A pregnant silence followed in the room after he uttered those words.

The way Anupama narrowed her pretty doe eyes at him like a stern mother, was enough to make him realise that he had screwed up.

She looked mad.

His stomach dropped as he observed her reaction.

Disha's almost mistake had made him arrive at a conclusion that he couldn't trust anyone to take care of his Anu other than himself.

The values instilled in him by his parents somehow kept him from bursting his rage on Disha.

Barely controlling his pent-up anger, he had barged in Anu's bedroom and without thinking, declared how he will be nursing for her.

How had he forgotten the boundaries he had himself set?

His plan on avoiding her to not creep her out had been working successfully for the past 3-days.

Though it pained him, but he was happy to see in his 1 minute daily-visits, that she is more carefree and comfortable in his room now.

And in his nightsuits...

He found her extremely fluffy and at the same time, sexy, in his oversized satin nightsuits.

Though that information was one of his deeply tucked secrets.

Realising how he was getting distracted by Anu's thoughts right in front of her, he cleared his throat.

He hated himself. He had made her uncomfortable again. The plan of avoiding her had been running so smoothly, it had actually made Anu feel comfortable in his space.

And him being the idiot he was, had thrown it all under the bus.

Anu's development and his plan was ruined.

'Great job idiot! You managed to ruin her developed comfort by saying that creepy line. She considers you as her boss, or an acquaintance. Great job at ruining everything again.' He dejectedly thought.

Scratching his head and looking elsewhere, he started, "I'm sorry that was out of line-"

"You promised you won't leave your office for me. That was our deal!" Anupama said at the same time.

His ears perked and he instantly looked up. "What? So you're mad because of that?"

She scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. "Yes, what else would I be mad for? You can't break our deal by taking care of me!"

Anuj could almost collapse on the ground in relief.

The way Anupama didn't even thought about being uncomfortable and instead scolded him with all her rights, had made him feel like he had just passed an extremely difficult examination.

So she did meant it when she had said, "You don't. Not in the slightest."

The thought that she doesn't mind his minor breaching of the acceptable boundaries between them by taking care of her, made him almost jump and fist bump the air.

Instead, he stayed composed and casually waved his hand in her direction, "Don't worry, that matter is settled."

She looked at him, not ready to back down. "No. You aren't leaving your office work for me. Even if you're the boss."

Anuj maintained a straight face, attempting his best to not let the smugness he was feeling, seep into his features.

Suppressing his smirk by clearing his throat, he started, "Anupama, I never said about leaving my office work behind by taking care of you. I'm a man of my words. I've no intention on breaking the deal I promised you."

She was left puzzled by his statement. "Then? What do you mean?"

One corner of his lips lifted in slight smirk, as he leisurely strolled in her direction, keeping her eyes captive with his own.

Moving closer, he bent a little till her eye level, causing her to break her earlier fierce gaze bashfully.

Keeping his eyes over her lowered ones, he pursed his lips.

"Well, lets just say that being the boss has its perks. The day you sprained your ankle and made me agree to your demands, since that day I've been settling everything in office. So, from today onwards, I'll be working from home, so that I could..." he dipped lower, catching her eyes again.

Then his voice dropped down a few octaves as he murmured, "..monitor your health closely." He whispered the last word while gazing into her innocent orbs, making the hair behind her neck stood up.

A shiver ran down her arm as she felt his fingers closing around it, but she couldn't look and confirm, as his entrancing eyes were busy hypnotizing hers.

"Anu..." He gently let out, then corrected himself, "I mean Anupama..." He trailed off.

"Hmm?" She hummed, unable to formulate words.

"Bed..." He responded in a request.

She was dumbfounded, her brain refusing to make sense of that word.

What does he mean by BED?!

"Ji..?" She let out perplexed, trying not to think what her brain was wishing to supply her.

"Anupama, you should sit down and rest. Don't put unnecessary pressure over your ankle." He elaborated, urging her arm towards the direction of bed.

"Ohh.." Her eyebrows shot up and she immediately abided by his request. After she was lowered to sit on the bed, his hand left her arm, making it feel cold again.

"I'll go and get your medicines, alright?" Passing a soft smile in her direction, he strode out of the room.

'He was in an unusually good mood, maybe her words had put him at ease that she doesn't feel uncomfortable with him.' She assumed, a smile finding its way over her face.

