'if you feel uncomfortable and want us to leave, just tell me' Kajol said kindly when she, Shahrukh, Rani, Saif and Preity were at a restaurant, they decided to go out for a change; all were trying not to mention anything that might upset Shahrukh and to cheer him up a little.

'no, I am fine' Shahrukh said smiling

'Shahrukh, can I talk to you for a second?' Saif asked calmly

Shahrukh nodded 'yeah, sure' he said and both stood up and walked away, Preity looked at Rani and narrowed her eyes

'what is wrong? It is Saif that wanted to speak to Shahrukh, not the opposite' Rani said and shrugged

'if I found out that you or Shahrukh spoke with him; I will be very angry, he is already behaving in a good way with me for a while' Preity said in a blaming tone

'none of us spoke to him, I promised you' Rani said reassuring 'wait a minute, really?'

'yes, everything is going just fine' Preity said smiling

'is everything okay?' Shahrukh asked impatiently

'yeah, chill man. I have good news for you' Saif said casually

Shahrukh sighed 'surprise me'

'I stopped everything. No divorce'

Shahrukh furrowed his eyebrows 'what do you mean?'

'I mean I will not leave Preity' he replied and shrugged

Shahrukh rolled his eyes 'look, I am not in a good mood for...'

Saif interrupted 'I am not joking. I will not leave Preity, you were right. It is an unmanly behavior to leave her now. I will remain married to her until she gives birth and maybe after that if things went smooth between us'

Shahrukh looked suspiciously at Saif then sighed 'well I am glad you said this, but I need to see actions also'

'don't worry' Saif said nicely

Shahrukh gave a short smile and shrugged 'okay, that's great'

'okay' Saif shrugged and they went back to the table

'please tell me that you weren't speaking about work, guys you are turning into boring adults' Kajol said uneasily when Shahrukh and Saif came back

'shut up kid' Saif said teasing

'I am finally graduating soon, uncle' Kajol said and showed her tongue to Saif

Preity looked at Rani and gestured to Rani's bag with her head 'come on' she said wickedly

'Fine' Rani said narrowing her eyes in anger, opening her bag and getting the money out of it 'how can you win every time? I can't believe it' she said sadly to Preity handing her the money

'matters of the heart' Preity said winking

'what is this?' Saif asked Preity

'it is a bet and I won like always' she replied

'about what?' he asked again and she pointed at Shahrukh and Kajol 'their marriage thing'

Shahrukh shook his head 'when will you stop making bets about us?' he asked in boredom

'hmm, let me think. Never?' Rani said sarcastically

'so, who said what?' Shahrukh asked feeling curious

'it is not like that' Rani said then continued 'Preity said that you will propose to Kajol and I said that you might wait for a longer time'

Kajol rolled her eyes 'guys, shut up' and sipped her vanilla milkshake

'I just don't understand, how could you say no to such a man?' Preity asked in wonder

'Preity!' Kajol said blaming

'it is fine' Shahrukh said calmly to Kajol

'come on' Preity insisted 'how could you miss a chance to marry a guy like him?'

'yeah compliments, I need that. Go on Preity' Shahrukh said happily teasing Kajol 'it is her loss anyway' he said and shrugged then high fived Preity

Kajol rolled her eyes and smiled playfully 'well he came out of nowhere and I was really surprised. Where is the engagement party? Where is my ring? I want something well organized not a proposal on breakfast' she said jokingly

'oh yeah sorry, my mistake' Shahrukh said sarcastically

'Anyway; I spoke with Shahrukh and we are planning a trip and you all are coming; we all need to get away from stress. We will go after my exams of course' Kajol said changing the topic

'that's awesome' Preity said in excitement

'but we haven't decided our destination yet' Shahrukh added

'I don't want to kill the fun, but I can't leave my kids for so long' Rani said and stretched her lips

Kajol rolled her eyes 'fine, we can still be here in Mumbai but stay in hotels in front of the sea. Summer is coming' she pleaded

'okay, not bad' Saif said then looked at Preity 'what do you think?'

