about her.
She stares at him and her confusion deepens.
'Everything is okay, Mr. Pratihast.' She said with all seriousness while ensuring to not call him Boss to tick him further.
'You want me to believe your words or the changes in your behavior. Is something wrong? Is the workload too much? Is someone worrying you? Have I done something wrong or anything?
Just tell me, Miss Chauhan. You have been acting strangely, lately. I want to know the reason. As your boss and as your… your husband.' He said firmly.
Making her see the worry, the concern in his eyes, that she has never seen for anyone else. If she says she wasn't touched, then it would be a lie.
Before she knew it, her eyes welled up with tears. Making him sigh. He removes his seatbelt and then hugs her tightly in his embrace, while gently patting her head. His worry for her deepened further.
Just what is it that is concerning her so deeply that she would cry over it.
~~
It's been god knows how long but the duo were still wrapped in each other's embrace.
She finally let go of his embrace, but his eyes remained fixed on her, the worry and concern laced on them, letting her come to a decision to tell him everything.
So, she explained, with as much effort as she could. She stutters several times, even gets shy, and hides again in his embrace, but she lets him know why she was acting weirdly all the time.
'So, you are saying I have left a deep trauma that day on you.' He asked, feeling somewhat sad.
Making her shake her head instantly.
'It's.. it's not like that. Not a trauma.. just… a little.. very little fear.'She explained while trying her best to overcome the hesitation that was making her feel the urge to dig a hole in the car and vanish.
' I am so sorry, Miss Chauhan. I didn't know. I will be careful about it, next time.' He said showcasing his genuineness to her, to which she accepted with a nod and then hugged him tightly once again.
~~
Soon, they reach his mansion, in which she still wasn't very comfortable last time. Again they were received with great grandeur. Again, they spend a lot of time walking, while she keeps exploring.