"Bholuram.." She giggled to herself, as the nickname passed her lips.

She let herself have a moment to gush about how considerate he was for her comfort and how worried he was for her health, before getting distracted by her recent doings.

She facepalmed herself in embarrassment, as she remembered how he was trying to get her to bed, while she was too slow, and 'too distracted' to catch up on his words.

Before she could reprimand herself for jumping to wrong conclusions over his earlier innocent request, her mind finally realised a major thing.

Anuj, would be taking care of her?!

Her boss, the most handsome and charming man, her classy and sophisticated boss, would be taking care of her?!

Her mind blanked and she pictured all of the things Disha had helped her with.

Supporting her till the washroom, helping her walk, massaging her feet, bandaging or icing it, foot exercises and...

She stilled, her cheeks coloring up in an instant.

It struck her how Disha had washed her leg and helped her in wearing Anuj's pyjamas as well..!

Her heart bounced.

Did Anuj meant that he will perform all of these tasks too..?

Before she could dwell further over that thought, her phone rang and distracted her.

She rolled her eyes, thinking if it were those ungrateful people again. She had been ignoring their calls since the last 3 days.

Well more specifically, she was ignoring Vanraj's calls because she wanted nothing to do with that man.

Other than that, Baa's words had left her too heartbroken and disappointed, as she had considered her as her mother. That is why she was ignoring her calls as she was too enraged to talk with her.

She has picked Toshu's calls once, 3 days back. He had shouted and screamed at her for being a bad mother by leaving her son suffering behind. She had expected that he would atleast ask if she was alright after last night's storm, or maybe an apology; but after hearing his accusations, she had disconnected the call straight away and ignored his further calls ever since.

The only thing that kept her hopeful that there were still people who cared, were Samar, Kinjal, Nandini, her mom and Bhavesh.

Samar had called her the next day after that storm. He was shocked to hear when she recounted everything that went down. He had been grateful for Anuj. Kinjal and Nandini were concerned as well. Pakhi, her mother and Bhavesh had talked to her once, and Bapuji was always somewhere else engaged in some activity or other to come on the phone.

Samar had informed her that nobody, be it Bapuji, Pakhi or them, knew about anything. Apparently Vanraj, Kavya, Toshu and Baa, had kept everyone else in the dark about the fight, that drove Anupama out of the house.

And Anupama had urged Samar, Kinjal, Nandini and GK to keep it that way. She didn't wanted her mother, Bhavesh, Bapuji and Pakhi to worry about her and spoil their holy trip. Moreover, she didn't wanted to reveal her whereabouts, as she knew that Bapuji and Pakhi will tell Vanraj, and he will come knocking down at Anuj's door.

So, the only people she talked to were Samar, Kinjal, and Nandini and GK. All had been supportive and encouraging of her decision, and GK even blessed her to move on in life.

The phone continued ringing. Taking a deep breath, she picked it up, ready to reject the call if it's Vanraj, his mother or Toshu again, as Kavya never bothered to call her; but surprisingly it was Devika.

Heaving a sigh in relief, she swiped the green option.

"Anu! Tuu kahan hai?! Tuu Shah house mei nahi hai kya? Kuch hua hai kya? Tuu theek toh hai na? Mujhe bta mera dil baitha jaa raha hai tu-"

She cut her off, hearing her worried rant. "Shaant ho ja Devika. Saans le le. Mai bilkul theek hun."

"Tuu mujhe yeh bta tuu hai kahan?" She interrogated.

"Pehle tuu mujhe bta ki tujhe kaise pta chala ki maine Shah ghar chor diya hai?" Anu countered back.

Devika sighed, as if trying to contain her anger. "Vanraj..." She let out a single word.

"Kya?" Instantly, Anu sat up straight.

"Yes, he had called me just 10 minutes back. His condition sounded as if he was on the verge of going insane. He had straightaway asked if you're with me? When I denied and informed him that I'm out of city on a business trip, then he started screaming in anger. Disclosed how you left 3 days back, and ignoring his, Baa's, and Toshu's call ever since..." She revealed.

Anupama fiddled with the hem of Anuj's nightwear she was wearing. "Then what did you said?"

Devika let out a annoyed huff in response.

