Same day (Sunday) - 10:07 pm.

Arnav knocked the door of his mother's room to crack the second big deal of his life now. He already managed to convince Khushi to speak her heart out to her father when the big day arrives. But now he also needed to secure his place at the top of his future father-in-law's list of prospective grooms for his daughter, Khushi.

He heard his mother's answer of permission to enter the room and opened the bedroom door only to find her half lying on her bed and keeping her book on the side table which she had been reading before he entered the room. "Am I disturbing you?" he asked in a soft guilty tone, standing near the door as if waiting for her reply to decide if this is the right time to talk with her or not.

Ratna shook her head with a slight smile on her face as she patted the empty side of her bed calling him through his eyes. He closed the door behind and shrugged while speaking on his way to her bed with a teasing tone, "Aur waise bhi.. you don't ask permission when you come in my room to disturb me, so why should I?"

Ratna waited for him to sit near her on the bed to twist his ear playfully yet painfully earning a loud hiss from her son, "I'm your mother.. you're not my father and that's why you need to ask permission. Now tell me what do you want?"

Arnav gave her an offended look, "What do you mean by 'what do you want' Ma? Do I only come to you when I want something from you?"

"Accha sorry.. itna senti kyu ho rahe ho Chote (Why are you getting sentimental now?).. Come here," she patted her lap inviting him to sleep on his mother's lap with a manofying tone.

Arnav shook his head as he embarrassingly stated, "Actually today I came to ask you something.. and please keep this in your mind that it's only today I want something from you Ma.. otherwise there are other days when I just come here to spend time with you!" he frowned cutely at the end.

Ratna chuckled softly nodding her head at him, "Accha batao toh sahi kya chahiye (Okay.. tell me now what do you want?)"

"Ma I want to talk to you about Khushi's college fees," he initiated trying to sound casual as if it's not a well planned scheme of his to impress his future father in law, but simply his concern over this matter.

"What about that?" Ratna sounded alerted as she straightened herself on the bed to listen to him carefully.

"I was thinking that Shashi uncle must be facing difficulties to pay her monthly college fees.. so.. I mean.. maybe I should help him by half payment of the fees," Arnav said and waited in anticipation of his mother's answer. He already started highlighting few strong points in his mind that would help him convince his mother in case her reply turns out not in his favor.

Ratna remained in silence for few seconds as if registering his words in her mind, before she raised her eyes to met her son's, "Chote I already know how much you love to help people around you, but don't think you're on your way to become a charity home yourself? I mean you're already pick and drop Khushi to college and you bought her an expensive laptop. I think what you did is enough to be considered as 'help'. If Shashi sent his daughter here to study, then it means he must have made some arrangements for her college fees payment, you don't need to be worried about this also."

"But Ma, Khushi is your childhood best friend's daughter.. how can we not help her?" he insisted with the first point being used to melt her heart and convince her to agree with his idea.

"Do you really think if he was my best friend till now, Khushi would feel so shy and talk less around me? I would have treated Khushi and Meera like my own daughters and they would have treated me like their second mother, if Shashi was still my best friend.. unfortunately he's not my best friend anymore," Ratna replied to him.

Arnav frowned slightly, "Why?"

"Because when my marriage was arranged with your father, he distanced himself from me as soon as he found out that I was going to marry a rich man who belonged to high society. I tried my best to save our friendship but the inferiority complex was taking its toll on him as he started treating me and looking at me differently. There was nothing I could do then as I had to move to Delhi and also got busy with my married life leading to me and Shashi just became better known as acquaintances than the best friends we were," Ratna explained as memories of past made their way on her mind. Her childhood best friend sure attended and helped her mother (Nani) and her elder brother (Manohar) with her wedding preparations but during the ceremonies he showed hesitancy while talking to her, he avoided coming in front of her whenever her husband would be around them and the moment he wanted to give her wedding gift, he looked ashamed for not being able to gift her something expensive and even apologized for it shocking her to the core as he should know whatever he gifted her, she would always have considered it a valuable gift and guard it close to her heart.

"That's sad.." Arnav sighed, "And that's why we never knew you had a childhood best friend until the time Nani told us about Khushi coming to stay with us."

