A/N: Hello everyone!!! How you doin'??? 😂😂😂 So, I actually just realised that more a year has passed since I started this book and I want to thank everyone for staying by this book and it's prequel. I am forever grateful and in debt to all of you. You guys motivate me to write and honestly, I never thought I'd ever get this far. Thank you everyone!!! ❤❤❤

***

Thursday came earlier than expected and Kabir dreaded every minute of it. It was not because of all the questions Raina was asking (he had gotten used to them), but he had a gnawing feeling that this might be the last time he was going to see Raina. Within the last half an hour with Raina, he has lost focus more times that he could count.

What's wrong with me? Kabir thought to himself.

Raina too, seemed to have noticed it.

"Kabir?" Raina finally asked. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah," he muttered. "I'm sorry, I don't know what's gotten into me."

"Is there anything that's bothering you that you may want to talk about?" Raina asked further.

"I..." Kabir started. He can't let such a petty thing ruin his last session with her. He reconsidered his words before replying. "I'm just wondering what will happen after this. You know, since my album won't be releasing anytime soon."

"I'm sure you'll figure something out eventually," she replied. "The end of your music career isn't the end of everything. Maybe it could be the start of something."

Kabir nodded.

"And us?" Kabir sheepishly asked. "This is the last session."

Raina smiled gently.

"I thought you decided we were going to remain friends after this?" Raina asked in return.

"Yes but..." Kabir fumbled. "You're right. It's the end of our 'professional' relationship and the start our friendship."

Raina laughed.

"You make it sound as if we weren't friends before this," she said.

"Well," Kabir replied, running his hand through his hair. "We did kind of fight within the first five minute of knowing each other."

They shared a laugh together.

"Alright," he said as the laughter died down. "Let's continue the session."

The session continued without any hitch but Kabir couldn't shake his restless feeling.

"Ok," Raina announced. "Shall we play one last game before we end the session?"

Kabir nodded.

"Do you remember how to play never have I ever?" Raina asked.

Kabir nodded once more.

"Ok good," she replied and handed him the card.

This felt nostalgic, Kabir thought to himself.

"Topic?" Raina asked.

"Tara," he answered. "Like last time."

"Given the current nature of your relationship with her," Raina stated. "I'm going to ask you different questions."

"Ok," Kabir responded.

"Have you felt a change of feelings towards Tara?" Raina asked.

"Have and have not," Kabir replied.

"Please elaborate," she prompted.

"There's definitely a change in my feelings towards her," he revealed. "Like, I'm no longer envious nor do I feel any resentment towards her. However, I still feel like a part of me will always love her no matter what."

Raina nodded.

"Have you ever contacted Tara after the wedding?" Raina continued with her questions.

Have.

"I had to apologize to her for missing the reception," he explained.

"Other than that?" Raina asked.

"Not really," he replied. "I don't want to intrude on her honeymoon. Besides, we're still looking for some sort of balance in our 'newfound friendship'."

Raina nodded.

"Look like you managed to handle your issue with Tara well," Raina told him. "Now that you have told me what I need to know, let's try a different topic. Your family."

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Kabir asked.

"I'm here to help you solve things," Raina explained. "And although you seem to have settled certain things, you still have some issues, especially with your step-father. Have you ever tried resolving issues with him?"

"I don't want to talk about him," he told her.

"Why?" Raina probed futher.

"Because...," Kabir said, unable to continue.

"Because what, Kabir?" Raina pressed.

"Because he makes me mad!" Kabir's voice was slightly raised.

"And why is that?" Raina asked, calmly.

"I don't know?!" Kabir said, his voice slightly wavering. "I just don't like talking to him or about him."

"Have you at least tried?" Raina prodded.

Kabir let out a huff of breath and showed Raina the card.

Have not.

"Do you want to try?" Raina urged.

"Where do I start?" Kabir sighed. "This has been going in for as long as I could remember."

"How about at the beginning?" Raina asked.

"What's the beginning?" Kabir asked.

"What's your earliest memory of him?" Raina assisted.

"It's quite foggy," Kabir revealed. "The first time I met him, I was about 2 or 3."

"What happened?" Raina asked.

"I don't know," he replied. "I was quite young then. I probably didn't know what was going on but I remember feeling confused, scared even."

"Was it before or after your father passed away?" Raina asked.

"After," he answered. "A few months after."

"Did you ever talked to your mother about this?" Raina continued.

"I don't think so," he told her. "She was so sad weeks after my father passed away. And then one day, she begun smiling again."

"I remember you told me you weren't close to your father but was his death hard on you?" Raina prodded.

"It might have scared me a little," he replied. "But what does that have to do with Ravi Desai?"

"I just wanted to know the situation then," she explained. "Now, were there any happy memories between you and your step-father while growing up?"

"Yes," he responded. "But that was when I was young. Like, 10ish young."

"When did you two begin drifting apart?" Raina asked. "If you could remember what escalated to that, it would be good too."

"I...," he said before realizing something. "There was never a real significant event that made us drift apart. We just begun spending less time with each other and very soon we were at each other's necks."

"How did you feel when you were drifting apart?" Raina asked.

"Disappointed," he admitted. "At least for the first few times. Then, indifferent."

"Why were you disappointed then?" Raina prompted.