Preity shrugged 'I don't know. Whatever you all decide, I am happy that we will finally be reunited together' she said sweetly

Kajol looked happily at Preity and Saif, she really wanted things to go well between them, she pulled Preity's cheek sweetly then looked at silent Shahrukh 'are you okay?' she asked, held his hand and he nodded smilingly

'but really, when do you plan for it?' Preity asked again in a serious way 'guys I really want to see you happy together'

Kajol sighed 'I don't know' she said helplessly 'and even if I said yes; we still have mom and her rules. It won't be that easy, guys let's change the topic please' she said in an irritated tone

Shahrukh noticed Saif's eyes spark when Kajol finished her last words. He remembered how he had interest in Kajol in the first place before he gets forced to marry Preity, and he was in Poja's list. All the memories of that time came to his mind, he prayed that he is mistaken and none of the ideas that came to his mind is true. Saif mentioned that he will remain with Preity after she gives birth if things were smooth between them; what if this didn't happen?

'should we order the food now?' Saif asked Preity

'yeah, I started to feel hungry. What about you guys?' Preity said sweetly and all nodded

'Wooohhoooo' The girls cheered loudly when they were in the car and Shahrukh placed his palms over his ears 'that's great news' Kajol said loudly and held the driving wheel tightly in excitement

'I still don't believe him. I don't know, I feel there is something wrong' Shahrukh said calmly

'Shahrukh please, don't scare us. Let's all pray that things go well with them' Rani said blaming and he nodded silently

'I am so glad you agreed to come' Kajol said sweetly to Shahrukh who just smiled 'you need to change your daily routine and do different things'

'yeah, Kajol is right' Rani said sweetly

'look who is talking, you also need to change your daily routine' Kajol said sarcastically looking at her through the mirror

'when you have kids in the future you will see how your life will look like' Rani said and winked and Kajol bit her lower lip and Shahrukh just sadly smiled.

When they reached home, Shahrukh went back to his isolation at his room. As much as he enjoys being with Kajol and he knew she would welcome passing time with him; he needed some quality time. On the other hand, he didn't want to be selfish, he wanted Kajol to focus more on her studies and he didn't want by any means to make her think with his any unintentional behaviors that he is pushing her for their official relationship. He also wasn't feeling completely fine and he didn't want to stay with anyone with his nowadays unhappy face.

He was glad that they all had lunch outside, so he would avoid any lunch drama in the house. He lied on bed and kept staring at the ceiling for a while as it became his habit nowadays. He wasn't thinking about anything or planning for anything, he was just going with the flow of the days. He didn't even decide when he will be back to the company. He tried to think about what happened with him but his mind refused it.

Shahrukh suddenly stood up and walked out of the room, he went towards his sister's room, opened the door and came in. He found it as messy as she would usually leave it. Paintings on the floor, brushes and colors. Her laptop was still here, he smirked when he saw her mobile phone over her desk. Everything was the same in the room, except for the wardrobe which was empty. He walked towards her nightstand and opened the drawers; he didn't know what he was looking for. He walked towards the other nightstand and searched the drawers; he took out a photo; it was the same photo on his mobile. He sat over the bed and crossed his legs, he looked silently at the photo and smiled sadly.

"you won't be torn between us; I have removed that burden which was over your shoulder"

He recalled her words in the letter and thought how stupid she was, there was a special place for her in his heart and no one could reach it, she didn't realize that his love to her and his love to Kajol are completely different. He felt confused between thinking that she was feeling jealous and at the same time being generous to give him the chance and the space to only love Kajol.

He remembered how she was behaving in the last days before she leaves, her cries, her behaviors, and when she slept next to him. He also recalled their fights, their hugs and when they would sit over the swing and talk. He wondered how he didn't realize that something was going wrong.

He was the one who was hurt, yet; he kind of owned her an apology. He kept thinking of it and he blamed himself that he might have made her feel like this but he wondered why she didn't come to him and talk. Was he really torn between them?