"Haan.. I would have introduced Shashi and his family to you, Ayan and Anjali during Anjali's wedding. I made sure to ask your Nani with whom he keeps in touch till date to invite him and his family to the wedding but he didn't come claiming that he was busy with work. But I know it's not true.. Shashi thinks we belong to different worlds now, he thinks I'm rich and he's poor and that's why we cannot be friends.. he feels he's unworthy of being my friend now, he feels uncomfortable when he's with us," Ratna said, she patted Arnav's back in caring manner, "That's why I'm telling you to drop this idea of helping them with college fees. As far as I know the type of man Shashi is, he won't ever accept to take help from you.. he will take it as if you're hurting his pride."

Arnav nodded as he lowered his lashes sadly that his attempts to impress Shashi flopped, "What a complicated man!"

Ratna chuckled softly, "He has been living a complicated life too.. complicated toh hoga hi (He is bound to be complicated)."

At that comment, he simply faked a smile to his mother while thinking to himself, "And to make my life complicated too."

"And about Khushi's college fees.. if there's anyone who should help her, then it's me.. not you. Give me sometime, I'll have a serious conversation with that Complicated man. Me, your Nani and Mami are leaving to Lucknow this Friday to attend a relative's wedding. As soon as I find a good opportunity, I'll sit with Shashi to have a conversation with him regarding Khushi's college topic. Okay?" she patted his cheek smiling fondly at her son.

Arnav nodded his head, "Okay." Well, he didn't get the chance to impress Shashi this time but he hoped his mother would be successful in trying to convince that complicated man. It would be good for Khushi to concentrate on her studies without worrying about burdening her father with her college fees payment.

"I feel so happy to see you taking care of Khushi and her needs Chote," Ratna said with an elated smile on her lips, "Do you remember how you were so annoyed to take the responsibility of picking and dropping her at college when we first told you about her? But look at you now.. you are reminding me of Shashi only.. he used to take care of me like his little sister and you're doing exactly same to Khushi."

Arnav almost jerked on his place at the mention of Khushi being his sister yet again, he looked at his mother whining, "Ma Khushi is not my sister. Please don't be like Nani trying to force this bhai-behen rishta between us."

Ratna analyzed the visible irritation on his face and gazed at him suspiciously, "If you already have a girlfriend, then care to explain me why does it bother you if I address you as Khushi's brother?"

Arnav widened his eyes incredulously at her, "What does one thing have to do with another now?".

Ratna didn't reply to him, just kept gazing at him with stern scrutinizing eyes as if she could read his mind at the moment.

And he knew at the back of his mind that his mother already caught his lie. He threw his head back and shut his eyes momentarily before looking back at her with a guilty tone, "Okay fine.. I don't have a girlfriend. Sheetal is not my girlfriend. I lied to you Ma.. I'm sorry."

Ratna was still looking at him sternly as she simply gestured him to continue his explanation.

Arnav gulped when he realized she looked really angry with him now. He held his ears with his hands and made a cute sad puppy look to her, "I'm really sorry Ma.. I didn't want to lie to you.. but-"

"You lied to me. Now tell me the truth," she cut him off, not wanting to hear excuses but simply the reason behind his lie.

"Okay I will tell you the truth only. Please don't be mad at me Ma," he said seriously and held her hand, keeping it in between his hands and taking a deep breath internally as if to gather courage to speak about his feelings to his mother, "I'm in love with Khushi, Ma."

Ratna withdrew her hand from his hold in utter shock, "What?". When he fell into silence, she raised her hand to rub her temple tensed now, "I can't believe this.. Arnav you know in which condition Shashi accepted this girl to come here to Delhi and complete her studies, right?"

"I know Ma-"

"So you're telling me you're in love with a girl who already promised to her father that she will get married to the one he chooses for her? Devdas banna hai tumhe? (You wanted to become a grieving lover?)" she asked him with a stern tone, frowning deeply.

"Ma!"

