"The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart."

~ Elisabeth Foley

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In the room only lit by the moonlight, he sat in complete silence as thoughts of the past repeating itself kept haunting him, no matter how much he tried to assure himself that he would never let something wrong to happen to his only child, Ramnaath couldn't help but feel restless. And suddenly, the said child of his quietly walked into the room, leaving the door open behind him. He moved forward into the room without switching on the light, choosing to walk in darkness as the light coming from the hallway illuminated his defeated form.

Sitting far away yet close enough to be able to observe the changing expression on his son's face, Ramnaath realized that something unwanted has already happened. He sat there, unnoticed, with a frown on his face, taking in the action of the younger who threw his coat on one side, took his shoes off before carelessly throwing them out of his way, and advanced towards his bed with a tiring sigh. He looked stressed, worn out, tried and upset too. Surprised at his observation, Ramnaath decided it was time to make his presence known.

"Worried about tomorrow's case?" He asked suddenly, startling the younger man.

"Papa, what are you doing here this late in the night?" Shravan asked with a confused frown.

"I was waiting for my son to wish him luck for tomorrow, but it seems like he is not thinking about it at all," Ramnaath said, the hidden taunt in his voice didn't go unnoticed by Shravan despite he was given a half-smile.

"No, nothing like that, it's just..." he whispered, hesitating.

"Suman," Ramnaath interpreted his son and smiled when he saw his son's eyes expressive eyes widen in shock, "Berry called," he explained.

"Oh," Shravan said, unable to think of anything else. Unsure he observed his father as he walked to the sofa the elder man was sitting on.

"What happened?" asked Ramnaath when his son sat in front of him and observed his son closely as he went from speechless to suddenly stuttering, ranting and uttering half sentences, explaining him the happening of the day in a way that wouldn't have made any sense if he hadn't read the latter last night.

"How can she aspect me to do nothing?" Shravan asked in the end with a frown, frustration clear in his voice.

"What's wrong in wanting to help her out? Why would she have any problem with the fact that I want to something? How can she aspect me to stand there without doing anything while she is suffering?" He kept on with his rant without noticing the changing expression on his father's face.

"You must understand her point of view too, Shravan, who you are to her?" Ramnaath said with a challenging tone in his voice, clenching his teeth in an attempt to control his anger.

"Why do you mean by that, papa? Why can't I help her out, she is Sumo, my best friend, my only childhood friend," he said with a frown, still standing strong on his stance, assuring himself that he had the right.

"I didn't know that you both have such a strong friendship, I thought that after you went to London you both lost contact. In all these years, you didn't even talk about her, never asked about her, never mentioned her, never!" Ramnaath said, trying hard to keep his disapproval hidden as he clenched his hands into tight fists to control himself from snapping at his son.

He didn't want Suman to be anywhere near Shravan after knowing that she was in contact with Nirmala, not after knowing that she wanted the mother and son to reunite, knowing already that he was going to lose his son if that ever happened. He wanted Suman gone from their lives as Nirmala has, but for that to happen, he first wanted to know if his son was still infatuated with the girl he now called his best friend. He first wanted to know how deep the waters were so he could take the right steps to throw Suman out of their lives.

On the other hand, Shravan was in dilemma; should he let his father know or should he hide it? He asked himself, wondering if telling him would make things simpler, after all, his father was the most important person in his life, the only one who would understand, the only one who would do anything so he could be happy and he had the right to know that there was only one girl he would trust enough to stay with him for life, for better or worse, the only one he wants to stay with. He knew his father was worried for him ever since the Urvashi episode happened, he remembered his father's worried expression when he had confessed that he couldn't trust a woman, he never would. Surely his father was the only person who would understand him and his feelings even without his confession. He would let him know the truth, he decided.

"Years could never change what we are for each other, Papa. Despite we lost contact, when we met again after all these years, I found out that distance hasn't changed our friendship. I never talked about her because talking about her hurt somewhat, I have never been able to find friendship similar to what I had with Sumo, not even close," he whispered, somewhat struggling to find words that would make his father comprehend how important she was for him without confessing his undying love for the said girl.

"That's the reason why I value her so much, that's why I can't risk seeing her hurt or in trouble. Papa, I know you told me that there are limits and lines I can't cross because I am no longer in London but in India, but is my trying to help her out that forbidden?" He asked with a heavy heart, the expression on his face, the longing and the concern visible in his eyes made the elder man sitting in front of him gasp in shock.

'Is Suman Tiwari that important to you?' Ramnaath wondered but feared the answer too much to ask his son the question out loud.

"Shravan, I don't want you to do anything now," he suddenly commanded with a hard tone in his voice as he stood up to walk away but was stopped midstep by his son.

"I can not do something, Papa," Shravan whispered in protest.

