Khushi's thoughts were punctuated by the constant beeping of the monitor that was connected to her father's heart. The beeping sound meant her father was alive. Rubbing her hands against the paper cup that held her tea, her thoughts once again went back all that had happened in the last two weeks. She smiled at that.

"Shhh...Khushi. Everything is going to be alright," as soon as she had told him about her Babuji's heart attack. She had hugged him harder and cried. Despite their history, how did she always manage to find solace in his arms?

She looked at Arnav, but he was busy barking orders to people on his phone. "Your tickets have been advanced for tomorrow. The flight leaves at 4.30 in the morning."

She cried more. "Don't worry Khushi, I've already arranged for your Babuji to be airlifted from Lucknow. In the next three hours, he will be attended to by the best doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Science."

She smiled through her tears. Arnav Singh Raizada was a force of nature. She was glad she had him on her side.

By the time her flight had landed in New Delhi, her Babuji had already stabilized. The doctors were being cautious. After all, the rumor was that Shashi Gupta was an extremely important acquaintance of Arnav Singh Raizada. No one needed to know more than that.

Arnav had supported her in the best way he could, given that he was still in Milan. He had called every day to ask after her health and that of her father's. He had assured her not to worry about the money and even joked that AR could deduct 500 Rs from her salary every month until the loan was paid in full. Khushi smiled. She rarely smiled nowadays but conversations with Arnav always made her feel hopeful. He had personally spoken to doctors inquiring after the line of treatment and had asked them to keep him in the loop regarding all future recommendations for the patient. Khushi was grateful. She didn't know if she had in her to face all of it by herself.

The family had temporarily moved to New Delhi and were now living with Madhumati.

A sudden increase in the beeping frequency from the monitor jerked Khushi out of her thoughts. She rushed to call the nurse who promptly injected Shashi Gupta with a dose of Metoprolol Tartrate. The beeping frequency reduced before stabilizing. Khushi breathed.

*****

Standing in her shower, under scalding hot water, Khushi willed her fatigue to go away. It wasn't just physical. Khushi was emotionally exhausted. While the entire family took turns taking care of Shashi, the financial burden to keep the household running solely fell on Khushi's shoulders. And although she always tried to stay positive and chirpy in front of her family, her thoughts ran amok. She wished she had someone she could share her fears with. She was tired, tired of handling things on her own, of being strong. Glimpses of Payal and Garima hugging her and crying, Shashi surrounded by myriads of tubes and wires, Madhumati sitting in the waiting area with her prayer beads in hand didn't leave her mind. She had walked up to Madhumati and the aunt had hugged Khushi and cried. "Save Shashi," she had told her niece, "He's the only one I have left."

Her aunt's words had rekindled memories from a different accident. She remembered being surrounded by shards of broken glass when she was rudely woken up by an impact. Alone and scared, she had spent the next two days sitting in the corner of the local police station, eating and drinking whatever was given and keeping to herself, till her Bade Papa had come to take her with him. For the first time since her parents had passed away, 8-year-old Khushi had allowed her emotions to surface. She had hugged her Bade Papa and cried.

"Shhhh," Shashi had comforted her. "We're all there for you. You'll never be alone."

It had been five days since her parents had passed away. She was going back to Lucknow with her Bade Papa. But what then? Her little mind didn't understand much but somehow it had convinced her that she didn't have a home anymore. Where would she go from here? What would happen to her? Throughout the journey, she barely ate. Her Bade Papa was worried about her, but being a man, he didn't know how to deal with it. At night, when he lifted Khushi up to the middle berth of the second class compartment, coaxing her to sleep, he hesitantly kissed her forehead. "Bitiya, I will always be there for you." She had smiled, for the first time in five days.

When they reached Gomti Sadan in Lucknow, Garima had hugged Khushi and cried. "Badi Ma," she'd called her and Garima had gently cradled the girl in her lap and corrected her, "Ma. From today, I'm your mother."

Five days ago she'd lost her parents. Five days later, she had a new family - father, mother and an older sister.

She had been welcomed and loved unconditionally. She didn't think she could deal with it all over again.

"Why Devi Maiyya," she wailed in the shower, her tears mixing with the water, flowing down altogether. "Why me?" There was no answer. Tired, she slumped against the bathroom wall, turning the water off and making her way into her bedroom.

Her phone beeped. It was a message from Arnav. Keep well, the message read. I love you, she heard. Shaking her head, she put her phone away. She missed him. He'd always been a man of few words. But now she'd learnt to read his silence. She picked up the phone to text him back, but lost her battle to fatigue and fell into a deep sleep. It had been a while since she'd dreamt of unicorns and rainbows in a land far away.

