Darshan sees Jaimi sitting against a rock. The tightness in his chest eases a bit. Her eyes are closed and her head is thrown back a bit. Her legs are close to her chest with her hands resting on her knees. He moves close to her and sits by her side with his legs stretched. She opens her eyes and looks at him.

Darshan: Hi!

Jaimi: Hi.

He looks at her face that resembles a tomato right now. Her eyes are bloodshot red from what the little light allows him to see. The cold wind blows and he shudders a bit while she's unfazed. For the next few minutes, they are sitting in comfortable silence. Jaimi stares ahead at the fire while Darshan looks around all while stealing a few glances at her.

Darshan: Tum abhi tak soe nahi?

Jaimi: Nahi. Ghootan jaisa mehsoos ho raha tha issi liye bahar aa gae. Tum?

Darshan: Pata nahi achanak se chest pain ho raha tha.

Jaimi: Tum thik ho? We can go to the military camp nearby for medical assistance.

Darshan: Nahi thik hain. Acidity ho gae hogi.

Jaimi nods and continues to look ahead. Darshan follows her line of vision which is set on the fire. Her eyes show emotions which he can't decipher.

Darshan: Tumne India se jaane ka final kar liya hain?

Jaimi: Haan.

Darshan simply nods.

Darshan: Kyu? I-I mean tum architect ho aur India mein bahot acche architecture firms hain. Tum apna khud ka startup bhi kar sakhti ho! Yeh sirf mere opinions hain. You don't have to listen to them.

Jaimi: Mere India se jaane ki wajah job nahi hain!

Darshan: Toh?

She cranes her neck to look at him. She studies his face and his eyes show sincerity.

Jaimi: I just don't want to stay here!

Darshan: Why? I mean I know ki yeh USA nahi hain par India apna best hain!

Jaimi: Mujhe India se koi problem nahi hain! I was born and raised here. Mujhe pasand hain par-

Darshan: Par? I mean agar tumhe mujhe batane mein koi problem na ho toh...

Jaimi: India mein mujhe ghootan jaisa lagta hain!

Darshan: Tum akeli rehti ho iss liye aisa lagta hoga. Tum apne relatives ke saath raho phir sab normal ho jaaega.

Jaimi: Mein un sab ke saath nahi reh sakhti!

Darshan: Kyu?

Jaimi closes her eyes and sighs before looking at him again.

Jaimi: Woh mujhse koi rishta nahi rakhna chahte.

She speaks lowly and he could only hear because of their proximity.

Darshan: Huh? I mean woh aisa kyu chahenge? You are perfect! I mean tum...

Jaimi: I don't want to talk about them!

Darshan nods. He opens his mouth to speak but is interrupted by Ayesha's voice. She moves closer to them. Darshan doesn't miss the look of panic on her face as she runs her fingers through her hair.

Ayesha: Jay, tu thik hain?

Jaimi: Haan.

Ayesha: Let's sleep.

Jaimi slowly nods her head and stands up. She passes Darshan a small smile before following Ayesha back to their tent.

Ayesha: Tu thik haina?

Jaimi: Haan.

Ayesha: Tu mujhe aise daraya mat kar! Tu nahi dikhi toh mujhe laga ki-

Jaimi: Ayesha, don't!

Ayesha slowly nods her head seeing the distant look on Jaimi's face.

Ayesha: Weren't you sleeping?

Jaimi: I was feeling claustrophobic so bahar gae thi tehalne ke liye!

After a deafening silence, they both retire to bed. Darshan leans back against the rock and stares at the fire. He thinks back to what Jaimi said. He could see the pain in her eyes when she looked at him and talked. He sighs and retires to his tent.

The night passes by and they are up at 5 in the morning. They all have tea made from tea bags and some Parle-G as they watch the sunrise. They pack up the tents and everything and trek down which takes them only about an hour or two.

The next few hours are spent on the bus back to the hotel. They freshen up and have lunch before getting back into the two cars. Darshan and Jaimi are in one car with Karishma and Aishwarya. Ayesha, Jyugal, Hardik, and Siddharth are in the other car. They start back for Manali.

Jaimi is in the front seat with Darshan driving the car. Darshan glances at her every few minutes. She is immersed in the iPad in front of her. She doesn't care enough to partake in whatever the other three are saying. After what seems like forever, she closes the iPad and sees that she has been working on it for almost 4 hours.

Aishwarya: Jaimi, tum kis pe kaam kar rahi thi?

Jaimi: Ek project hain.

Aishwarya: Indie Music ka?

Jaimi: Nahi.

Karishma: Sidekick, tumhe do jobs karni padti hain ghar chalane ke liye?

