Arnav felt awful. Yes, he was hurt from yesterday. But he didn't intend on hurting Khushi in return. She wasn't made for that. The fault was in him, he knew. He was always undeserving of love in life - whether that was the love of a father, love of a mother or the love of a friend. Life always snatched it away from him and he was now used to the pain that follows it - or so he thought.

What he never realised was that he didn't need to get used to that pain anymore, now that Khushi is in his life to never leave. How long it will take him to accept that... only time will tell.

Just as he was internally beating himself up for making Khushi cry, he realised that she didn't have her dinner last night either! And she was ill last night too! Yes the fever was gone by morning - he could feel her body temperature when his hands were around her in the morning. But still she must be weak and she needed to eat well! And what had he gone and done? He had made sure that she left her breakfast incomplete because of his tantrums. Damn him!

He strode to the bathroom and knocked on the door, calling "Khushi! Khushi! Please come out Khushi!"

He could hear that her crying had stopped but he could still hear faints sounds of sniffling that she was trying to hide. But still she didn't reply back to him.

"Khushi! Come out! You need to eat Khushi! You were ill yesterday, you must be weak so you need to eat too."

Again, there was no reply.

Arnav knew now that his pleads won't work. Now there was one final card that he could play.

"Khushi if you don't come out right now, then I won't eat my breakfast! Actually trash that - if you don't come out right now, I won't anything at all today!" He knew that she would never risk his health, especially when she knew he had diabetes. He continued, "And you know I mean it Khushi - I stick to my word. Come out now, or else-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the door swung open revealing Khushi standing there with her head hung low, not willing to let him see her face or her red, swollen eyes.

Before he could get a word in, she walked straight past him towards the dining table, seated herself back in her chair and silently started to eat, never lifting her head up.

Arnav didn't know what to say - he knew that this was partly his fault too, and he just didn't know how to rectify it. Or I should say, he didn't know if it was worth rectifying.

Yes Khushi was in pain, and if he apologised she would feel better. But when he was going to maintain distance from her anyway, an apology would only give her false hope. And that could only hurt more.

The pain she felt now would only be temporary - until this case is solved. Once she goes back to her Buaji and her sister none of this would matter anyway. He wouldn't matter in her life anymore. She would eventually forget him and move on.

So Arnav didn't try to speak to Khushi after seeing her silence. He simply walked to the dining table too and started to eat his breakfast.

During this whole time the only thing Khushi could hear in her ears were his words, "KYUNKI MERE HAR TAKLEEF KI VAJA TUM HI HO!(BECAUSE YOU ARE THE REASON FOR MY EVERY PAIN!)"

The words were reverberating in her ears over and over again. Those words were like a spear permanently lodged in her heart. They were torturing her recklessly.

She wasn't angry with Arnav. She was upset with herself that she was the reason for his pain. She couldn't bear to lift her head with the shame she felt for hurting the man who had done so much for her. He had every right to be angry at her.

Once they were both done, Arnav and Khushi cleared up the table silently.

Then Khushi went back to the bed and turned the TV on. But she wasn't even watching it - just staring at the screen while her mind was repeating the events of the past two days.

Arnav on the other hand didn't want to be in the same room as Khushi - the tension was so thick in the air. It was very awkward for both of them, so he decided to go upstairs and work.

He quickly changed in the bathroom and came out ready for work.

"Khushi, I'm going to work. I will be back for lunch," he said looking at the floor, but loud enough for her to hear.

Then he took the lift down to his office, ready to work.

As soon as he was out of the lift, Khushi just broke down into tears once more, not knowing what else to do in this situation.

As soon as Arnav got to his cabin, he called Aman, wanting to know how far the case has progressed.

"Any more information on who L75 is?" asked Arnav.

"No Arnav, the goons don't know any information about this L75 except this name. They seem to get instructions from another person who works for L75, but we were too late to trace that person. We need another lead," informed Aman.

"Damn it! This case is more complicated than I thought! I took in Khushi to protect her from Shyam, but this new L75 has come out of nowhere, complicating everything!" Arnav swore. Now they had to come up with a plan to trap both these criminals.

"Arnav, I was wondering if they are both one and the same? What if this is some sort of trick from Shyam's end?" Aman expressed his thoughts.

