Hola, lovely critics! I'm back!Thankyou for the lovely messages on the last chapter, my exams went great.

Sorry and thankyou so much for waiting ya'll, my Anuj Kapadias.💜

For your commendable patience, I've a surprise planned for ya'll in the end once you finish reading.✨️

Thump! Thump! Thump!

A sheen of perspiration coated his forehead as he kept dropping repeated, practiced punches over the boxing bag.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The echo of the force of his fists meeting the bag, resonated throughout his workout room as he smashed punch after punch.

It had been a few hours since he had locked himself up in this room at the far end of his apartment.

He had modified this particular room as his personal gym with various gym equipments occupying the space. From different bench press, to dumbells, a treadmill, an exercise bike and more; tools ranging from weight lifting to running.

As instructed by his personal gym trainer, he had a fixed workout routine everyday, which he dutifully followed to stay in shape.

Currently however, he wasn't here to get a fill of his daily workout in, no.

All he needed right now was to distract himself, to clear that frenzied mess his usually sorted mind was in.

His smart watch kept on beeping incessantly, alerting him that it was time to stop, that his daily workout target was achieved, that he was done.

But he wasn't.

Oh no, he definitely wasn't.

Another skillful punch was dropped with a force that got the ceiling shaking, the hanging chains holding the bag crying from the consistent assault.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The punches were relentless, as he kept imagining that Vanraj's foxy face instead of the bag.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The sharp pain consistently shooting up his knuckles was a harsh reminder that it had been hours since he had stayed cooped up in here.

He briefly glanced towards the clear glass wall, and the prior view of midnight citylights of Ahmedabad transforming into a scene of early waking dawn, confirmed his suspicions.

The city has woken up. But it seemed like he was still in dark.

It felt as if all the different threads of emotions have tangled themselves together in his brain to form a meshed yarn of jumbled up feelings.

He could feel everything, clustered mix of each and everything. Too much.

Rage, violence, grief, protectiveness, possessiveness, worry, care, guilt, love, and maybe a bit...desire.

That's why he needed to clear his head. To think straight.

The events of the previous night kept replaying in his brain, like some sort of a broken recorder.

Mostly his thoughts had been about that creep's audacity to stalk Anupama and trying to harass her.

Hadn't 26 years of consistent torture been more than enough?

The way his Anu had went numb with shock after that bastard tore her strap was still making Anuj see red.

He roared in rage mingled with frustration as he punched again with a vigour that led the hanging chains creaking wildly.

She was mentally exhausted..! She physically wasn't fine as well, her ankle was still healing for God's sake..! And that psycho had gone ahead and given her another trauma!

And he could do nothing!

He couldn't do anything 26 years back.

He could do nothing now. Not even ease her pain..!

He knew she must be hurting, both mentally and physically.

All alone.

She had absolutely no one by her side to comfort her, hold her, hug her, reassure her that it will pass, that everything will be okay, that she will be okay.

To tell her that she is not alone.

He desperately wanted to be that person. All he wanted to do was rush down the hallway towards his room, cross the threshold between them and hold her.

Protect her from the rest of the world, in his arms.

He knew she's braver than that. She will fight and get through this, like she always does. She doesn't need him, she can sure as hell protect herself from the world.

But all he wanted was to stand by her side. He doesn't want her to fight her battles all alone.

He wanted to fight for her.

He wanted to be in harm's way so she could leave the battlefield unscathed.

He wanted to be her shield. He wanted to be her sword.

He wanted to heal the scars left behind by the war.

He wanted to heal her.

But he knew he sure as hell couldn't, as much as he wanted.

He was helpless.

He will undoubtly fight for her, die for her, protect her by being her shadow, like he did during college.

But he couldn't heal her. He had no right to cross the threshold of his bedroom where she is hurting, pull her in his arms, and calm all her demons and internal battles.

He has no right. No haqq.

Knowing Anupama, she will run away, even if attempted something like that. And rightfully so.

He was nothing. Just a friend from work. They were not close and she was just a guest.

The last thing he wants is her feeling uncomfortable by his nagging and running away.

No, she was safe here, far away from that cursed family.

He had never felt so helpless. His Anu was hurting all alone in the other room, and he knew it. Still he couldn't do anything out of fear.

Majority of his thoughts were extreme worries for Anupama.

Another part of his brain was enraged at Vanraj.

And most of all, he hated himself, because a tiny part of his brain couldn't get the ethereal image of Anupama out of his damn brain! And the events that occured throughout that night.

Especially that hug. And the events that unfolded after it.

He could feel his erratic heartbeats skipping a beat mid-workout, just by the mere thought of it.

Everything that happened after the hug was still crystal clear in his mind.

He could still feel her. Feel her scent. Feel her soft body pressed against his. Feel her breath near his lips. Feel her eyes on him.

A kaleidoscope of scenes after that hug passed in his mind for the thousandth time.

Him backing her, her landing on top of him, his shirt coming off, her blouse following, him carrying her to his room, him helping her in removing her saree...

He growled in frustration. He hated his tiny part of brain for thinking about the events in that way..!