Jaimi: No par agar karni bhi padti toh usme kya problem hain? At least kisi aur se rooth ke toh nahi leti na!

She motions towards the gold bracelet which Vikram gifted her for ignoring her the day before yesterday. Karishma turns red in anger. Darshan and Aishwarya are struggling to stifle their laughter.

Karishma: How dare you bit-

Jaimi: Lower your damn voice, Karishma! I will not tolerate disrespect from you at any moment. Don't forget that I'm not your assistant!

Karishma: You don't even have the qualities to qualify as my assistant. I don't understand how Darshan even gave you the job. You probably did a favor at night. Don't forget that I'm an actress whereas you're nothing.

Darshan: Karishma!

Darshan's voice is stern and filled with spite. Before he can further say anything, Jaimi places her hand on his thigh. He's caught off guard by her action but quickly recovers from it. Jaimi turns in her seat to face Karishma. 

Jaimi: Let me clarify this Ms. Sharma, I'm a Harvard graduate. So, as a matter of fact, you don't qualify to be my boss!

She states in a matter-of-fact tone. 

Jaimi: And, about you being an actress... congrats! 

Karishma: Thank you! Unfortunately, tum toh kabhi nahi ban paogi. 

Jaimi: Mujhe koi interest bhi nahi hain! Mein apni life camera ka saamne smile karte hue aur koi faltu se hero ke peeche rote hue nahi guzar sakhti. But I mean you're suited for that role.

The last sentence was more of a taunt than a compliment. She turns back around in her seat. Aishwarya covers her mouth and looks out the window to hide her smile. Karishma grits her teeth and bores holes in Jaimi's back through her gaze. 

They reach the hotel in an hour or so. They meet up with Naushad and Mehjabeen in the reception area. 

Naushad: Chalo check-in kar lete hain!

Ayesha sees Vikram through her peripheral vision. 

Ayesha: Bhai, mein aur Jaimi formalities kar lete hain. 

Naushad nods. Jaimi and Ayesha move towards the receptionist after collecting everyone's id. They get keys from everyone's room except Jaimi and Ayesha. 

Ayesha: Tu apna purse mujhe de aur sab ko yeh keys deke aa tab tak mein humari formalities puri kar deti hoon. 

Jaimi hands her purse to Ayesha before moving towards the others. Ayesha hands her id to the receptionist before digging through Jaimi's purse and pulls out an id from the hidden section. She hands it to the receptionist and quickly takes the id back. She grabs their room key and rushes away towards the others. Her eyes connect with Jaimi's and she tries to keep a blank expression. 

Naushad: Hum sab fresh ho jaate hain phir aage ka plan decide karte hain!

Hardik: Bhai, yaha woh masjid hain wahi chalte hain. 

Naushad: Thik hain waise bhi aaj kuch khaas kar nahi paaenge!

Mehjabeen: Dupatte wala kuch pehanana!

She says it while looking at the girls who nod in response. They all make their way to their newly assigned rooms and freshen up. Jaimi slips into ankle-length cotton palazzo pants and a Kurti in the shade cream. She dons a cotton printed dupatta with it. She slips on one-inch nude heels with it. Ayesha changes into a Kurti set similar to her in powder blue shade with a white floral printed dupatta. They go down to the parking lot where the others are already waiting. 

They look ahead to see the boys wearing a t-shirt or button-down shirt with jeans and a jacket. Mehjabeen is wearing a sharara set. Aishwarya is wearing a pink Kurti with black leggings and she has grabbed a black and white dupatta that matches. Jaimi thanks the lord that Karishma isn't around because she doesn't want any drama. 

They all get into a black van. Naushad drives it to the mosque. They slip off their shoes and leave them at the entrance upon reaching the mosque. The females and males part their ways as the females move towards the partitioned area to offer their prayers. The guys finish their prayers and wait by the partition for the girls. 

Darshan looks through the marble mesh partition and sees Jaimi. She is on her knees with her palms in front of her face as she offers her prayers. Her dupatta covers her head. He sees the slight breeze blow the ends of her hair. After a minute or so, the ladies join them. They move towards a marble mesh at the farther end of the mosque where people have tied multicolor thread. Everyone gets a thread and starts towards the marble mesh except Jaimi. She stands a bit away from them. 

Mehjabeen: Jaimi, tum mannat nahi rakhogi?

Jaimi: Nahi Bhabhi. 

Hardik: O c'mon Jaimi! Wish maang lo. We are humans after all. We never have enough!

Jaimi gives him a faint smile.

Jaimi: Mein mannat aur sab mein nahi maanti!

