If Khushi had ever dreamt of a fairy-tale life, her wish had come true tonight. Amidst all the glitter and glamour, the lights and wine, the enchanting fragrance and mesmerizing views - she had finally found her moment. The fashion show was a hit with the audience.  Three rounds of standing ovations. All the designers on stage, taking a bow. Khushi was sharing the platform with industry stalwarts whose work she had worshipped. It was surreal and yet it was strangely real. Reporters were clamoring for her quotes. She would be featured in the newspapers tomorrow, her hard work would get recognition, she would finally be considered worthy. 

A faint smile danced at the edge of her lips. It was ironic that her life's biggest moment was a result of its worst. If she hadn't gone to Sheesh Mahal that fateful day, she would never have met ASR and none of this would've happened. She looked up at the sky, full of twinkling stars and mouthed a thank you. Her parents were watching from up there. And today, she truly felt she had made them proud. 

She had made them all proud, even Shashi and Garima. She thanked Devi Maiyya, for watching out for her every step of the way. ASR was sitting in the first row clapping the loudest. He was proud of his team's achievement. It showed in the way his face glowed. Sheetal was smiling demurely, standing right next to him, clapping away. 

Absorbing the reality of what had just happened, Khushi's eyes strayed towards ASR. She looked at him and sighed. Vantablack was really his colour. He looked royal. She had noticed the number of heads that turned to catch a glimpse of him, wherever he went, but he was oblivious to it all. She noticed Sheetal next to him. The two looked perfect together. She sighed once more and wished she was just as immune to his charm.

*****

The event had ended sometime back. Most of the crowd had dissipated. A few staff members of AR were busy winding up.  Head designer Vishal was clearing out the green room,  Aman was dealing with the event coordinators, Khushi was overseeing the caterers and Arnav was waiting to sign cheques and pay the bills.

While the caterers cleared the floor of their arrangement, Khushi moved to the perimeter of the terrace to admire the night view of the city. She was so far away from home. She missed her family. She wanted them around to participate in her victory. Of course, she would call and tell them all about it. But that didn't help. She felt inexplicably happy and lonely. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't realize when Arnav had come to stand right behind her. 

 "You look beautiful."

His compliment gave her goosebumps. She refused to acknowledge it, instead blaming the nip in the air. She hugged her arms tight across her body and rubbed each other to infuse heat. "Thank you," she said. She turned her neck to look at him and then focused on the view in front of her. 

His near presence was strangely comforting. She liked this moment, just the two of them. It wasn't charged with emotion like most others. She reveled in his form and wanted to lean into his strength. She felt secure. The thought drew a raw chuckle. "What's so funny?" he asked. "Nothing," she replied, shaking her head. She turned to face him and glanced at the buffet area. The caterers were almost done. She walked to check on them when a gentle tug drew her back to where she was standing mere seconds ago. 

"Dance with me." His voice was sultry and she was under a spell. Tucked far away from everyone's eyesight, Khushi and Arnav danced to the faint stirrings of music that reached their ears. He twirled her and she effortlessly followed the beat and rhythm. He pushed her and pulled her close, gently caressing her lower back, brushing his hands against her chest, stroking her arms, dipping her and bringing her close enough to hear her breathing. He twirled her again, brushing his cheeks with hers, gazing into her eyes, trying to talk the language of his soul. She let him guide her, innately following his lead, blushing every time he touched her, wishing for more such times. The moment was intimate. It was raw, honest; where two lovers unable to confess their feelings tried to convey it to each other through music and rhythm. 

The moment was suddenly interrupted by a shrill ringtone. Arnav abruptly stopped dancing and distanced himself from her to answer the call. Suddenly Khushi felt cold. She missed his body heat. She thought about walking up to him and snaking her arms through his and dismissed the idea. She would wait for him to finish the call and come back. He, however, abruptly ended both the call and their tryst.

"I need to go," he said. Without offering an explanation walked away.

Khushi stared after his retreating figure feeling lost and out of sorts when Aman walked behind her and gently laid his coat on her shoulder.

"Come, I'll drop you to the hotel. It's late."

For a moment Khushi stared incredulously and asked: "What just happened Aman?"

"I don't know but I guess we'll find out soon enough."