All these memories hurt him badly. What condoled him a little bit was that she ended up with the one she loved, and her stupid move gave him the opportunity to finally be with Kajol. But whatever he thinks; he knew that he wasn't sure about the idea of forgiving her at this very moment and he wasn't sure about it in the future.

Shahrukh suddenly looked back again at the nightstand's drawer next to him and got out a card. It was for Jaya's charitable organization. He stood up and went back to his room to get dressed. He had many questions that needed to be answered.

'Shahrukh!' Kajol called when she saw Shahrukh turning on the engine, she came all the way running from the house to the parking 'where are you going?' she asked panting

'don't worry about me, I just need some air' he said reassuring

'are you sure that you are okay?'

'yes, I am just not used to stay at home, I will be back soon' he said smiling but Kajol stood looking at him silently 'I am fine, believe me' he said reassuring

She sighed 'okay' she said helplessly and watched him driving away

Shahrukh parked in front of the charitable organization. He stood outside looking at the building. He thought of going back home but he finally got in.

'you may come in' the secretary said politely cutting his train of thoughts when he was in the waiting room

'thank you' he replied, stood up and walked inside

Jaya stood up at once when Shahrukh came in 'did you know anything about them?' she asked

'I came here to ask you the same question' he said calmly 'where are they?'

'sit down son' Jaya said kindly and both sat down 'I don't know where they are, just like you. Abhishik has called me but he didn't tell me anything'

'your son is very generous, my sister just left me a piece of paper' he said sarcastically

'he just called once' she said sadly

'don't lie to me please, I know you know where they are' he said calmly

'I swear I don't and I wish I could' Jaya said helplessly

'can you show me the number he called you with' he said impatiently

'Trust me I have tried. I called some people I know to help me track them but I failed and I am sure that the next numbers will also be unknown numbers. In case if he called again' she said handing him her phone, he wrote down the number on his phone and called it but it was turned off, he tried again but it was still turned off.

Jaya smiled sadly 'as much as it hurts me that I might not see my son again but I know that it is the best for all of us'

'I just need to see her; I just want to know if she is okay' he said sadly

'she is okay. Don't worry' she said reassuring

He sighed 'when he calls again tell him I need to see her for only one time'

'I am sorry but I won't, even if I knew their place, I won't tell you. It is safer for them' she replied calmly

'because your husband might harm them?'

Jaya sighed 'my husband fell ill after what happened and I don't know what he would do when he is okay'

'maybe he hates my sister, but would he harm his own son?' he asked and felt lost

'I don't know what Poja might do too if she reached their place, both of them are in danger. That's why no one must know where they are; even me' she said sadly destroying his all hopes

Shahrukh placed her phone over her desk, stood up and was about to walk away but he looked back at her 'that's why you asked me if I knew anything about them?' he asked and she nodded, he walked away silently.

Shahrukh banged the car's door when he got in, he held the driving wheel and placed his head over it sadly, he lost his last hope to find his sister.

He thought if things went different and Jaya would have helped him, What would he say? Would he ask her to come back? Would she agree? He wasn't sure of anything or even sure of what he was doing yet he needed to find anything that he could reach her with; even if he didn't know what he would do if he saw her. He is mad at her and won't forgive her but at the same time he is looking for her; he felt lost.

He finally realized why his sister took away that burden, if she is back, he loses Kajol, and if he chose Kajol; he loses his sister. He understood why god didn't help him find her and just took this decision on his behalf because he didn't want him to be torn between them. Her coming back would make things more complicated for him. For having a life of his own he had to lose his sister in return.

Kajol was sitting over the swing, taking a break from studying. She saw Shahrukh walking towards the house after he parked his car. She didn't ask him anything as his face gave her all the answers. She was sure that where he went had something to do with his sister's issue and he didn't get the result he wanted. She stood up as he came closer, he walked towards her with a broken smile and just hugged her 'I pray I never lose you' he barely whispered

Kajol respected Shahrukh's quality time and left him alone after he went back. He just kept staring at the ceiling. This time his mind wasn't silent, he had to get himself together or he would have lost his sister for nothing. He has many things to take care of; his job, Kajol and Poja!

