"This boy is the limit", said a frustrated Anjali to no one in particular. Her husband Shyam, who was engrossed in the contents of a file, merely looked up to humor his wife, before getting back to it.

"Shyam, what else can I do?" She stood square in front of his desk and continuously kept running her fingers through her hair. Her hair, which was usually neatly folded into a bun was a mass of unruly curls. Shyam thought she looked cute. He also knew something was aggravating her temper.

He stopped, took off his reading glasses and got up.

"What is bothering you this time, Anjali?"

"What else," she replied, her voice with a timbre of defeat. "I gave Chhote an ultimatum. I even threatened to have him married to a girl of my choice within three months, but the boy doesn't seem to care a tad bit."

Shyam sighed. Impatience was not one of his wife's virtues. She realized the direction of her husband's thoughts and came forward to hug him.

"I was scared Shyam", she whispered. "What if Khushi had not forgotten her phone in Chhote's office? What if help had not arrived on time?"

She paused to breathe. The mere thought of losing her brother after having lost her father and mother left her weak in the knees. "How long can I test good fortune?"

Shyam sympathized. He understood her vulnerability. Childhood scars ran deep. He gently caressed her back, trying to soothe her nerves.

"Anjali, don't threaten Arnav. As his lawyer, you should know by now that he doesn't respond well to threats. Instead, show him what he has to lose if he doesn't listen to you."

"How?" she eyed him like a confused doe, which only further endeared her.

"It's been a while since we've taken a vacation. Would you like to go on a two week holiday to Milan? I can ask my parents to look after Anya."

Anjali smiled, genuinely.

"Thank you Shyam, she whispered. "You're the best!"

*****

"I am not going to waste another tear on that Rakshas", muttered Khushi to herself while furiously brushing another layer of rouge to accentuate her cheekbones. She thought of all that had happened in the last two hours since she fled the cafe to the safety of her hotel room.

Twenty minutes of incessant weeping had led her to conclude that no tear was worth shedding for Arnav Singh Raizada. She had decided to celebrate the event. After all, she was rid of Arnav Singh Raizada for good. After her outburst, he would want nothing more to do with her, she concluded. Didn't he hate drama?

She drew herself a warm bath, added a liberal amount of essential salts and soaked herself in it, willing it to erase every memory of Arnav Singh Raizada that she held. She closed her eyes and out came the memories tumbling of all their encounters, the fashion show, the demeaning job offer, her numerous encounters with Arnav at Rising Star, her appointment to AR Designs, their trip to Lucknow, Arnav lying lifeless on the floor and the proverbial kiss.

She opened her eyes and remembered Aman's words to her: "Arnav blames himself for his parent's death." And then she remembered his reaction to her at the cafe, merely hours before. "Mia cara.." That's what he had called her. My beloved.

There was so much room for improvement. So much room for a meaningful relationship. So much room for love. If only that Raakshas gave it a chance. Maybe it was time to shake him a bit, so he accepts reality. But before, she would have to find out what really happened that made him averse to commitment and relationships.

She would need to speak to someone who would tell her a little more than what she already knew.

A good person to start with would be Aman. She agreed to meet him at The Caffe Cova on Via Monte Napoleone. Lonely Planet had described the street as the most upscale and expensive street in all of Europe.

She decided to dress grand. She picked a bright yellow organza floral dress and spent a significant amount of time on her hair and makeup. After all, if she was going to visit the most upscale shopping district on the continent she better look the part!

*****

The street reminded her of a quaint Roman city, two-storied houses packed against each other, painted in various hues of orange, white, yellow and red. A lone column at the far end of the street signified its advent. As Khushi was walking through it, taking a peek at all the high-end fashion boutiques that occupied prime real estate space, she overheard a tour guide talking to a group about the street's history. "The street walls were originally erected by Roman Emperor Maximian. After Napoleon I took over Italy in 1805, the street was renamed Monte Napoleone, to honor the king," the guide told the group.

Khushi didn't wait to hear more. She was intrigued by this street that had such a rich history associated with it and yet felt so chic and modern. She perused the stores that had created a home for themselves on the street - Bulgari, Cartier, Christian Dior, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Salvadore, Pisa, Prada, Ralph Lauren. Khushi spotted the beautiful cafe halfway down the street - The Caffe Cova - serving traditional Italian cakes and delicatessen. Just as she was making her way into the cafe, her eye fell on a lone billboard that adorned the door of a rather strangely empty store. Curiosity getting the better of her, she walked a few steps further to come face to face with the emblazon she had only become too familiar with. The door sported a large logo of AR Designs with the words Coming Soon, neatly inscribed under it.

***

Khushi would have walked towards the door to take a better look at the real estate that would now form AR's storefront in Milan. She would have loved to get an idea of the kind of space she was working with. Thanks to her walk, she already knew who the competitors were as well as had a fair idea of the customer experience that was being offered on Via Monte Napoleone.

Just as she was about to cross over to the other side to peek through the side windows, she spotted a lone figure, clad in an ink-black three-piece suit, speaking on the cell phone. She turned, not wanting to confront the man who was fast becoming the reason of her worst nightmares. However, her dinner appointment for the evening, Aman Bansal, who was also present with him, spotted her and called out - "Khushi!"

Before she could react, he had crossed the street and was now sporting a huge grin.

"What are you doing here early?"

"I just thought I should make use of my evening to do some sightseeing", she sighed. It would only be a matter of minutes before ASR turned to look for Aman and spotted her. And she really didn't want to deal with him anymore, at least not today.

"ASR told me you were having a headache. How are you feeling now?"

"Much better, thank you." And to lighten up the mood, she added: "The idea of dinner with you definitely perked me up."

"I'm glad. Do you want to take a look at our store?"

ASR had still not turned to look for Aman. Whatever he was discussing was keeping him busy enough to ignore his surroundings. Curiosity getting the better of Khushi, she agreed to Aman's offer.

***

The store was what it was - a store. Steel grey tiles, white paint on the walls and tiled columns that broke the monotony of the space. But to Khushi, it was beautiful - not because of what it was, but because of what it could become.

"Oh Aman", she cooed. "This is fabulous. I never knew that our store was to be launched in such a prime location."

And because she knew of all the SKUs that would be displayed at the store, she walked from wall to wall, section to section giving a vivid description of how she imagined the displays would look and what the customer would experience when they entered the store. Aman stood mesmerized at her ability to find joy in the smallest of things. She toured the space, dragging Aman along every now and then to discuss some minute design detail that had now found a home in her imagination and continued skipping across the entire length of the store area. Once she was satisfied with her tour, she came back, visibly excited with the prospects of the store.

"Oh Aman," she cooed again. "Thank you. Thank you so much for bringing me here and showing me the storefront. This was amazing." And she gave him a bear hug, nothing romantic, just a hug between two friends. And laughingly, Aman hugged her back.

And that's how ASR found them when he re-entered the store looking for Aman. He found Aman's hands, wrapped around Khushi's body, who was dressed like an angel.