"Shravan, you..." Ramnaath's will to be composed wore off and he was about to snap but suddenly a voice interrupted him, a voice that for the first time in his presence rang out, clear and loud.

"Sir," Pushkar called him out, finally letting his presence known from where he was standing far away from them, hidden in the darkness.

With a sigh, Pushkar moved closer, letting the light coming from the hallway to make him visible to the other two occupants of the room. He had heard Shravan finally coming home late at night and had been on his way to complete their pending teasing session that he had let go off last night, only to hear the father-son duo talking about Suman when he stepped in the dark room.

With a mischievous grin, he had quietly walked in the room, before forgetting everything when he for the first time he heard his Bhiya actually talking about the reason why he never mentioned Suman all these years. There was something very endearing about the frustration and affection Shravan displayed as he talked about Suman and hearing him somewhat confess the untold love Pushkar knew was between the two best friends, had stopped him from walking away. He couldn't help himself but overhear what was being said and noted something that Shravan hadn't; the quality of forcefulness in Ramnaath Malhotra's voice.

After observing him in their field of work, he knew Ramnaath Malhotra was the most ruthless and cold-hearted when he wanted to be. And after hearing him talking about Suman in such a forceful tone in his voice, the one that he used when he was holding back from snapping at him or at his co-workers, Pushkar realized something was wrong, he didn't know what, but he planned to make it right.

"Pushkar, what are you doing here? If it's something related to work, go to sleep, we will talk tomorrow," Ramnaath ordered with a scowl as he glared at the youngest member of his family.

'There was something very wrong,' Pushkar's brain yelled in warning, and for once he gave in the urge to voice his thoughts, act on his instincts, forgetting how much he feared the elder man and was determined to interrupt the ongoing conversation before it could get worse.

"It's not about work, Sir. I came to tell Shravan Bhaiya that I have the perfect solution for this situation," he said in the newfound confidence, shocking his mentor.

"What?" Ramnaath asked him with a confused frown.

"I will sort this out in a way that Bhaiya would be able to help her out without hurting her pride. As you said, he has already done what he could, now he should just focus on winning this case," Pushkar explained with one of his bright smiles, trying to lighten up the cold atmosphere he knew he has stepped into.

"Do whatever you can to end it," Ramnaath ordered, irritation clear in his voice and walked out without looking back at his son who was looking between the two of them, confused.

"Pushkar, what?" He asked, perplexed as soon the door closed behind his father and blinked a few times when the light of his room was finally switched on by Pushkar.

"Bhaiya, I meant it, I have the perfect solution to solve this problem, you don't worry, just go to sleep and win the case tomorrow as Mr Berry is very important to Sir, I will see to everything else. I will even convince Sumo to take your help, you don't worry, okay?" He said in a hurry before walking away, ignore the protest of the elder one.

When the door closed behind Pushkar in a hurried bang, Shravan closed his eyes with a tiring sigh, clearly, today was the day in which everyone has decided to walk away from him without listening to him.

* * *

He won the case, as predicted, but as he heard the judge read out the judgment out loud he felt as he was being sentenced for committing the crime of knowingly hurting his Sumo. And when he looked around, he realized that he was standing in the same courtroom he had fought for Tiwari Killa and right at that corner she had stood with a bright smile, happy tears in her eyes and had looked at him with relief, pride but now, he knew if she would have been here, she would have had cried in helplessness. And as he heard Mr Berry's excited chatter and felt his father patting his back with a proud smile, he felt the urge to run away from that room because no one apart from him could comprehend what he had done.

"Bhaiya," he heard his younger cousin call him out and he took it as an opportunity to walk away from the celebration he couldn't be part of.

"Let's go," Pushkar said as he dragged him away with a bright smile.

"Why are we here?" He finally asked when he saw the car stopping right in front of their office.

"Let's go inside and you will know," he was answered and for once his cousin's cheery nature only irritated him farther and he was close to snap at him as he followed the younger one to his cabin only to gasp when he saw the person sitting in one of the chairs in front of the Pushkar's heavily crowded desk.

"Thank God, for once you are on time," Pushkar said with a laugh, ignoring the shock visible on their faces.

"As both the parties are here, let's start the process, shall we?" He said to snap them out of their staring contest.

"What?" Both questioned in confusion.

"Let's see, what we have here, ahhan, the property papers declaring Shravan Malhotra as the new owner, here," Pushkar said after fetching out the papers he had found laying on the side table of his cousin's room.

"What are you trying to do, Pushkar?" Suman asked, the previous confusion suddenly transforming into anger and irritation.

"Ms Suman Tiwari as your lawyer I took the liberty to draw a contract between you and Mr Malhotra, the landlord," he explained with a bright smile, "but you both still have to decide the rent," he continued in a professional voice.