All he what he wanted now is to hear Kajol's agreement on his offer. He would just wait for her to finish her exams and that she makes sure that he is finally okay, he promised himself that he won't push her. After that he would try again with Poja even if he knows that it is impossible that she would accept him as her daughter's husband.

'Anarkali' Shahrukh called when he arrived to the kitchen

'yes' Anarkali came running 'is everything okay?'

'yes Anarkali' he said calmly, Anarkali gave a relieved then he smiled 'I am sorry for scaring you' he said

'this house has been very scary for many days' Anarkali said sadly

Shahrukh sighed 'Anyway. I need you to clear my sister's room. Get rid of everything'

She widened her eyes 'everything!' she said in a shock

'she is not coming back, so there is no need to keep her things' he said calmly and walked away to leave

'um, what about...' she said to grab his attention, Shahrukh looked back at her and found that she still had the photos he torn and the letter but she glued everything and tried to fix them 'don't you want these too?'

Shahrukh looked at her silently, he just stretched his arm and she placed the photos and the letter in his hand, he took them and walked away.

Shahrukh silently reread the letter again and looked at the photos when he went back to his room, then he placed everything back in the nightstand's drawer. He decided to put the past behind his back and finally move on with his life.

'don't you think it is so soon?' Arjit asked when everyone, except Poja, were around the table in the kitchen having breakfast

'I really need to go back to work as soon as possible, I left many things pending and I need to continue the work' Shahrukh said and took a bite of his sandwich

'really?' Poja asked when she entered the kitchen and saw everyone around the table

Arjit rolled his eyes 'where should we go now?' he said in boredom

'are you all punishing me and left me have breakfast alone in the dining room?' she asked angrily

'for god's sake mom, all what we wanted is to have some peace at breakfast' Kajol said in boredom

'oh, I am so sorry I take away your peace' Poja replied and pouted sarcastically

Rani sighed 'Auntie, she doesn't mean that' she said calmly

'you too shut up, all of you are on his team' Poja said to Rani gesturing at Shahrukh

'what team now?' Shahrukh asked in frustration 'it is just breakfast for the love of god!'

'the kitchen is your level, it suits you; I am just surprised that they are joining you' Poja said coldly

'well, Shahrukh doesn't judge us or annoy us every goddamn morning. And for your information, this whole house is mine and we all can sit wherever we want. So, if you want to join us either you shut your mouth or get out and eat alone at the dining room'

Poja nearly dropped her jaw 'Arjit!' she said surprisingly

'you heard me' Arjit said firmly

'fine, you all have breakfast here in the kitchen like servants. Enjoy it' she said and went out

Shivan placed his palms over his ears 'she is so loud' he said and Rani shushed him

'I am off to college' Kajol said, stood up and went out of the kitchen but Shahrukh followed her and stopped her

'are you okay?' he asked kindly

She blew in anger 'this is so embarrassing; she keeps annoying you and they keep fighting in front of everyone all the time'

'well, this time we can't blame your father for stopping her' he said calmly

'I know, but I got bored of what keeps happening every day, we can't even have breakfast together like a normal family' she whined

'don't be sad' he said and rubbed her arm 'you need to clear your head from everything ok, just relax and focus on your studies'

She sighed then smiled at him 'I love you' she kissed his cheek and left, then Shahrukh went back to the kitchen

'is she okay?' Arjit asked and Shahrukh nodded 'I am sorry for what Poja keeps saying and doing in the last few weeks' Arjit said

'it is fine uncle, I can understand' he said calmly then looked at Meera who kept staring at him 'what is wrong?'

