He looks down at her confused. He pulls up her mask seeing the males eyeing her. She places her hand behind her back and forms a fist. The man sees it and steps back. He steps out from his hiding and sits with the other men. He looks at the two and introduces himself.

Granth: Mera naam Granth hain. Yaha ek purana ghar hain waha aap dono aaj raat ruk sakhte hain.

Darshan: Shukhriya!

He nods, more like bowing his head. Jaimi passes a simple nod to him. An older man speaks up.

Male: Uss ghar mein tum dono ek saath rahoge?

Darshan: Haan.

Male: Yeh ladki tumhari lagti kya hain?

Darshan: Meri biwi hain!

Darshan said it so fast and without hesitation that his mind didn't have time to register it. Jaimi looks at Granth to see him texting someone. He looks up from his phone and stands in front of them. He looks at Jaimi and starts to speak. 

Granth: Mein uss ghar ko saaf karva deta hoon tab tak aap dono yaha rahe. Aur, aap ke liye ek medical kit bhijvata hoon. 

Jaimi nods and moves closer to Darshan while watching her surrounding. He looks down at her to see her looking tense. He looks ahead of him to see a man looking at her from a distance. He wraps his arm around her waist and her head snaps up. He lowers his head, so his mouth is near her ear. 

Darshan: Car mein baitho!

Jaimi: Nahi, thik hain!

Darshan: Har baat pe zidd karna zaroori hain?

Jaimi: Har baar mujhe touch karna zaroori hain? Don't touch me!

Darshan: Not now, please!

They snap out of their little argument upon hearing giggles. Darshan looks up to see the men at a distance from them. A group of women is now standing about a foot or two away from them. They giggle seeing to two which confuses Jaimi. She looks in their direction and takes a step away from Darshan. 

GW: Mein Granth ki ladi hoon!

Darshan: Ladi?

Jaimi: Wife. 

Darshan nods his head. 

GW: Aap dono humare saath aao tab tak uss ghar ki bhi safai ho jaaegi!

Darshan slowly nods and looks at the car. 

GW: Ghaadi leke aao. 

The two get into the car and follow the ladies. They lead them to what looks like the center of the town. There's a bonfire in the center and a few people are sitting on chairs and charpoys around it. He turns off the car and grabs the necessities before joining Jaimi. Granth's wife points towards a charpoy and the two take a seat on it.  A little kid comes towards Darshan after a few minutes and hands him a first-aid box. He takes it from her and pats her head, to which she shyly runs away. Darshan's eyes catch the same man from earlier staring at Jaimi to which he grits his teeth. 

Darshan: Mujhe dekho!

Jaimi: What?

Darshan: Ek cut hain toh first-aid kar raha hoon. 

Jaimi nods and slowly turns to him. He cleans the wound with the alcohol solution then, applies medicine before putting a bandaid over it. He closes the kit and keeps it to the side. 

GW: Aap dono ki shaadi kaise hue thi? Love ya Arranged?

Jaimi looks at him and glares as his lie plays in her mind.

Darshan: Love!

GW: Ooh!

A female in the corner demands to hear their story.

Darshan: Pehli mulaqat mein hi pyaar ho gaya tha par hum ek dusre ko jaante nahi the. Kuch waqt baad phir kaam ke silsile mein mulaqat hue aur ek bahot accha rishta ban gaya tha. Phir, hum dono saath mein kaam karne lage aur phir kuch waqt baad shaadi karli kyu ki ek dusre se dur jaana hume pasand hi nahi hain! Right jaan?

He wraps his arm around Jaimi's shoulder and pulls her against his chest. Jaimi grits her teeth hearing the stupid love story that is their story, just in the parallel universe. 

Jaimi: Shut your mouth, Raval!

Darshan smiles at her but keeps her in his embrace. After a few minutes, Jaimi starts to get irritated. She tries to escape his grip, but he pulls her closer. 

Jaimi: Mujhe chodo!

Darshan: Nahi!

Jaimi: I said, let me go!

Darshan: Yaha acting chalu rakho warna puri raat car mein sona padega. 

Jaimi: Mujhe koi acting nahi karni! I can manage by myself. 

Darshan: Haan dekha!

Jaimi: Ughh! Woh dekho waha ek ladki tumhara attention lene ka kabse try kar rahi hain toh uske paas jao aur meri jaan chodo!