"Shut up Arnav! You can date or fall in love with any girl you want, even this Sheetal you lied to me about.. but not Khushi!" she raised her index finger to him in warning tone, she was visibly angry with him yet her eyes were filled with unshed tears as she painfully slapped his cheek not so harshly, "I already suffered enough when your father left me for another woman. I won't bear to see my own son going through the same pain which I went through. If Khushi leaves you to marry the man of her father's choice.. then I won't be able to live and see my son shattered because the girl he fell in love so deeply left him for someone else."

Arnav hugged her with tears in his eyes too when he realized why she is so against him falling for Khushi, he caressed her back trying to calm her down and whispered sweet nothings to her.

They didn't speak for a long period, just stayed in each other's embrace until Ratna who finally managed to think rationally, putting aside her mother's protective instincts and emotions, she broke the hug and asked him in serious tone, "Does she love you back?"

Arnav shook his head with lowered eyes, he was feeling stupid now for lying to his mother about Sheetal and for making big plans to impress Khushi's father, all this without having Khushi by his side. She's not even aware of his feelings for her and behind her back he's acting like a fool by trying to impress her father without even knowing if she will ever accept his love for her, "No.. she doesn't. She only considers me as her good friend."

"And when did you fall in love with her?"

"The first day I saw her.." Arnav bit his lips and averted his eyes embarrassed to confess this to his mother. Logically thinking, he started feeling stupid about himself. Because love at first sight was never his thing, he always thought he would fall in love with someone after knowing that person inside and out, when he's completely sure that she's the girl he wants to spend his whole life with.

Ratna cupped his face with her palm and forced him to look at her because she knows he was feeling embarrassed for something he shouldn't feel and that too in front of her, his mother - the one he shouldn't hesitate or feel embarrassed to share anything to, "Listen to me.. there's nothing wrong with falling in love with someone at first sight. It is only after meeting that person that you can realize that girl might not be compatible with you. And that's what I want you to do. Just stop worrying about everything else and give some time for you and Khushi to get to know each other, to let these love kind feelings grow inside you two.. to realize these type of feelings for each other. If after this 'time' I'm talking about, you've finally come to the conclusion that you both love each other and are willing to fight any obstacle to spend the rest of your lives with each other, then come to me and only then I will support you Chote. But if you see that Khushi has none of those feelings for you then take a step back and move on in your life Chote.. I don't want to see my son suffer.. I really don't want to live and see you become another version of me. As your mother, I won't tolerate this... and if Khushi falls in love with you, then trust me, as your mother... I'll do anything to see you two happy with each other."

Arnav nodded his head with misty eyes. Ratna made him rest his head on her lap, she ruffled the back of his hair to calm him, she knew he was too overwhelmed with emotions right now to speak anything with her.

"Now what is Sheetal's role in this? Why did you lie to me that she's your girlfriend?" Ratna asked to distract her son who went in complete silence now, even though she already understood why he lied to her about Sheetal.

"It was never my intention to lie to you Ma.. Ayan heard your conversation with Nani, she was getting suspicious about my feelings for Khushi and she would do anything to keep me away from Khushi as she didn't want Khushi to get distracted from her studies. Ayan already knew about my feelings for Khushi and you know he loves me a lot, so he in desperation to save his brother he came up with a lie about my office girlfriend so that Nani stops keeping her eyes on me and Khushi every time as if we were committing a crime by just talking to each other," Arnav replied making sure he protects his little brother who only lied to their mother to save him that time. Ayan had no intention to hurt their mother or anyone with the lie, he simply wanted to help his brother.

"Hmm.. I see how you're trying your best to paint your naughty brother as a hero!" Ratna smiled sarcastically, "But I'll see him tomorrow."

Arnav looked up at her and shook his head with sad puppy eyes, "No Ma please.. he only lied to you because he wanted to help me and Khushi spend some time together without being watched by everyone with suspicious look. He had good intention behind this."

"I'm just kidding.. why are you treating me as if I'm Lillian Salvatore, villain mother of my Damon and Stefan Salvatore?" Ratna asked him teasingly while tickling his arms to lift up his mood.

Arnav finally smiled hearing her question, "I don't feel ticklish Ma.. and me and Ayan have no similarities with Damon and Stefan!"

"Oh you two have.. you two are my naughty mischievous trouble makers vampires!" she messed with his hair playfully and bend to kiss his forehead affectionately.