'she told me that she is angry with you' Rani said and looked playfully blaming

'why?' Shahrukh asked raising an eyebrow

'mom always said not to play with fire and you played with fire, Shahrukh is bad' Meera said and looked angrily at him

Shahrukh sighed remembering burning his sister's car 'I am sorry Meera, but don't you break your toys, this also happened with me. It is a mistake'

Meera looked at Rani and she smiled to Meera 'he promises he won't play with fire again and he apologized' Rani said

'so Shahrukh is a good boy now?' Meera asked and Rani nodded 'you are a good boy' Meera said happily to Shahrukh

Shahrukh smiled 'thanks Meera'

Shahrukh was roaming the whole house out of boredom, he was dying to go back to work but everyone insisted on keeping him at home for the next few days until they all assured that he is finally okay.

He reached the garden and walked a while then he looked at the swing silently, he touched it sadly, shook his head and walked away. Shahrukh decided to go back to his new friend, his room but on his way inside, he changed his mind and didn't go to his room.

'come' Arjit said when he saw Shahrukh standing at the door of the study and hesitated to come in, he quietly came in and stood in front of his desk 'sit down Shahrukh' he said and Shahrukh sat down 'are you okay?'

'I started to hate that question' Shahrukh replied in boredom

Arjit sighed 'fine, I won't ask you again'

Shahrukh shook his head sadly 'I am sorry uncle; I know you are worried for me'

'yes, I am; I am very worried actually' Arjit said kindly

Shahrukh sighed 'I will be fine. That's not why I came to you'

'are you going to talk with me about your offer to Kajol?'

'did she tell you anything?'

Arjit folded his arms before his chest confidently 'no she didn't. Let's hear the word from her lips and leave the rest to me' he said comforting

'what about...' Shahrukh was about to ask but his uncle interrupted

'don't care about her, I am the one who takes decisions here'

Shahrukh sighed 'but she is Kajol's mother too'

Arjit smirked 'she had to act like a mother first'

'but I want her agreement as well' he said calmly then added 'that's why I came to you, I hate it when you fight because of me and this really makes Kajol upset'

'so, you say that only my agreement is not enough?' he furrowed his eyebrows and asked

'I don't mean that of course, but your marriage?' he replied nervously shrugging

'I don't care about it now, once you marry Kajol; my marriage to her mother will be over. I am the one who will end this marriage not Poja this time' Arjit said and sighed 'this woman doesn't love me Shahrukh'

Shahrukh bit his lower lip sadly 'I didn't want all this to happen. I never wanted to be the reason to break your relationship' he said

Arjit let out a laugh 'you can't break something that is already broken' he said and Shahrukh stretched his lips helplessly.

At night Shahrukh was in the living room, he turned on the Tv and kept going through the channels in boredom waiting for Kajol to come back from the kitchen.

'finally, I finished' Kajol appeared with two cups of milkshake in her hand, one with vanilla for her and one with chocolate for Shahrukh

'that's what you kept all of us away from the kitchen for?' he asked raising an eyebrow

'yup, I wanted to surprise you' she said happily and handed him his cup 'I got the recipe from the internet, trust me it is way better than the one we tried at the restaurant'

'thank you Kajol' he said with a big smile

'the weather is getting hotter so I thought; why not milkshake? And you decided to go back to work so you need to be taken care off and spoiled a little in the next days' she said happily pulling his cheek then sipped her milkshake

Shahrukh put his cup over the table 'I wasn't talking about the milkshake' he said and Kajol shrugged in confusion then he continued 'I was thanking you for your efforts to cheer me up'

She rolled her eyes 'shut up' she said and smiled then put her cup over the table 'it is very cold'

'no really, I am so lucky to have you Kajol' he said and kissed her; tasting the vanilla on her lips

'guys, there are kids in this house for god's sake' Rani came in suddenly and said startling them

Shahrukh scoffed 'next time I need Rani I will kiss you' he said sarcastically to Kajol then looked at Rani 'stop startling us'

'stop kissing her when I am around' Rani said and sipped her chocolate milkshake

Kajol sighed 'why do you insist on going back to work anyway? why don't you take rest for more days? Another week maybe'