Yet that forbidden tiny part was just being there, existing in a corner of his thoughts, amidst his majorly worrying for her. Reminding him how much he hated himself.

Taunting him how he couldn't think that way about her! Taunting him that it could never happen!

He lowly cursed himself in frustration, slamming his fist straight into the worn out bag, this time making the cover tear open with the ferocity of that punch.

His exhausted body finally gave away, making him collapse onto the floor as the the last shred of energy left his body. In hindsight, he could see his white boxing wraps coated with blood over his knuckles, burning with pain.

He deserves this. Deserves the pain and punishment.

Somehow imagining himself and Vanraj as a target, was driving more violent punches out of him.

For not being able to protect Anupama. For not being able to comfort her, while she's suffering in pain. For thinking about her in that way. For hoping. For desiring.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

This time, it wasn't the impact of his power-packed punches, that caused this wild sound. No, this time, it was his wildly beating heart, as his mind went back again to that hug. To last night, which he desperately wants to forget but couldn't stop thinking about.

~~~Flashback~~~

"Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou..." her words were reduced to sobs as she tried to grasp more of him.

As she lightly sobbed, she kept repeating that again and again, making her lips keep brushing over his collarbone.

His heart cracked and he felt tears prickling under his scrunched eyes as well, witnessing her sorrow. Yet, he couldn't refrain his body from reacting to her touch.

His emotions were on overdrive. Her initiating to seek him combined with feeling the woman of his dreams for the first time against him, was driving him insane.

Emotions and sensations were on high-alert.

Yet, he did nothing. Simply stood like a statue with his taut arms hanging limply by his hand. Nails digging into his palm as he fisted his hands, to avoid them from wandering over her.

His body was taut like a stretched string, ready to snap and envelope her into him.

But alas, he was Anuj. The gentleman. His morals were bigger than his desires, emotions, feelings.

"Why me? Why always me? What did I do wrong to deserve this? Why can't he leave me alone?!" She hiccuped, making his shirt damp with tears.

"Anupama..." His hand hesitantly went to pat her back, then he realised that her blouse was torn, leaving her back practically uncovered.

Instead, his hand went towards her covered shoulder, and gave her the lightest of awkward pats.

His hoarse voice thick with emotion calling her name, his touch, seemed to did it.

She shivered in reaction while her eyes snapped open.

She stilled, realising where she was and what she was doing.

Her cheeks heated up as she found her face nestled in the crook of his neck, her lips practically smushing his skin there.

The heat spread faster through her body as she felt herself pressed against him.

She felt embarrassment yet amazement.

Embarrassed to tackle an unsuspecting Anuj in a hug, while amazed that she was willingly hugging him. Being the woman who practically recoiled and bolted by the mere presence of a man not related to her, it was bizarring.

Embarrassed yet distraught, she untangled her limbs wrapped around him, faster than the speed of light.

And.....the moment officially ended.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what happened to me I just—" She awkwardly mumbled, sniffling the remnants of her tears, as she caught his slight frown while lowering her eyes.

"It's...it's absolutely fine Anupama..." He cleared his throat, sounding as awkward as ever.

He could feel Anupama's desperate attempts at trying to rebuild her shattered wall of emotions.

He didn't knew if he should say something to stop her from closing off again, or just let it go.

After all, he didn't had the haqq. And she looked as uncomfortable as ever.

Sensing her embarrassment, he didn't prodded further, and quietly stood still while she detached herself from him. Both physically and emotionally.

It was eerily silent in his living room, that wasn't easing the tension and awkwardness one bit. Both stood quietly as a storm raged in their insides.

As she pulled away, Anuj kept his eyes on the far end of the wall, his poker face intact. All of a sudden, he felt himself getting pulled towards her as she tried to step away.

Before he could decipher why, she seemed to understand sooner than him, as she instantly squeaked. And in a flash, he felt her body crashing into him again.

Breathlessly, he somehow managed to ask, "What happened?"

He felt her body tensing. "Woh.."

"Haan...?" He choked out.

"Woh aapke gale ka dhaaga m-mere b-blouse se atak gya hai..."

She didn't needed to explain further. He already understood, and his steady heartbeats picked its pace again.

Her blouse was torn from behind, the straps were hanging limply at her back. And the front fabric was stuck with the thread he wears in his neck. If she as much as steps even an inch away, the thread will pull the blouse towards itself. With no support of attachment from behind, the blouse will pull away from her body...

"Oh..."

The silence followed, as two tense bodies remained pressed to each other.

"K-kya kare Anuj?" She uttered, tone laced with mortification.

Anuj tried to think. His could feel his heart thumping.

Out of all the situations he could've been stuck in...

Universe was really out there testing him.

"Um..we should probably go to the couch. If we sit there, you could easily detach it without umm, worrying about pulling the blouse away."

"Ohh..o-okay."

Their voice couldn't sound more embarrassed at that moment.

"Uhh- allow me." He hesitantly gestured and she understood, nodding awkwardly in positive.