"What do you expect? I got sickly worried for you so obviously I had screamed back. Told him how he couldn't take care of you or anyone. I had shouted at him, told him to rot in hell, threatened that I'll call the police if I couldn't find you, insulted him brutally, and even...verbally abused him. To sum it up, I didn't hold back my words. And I know I had hit him where it hurts." She concluded with pride oozing from her tone.

Despite herself, Anupama's mouth dropped open and she let out a chuckle.

She knew her best friend. How much of a dirty mouth Devika had and what extent of damage she could cause when she was mad at someone or hated someone. And she felt both for Vanraj...

Well, she didn't wanted to think about that low excuse of a man even for a millisecond. As Devika had said, he could rot in hell.

"Tuu yeh sab chor aur mujhe bta tuu hai kahan pe? Aur tuu theek toh hai naa?" Devika asked in urgency.

Sighing, Anupama filled her in about everything that went down since that stormy night. From their accusations and insults, to the moment she found Anuj in the office.

She added how she had started living with him and how she had managed to sprain her ankle on the first day itself.

Anupama couldn't help but also reveal how Anuj had fired the nurse Disha and declared that he will take care of her.

After all, Anupama needed a reprieve. She needed a release for all those pent-up thoughts that she had repressed for the past 4 days, which were nothing less than an ugly whirlpool.

And who could be better than that one woman who stayed by her during her worst moments, never judged her, always remained loyal with her. Her one of the most cherished part of her scarce childhood, her long-time best friend.

Devika.

So, she ranted away. Filled her in with a brief rundown of her roller-coaster days.

Devika remained quiet the whole time. She listened ever so silently that for once Anupama doubted if she was on the other line or had she hung up already.

As Anupama finished and patiently waited for her reaction, she heard her inhale a deep breath through the phone. Five seconds of contemplative silence passed, and Anupama was about to call out her name, but before she could part her lips, Devika let out a shriek.

Scratch that, not a shriek, but a squeal.

She squealed.

Anupama had to physically pull away the phone from her ear, to refrain herself from going deaf by that ear-piercing squeal.

"Oh my god! Firstly, I'm so, so, proud of you Anu! Tuune finally apni self respect ko priority di, aur un losers ko chor diya. That's my girl!"

Anupama giggled, Devika's joy rubbing off on her, momentarily taking away the gloom of the past few days.

It felt good to have someone praising her for a change.

Considering how she was tormented with consistent criticism and negativity in Shah house for the every breath she took, she welcomed Devika's vibrancy wholly.

Finally letting out that distressing night where her self-respect was shattered, from her system and getting praised for it by another soul, somewhat healed her wounds caused by their insults.

Apart from Devika, only Anuj made her feel that way.

Though for Anuj, she had lately started feeling a whole, wide spectrum of entirely new feelings, which she was still confused about.

Which reminded her, she had yet to tell Anuj about that fight, which led her out of Shah house.

"...badtameez, classless idiots. Abb unke suffer karne ka time shuru hoga. Saara free ka attitude nikal jayega. They'd be begging and crying in front of you soon." She heard Devika completing her rant which she had already tuned out the moment Devika had started cursing out Shahs for insulting her.

"Waise..." Devika let out, the air in her tone changing from angry to suggestive, making Anupama wonder what else she had to say other than doing her full-time job, that being, cursing her ex in-laws.

"Hmm..?" Anupama asked suspiciously.

"Mere do single friends live-in mei hain, toh kya mai good new expect karu?"

Anupama's eyes widened, "Devika!"

"Two love birds, one cage. Go Anu, I approve! Patta le Anuj ko. Woh charming hai, hot hai, dil ka accha hai, aur single bhi hai! You've my blessings. Go get him girl!—"

"Devika sshh—" Anupama tried to cut in.

"Anu-Anuj, naam bhi same! Ispe couple name kya banega? Hmm let me think—" Devika sounded elated like a hyper excited puppy.

"Devika chup ho jaa ne—" Anupama begged, her eyes kept wandering at the door, fearing that Anuj is going to burst in any second.

"Ohh I got it, couple name hoga Maan! Oh my god Anu, itna pyaara nickname?! Seriously you guys are meant to be—"

"Ssshh Devika! Chup ho jaa ne, woh sun lenge!" She hissed as she colored up hearing that ship name, thinking that Anuj could magically hear everything from the kitchen.

Devika just laughed from the other side, finally taking mercy on Anu and ceasing her teasings.