Darshan: Kabhi nahi! Idhar aise raho.

Jaimi is about to say something but is interrupted by Granth. 

Granth: Aap ab uss ghar mein jaake aaraam kar sakhte hain.

Jaimi nods and stands up along with Darshan. They get into their car and follow Granth and his wife who are riding a bike in the opposite direction of where they came from. After a fifteen-minute drive, they reach a hill. They park their vehicles and grab their things. 

Granth: Aaiye!

They follow him up the hill to a small cottage. Granth unlocks the door with his key and allows the two in. He flicks the light switch, but it doesn't come on. 

GW: Lagta hain light chali gae! Yaha mombatti hogi. 

She searches around for a minute or two. She comes back with a few packets of candles and a matchbox. She hands them to Darshan. 

GW: Aap dono yaha aaj raat ruk sakhte hain aur kal subah issi raaste se apne hotel jaa sakhte hain! Ghar ko sirf kundi laga dena jaate waqt. 

Darshan: Thank you! Aap ne humari bahot madad ki hain. 

Jaimi: Thank you!

She modifies her voice slightly. Granth and his wife bid them farewell before leaving. Darshan turns on the flashlight of his phone and locks the door behind them. They light the candles around the room. Just as they finish, a small bulb by the entrance comes on, but the rest of the cottage is still dim. The tempreture drops as there are high winds outside and along with heavy rain and snow. Jaimi places the dry wood into the fireplace and lights it. She stands up and turns around only to bump into Darshan. She takes a step back, but he wraps his arm around her waist and pulls her closer. 

Jaimi: What are you doing?

Darshan: Piche jal jaogi. Aag hain!

He studies her beautiful features under the dim light. He puts back a strand of hair that fell on her face. Jaimi looks away as their encounter from a few hours back starts to play in her mind.

Darshan: Jay I-

He's cut off by the cold wind that causes both of them to shudder. He looks to see that a window has opened due to the force of the winds. He sighs and steps back. He locks the window and makes sure the other windows are locked while Jaimi lights the candles that were blown out. 

Darshan sees that the candles have lit up the room. He takes in the interior of the room to see a small charpoy in the center of the room with a blue mattress on top of it. There's a gray loveseat sofa by the fireplace and a small coffee table in front of it. He moves towards the fireplace and adds a few blocks of wood. He sees Jaimi sitting on the sofa, looking at him with a blank face. 

Darshan: Jay I-I'm

Jaimi: I don't want to talk!

Darshan: I know ki tum mujhse naraz ho aur hona bhi chahiye. I'm really sorry Little Warrior!

She looks away from him with her face showing no emotions. He kneels in front of her and takes her hands in his. She looks down at him and tries to remove her hands from his hold, but he tightens his hold. 

Darshan: I'm really very sorry, Little Warrior! Jay, mujhe pata hain ki mujhe tumse waise tareeke se ya tone mein baat nahi karni chahiye thi par with you... I-I don't know kyu par I'm just very protective of you. Mein yeh industry mein kahi saal se hoon aur mujhe pata hain ko log kaise ho sakhte hain. Mein nahi chahta ki tumhe koi hurt kare!

She looks into his brown orbs that show nothing but sincerity and regret. 

Jaimi: The only one that has hurt me since the beginning is you, no one else!

He looks down ashamed at everything he did.

Darshan: Jay I-

Jaimi: You might have meant well, but I can't be like this! Respect and boundaries are important for me in professional or personal relations. You disrespected me and the boundaries between us today. 

Darshan: I know and I'm very sorry about it! Anger took over me because tum aur Nirmaan mujhe kuch bata nahi rahe the and tum sick thi last night. I didn't want you to go out kyu ki... I was worried ki tum aur bimaar ho jaogi. My anger got the best of me and I couldn't think properly par yeh koi explanation nahi hain mere behavior aur woh words ke liye jo meine tumse kahe. Mein koshish karunga ki aise kabhi na ho dobara, please give me chance. 

Jaimi: I don't know if I can. 

He nods his head and lets go of her hands. He sits down on the floor with his back against the vacant side of the sofa. 