"No Aman. I don't think that would be possible. Shyam is just a rich, spoilt brat abusing his power. He is not smart enough to cover his tracks to this extent. We have been at him for long enough to know he isn't clever enough to build up a hierarchy like this... This L75 seems older, more experienced and cunning. They can't be the same."

"Yh you're right Arnav, I didn't think from that POV. So what do we do to catch this L75?"

"That's what I'm thinking about too Aman... There must be some sort of pathway that could lead up to him... Some sort of loophole..."

Arnav sat there with his police mind racing with possibilities while Aman tried to do the same.

Suddenly something clicked in Arnav's mind.

Why didn't he think of this before?! It was sitting right in front of him the whole time!

"Aman! We've been searching from the wrong end this whole time!" exclaimed Arnav.

"What do you mean Arnav? Wrong end?" questioned a confused Aman.

"Aman remember I was there when L75 called Khushi when they were about to..." Arnav still found it hard to think of that incident. Seeing Khushi on the verge of death was something he just couldn't bear.

"Yh Arnav, what about it?"

"The guys wanted to kill Khushi. Khushi out of all people. And he also mentioned something about wishing he had sent them all off together, meaning he had killed Khushi's parents."

"Yh Arnav we know this already, what are you getting at?"

"Aman we need to search about Khushi's history! Or more like her parents' history. Every single detail of their life. All their possible enemies. This could give us a lead us to who it might be and what we could do to trap them. We've been searching the wrong end Aman! The goons are giving us no leads. This is a much better option."

"Arnav you're a genius man! I didn't even think of that!"

Arnav just smirked, "I'm always right. Anyways Aman, I want every single detail of Khushi's parents' lives within a week, ok?"

"Done," replied Aman, confidently.

And with that they both cut the call, feeling satisfied that they have a new lead. And Arnav was sure that this would definitely lead them to L75 for sure.

He immediately called Akash to his cabin, after ending the call with Aman.

As soon as Akash entered, Arnav began, "Akash I need you to find out every single detail of Khushi Kumari Gupta's parents' lives - who they've met, who their friends are, their possible enemies, their siblings, everything. And I want everything about Khushi Kumari Gupta too. This needs to be done within the next week."

Akash listened carefully and nodded at the end. He then wordlessly walked out of the cabin, ready to start this mission from this very moment.

Arnav needed to ask Khushi about herself too. The more information, the better.

Soon, Arnav started his AR work too, still catching up with the work he'd missed due to working from home all these days.

As soon as it hit lunch time, Arnav informed Akash before heading back up to Khushi.

The second he stepped into the penthouse, the aroma of Khushi's hand-made food wafted towards him.

He never said this out loud, but every time he ate Khushi's food, it felt like home. It reminded him of his mother and all the good times in his life, and eating Khushi's food made him feel like everything was right in his life even through all the chaos.

All through lunch, the pair ate their lunch in silence, both looking everywhere but at each other.

Arnav stayed back in the penthouse after lunch, because despite him not talking to Khushi, he didn't want her to feel lonely. There was a lot of tension between but he didn't want her to feel that he was leaving her all alone in this penthouse by herself.

So Arnav just sat down on the dining table and did some paperwork from AR which he had brought with him from the morning. Khushi just remained in bed watching TV for the rest of the day.

Both seemed to be doing their own thing but their minds and hearts were only crying for each other. And being in the same place really wasn't helping the case either.

The whole day went by this way, everything done in silence with absolutely no eye-contact or communication between Arnav and Khushi.

At night when both were getting ready for bed, Khushi realised that there was no recliner in the penthouse like there was in RM.

Arnav was walking towards the sofa with a pillow and blanket in his hands. But Khushi noticed that although the sofa looked comfortable, it was way too small for Arnav to sleep in. But still Arnav was prepared to sleep in it.

"Ar-arnavji?" Khushi called hesitantly, her voice croaking a little.

Arnav just turned around and raised his eyebrows, asking her what was wrong.

"You can..." Khushi took a deep breath. "You can... sleep on the bed..." Arnav looked like he was about to argue back when she finished, "...with me."

With that Arnav's eyebrows shot up in shock. Was this really Khushi?!

"I know what you're thinking, but that sofa is too small for you. And... I trust you," she said, looking up into his eyes at the last part.

Arnav just gazed back at her eyes with an intensity that she couldn't bear, so she soon broke away from the eye-contact and slid into bed on her side, turning on the night-lamp by the bed, leaving the other side free for Arnav.