*****

Lata Bansal had called off Aman and Khushi's engagement. She had been extremely apologetic and equally vague. Given the situation with Shashi's health, the Guptas didn't have the luxury to wallow in self-pity or call Lata Bansal names. What they did notice was that Khushi wasn't distraught about it. But nobody asked Khushi any questions. They had bigger things to take care of.

*****

Life completes a full circle. The words kept ringing in Khushi's ears as she made her way back from work to the penthouse apartment at Rising Stars.

AR Designs had been commissioned to work on the bridal trousseau for Bollywood actress Akanksha Mehta and American Pop Star Caleb Fisher's wedding ceremony. Since Vishal was still in Milan, Khushi had been asked to oversee the initial observations. In order to better understand their personality, likes and dislikes, Khushi had requested a personal meeting Akanksha and Caleb. The couple was to be in New Delhi for just a day, finalizing their wedding venue. As luck would have it, on that particular day, the AR conference room was unavailable. So Khushi had decided to have her meeting in the office space assigned to AR's Business Developer. The meeting had gone extremely well. Both Akanksha and Caleb had been friendly, giving her little insights into their relationship. By the time the meeting was finished Khushi already knew stories about their first meeting, their subsequent dating, how he proposed, their favorite color, restaurant, memory. Her dossier was filled with notes that could translate into beautiful personalized designer garments.

After the couple left, she sat in the office a tad longer working, doodling rough versions of the ideas that were coursing through her head. Two cups of tea and several doodles later, a glance at her wristwatch indicated it was time to leave. As she hurriedly gathered her things and was about to make her way out, she overheard watercooler gossip between two of her colleagues. "Life always completes a full circle," the first one said. "Mehta started her career from that very same room as ASR's Business Developer and today she is back there, picking out her wedding dress."

The other one laughed. "She was a social climber then, and she still is one now, but her looks are to die for. She had the ability to turn heads then, and she still has it now."

The first one added: "Seriously! When it comes to women, no one can beat ASR's standards. Some of the most gorgeous women have walked in and out of that office."

The other one laughed some more. "That office hasn't been used for a while. I wonder when its next occupant is going to turn up."

Khushi stopped at the door, taking it all in. She glanced at her faint reflection visible on the thick glass. Plain cotton kurta, jeans, hands adorned with colorful glass bangles, hair a tangled mess held together in a delicate bun with the help of a color pencil. And she looked the chair where Akanksha Mehta, ASR's ex-business developer, had been sitting in a while ago. How long would it be before ASR realized Khushi didn't belong in his world? And what then?

*****

Arnav was excited to get back from Milan. He had taken a detour to Amsterdam to buy Khushi a diamond engagement ring. The last two weeks were torturous. He chuckled at that thought. He never imagined he could miss someone so much. He couldn't wait for her to say yes.

As soon as he'd landed in New Delhi, he'd called Jade and instructed her to book a dinner for two somewhere in the outskirts of the city. He would propose to Khushi on a farm, with the sun setting in the background. He wanted the proposal to be magical, a moment she would cherish for the rest of her life. Two weeks of engagement and then marriage. They would get married in a simple court ceremony. He neither had the time nor the appetite to sit through a traditional Indian wedding.

His dreams and aspirations, however, were shortlived. He had arrived at AR, eager to get through the day. Throughout the important board meeting, where the directors discussed next actionable plans with regards to their overseas expansion, he'd constantly glanced at his wristwatch, willing it to be 5, so he could leave.

Arnav had never before looked forward to leaving work early. While the directors discussed the next steps to enlarge AR's international market share, Arnav was busy rehearsing his proposal. He dipped his hand into his pocket to feel the ring he had personally picked out - a 2 carat round cut solitaire diamond set in platinum. He couldn't wait to find Khushi and tell her about their plans for the evening. Their. The thought stopped him. He had begun considering her as a part of him. He smiled. She would be, very soon. He would make sure of that.

When he returned to his cabin after the board meeting, he found a white envelope on his otherwise impeccably clean desk. There was no indication who it was from but his name was neatly typed on it. Just as he was about to open it, his secretary Jade sauntered in with a pen and notepad in hand.

"Sir," she paused, "Khushi left this for you." She pointed to the envelope. Arnav was excited. She'd written him a love letter. Without waiting, he eagerly tore the envelope to read what the letter said.

