My heartfelt apologies for the delay. Too many things on the plate right now. I just want to assure everyone that I won't be abandoning this story of mine. Thanks for all your patience and votes :) <3 <3 <3

This couldn't be happening to me. I never imagined being caught like this, even if it was all innocent. I stared back at Rudra who stood still with an expressionless face. Anil must have sensed my focus shift, as he too turned around.

" What are you doing so late in the night in my fiancé's room?" the accusatory question sent a cold shiver down my spine.

"She is not your..." started Anil, but I quickly pressed his arm to silence him.

I saw Rudra shifting his gaze instantly to where I touched Anil's arm creating a sudden wave of protective reflex inside of me as I quickly removed my hand, as if on an invisible command. I scolded myself for behaving like a guilty person when we had done nothing wrong.

Feeling rebellious I tried to place my hand back to where I had taken it from, but was interrupted by Rudra as he said in a low grim voice "I want to talk to you."

I suddenly felt the need for a secretary to keep my appointments. Everyone seemed to want to talk to me. I did a mental eye roll but otherwise kept an expressionless face.

"Lekha is tired. And she..." Anil tried to answer for me but one glare from Rudra silenced him.

Now both of them looked at me, as if asking me to choose the victor. I thought better of it and simply nodded my head towards Rudra in acceptance. Anil trying to be stubborn or just being supportive didn't move from his place.

"Alone," said Rudra gesturing with his head for Anil to leave.

Anil, as expected, didn't follow the monosyllabic order immediately but looked towards me. I slowly nodded my head to answer his unasked question. I saw him glare at Rudra in warning as he moved towards the door.

"I will wait outside if you need me," he said defiantly.

"'We'... won't require your services so you can go now" said Rudra rudely. The emphasis on the 'we' was not lost on any of us.

"You can't talk to my friend like this," I began angrily but Rudra just kept looking stoically at me with his back towards Anil rudely dismissing him.
I slowly nodded my head apologetically towards Anil and smiled, silently asking him to leave with my eyes.

"I will wait for my answer tomorrow, " he said. It seemed more for Rudra's benefit than mine. At that instant, I forgot all his kindness and seriously wanted to strangle him.

Hearing his footsteps move away Rudra slowly turned around. I felt betrayed as I thought he was going to leave after creating so much drama but then he closed the door and slid the door jamb.

"Why are you closing the door?" I stuttered.

"What was he doing here?" he asked with a growl ignoring my question.

I debated whether to tell him or not and then decided to throw caution to the wind. At this moment I felt as if I had nothing to lose. Even if I was banished right now from his life it was just like preponing the events. I turned away from him as my cheek burned with mixed feelings.

"He asked me to marry him?" I blurted out.

Without warning his hand shot out towards me and suddenly I was in his death grip being stared down upon. A shiver ran down my spine as what I saw was not simple anger but some kind of madness burning in his eyes. He seemed to have been frozen in time. If it had not been for the burning pain on my arm where he held me tight, then even I might have thought that the time had actually stood still. I winced with pain and saw a flicker of something pass through his eyes as he loosened his grip but didn't let my arm go.

He spoke again through gritted teeth "Don't joke with me girl?"

I felt like a deer caught in the headlight, neither able to retract what I had told nor able to hold on to my words bravely in the face of danger that was Rudra. I selected the next best option I could think of at the spur of the moment – 'The Silent Defiance'. I hung my head with the hope that he would rant and rave at my lowered head and then leave. The age-old tactics of wearing out the opponent using patience didn't seem to be working as silence extended between us and then it occurred to me that perhaps he too knew about the game of waiting.

It was me who lost the patience first, wondering with my lowered head if he had actually turned to a statue. I had the worst habit of getting funny thoughts even during grave situations like the current one. I tried to smother a smile which I just couldn't hold back. Then I saw him lower his head to take a peek at my bowed face through my peripheral vision and a sense of victory passed through me at having won the game of statues, which only I knew I was playing.

Suddenly the feeling of victory was sucked out of me at his next utterance " Did you just utter all this nonsense to draw some kind of reaction out of me.... or ... was it your way of taking revenge?"