She had her back to him, but she could feel his eyes boring into her back. However she didn't turn nor say anything more. She just waited for him to make his decision.

And a minute or two later she felt the bed dip beside her as he slid into bed beside her, with a decent amount of space between them.

They both tried to sleep and Khushi didn't know how much time had passed, but eventually she heard Arnav's even breathing, so she knew he was asleep.

She turned around to face him expecting his back to be facing her, but instead she saw his calm face while he slept peacefully.

It was only when she was sure that he was sleeping that she let her tears fall free. The tears that she had kept in since lunch due to his presence.

She hadn't meant to do this and neither had she planned it, but now lying beside him she felt like pouring her heart out to him. She knew he is asleep and he won't even hear her, but what if she never gets such a chance again? To tell him her feelings face to face? She didn't think she would have the strength to tell him all this tomorrow, when he was in front of her, listening to her. So she just wants to get it off her chest.

"I'm sorry Arnavji," she whispered, as more tears cascaded down her face and onto the pillow. "I'm sorry I hurt your feelings. Hume maaf kardijye. (Please forgive me)"

"Devi Maiya ki kasam, hume aapko dard dhena ka koi iradha nahi tha. Or nahi aapko yeh aisaas dhilaana jaathethe ki hum aap par bharosa nahi karthe. Kyunki Arnavji... Hume aap par bharosa HAI. Poora bharosa hai. Is duniye ke saare logon se hum sabse zyaada aap par bharosa karthe hain. Hum aapko kaise samjhaaye? Bohot saara vishwas hai aap par. Khud se zyada. Sabse zyada. Arnavji, agar aap hume ek pahaarse koojaane keliye kahenge, hum bina savaal ki aap ke baat maan jaayenge. Kyunki hum jaanthe hai ki aap hume kabhi kuch nahi hone denge. (I swear on Devi Maiya that I never wanted to hurt you. And neither did I want you to feel that I don't trust you. Because Arnavji... I DO trust you. I trust you fully. I trust you more than anyone on this Earth. How do I make you understand? I have a lot of trust in you. More than myself. More than everyone. Arnavji if you told me to jump off a mountain, I would do it without a question. Because I know that you would never let anything happen to me.)"

"Or rahi baat hamaare savaal ka... humne uss savaal ko aapse isliye nahi poocha kyun ki hume aap par bharosa nahi hai. Humne sirf isliye poocha kyun ki hum jaathe the ki hum aapke zingadi ke ek hissa bane - AAPKE ek hissa bane. Arnavji, aap tho hamaare baare mein sab kuch jaanthe hain. Lekin aapke baarein mein hum kya janthe hain? Hum sirf voh jaanthe hai jo Ratna Maa ne humse kehthi or hum yeh jaanthe hain ki aap ek police officer hai jo hamaara case uttakar hume raksha kar rahe hain. Iske alaava hum aapke baarein mein kuch nahi jaanthe.(And as for that question that I asked you... I didn't ask that because I didn't trust you or your ways, I asked that because I wanted to be a part of your life - a part of YOU. Arnavji, you know almost everything about me. But what do I know about you? Other than the things that Ratna Maa has told me about you and the fact that you are a police officer taking up a case to protect me, I know nothing about you.)"

"Agar yeh koi or hota toh shayad hamareliya is baat ka koi farak nahi padtha. Lekin yeh AAP ho Arnavji or... aap hamari jivanmein sabse mehetvapoorn logon se ek ho. Pata nahi kab aap hamaare liye itne important bangaye... lekin important tho aap HO. (Had this been anyone else, maybe it wouldn't made a difference to me. But it's YOU Arnavji, and... you're one of the most important people in my life. I don't know when you became so important to me... but you DID.)"

"Pehle hum bas aap par bharosa karna sikha... Or phir ek bohot khoobsurat dosthi hamaare beech mein aane laga... (At first I just learnt to trust you... And then a very beautiful friendship started to form between us...)"A small smile spread across Khushi's face as she looked at Arnav's serene face while she remembered all their moments together.

"Lekin ab... hume aise kyun lagtha hai ki aap hamaare dosth se badkar hai? Pehle jab jume yeh khayal aaya man mein, humaare dimaag uss khayaal ko phekdiya or hume laga ki hum bas pagal hai. Hamaare beech dosthi se badkar kuch kaise ho saktha hai? (But now... why do I feel like you have become a lot more than a friend to me? Whenever this thought occurred to me before, my mind just pushed the thought away thinking that I was just being crazy. How can there be anything more than friendship between us?)"