"The rent?" Both the parties repeated, confused.

He had thought about it all night, only to conclude that the best way to handle the situation was to force both extremes to come to a midway, for them to reach a compromise and accept each other's point of view without feeling wronged or hurting the other. And the only midway to their situation was for them to slip into a landlord and tenant's role and play it until they find a new way to communicate without making their egos and pride an issue.

"Mr Malhotra, do you want to increase the rent or you are okay with the amount that is being paid currently?" Pushkar asked in a polite tone he was known for.

"But I don't need the rent," Shravan protested with a frown.

"Yes, I know, but you also know that there is no way Suman will agree to stay and not move PCT if you don't give your place on rent," Pushkar told him to make him realize the reason why they were sitting in his office.

"So, do you mean that I should pay him the rent in exchange for retaining PCT right where it is?" Suman asked, finally understanding what the youngest of them was trying to say.

"Yes, in this way, Bhaiya won't feel as if you have rejected his help nor you will feel as if Bhaiya has helped you, a win-win situation for both, right?" Pushkar asked with a bright smile, ignoring the half confused and half glares he was receiving from both parties.

"I will take my leave now and give you both privacy to decide and debate on the matter, my assistant will guide you on the next procedure," he said while standing up and buttoning his coat as he gave the both of them an unrequired professional yet polite smile and walked away from his cabin.

As soon as he closed the door behind him he leaned towards it to overhear their conversation with an excited giggle, but the mischievous smirk fell off from his face when he only heard silence from the other side of the door. Letting out a sigh of disappointment, he glared at the door before walking away and leaving them to their faith.

Inside the room, they both sat in silence, their arms warped around their chest, glaring at the wall in front of them with a stubborn yet hurtful expression on their face despite there was a part of them which kept, again and again, analyzing the entire situation and was forcing them to give in, to pacify the other and soothe the wounds inflicted by their pride.

"So, did you really brought the whole property?" Suman asked as she read the papers he had tried to hand over to her last night. She turned towards him when he didn't answer and found herself oddly touched and saddened by the childish frown and annoyed expression on his face.

"Shravan," she called him out softly and saw the frown melting away into a forced indifference as he turned around to look back at her without saying anything.

"I don't know what to say," she confessed as she looked down at the papers she knew he had made only for her and for the first time realized what he had been trying to do for her.

"Whatever you said last night was more than enough," he responded with a hard tone, trying to hide how wounded he was because of the words said by her just a few hours ago, words that had kept him awake all night, feeling lost and alone once again.

"I didn't mean to hurt you, you know that," she whispered in her defense as she looked at him with regret.

"But that's what you always end up doing," he said with a frown, unforgiving yet felt childish to hold a grudge against her for what she had said during what had been for her a very vulnerable state of mind.

As she saw the changing expression in his eyes she knew he just wanted her to acknowledge the harshness of her words and with a soft smile, she gave in;

"You are right, I shouldn't have said what I did," she said before shaking her head at the bewildered expression on his face, realizing that maybe he wasn't expecting her to accept as soon as she did.

"I realize my mistake, but do you realize yours, Shravan?" She asked and the soft tone of her voice made him sigh and shake his head in response because he couldn't imagine why she wouldn't let him do what he had always done; solve her problems.

"I don't want any help from you, Shravan," she told him quietly.

"But why?" he cried out, "Why Sumo? Why am I being denied of doing something that I want to do? I don't know how you see it, as help or pity, but to me, it's something I have always done. Have you forgotten us?" He asked her with a frown, the wounded expression on his face melted her heart.

"We aren't kids anymore, Shravan, we now face real-world problems, problems that I want to solve myself. I am not denying you anything, I still want your support, I will always want you by my side, but not to solve my problems or clear the path I walk on but as someone who will walk along with me," she confessed with as she looked at him with a hopeful smile.

"I don't want to repeat the past, Shravan," she said, shaking her head before continuing, "I don't want to make you feel as if I am using you or abusing our friendship. I have made you feel like that in the past but not anymore. And you helping me, spending money, buying things just to help me is doing just that, it also makes me feel uncomfortable as if I am using you and taking you for granted as I had done back then," she whispered as she looked down at her hands, closing them into tight fists.

"Suman Tiwari since when money has become an issue between us? Money had never been an issue between us before," he said as he let out a sigh of frustration and he closed his eyes.

"That's why I trying to make you realize, why are you bringing money in our friendship?" she asked him with a tiring tone in her voice.

"Do you know Shravan? When you weren't here, it was difficult for me to cope with problems, never before I had realized how much I used to depend on you, you were the strong wall I could lean on whenever I wanted, and when you left, I fell, so hard, and I realized I had no one I could talk to, no one who could be what you were," she revealed him as she looked down at her hands and sighed before continuing;

"I found everything so difficult, I had to work on myself to make sure I can stand on my own feet, hold my ground, and somehow I have learned to stand on my own feet, to not lean on anyone, and now I can't go back, can't become the girl I was back then," she told him as she shook her head.