Sobering up from her fits of giggles, Devika then continued in a serious note. "Waise Anu, ek bohot important baat yaad aayi mujhe abhi. Anuj se iss baare mei discuss kiya thha par usne mana kar diya."

"Kya baat hai?" Anupama asked with rapt attention, as she felt her tone shifting.

"Tujhe pta hai na Mr. Sujeet Dhillon? Dhillon Groups ke malik?"

"Haan, Anuj ne milwaya thha mujhe unse Mumbai ki conference mei. Woh bhi hotel launch kar rahe hai Ahmedabad mei." Anupama recalled.

"Bilkul. Aur unke hotel ki opening hai aaj raat. Woh Anuj ke bohot hi close friend hain, aur unhone tum dono partners ko invite kiya hai apni grand launch party mei."

"Accha?" Anupama prompted her to continue.

"Lekin Anuj ne mana kar diya yaar. Now I get it kyun kiya, kyunki teri ankle sprained hai and he wants to take care of you. But hear me out Anu, waha pe bade-bade businessman, media, press, sab honge. Though Anuj being The Anuj Kapadia, he doesn't need it but still...yeh bohot hi accha chance hai apne hotel project ko promote karne ka aur connections badhane ka. Face value matters. Frankly, I think you guys should go, if only teri ankle theek hai, no pressure."

Anupama was already shaking her head. "Nahi nahi, mai sachme pehle se kaafi theek hun. Mujhe chalne mei koi dikkat nahi hai."

She faintly heard footsteps entering the room when Devika responded. "Dekh agar tuu kuch ghanto ke liye manage kar sakti hai toh please chali jaa. Anuj ko convince kar. Because yeh ek golden opportunity hai—"

The phone was pried off from Anupama's hand. She looked up to find Anuj holding her medicines in hand with annoyance written all over his face as he pressed the phone to his ear.

"Devika ki bachchi. Tujhe bola na hum nahi jaa sakte. Anupama ko bedrest bola hai tujhe samajh nahi aata!" He let out in irritation.

"Anuj I'm alright. I can stand or walk a bit now. It's not at all painful. See I was standing just a minute ago." Anupama tried to reason with him making him look down at her.

"Lekin Anupama tum—"

Anupama jumped in to assure. "And it's not like I've to stand or walk there. I'll have to sit in the car, then at the party, then again in car. So instead of sitting here in bed, why not at the party?"

"But Anupama you need care..." She could sense his resolve crumbling.

She rushed to clear his doubts.

"You'll be there right? You can take care of me at the party. I'll have my medicines on time there, I'll eat properly; everything will be the same just like here. It's merely an issue of showing your presence there, like college attendance."

Anupama looked up at him with the most big, innocent eyes she could muster. As his conflicted face stared down at the puppy look for a few moments, he finally let out a resigned breath.

"..Alright. We will go."

"Yes!" Anupama giggled in glee, while she could hear the faint squeals of Devika from the phone pressed to Anuj's ear.

"But that event has dress code, suits and sarees. And we're still not prepared for that." Anuj informed, pressing the speaker option so Anu could hear as well.

"Oh don't you worry. I had already took care of it like a week ago." She replied smugly.

Both of their eyes widened as they heard her.

Composing himself, Anuj asked incredulously. "You planned our clothes already, without even asking us? If we'll go? Or if we had selected clothes already?"

She huffed. "No, why should I? I know myself and my abilities to convince my two idiot friends."

They both rolled eyes at that.

"The clothes, jewellery, accessories and footwear will be dropped at your place by evening. It's already tailored so you guys don't have to worry about it. Plus I'm sending one of the beauticians, so she could help Anu in getting ready. Since Anu is y'know unable to do it herself because of her injury."

Anuj hummed in agreement. "Forward me all the receipts, will you?"

"Sure. And you guys, send me a picture together. Though the media and press will already do it, but still. And Anuj..."

Anupama again observed the shift in Devika's tone, from serious to suggestive.

Anuj might've sensed it too, as he immediately switched off the speaker option and pressed it to his ear.

She saw how Anuj's lips pressed in a thin line in response to whatever Devika had said.

"Goodbye." He let out through gritted teeth and disconnected the call.

"What did she say?" Anupama asked as Anuj handed her the tablets with a glass of water.