*****

It was a little after 3 am when Aman and Khushi sauntered into the reception area of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. They hadn't expected anyone around and were pleasantly surprised to find out that their estimation was wrong. ASR and Sheetal were both there at this ungodly time. ASR was sitting on the sofa, his finger scrolling on his phone. Sheetal was using the coffee vending machine to brew two hot cups of double espresso shots. Both of them hadn't noticed Aman and Khushi's presence.

"Walk was a great idea Sheetal," he said, gratefully taking his cup from her hand. "Let's go back to my room and wrap things up."

She looked at him, nodded and looped her arm into his, walking along.

When Arnav and Sheetal were out of eyesight, Aman cautiously looked at Khushi who was seething.

"Ravan Singh Raizada," she muttered under her breath.

"Khushi," asked Aman gently, "Is everything okay?"

"Of course..." and after a pause continued, "Of course I knew this would happen. Sheetal suits him in every way. She is smart, talented, from his world; of course, he was going to fall in love with her."

Aman coughed.

"Who told you ASR is in love with her?"

"Then what was all this about?" she asked, waving her hand animatedly to the spot where Arnav and Sheetal had looped their arms.

"That's for you to find out," he said yawning. "Come let me get you to your room."

When Khushi seemed uninterested in taking a step forward, Aman gently dragged her to her room, opened the door and literally thrusting her in. "Good night and try and get some sleep. We have another long day ahead tomorrow."

*****

After Arnav's sudden departure from the event venue, Khushi took out her anger and frustration on poor unsuspecting caterers. Her mind conjured up images of Arnav and Sheetal spending quality time with each other. Her fervent imagination only increasing her misery and anxiety. 

Khushi was right. Arnav had gone to see Sheetal. But not for the reasons she'd imagined. While the caterers wondered if ASR's ghost had found a way into the body of Khushi Kumari Gupta, cooped in his room, Arnav and Sheetal were going through all of AR's contracts with their partners, distributors, and vendors in Milan. 

Anjali's morning sickness had left her extremely exhausted and unable to focus. Since Corporate Law was also Sheetal's specialty, she had volunteered to help verify all the paperwork. For two hours, Arnav and Sheetal had poured through reams of legal paperwork, debating and reworking agreements, negotiating the best terms in AR's favor. 

At 3 am when the eyes began to droop and the words from the contract began to swim around the room, Arnav proposed to take Sheetal out for coffee. She had instead suggested, they grab one from the reception vending machine and get some rest.

"Thank you," he said genuinely when the two of them were back in his room with their cups of coffee.

"You don't need to thank me." She had a smile on her face and gently placed her hand into his. 

Arnav knew what it meant. And while he was grateful, he didn't want Sheetal to get any ideas as a result of his Di's actions. 

"I need you to know something Sheetal, and there is no easy way to say this." 

He paused, waiting for the information to sink. She continued to look at him in an adulatory fashion.

"I know why you're here and I know what's brewing in Di's mind." 

He paused again. There was no easy way to say this to a woman without offending her. Sheetal was a nice girl but it would be wrong to lead her down a path and raise her expectations when all he could offer her was disappointment.

"I want you to know that I don't reciprocate your feelings."

"But.....," began Sheetal.

He raised his hand to stop her from speaking.

"Hear me out. You're a very nice girl and I wish you all the best in your life, but I don't see myself as an integral part of your life. I love someone else, someone who should ideally hate me for what I've put her through. And yet she doesn't. She has irritated me, vexed me, helped me, intrigued me and saved me. I love her and if I didn't tell you that today, it wouldn't be fair to any of us."

"What's her name?"

"Khushi Kumari Gupta."

Sheetal smiled a bit more and squeezed Arnav's hand in excitement. "I knew it. Shyam had an inkling but its good to hear you admit to it."

Arnav was shocked. Shyam had an inkling, which means his Di might have known too. Then what was the point of all this charade?

"Then why are you here?" 

"Because I wanted to see it all for myself. She is beautiful and you're a very lucky man."

"I don't think so," he replied despondently.

Sheetal chuckled at his response. "What's so funny?"

"For such a smart businessman, you're acting pretty stupid. The whole world can see that she is madly, irrevocably in love with you."