'Revenge!', where did he get this odd idea from, I wondered. I instantly shook my head in denial as words seemed to have been stuck in my throat.

"Look up girl.," he said angrily as he pulled my face up with a tilt of his finger under my chin.

"When you are not scared to utter such nonsense then you should not be scared to face the consequences too... that is not the way of a kshatarani," he said with a jeer.

It just got me riled and perhaps he wanted that.

I gave him the best glare I could manage considering that my arm was still in his possession.

"I am not a kshatarani ... and never will be, "I said at last defiantly.

After a thoughtful glance at me, he let it slide and then as if he owned the room he casually strolled to the bed and sat down. I looked back at him dumbfounded and actually felt like an intruder in my own room. He looked all around as if he had come for the sole purpose of observing the decor. Gone was the person who a few minutes back was all bark. I stood there glaring at his impertinence.
"So ... Anil sa proposed marriage to you? " he began in a deceptively calm voice, still not looking directly at me.

"So were you planning to live happily ever after here or go back to your place? .... and ... what did you decide to tell everyone else here?"

I knew not how to answer that so kept quiet, my head again lowered to avoid any instance when he could pin me with his gaze.

"Or... were you planning to run away again without informing anyone. "

I still kept silent waiting for his rambling to finish so that he would leave.

"Answer me Lekha" he suddenly raised his voice. It took me so much by surprise that I moved one step backwards involuntarily. I raised my eyes and found his intense stare boring into my eyes with some kind of expression which I just couldn't read.

"I have not said yes to him"

I saw relief pass through his eyes and the devil inside of me made me add "Yet..."

There was complete silence after that.

He suddenly got up and started pacing the room and after a round or two suddenly turned towards me, "Anil sa has broken the rules of hospitality by proposing to my fiancé ... he has to leave right now ... back to Amer.."

" You can't take away my friends ... and... I am not your fiancé " I cried out in distress.

"Vaishali baisa can stay... I have no problems with her... and you are ... my fiancé... don't you ever forget that"

"I am just your pretend fiancé ... go throw around these orders at your real one. Plus, I know Anil won't leave without me "I said the last part feeling proud about my friends.

He came towards me and held me by the shoulders, and said softly" You have so much confidence in him and.... so little in me"

I wondered where the angry Rudra had gone and why did this one look so hurt.

I took a step back to dislodge his hold but he didn't let go.

"He is doing it for me. He likes me ... and ... even if he will not directly marry me ... we might just get engaged " I said, as it wasn't exactly the situation where I could explain to him the dating rituals.

He looked intently at me and asked: " and... you?"

I felt flustered.

"He is my friend... I mean... of course, I like him too"

"I am... I was your friend too ... "

His words made my heart flutter ... I wondered what he was suggesting. I couldn't fall in this trap again, so I hardened my heart against any further temptations.

"You 'were'... " I said putting emphasis on the past tense.

"Was...." he said with a grim smile " then what happened Lekha ... why did you run away?" He asked in a whisper moving his head close to me.

"You betrayed me... " I blurted out before I could stop myself and took an involuntary step backwards.

The pressure of his hand increased but didn't hurt me as he held me still.

"Betrayed .... ?... When?" He actually had the audacity to look surprised. Maybe he was surprised that his secrete was no longer a secret. I could no longer hold back my temper as my lips turned into a sarcastic smile.

" Well, when were you planning to tell me your secret ... 'friend' ... were you planning a side affair while everyone hailed you as the 'sacrificing obedient son'" I said drawing quotes in the air. I suddenly had this urge to vent out all my pent up hurting emotions. I shook off his hands from my shoulders and backed up to the other side of the room.

"I had seen her enter your room that day... " I said defiantly giving him a hint so that I didn't have to narrate the whole shameful story back to him.

He looked taken aback much to my satisfaction.

" She could have come uninvited ... " he said with a smirk after a pause.
He thought he was being clever and was trying to prove me to be the jealous and suspicious type. I just couldn't hold back any more, I had given up on this game of hide and seek.

" You were kissing her," I said with gritted teeth.