Anupama instantly regretted what she had blurted.

The drastic contrast in his demeanour was like a reality check, a sharp alert of the boundaries she had just crossed by asking that question.

The usually cool and collected businessman turning into a clumsy mess by dropping his phone, spoke volumes that she had screwed up.

Badly...

His gaze was fixated on the wall in front of him, probably processing her words properly, causing her embarrassment to multiply.

As the time stretched like that in silence, she prayed for the ground to swallow her whole.

Talk about trying not to appear creepy & stalker-ish.

At last, she did what she feared, that is, embarrassing herself in front of her classy and sophisticated boss.

'What he might be thinking?! So unprofessional and inappropriate Anu, pagal chokri!' She wanted to smack herself.

Her shoulders tensed the moment he abruptly twisted around to face her, completely ignoring the fallen device.

"W-what?" He whispered, shock evident on his face.

She further tensed, her hands coming up to nervously fiddle with the hem of her damp pallu.

That little hoarse whisper felt like an ultimatum, of the impending rage that would soon follow.

She was well aware of this tactic.

After all, her ex-husband loved to use it on her every now & then.

"What did you just said Anupama..?" He used to threateningly whisper.

She just cowered more as he towered right over her, invading her personal space.

"I-I..." She stuttered.

"I ASKED WHAT DID YOU JUST SAID ANUPAMA!!!"

She flinched, recalling those harsh & humiliating moments she had endured since she got married into that family.

"What did you just said Anupama?" Anuj's voice brought her back from her nightmare-ish past.

Planning on running away right at that moment after apologizing, Anupama gathered her last shreds of courage, and attempted at damage control.

"I-I mean, I'm sorry. I know I might've offended you, I-I don't know why I said it, I-" Her stammering rant was abruptly cut off when he stepped forward in her direction.

Facing her, he asked, "Did I heard it right? Did you just said that you want to stay with m-me?"

I wish I could deny and save myself from this awkward situation.

Her eyes strayed away in embarrassment. Judging by his shocked tone, he might be nothing less than offended.

The influential personality like him, who had even met Omaba like GK had mentioned, was ought to feel insulted if a nobody like her asked him to share his private space with her.

"Anupama, please answer me..!" His voice sounded desperate and urgent.

Urgent maybe to fire her like that fraud employee.

She closed her eyes and heaved a deep sigh, internally preparing herself to utter those words which could get her sacked.

Not wanting to test her boss's patience any longer, she took a deep breaths and prepared herself for his bashing, this time directed at her.

Facing her with the utmost seriousness she'd ever seen, he peered in her eyes. "Yes or no? Do you want it?"

He enquired firmly, his eyes tranforming into a darker stormy brown, giving her a peek to the barest of the demons of his life he usually hides behind the warm light brown eyes.

This man is an enigma...

"Yes."

Her decision never sounded more solid and resolute, which surprised him and herself as well.

They both took a moment to digest the blunt confidence in her agreement. With bated breath, she watched him turn sideways and release a staggering breath.

As she dreaded and waited for him to just unleash the rightful fury and end the suspense, he turned back towards her, this time, a firm determination over his sculpted features, making her heart beat faster in fear.

She gulped as he opened his mouth to say whatever she expected him to.

You're fired Anupama. Forget partnership, I don't want people like you near me, let alone living with me.

"Alright then, let's go."

As his response registered in her brain, she blinked.

Once. Twice. Thrice. She blinked.

"Wait, what?" She asked, too flabbergasted by his reply.

The last thing she had expected was him to agree on her absurd request...!

He shrugged, appearing much more calmer than before. "I mean, the storm won't be over anytime soon. I'm tired, you surely must be tired as well. So, lets go home."

She couldn't believe this. He sounded like it's perfectly alright for her to stay there.

Like she owned the full rights to do so...!

"Thats it?! I won't get scolded or maybe fired for this?"

His calmer visage contoured into a confused one, while his eyebrows furrowed as he deciphered her words.

Quick on the uptake as always, he questioned. "You expect me to scold or fire you?"

"Yess!" She almost squeaked, to reflect on the obviousness, "Didn't such question made you angry or uncomfortable!"

But his short chuckle that followed revealed how absurd he found it. Then he murmured something too unclear for her to hear.

"What was it?" She strained her ear, momentarily distracted.

Composing himself, he straightened. "Nothing. But answer my one question."

Though uncertain about everything, she still nodded.

Fixing the glasses at the bridge of his nose, he slowly stepped towards her.

"Who is living with me right now?" He asked, slowly approaching.

His only family that she knew of was GK kaka, who had gone to trip, so he must be living alone.

"No one." She answered instantly.

"Correct. Now why do you want to stay at my place instead of the hotel until everyone returns?"

I'll get a chance to get to know you better while feeling at peace in your company.

"To- to not feel lonely." Her statement this time sounded uncertain, but it still had some truth, not the whole.

"Right. Now since I'm living alone as well, how do you think I might be feeling?" He asked, now two steps away from her.

The answer clicked in her brain as she looked at him.

"Lonely..." Their eyes met at that very moment, locking together for the first time.