His hands slowly crept on the sides of her bare waist. His palms burned while she felt goosebumps traveling up her spine at the contact, making her eyes close on their own accord.

Keeping her body stable against his own, with her arms locked behind his neck, he stabilised her body and slowly guided her back towards the couch behind her.

He needed to hold onto her to safely guide her to the couch.

"Anupama you've reached. The couch is just behind you." He mumbled.

Her eyes opened. "Uhh- how will I sit? We've to sit at the same time to avoid the, uhh..blouse getting pulled away.."

She was right.

And Anuj realised how exactly he could avoid it from happening.

The problem was just one...

They could end up in a reallyyy compromising position.

Again, he cursed his fate as he felt heat reddening his ears.

"Anupama, just don't feel uncomfortable ok..?" He warned.

Her breath hitched.

'What exactly is he about to do?' She thought.

She nodded in agreement, her nerves racing.

Getting her approval, he swiftly spun their positions around, reversing their placement. Now, it was Anuj who stood in front of the couch, the back of his knees brushing against it.

"Hold tight." He instructed in her hair. She nodded against his shoulder and clasped her hold tight around him.

With that, he closed his eyes and dropped himself down on the couch, bringing Anupama down with him, making her abruptly straddle him.

There she sat, hugging and straddling him.

The situation was bizarre, she couldn't pull away from the hug because her blouse will pull away as well.

But thankfully, now they were around at the same height, so she could safely move a few inches back in order to unravel her fabric from his thread, without making her blouse getting tugged down in front.

Anupama finally pulled away a bit. Untangling her limbs from behind his neck, Anuj finally saw her face. All red and blushing, with eyes refusing to meet his own.

'Obviously, she might be embarrassed.' He thought, and closed his eyes out of respect.

His nerves raced as he deciphered their position. She was awkwardly straddling him in her saree, while wrapped in a hug.

Anupama tried not to let her erratic pulse get the best of her, and instead focused on the main task.

She craned her neck a bit, enough so that the thread doesn't stretch the blouse with itself, and started working on his thread.

She briefly glanced at his closed eyes, and despite the awkwardness, her heart warmed at his gesture for the thousandth time.

A groan of displeasure escaped her lips as the tangled part refused to cooperate.

"What is it?" Anuj asked, sensing her distress.

"Anuj, this knot is too fine, my nails can't open it at all."

"Let me try."

With that, Anupama let go of the thread, and instead kept her blouse in place while Anuj opened his eyes and worked on the entangled mess.

After a couple of unsuccessful attempts, he gave up.

"This is impossible to unravel in this position." He assessed, trying to ignore his racing heart.

Anupama waited. She understood the implication behind his words, which clearly meant, 'The blouse needs to come off to untangle it.'

Her throat blocked. 'H-How could she do that?'

'Even if it was the only possible way, still how could she?'

Before she could overthink, Anuj interrupted her. "Anupama, can you move an inch away, please?"

Uneasiness struck her. "A-Anuj, I-I can't—"

He cut her off. "Unbutton my shirt. I will take it off. Then you wear it over the blouse. Then take off the blouse from under the shirt. Is it ok?"

Relief shot through her, making her anxiety melt away in an instant.

The surge of adrenaline made her movements fuzzy as she nodded frantically and tried her best to unbutton his shirt.

But her frenzied hands made it hard to do it.

Her rushed movements were halted when Anuj placed his hands on hers over the button.

With blush starting to creep down her neck from her cheeks, her gaze hesitantly went over his face.

Their eyes locked at that instant, his intense gaze boring deeply into her surprised ones.

"Anupama, I would rather burn myself and my dignity to shreds just to protect yours. Don't ever think otherwise."

His eyes held nothing but honesty, making her forget her worries momentarily.

At that moment, she felt such an intense emotion for Anuj, which she couldn't describe.

Left speechless by Anuj, yet overtaken by sudden intense feelings, she only managed to nod.

And when their eyes met again, there wasn't unease or awkwardness.

No, there was a tenderness, a soft shyness, a ticklish nervousness.

The air around them changed drastically.

Earlier, it had been shyness laced with mortification of being stuck together in a compromising situation, with a consistent fear of embarrassment about what the other might be thinking.

Now, that fear of embarrassment had dissipated, leaving them much at ease together in that position.

Currently all that situation was making them feel was... strange bashfulness and skittishness.

Anupama bit her lips, as her brain focused clearly on what she was supposed to do.

Unbutton his shirt.

Her mind drifted back to the first morning in his house when she had walked in on a shirtless Anuj Kapadia.

She heaved a bit, as realisation dawned over that she's about to witness that handsome body again.

Together, ever so slowly, they both worked on unbuttoning his shirt, hyper aware of each other's presence.

It wasn't lost to either of them that in what kind of other situation this might've happened.

As the buttons came undone, then Anupama held her blouse in place while Anuj stretched himself a bit to get that shirt off himself.

That light pinkish hue of blush deepened as his shirt came off. She was face to face, mere inches away from his sinful torso.

She adjusted her awkward straddling over him. She could feel her taut muscles of his legs beneath her thighs and his torso radiating an inviting scent and warmth.