The regret, the guilt she had felt and her struggles and sufferings from the past decade could be heard in her voice. She had let it change her into the girl she was now. That day, more than a decade ago, when she had run after his car, begging him to stay back and he still had left her behind, she had realized her mistake. And after that day, she was forced to step into the real world, the carelessness in her attitude was gone, the leisure present in her actions went missing, and slowly she had realized that he had taken away with him everything that made her Sumo and she had to become Suman...

Suman; whose last name was given to her as a favor. After that every taunt affected her more profoundly, she had realized that everything she had thought she owned, even her last name wasn't hers yet she shared it with people who thought of her as a burden. Form that day on, she had let every said word, every taunt change her. With Mami's constant reminders and the memories of the time spent with Shravan haunting her, reminding her of her every mistake, she had become someone who, rigidly and firmly, stood by her belief yet couldn't voice her refusal, couldn't say no, who tried to become as independent as she could yet let everyone else depend on her and continued to shouldering responsibilities that weren't hers. Uncompromising when it came to her self-respect, her pride rested in her ability to work hard and doing everything by herself, never letting anyone do anything for her yet doing everything that her family demanded her to. All of that now had become her habits she couldn't let go off, not for anyone, not even for him...

"Sumo, I know I have mentioned the past many times to taunt you but never have I thought that you will take in the way you are right now. I have felt used and taken for granted because of your actions, emotionally not monetary," he explained her in the ope to lessen the guilt he heard in her voice and his own regret, to end the misunderstanding his taunts may have made between them.

"I know, Shravan, but that doesn't make a difference, that doesn't change anything," she told him while shaking her head.

"I don't know what to do anymore, Sumo, so please tell me what to do, just don't tell me not to do anything because I can't do that. I can't take it anymore," he said with a tiring voice, his shoulder slumped by some invisible burden.

Seeing him so down on his spirits, she suddenly felt unsure of her decision, with a deep sigh, she looked down once again at the papers Pushkar had left behind and actually considered the option he had given her and as she thought about it, she realized that it may be the only way the both of them could accept.

"I think this could be a perfect midway," she said as she slid the contract papers across towards him.

"You think so?" He asked confused as he read the contract papers.

"For now yes. You already know about the new order PTC has now, it's quite big and I may even change the location in a few months, move to somewhere better so until then let's do this," she suggested, giving in with a nod.

"And after that?" He asked with a confused frown.

"That's not my problem. Who told you to buy the entire property, Mr lawyer? You fool," she said as she shook her head at his impulsiveness.

"I didn't need to think about it, I did what I thought I should," he admitted quietly with a shrug.

"How rich you are? Is it necessary to waste Ramnaath uncle's money, you rich brat?" she taunted with a teasing smile.

"My father's money? Oh no, madam, I am going to pay for it with my capability of being a brilliant lawyer who wins every case, not with petty things such as money," he informed her with fake arrogance, making her laugh out loud.

"Who is crazy enough to sell property in exchange for your services? Are you really that good lawyer?" She teased as she pretended to be shocked.

"Mr Berry, and for your information, ever since I came here, I haven't lost a case yet," he told her with a proud smirk.

"Oh, does that mean you lost all the ones you fought in London?" She asked, making fun of him as she laughed.

"That's not what I meant," he yelled out in protest before laughing along with her at their silly bickering.

The sound of their laughter coming out of his cabin finally could be heard from outside where Pushkar was standing, previously struggling to make progress in his own love story yet failing. Making his way back to his cabin, he smiled brightly, mentally patting his own back for making the stubborn duo to talk and reconcile. If only, things were that simple with his one-sided love story too, he wished.

With a fake heavy sigh, he walked in his cabin, deciding to give his time to those whose love story must make progress for his to become a priority.

"Did you both finally decided then?" He asked them with a bright smile as soon as he entered and for the first time that day, both of them looked back at him with identical silly smiles...

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A/N:- So, here the PCT + Mr Berry case drama ends, hehe, that too in the way I would have wanted it to be; used as an opportunity to clear the misunderstanding and miscommunication between them. And here is the strong 'self-respecting' Suman who didn't compromise yet didn't hurt him either...And here is, a happy yet mature Shravan who now understands her better, a win-win on both ends! *__*

I hope you all liked the chapter and are liking the way the story is progressing, please let me know your thought and feelings, and leave behind a comment or two, or as many as you would like... ;)

Thank you for the sweet comments, for the motivation and support, for reading and liking the story so far... :)

Thank you! :)

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