Transfixed by her innocent eyes boring in his, his feet automatically lifted, to eliminate the remaining distance between them.

But as if bounded by the line of limits, his brain instantly alerted him, with bright red sirens and warning bells, screaming at him that he was on the verge of crossing the respectful space that needs to be maintained.

Operating on his morals, the strings of his values pulled the gentleman, making him abruptly step back and break the hypnotizing eye contact.

He moved back and looked away, making Anu snap out of her daze as well.

She was too confused to form any valid reason as to why she was staring in her boss's eyes as if it had the whole universe in them.

For the hundredth time, she felt embarrassed at herself for behaving unprofessionally with her boss.

Confused with her actions, she missed what Anuj said.

"Sorry, what?" She looked up to find him watching her with an expectant gaze.

"I asked shall we go?" His voice never sounded more urgent.

Tongue-tied, she contemplated her decision, second doubts creeping in her mind.

But one look at his visage, his warm eyes; got her nodding her head in agreement.

"Ok, just let me arrange the files and clear a bit of things." He told, as he moved towards his messy table.

Always ready to help, Anu followed immediately to assist him in the task. His refusal for help was ofcourse went ignored by her.

So as they wordlessly gathered the stack of files, Anu stared at the man across from her, absorbing how swiftly he was moving, trying to finish his task as quickly as he could.

She smiled, wondering how the life living with him would be..?

She had always enjoyed his company, and now she was going to be with him 24/7. At office and at his home.

That thought strangely made her heart skip a beat.

Not the bad kind like she is used to in Shah house, but in a foreign, nice kind of way.

As they worked together around his cabin, a domestic, warm feeling enveloped her, making her question that why is she enjoying a task as boring as arranging the files..?

But as he whizzed past her, balancing a towering stack of files towards his cupboard, making her catch a faint whiff of his manly scent, her question was answered.

It was because of him.

His presence was enough to make even a trivial moment like this exciting for her.

She watched with a faint smile as he released an accomplished exhale after he finished arranging his cabin.

She was engraving every minute detail or habit of his as much as she was getting to know about him.

The warm, domestic feeling intensified when he picked up her damp tote bag from the couch without any hesitation, and slid it into his arm as if it belonged to him.

She followed him with her eyes as he came towards her and rightfully thrusted his blazer in her hold, telling her to wear it.

Biting her lips, she suppressed a smile as she slid her hands back into that blazer, relishing its warmth and scent, feeling at home.