"You're asking me something that was years ago," he told her. "I couldn't even remember what I had for lunch yesterday."

"But you remember you were disappointed," she pointed out.

"I remember the feelings," he replied.

"And did these feelings ever surfaced before Ayesha and Arjun were born?" Raina continued.

"I don't remember," he said. A curious expression then begun creeping on his face. "What are you suggesting, Raina? Are you trying to tell me that I was jealous of my siblings?"

"I'm not suggesting anything," she answered. "I'm helping you find the source of the problem. I know this isn't something that can be settled overnight and to be honest, we're kind of running out of time. I would love to help you some more if you let me."

"I would prefer if you left it as is," he told her. "We're talking about more than 20 years worth of history."

"That's why I want to help," she revealed. "Do you want it to escalate to 30? Or 40? Or never?"

"Fine," he relented. "I get the point. I just don't like it."

"I recalled you didn't quite like our sessions too," she reminded him. "But you overcame that. I'm sure if you put in a little bit of effort, you'll get through this too."

"I probably would need to drag my entire family out for counselling sessions though," he joked.

"If that's what it takes," she said, kindly. She then took a look at her watch. "So, looks like this is the end of your weekly sessions. Congratulations to you for completing them and also congrats for staying sober for a month, although, you had one very close call and an overdue homework."

Kabir blushed at the memory.

"Thank you for everything, Raina," he smiled. "I would never be who I am today if not for you."

"You're welcome," she replied as she started packing.

"How are you going back?" Kabir asked.

"I usually just hail an auto," she answered. "Dr. Malhotra was afraid of my car being followed if I drove."

"I'll drop you off at the office then," he offered.

"That doesn't seem to be a good idea,"  she told him.

"Why not?" Kabir asked. "Saves you a lot of hassle."

Raina sighed.

"The entire last week was great and all but that didn't quite sit well with some of my colleagues," she replied.  "I understand your sincerity but, it's just I don't want to create issues or misunderstanding among my colleagues despite them not knowing who you are."

"Then why don't you just tell Dr. Malhotra?" Kabir asked.

"This is just a trival matter," she said. "I don't need to bother Dr. Malhotra with things like this."

"But they're being jerks to you," he added.

"They're not jerks," she laughed. "In fact, they're usually pretty nice. They just have not had this type of offsite assignment, that's all. They like having a bit of distance between them and their patient. I, on the other hand, do things very differently."

"I can see that," Kabir smirked. "Well, if I can't send you back to the office, then at least let me buy you lunch tomorrow when I pick up the reports. As a thank you gesture."

"Didn't you hear a word I just said?" Raina asked, exasperated.

"Fine," he said. "Dinner then? Please? You can bring you family along if you're not comfortable. And I'll bring Ayesha and Sunny. They would also like to catch up with you. Please?"

"Alright," she relented. "I'll meet you for dinner but without my family. They can only handle one famous person at a time."

Kabir chuckled.

"Alright," he said. "I'll see you tomorrow at your office?"

"Don't forget your disguise," she teased.

"I'm not sure if I need one after this," he replied. "You may need one though, for saving the life of a fallen rockstar."

"Kabir," she her voice in a warning tone. "I agreed to a non-disclosure contract."

"You did but I didn't," he retorted. "Think of all the publicity and all the clients that you will get."

"Judging from my experience of last week," she said. "I would rather NOT be in the spotlight."

"Fine," he sulked. "But it's not fair that you do all the heavy lifting and then not getting all the credit you deserve."

"I don't need credit," she answered. "I just want to do my job."

"Right," he said, his eyes downcasted.

Raina had a feeling Kabir was hiding something from her.

"I need to get going," she spoke as she stood up. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you," Kabir responded as he led her out.

As he watched her figure leave his house, he couldn't help but feel his heart ached a little. He felt as if he wanted to run up to her and stop her from leaving. He watched as she made her way further down the street  and crossing the road before hailing an auto. Kabir stayed until Raina and the auto disappeared into the Mumbai crowd.

"What is wrong with me?" Kabir asked himself. "Snap out of it!"

He shook off the feeling and called Ayesha. Thankfully, she picked up on the third ring.

"Hello, Kabir? Is there something wrong?"

"Why would you think that something's wrong?" Kabir asked.

"Well, considering the fact that you hardly ever call me in the middle of the work day... Wait, aren't you having your session with Raina?"

"She just left," he replied. "I was wondering if you can clear your schedule and maybe even Di's for tomorrow night? I'm planning to buy Raina dinner tomorrow night for helping me for the past month. And it'll be good opportunity to have a little catch up session for you, her and Di. I'll call Sunny and inform him about this later."

"Did she agreed to that?"

"Yeah," he responded. "I still have to find a way to keep the paparazzi out of the picture though."

"Sameer's?"

"I was planning to go somewhere fancy," he told her. "But that works too. We can kill two birds with one stone by convincing our beloved Di to be with Sameer."

"One step at the time, cupid-ji. Let me check if Di's free tomorrow night."

Kabir smiled.

"You're the best, Ayesha," he said. "I'll see you later then. Bye."

"Bye."

Now, to call Sunny...

A/N: Aww... Looks like Kabir misses Raina already 😜😜😜 But will he ever admit his feelings?? 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️ We'll wait and see...

Till next time... 😘😘😘 Bye!!!