"Lekin aaj hume patha chala ki hum galath the. Jab aap humse poore din baath nahi ki, aise lagra tha jaise hamaare dil ki bohot saare tukde gayaab hogaya ho.(But today I realised that I was wrong. When you weren't talking to me the whole day, I felt like many pieces of my heart have been lost.)" By now Khushi's smile had gone and she was left with pain once more as she struggled to breathe.

"Zingadi mein hamaare bohot saare dosth the. Lekin jab unke saath hamaare koi jadga hua, hume kabhi bhi itna dard nahi hua jitna ab hora ha hai hume. Aisa kyun hota hai Arnavji? Jab aap hamaare paas aate hain, humaare dil ke dhadkane thez ho jaate hain. Aisa kyun hota hai? Or... kya rishta hai hamaare beech? Yeh saare savaalonko hamaare paas koi jawaab nahi hai. Hume kuch samajmein nahi aarahan hai. Hum nahi jaanthe ki aap hamaare liya kya hai, lekin sirf itna jaanthe hain ki aap hamaare dosth se kahin badkar ho. (I've had many friends in life. But whenever I had arguments with them I never felt pain to the extent I'm feeling now. Why does it happen Arnavji? When you come near me, my heart beats faster. Why does it happen? And... what relationship do we share? I don't have the answer to any of these questions. I don't understand anything right now. I don't know what you are to me, but I know that you are a lot more than a friend to me.)"

"Or isi vajase hume bardaash nahi horaha hai Arnavji. Hume bardaash nahi hora hai ki aap humse baath nahi kar rahain hai. Hum teek se saas hi nahi le paarahain hai Arnavji. Aap ke bina hamaare zindagi adhuri hai. Ab yeh case vase hamaare liye koi maine nahi raktha hai Arnavji. Hume sirf aapka saath chahiye. Or kuch nahi. Hum hamaasha aapke saath rehna chaathe hain. Agar ek or din aapse baath karne bagair rehna pada, toh hum marjaayenge Arnavji. (And that is why I can't bear it Arnavji. I can't bear the fact that you're not talking to me. I can't even breathe properly Arnavji. Without you my life is incomplete. This case vase doesn't matter to me anymore Arnavji. I just want you to be with me always. Nothing else. I want to be with you always. If I had to stay another day without talking to you, then I will die Arnavji.)" Khushi couldn't control her sobs as she said all this so she covered her mouth to muffle her sobs, so as to not wake Arnav up from his sleep. The thought that Arnav might never speak to her again was so painful that her heart literally hurt.

The second she finished her last sentence, she felt a warm pair of arms suddenly engulf her into their warmth with a force that almost hurt. "Shshshshsh. It's ok Khushi. Shshshsh I'm here... With you."

Yes guys, Arnav was awake the whole time and he'd heard every single word that Khushi had said. Khushi wasn't the only one who was disturbed with the recent events. Arnav was too, so how would he be able to sleep?

As he'd listened to Khushi he realised how he had misunderstood her question for mistrust, when there was no fault of hers. She was right. He didn't tell her about himself the way she so openly did. He hadn't done it on purpose but it was just his nature... and partially the situation too. But she still had every right to want to know about him. After all he had given her that right as a friend didn't he?

Arnav would have spoken up as sooner but he wanted her to get it all off her chest. All her feelings - the pain, the hurt, everything. But some of the things she said just... shocked him.

When she said her heartbeat gets faster when he comes near her... he was completely surprised. He thought that it was only him who felt all those sparks and heartbeat problems but she felt it too!

And when she said that he was more than a friend for her, he knew exactly what she felt, because he himself got that feeling sometimes. He knew he was attracted to her physically - last night had told him that much. But there was also this affection that he felt for Khushi that was a different type of affection to the one he felt for Sheetal. With Sheetal it was like he wanted her to be safe and happy - it was like what a brother feels for his sister. But with Khushi... it was just different. Yes he wanted her to be safe and happy, but there was also this irresistible pull that always tugged him towards her. He couldn't explain it, but he knew that Khushi was more than a friend to him.

He didn't know whether to be cautious or to be happy that