"Let's go home." Anuj's statement pulled her back to reality, making her heart skip another beat at the mention of 'home'.

~~~~

To say Vanraj was angry would be an understatement. He was beyond furious.

All because of a single woman.

Anupama, his wif—

'No, ex-wife. His wife was Kavya now.' He reminded himself.

He tend to forget that sometimes....

That Kavya was his wife now, not Anupama.

That she was his past. And he had no right over her now, officially.

And she daily makes it clear that he doesn't own her in any way by her sharp words and stinging reality checks.

The thing that irks him the most isn't her words, but her nonchalance when it comes to him.

Doesn't he hold even the least bit of value to her?

Everyone in his family keeps him on the shining pedestal. Be it his Baa, Bapuji, Dolly, Pakhi, Toshu, and Kavya.

Samar might not consider him as his father but it didn't mattered, because it doesn't change the fact that he is indeed, his son. By blood.

But Anupama....

He hated the fact that in her eyes now, forget the pedestal, he wasn't even worth the trash that is kept aside.

Worse that that, he was nothing for her. Not even worthy of a glance or thought.

She treats him in the house like he doesn't exist for her. Like he wasn't the head, the king of their family. Like he wasn't her husband once, whom she used to follow around like a puppy with eyes glimmering with hero-worship.

Worst of all, she seemed happy being like that. Too happy and at peace.

Even more so now since that Anuj Kapadia had cunningly entered in their lives.

As both of their faces flashed in front of his eyes, he let out a loud, frustrated cry and punched the wall beside him. He immediately winced, as his knuckles throbbed by the impact.

Just another reminder how his anger always ends up harming himself.

'But how is it his fault!? The thought of Anupama-Anuj together makes him so darn mad that it makes his blood boil. It's their fault!!' His narcissistic self excused.

That cunning businessman had already stolen his son from him, and now he was making moves on his wif—, no, ex-wife.

And Anupama, the same lady who used to be his number one fan, who used to consider herself privileged if he as much as glanced at her; was now happily exploring Mumbai beaches, performing pooja rituals and spending working hours with another man, her college lover.

All while contently ignoring his existence or insulting the life out of him if they ever crossed paths.

"Ughh..!!" He let out a gruff again, and punched the air, instead of trying at the wall now.

Doesn't she remember the moments they once shared?! In their 25 years of married life? In their bedroom?

These were the thoughts that led to his outburst today. The thought of her moving on happily from him, and growing closer to Anuj. Plus, his helplessness regarding their relationship.

How he can't intervene and mess with Anuj, because after all, Anuj was a supremely powerful man. A man who had the ability to ruin him, his family and house with a mere snap of his fingers.

His incapability & incompetency had made him confront Anupama today, and it had led to his biggest downfall.

Anupama had left.

She had left him, his house, family, his baa, bapuji, she had left behind all of them...!

It was a harsh slap to his face, reminding him how him, his baa, was nothing, absolutely nothing to her to question and hurl accusations at her with such authority.

It was a cruel reminder that she was living with them, dealing with his family issues, his baa's tantrums, his own mood-swings, just because she was allowing them to do so.

Now they had no longer such privilege. To squeeze her as they liked.

Now she had left, the backbone of his house and his family had left.

Dread consumed him as he recalled that fight again, that had led to Anupama's departure.

What will he explain to Bapuji..?! To Samar..?! To Pakhi..?! To Kinjal..?!

How will he tell that what accusations their father and their baa had exactly thrown at her, that had pushed their mother to leaving them behind like they were a piece of trash, a hindrance.

He rubbed a hand through his face in exasperation.

Before he could contemplate more, Kavya strutted in, her expressions unreadable as ever.

Coming to stand in front of where he was sitting, she lifted her hands and began slow clapping right in front of his face.

"Bravo V! Bravo! And I thought I had married a smart man. But you're dumber than an average man. Who's worthless & jobless as ever, but still carries the ego as if he owns the world, and always ends getting brutally insulted."

"Kavya!" He shouted and stood up to tower over her, an overused tactic to intimidate her into submission.

But that barely phased her. Because this tactic was no longer effective since Anupama had started standing up to him.

"What Kavya?! You literally drove Anupama out of the house! Your idiotic behaviour had reminded her of how she was rightfully free to do everything you accused her of. Be it leaving this hellhole, dating, or sleeping with Anuj—"

"Kavya!"

She kept shouting. "You moron! She gained everything! And we lost! She's the only one earning the most in our family. From the dance academy & being a multimillionaire's business partner. She was the only one managing the chores and family. Who knows, maybe she can now call your kids to live with her. And because of you & your drama queen Baa—"

"Shut up Kavya!"

His loud voice didn't deter her even the slightest bit.

"—Let me complete! Because of you and your drama queen Baa, you & me have to become maids of this house. Just because we are jobless. So thankyou for messing it up like everytime." She pushed past him, damaging his ego further.

He was left out of words. Even Kavya has now started insulting him and even abusing him..!

"Waise V, tumhe kya lagta hai Anupama kahan gyi hogi? Abb usse tumhari toxic family aur tumhare psychotic behavior se aazadi mil gyi, abb to wo pakka AK ke pass jayegi."

"Kavya! Wo Anuj Kapadia ke pass nahi jaa sakti." He stated with conviction, her each word stinging him brutally.

"Kyun nahi jaa sakti? Waise I won't blame her, mai hoti toh yahi karti. But thanks to you, I'm stuck with dealing with you & this family."

With that, Kavya picked up her nightgown and stormed inside the washroom.

As she shut the door, Vanraj's feet gave away and he slumped back in the chair.

His eyes strayed towards the window, where that wild thunderstorm was still going at its full pace.

Then it dawned on him that Anupama had stepped out in that dangerously raging storm.

How had he ignored that detail! Maybe that's one of the many reasons of why she divorced him.

But she wouldn't have gone to Anuj Kapadia, right?

She couldn't! After all, she was Anupama. They were good friends, but not that close that she would call him in the middle of night.

'She must have gone to Devika's house, right?' He tried to convince himself, but still that fear Kavya had instilled in him refused to leave.

What if his tantrums & low accusations had driven Anupama right into the waiting arms of Anuj Kapadia...?

'No! This could never happen!' He reassured himself.

But still that nagging fear remained intact.

~~~~

Anupama's mind was a tangled mess of questions, the latest being, why was she enjoying this?

She was enjoying everything. From the moment Anuj was locking his cabin while she stood with him, waiting, to the moment they passed by the silent office to outside. She even enjoyed how they shared Anuj's single umbrella, making them stand together a bit closer than they usually do.

Her boss's saviour complex had acted up and he had asked her to take that umbrella for herself. But she had stayed adamant that she would walk out in the chilling downpour without an umbrella unless he shares it with her.

Begrudgingly, he had agreed.

She was unsure about a lot of things, but one thing she was absolutely sure of, was:

'Be it for her or anyone else, she would never let him harm himself in any way.'

As they rushed towards the car, they were already completely soaked. The umbrella did nothing to shield them from the attacking shower.

Finally reaching his car, he led her towards the passanger side and unlocked the door for her.

As she hastily seated herself, he went towards the driver's side and settled swiftly.

They both let out a tired breath simultaneously as they finally relaxed.

In the quiet space of car, they let their minds process everything.

Then it dawned on Anupama that she not only stared at her boss like a creep but also asked to stay with him.

God, what was she thinking!

Instantly, her mind went in a spiral of memories.

How she met him him at the reunion party, and resisted when he had asked for a handshake, then again when he had asked her to dance, and when he has offered to drop her home from the reunion.

How she had hesitated when he had showed up at the cafe to inspect the cafe and dance academy because she was scared of Baa & Vanraj's reaction.