Darshan: Karishma and I met on our first song shoot jo Manali mein tha. We instantly clicked and became friends. We went out as friends a few times, but there was an attraction. I asked her out for a date and she agreed. We were in a relationship for a year before I found her cheating on me with someone I know. Karishma ne hum dono ko cheat kiya tha because even he didn't know that she was dating me! Uss incident ko ek saal ho gaya phir bhi mein aaj tak kisi pe easily trust nahi kar sakhta. This doesn't justify my actions, but just know that I'm very sorry and ashamed of myself!

There is silence afterward apart from the crackling sound coming from the fire. They both let the silence engulf them and stare at the fire. After what seemed like forever, he stands up and looks down at Jaimi.

Darshan: Bahot derr ho gae hain. So jaate hain. 

Jaimi nods and stands up. She makes her way to the charpoy. She sees him standing by the loveseat watching her. 

Jaimi: Tum nahi sone wale?

Darshan: Tum waha so jao. Mein yaha sofa pe so jaaunga.

Jaimi: Woh sofa tumhare liye bahot chota hain! Tum yaha so jao mein waha so jaati hoon. 

Darshan: Nahi, it's fine! Tum waha so jao. 

Jaimi: One time offer, Raval! You can sleep here with me. 

Darshan opens him mouth, but closes it soon. He slowly nods his head and makes his way to the charpoy thinking about the size of the loveseat sofa. Jaimi takes off her boots and buttons up her coat, so it's like a dress. She lays down on the left side and Darshan is on the right side. There's barely about an inch of space between them due to the size of the charpoy. He pulls the gray blanket over them. 

Sleep slowly engulfs them. Unconsciously, they cuddle one another for warmth as the intensity of the storm causes the temperature to drop further. Jaimi's face is hidden in the crook of Darshan's neck. His head is resting on top of her head. Her one arm is wrapped around him while the other is clutching his shirt. His right arm and leg are wrapped around her while his left arm is under his head. 

Darshan is woken up around 4 in the morning due to the sound of lightning and whimpers. He looks down and sees Jaimi clutching his shirt, tightly. He hears occasional whimpers from her. He rubs small circles on her back. 

Darshan: Little Warrior, it's ok! I'm here. Kuch nahi hain.

He whispers this in her ear a few time and she relaxes in his arm. Once she is asleep, he also goes back to sleep. 

Jaimi wakes up around 6 in the morning. She slowly opens her eyes and finds herself wrapped in Darshan's arms. She carefully removes his arm and leg from around her goes to the washroom. She comes back to find him awake. The candles have burned out as well as the fire in the fireplace. She picks up what is left of the candles and throws them in a small bin by the entrance door. He folds the blanket and fixes the cover of the mattress. She slips on her boots. He uses the restroom and comes back to Jaimi. 

Darshan: Chale?

Jaimi nods. They step out of the cottage and the cold wind slaps them. There's about a feet of snow. He holds her hand as they walk down the hill and to the car. He opens the trunk and finds two wipers. They remove the snow from the car. The drive back to the hotel is silent. 

After two hours, they reach the hotel. He parks the car in the parking lot. Jaimi is about to step out when Darshan takes hold of her arm. 

Darshan: I'm sorry, Little Warrior!

Jaimi stares at him for a moment before looking away. He lets go of her arm and they step out of the car. Jaimi sees that the car she took is back. They go to their room and freshen up. Jaimi dodges most of Ayesha's questions. They all meet up in the dining area for breakfast. They all avoid bringing up last night seeing the tension between Jaimi and Darshan. Jaimi is thankful that they are the only ones in the dining area. 

They return to their rooms and finish up any last minute packing. They meet up in the parking and hire cabs for the airport. They board the flight for Mumbai. 

They reach Mumbai in the evening. Siddharth drops Hardik and Jyugal at Darshan's place while Naushad and Mehjabeen drop off Ayesha. Darshan takes Jaimi to her home. The car ride is filled with silence. He pulls into the parking of her apartment complex. He steps down and grabs her suitcase from the back. 

Jaimi: Thank you. 

Darshan: Jay, I'm sorry for not trusting you or letting you explain your side. You belived in me and gave me multiple chances though I always disapointed you! Mujhe ek mauka do tumhe jaanane ka and I promise I won't disapoint you this time. 

Jaimi: Kal subah 9'o clock tumhari office mein meeting hain. Bye. 

She turns on her heels and leaves him confused. He shakes his head and starts back for his apartment. 

**********