Shahrukh nodded in denial 'no that's enough, staying at house is really boring; and to prove that I am getting better day by day' said then grabbed his cup and sipped 'it tastes great, thank you'

'you are welcome' Kajol said calmly ignoring his first sentence and sipped her milkshake silently

'So, what do you think... you know; Shahrukh?' Rani asked shrugging when she was setting next to Kajol on the bed as they were in Rani's room

Kajol shook her head 'what? I am the one who should ask you this!' she said

'I am not a psychiatrist' Rani replied casually 'what do you think? I mean he is your boyfriend after all. Do your job, analyze the situation; that's why I am asking you'

'he is not okay at all, our meeting with Saif and Preity was just a break, Shahrukh still remains unpredictable. I don't know what he would do or say next; these days are really very tough for him' Kajol replied sadly

'do you really love Shahrukh?' Rani asked

'what is this stupid question?' Kajol asked coldly 'of course I love him'

Rani scratched her head 'I am just still shocked that you said no to him' she said sadly

Kajol rolled her eyes 'you know why I said so' she said

'he wouldn't marry you on the very same day, of course he would wait until you finish your exams and at that time, I am sure he would be okay'

Kajol shivered 'I don't know, I didn't want to take advantage of the situation'

'but saying yes would be very important for him, I am sure he is still upset with you but he isn't showing it' Rani said kindly

Kajol folded her arms before her chest and narrowed her eyes 'why are you asking me these questions? Did he tell you something?' she asked suspiciously

Rani sighed and nodded in denial 'no he didn't, but I feel sad for him. Shahrukh is a great guy'

Kajol bit her lower lip impatiently 'Rani, what do you really want to say?' she asked losing her patience

Rani cleared her throat 'I am afraid that your mom's words might have affected you and you really started to see the differences between you and him'

'how dare you Rani?' Kajol asked and went out of the bed in anger

'Kajol please calm down' Rani said kindly

'no, I won't, how dare you suspect my love to him or thinking of me this way?' she asked furiously

'because of your behaviors, when the man finally took a step, you stepped back' Rani repiled and stood up too

'he did it because he was shocked and because his sister asked him to move on with his life' Kajol shouted

Rani scoffed 'duh, he needed your support; he needed you by his side. He is taking the work as an excuse to make himself busy. His life is so empty now' she said angrily

'Rani get directly to the damn point' Kajol said through her teeth

'Shahrukh has loved you for all of his life, if you aren't sure about your love to him; I think you should give him a chance to be with someone...'

'you have exceeded your limits Rani' Kajol interrupted and said in disgust and went out of the room. She cried all the way to her room; she couldn't even imagine that Shahrukh can be with someone other than her. Kajol came into her room and closed the door, but the door was opened again and Rani appeared.

'get out' Kajol said firmly

'I am extremely sorry Kajol, I didn't mean to make you cry' Rani said sadly

'who the hell gave you the right to talk to me like that? How did you think of him in such way?' she asked through her teeth

'I never thought of Shahrukh in a bad way, I really love him; he is my best friend and my cousin. I was afraid that you would think of him in a different way'

'I love Shahrukh no matter what. Who gave you the right to interfere in my personal life like this?'

'I am so sorry I made you upset, but I said this because I am scared for him' Rani said and tried to place her palms over Kajol's shoulder

Kajol pushed away Rani's hands 'you thought only about him? What about me?'

'your behaviors are confusing'

'confusing? Who the hell was killing herself from hunger and went to the hospital? Who sees her parents fight every single day in front of her eyes because of her love?' Kajol asked yelling

'when Preity was talking to you and asking you about the marriage you were giving her uncertain answers. I felt that you aren't sure about what you want in your relationship with him; I just wanted to make sure...' Rani said with a breaking voice

'it is none of your business to make sure of anything. I am in a relationship with Shahrukh not with you' Kajol said angrily

'okay, as you wish. Good night' Rani said calmlyand left. Kajol grabbed a pillow and threw it at the door furiously