Jaimi smiles a bit and turns away as her phone rings. The others tie the strings around the mesh while making a small wish. They step out of the mosque and look around for Jaimi. Ayesha spots Jaimi kneeling in front of a kid. They make their way over to her to see Jaim chatting with the kid who looks about 5-6. 

Jaimi: Aap ki mom kaha hain?

The kid points towards a woman watching them from the corner. 

Jaimi: Aur aap unke saath kyu nahi hain?

Kid: Mumma ne mujhe chocolate dene se mana kiya toh mein yeh candles bech ke paise kama raha hoon. 

Jaimi chuckles hearing the little kid's excuse. 

Jaimi: Toh mein aapse saari candles kharid loon?

A smile breaks out on the kid's face. Jaimi takes out a hundred rupees from her purse and hands it to him. He hands her the candles and kisses her cheek. She smiles at his antics. His mother makes her way to the little kid with a smile on her face. 

Jaimi: Aap ka naam kya hain?

Kid: Aarush!

The smile on Jaimi's face drops. Her expression mirror pain, but she pushes them aside and smiles at him. She pats his head and stands up. 

Jaimi: Aap mere saath waha church mein aaoge?

Aarush nods with a smile on her face. Jaimi looks at his mother. 

Jaimi: I hope you don't mind!

Mother: Not at all and sorry agar yeh aap ko pareshaan kar raha tha toh. Aarush aunty ko paise wapas do!

Jaimi: No-no!

Mother: Yeh nahi rakh sakhta. Mein usko sirf paise ki value sikha rahi thi. You don't need to-

Jaimi: Let him have it! The champ was working quite hard, weren't you?

He quickly nods. She holds his hand and looks at the church in the corner of the mall road. 

Naushad: Tum sab jaake aao tab tak hum kisi ko mil ke aate hain!

Jaimi nods. Mehjabeen and Naushad move toward the shops while the others walk towards the church. Darshan holds out his finger for Aarush who happily takes it. Hardik takes a few pictures of the three as they move towards the church. Aarush is happily holding both their finger with his tiny. He skips his way to the church followed by the others. They enter the church.

They walk down the aisle to the statue of Jesus Christ. Jaimi takes the stairs along with Darshan and Aarush to a small table. They light candles and carefully place them before stepping down. Jaimi imitates the cross on her body and Aarush tries to copy her. She folds her hands together and closes her eyes. Darshan is doing the same while Aarush keeps trying to copy them. 

They kneel as Aarush tugs on their hand and motions them to sit. He plants a quick kiss on Darshan and Jaimi's kiss before running away from them towards his mom. They move rise to their feet and thank the father before walking out of the church followed by others. They meet up with Naushad and Mehjabeen and depart for the hotel. 

Upon reaching the hotel, they are greeted by Nirmaan. They greet him and he greets them back. 

Nirmaan: Jaimi, can I talk to you for a minute?

Jaimi nods. The others leave except Darshan who is on a call. He is just around the corner from the two. He ends the call after a minute or two and sees the two talking. He sees the two chatting away about something without paying attention to him. He moves towards them and snakes his arm around Jaimi's waist, possessively. Nirmaan sees his hand and raises a brow. Her head snaps up to meet his gaze. He smiles at her while she glares at him. She tries to push him away, but his hold only tightens around her waist. 

Darshan: Nirmaan. 

Nirmaan: Darshan. Kya haal?

Darshan: Thik. 

Nirmaan: Excuse me! Jaimi, mein tumse kal milta hoon. 

Jaimi nods. He proceeds towards the parking lot while Jaimi steps away from Darshan. She is surprised by the fact that he let her. 

Jaimi: What the hell?

Darshan: What?

Jaimi: Don't touch me!

Darshan: Kya problem hain, Jay? Are you bipolar or what? Kal raat ko toh sab thik tha aur aaj stranger ki tarah behave kar rahi ho. 

Jaimi: Kal raat jo bhi baat hue woh bhul jao. And, we basically are strangers, so please just stay away!

She moves past him towards the exit with Darshan in tow. She stops dead in her track hearing those familiar voices. Her breath hitches as the memories cloud her mind, numbing her. Her eyes moisten. Darshan taps her shoulder after a minute seeing her just standing there with her door half open. Her grip on the handle tightens to a point that her knuckles turn white. He frowns seeing her like this. She takes a deep breath and slowly turns her neck to see the faces she despised. 

She quickly looks in front of her and is out of the door in less than a second. Darshan has to speed walk to keep up with her. She quickly marches towards her room and knocks on the door. Ayesha opens the door to see a panicked Jaimi and a confused Darshan a few steps away from her. Jaimi hurriedly walks into the room. Ayesha passes him a small smile before shutting her door. 

**********