The happiness he'd felt since that morning was replaced instantly by another emotion. Anger. Pure, unadulterated anger. Khushi had handed in her resignation, effective immediately. She had requested a waiver of her notice period. In case that wasn't possible, she had requested she be allowed to work from home during that time. "She came by yesterday to clear out her desk." Oblivious to his turmoil, Jade continued: "Vishal has requested an urgent meeting to discuss Khushi's replacement. I've given him the 4.30 slot."

"And sir, I've emailed you details for the dinner reservation for tonight."

Arnav looked at Jade and looked away. "Thank you", he said with a raspy voice. He didn't trust himself with anything more at that point. She smiled and made her way out. ASR then took the paperweight laying on his desk and flung it at his glass door with a force that shattered it.

*****

From that moment onwards, being around ASR was like working around a keg of dynamite. No one knew when it would explode. If the work was excellent, he simply nodded. If it wasn't, then God would have to become their savior. By 4 pm Jade was overwhelmed with calls and emails from executives requesting their meetings be rescheduled. Anyone who could avoid ASR did. The ones who couldn't prayed hard. ASR was back. Nobody expected anything different.

He asked Jade to cancel his dinner reservations and worked himself until the wee hours of the morning.

When Arnav reached home at 3.30 am, he found Khushi sleeping outside his apartment door. Ignoring her, he opened the door and went inside. The creak of the door woke Khushi up.

"Arnav," she called, rubbing her eyes, making her way into his apartment.

No response.

"Arnav, I've been waiting to talk to you."

Still no response.

"Arnav, what's wrong? Why are you ignoring me?"

"Leave," he said, his voice menacingly low.

"Arnav?" she questioned, alarm bells ringing in her head.

"I said leave," he spat. "Leave before I do something I regret."

Khushi recognized raw pain. She had seen once before in Milan. She crossed over to him and held his hand. "Tell me," she urged him. In his response, he took her resignation letter and flung it on her face.

"You didn't think it was necessary to discuss things with me before you handed this in?"

When she didn't say anything, he continued. "Of course, why would you discuss anything with me. What do I mean to you? Thank you, Ms. Gupta, for shattering my illusions, for letting me know in no uncertain terms that I mean nothing to you." He was shouting and shaking with fury, and Khushi calmed him the only way she knew. She tiptoed and pressed her lips against his. He pushed her away and she brought him back. He pushed her away again, and she brought his head back, teasing his lips, deepening the kiss, demanding that he respond. Fury gave way to passion and he claimed her, yet again. This time, there was a sense of raw urgency. The two poured their hurt and frustration out into one another and finally spent, brought their foreheads to touch.

"Sit," she told him, bringing him a glass of water. "If you didn't mean something, I wouldn't be here waiting for you to get back."

He gratefully took that glass of water. "Babuji got discharged yesterday," she began haltingly. "The doctors didn't see any reason to keep him in the hospital any longer." She paused. "The attack has left the right side of his body completely paralyzed. He is now dependent on Ma for the smallest of tasks."

She waited for the information to sink in before she continued.

"Arnav, there is no one to take care of the shop. Payal's wedding is less than a month away and the preparations haven't even begun. There is nobody else who can do all this. I have to go back." She had tears in her eyes. Her mind was made up. But she couldn't leave without talking to him, without explaining the reasons she had convinced herself of.

"17 years ago, on a fateful night, I lost my Amma and Baba in a car crash. A speeding truck broke a red signal and crashed into our cab. Amma, Baba and the driver all died on the spot, I was spared. When Babuji found me, I was curled up near the wall at a local police station. He took me in, gave me a home and family. Today that family needs me."

Arnav heard nothing. The mere mention of a speeding truck accident 17 years ago brought back memories that Arnav had fought hard to suppress. He looked at Khushi with fear in his eyes and asked, "Where did the accident take place?"

Unknown to the emotions playing havoc within him, Khushi honestly replied, "Juhu Chowpatty Road, Mumbai."

Arnav closed his eyes, his nightmares coming to haunt him, replaying the entire scene where the truck ran over his parents vividly in front of his eyes.

"When was this?" When Khushi didn't respond for a while, he opened his eyes and clarified, "What date?"

"21 October 1998"

Arnav's head titled towards the ceiling, a lone tear escaping his eyes.

"What's wrong", asked Khushi worriedly.

He looked at her with defeated eyes and said: "Khushi, it was that very same night, Di and I lost our parents. Both of them got ran over by a truck, on Juhu Chowpatty Road, in Mumbai."

The two of them stared at each other for a very long time. Then Arnav hugged Khushi and cried for the first time since he lost his parents.