"When people honor each other, there is a trust established that leads to synergy, interdependence, and deep respect. Both parties make decisions and choices based on what is right, what is best, what is valued most highly."

- Blaine Lee

* * * * *

Lingering around in the Kitchen, Ramu Kaka - as he was called by everyone - frowned in worry for what was about to happen. Last evening he had seen Shravan giving Bahadur a list of things he wanted in the kitchen and then in the morning when Bahadur was stocking the kitchen, he had casually informed him that Shravan was about to cook the dinner in the night while they all were told to take leave. Hearing that Ramu Kaka had cried out in shock while cutting his finger with the sharp knife he had been using.

Now in the evening, he stood there still, looking around the Malhotra kitchen with eyes of longing and despair because it may be the last time he was going to see it clean and sparkling.

'Oh, my beloved kitchen, I wish I could save you...' Ramu Kaka thought as he caressed the counter with tenderness.

'Oh, how I wish...But oh, what to do, I am only a cook. But I have no right over you...' he thought dramatically and looked around the place which had been in domine ever since he had walked in the Malhotra house as their cook.

In the past years, apart from a few intrusion of Kamini Malhotra, no one from Malhotra had ever invaded his space and now all of sudden, Shravan dared to cook dinner in his kitchen, Why? It disturbed him greatly. When he had complained last evening, whining about it, Bahadur had informed him that Shravan had cooked once before when Ramu Kaka himself had been visiting his village a few months ago, but even that information hadn't made the frown on his face go away, nor did it made him worry less...

Soon he would hear Malhotra family getting into their expensive cars to leave for their party, and then Shravan would enter in his kitchen and destroy it. He wanted to whine but managed to control his urge. Letting out a deep sigh, he walked outside of the kitchen only to witness the sight that made him roll his eyes. There were they; Kamini and Shravan, both had a smile on their face, just for formality. Hers was forced as she pretended to be concerned while he was smiling amusedly - it was a poor attempt to conceal the fact that he knew her true intention, her truth but both liked to play this game...

Ramu Kaka along with the rest of the other house helps knew about the game going on between the two. They even had given them code names; Kamini the witch, with her helper Vandy the black bee Vs Shravan the tower. Each one of them has at least once heard Vandy the black bee saying something out loud in their presence, only to be scolded by Kamini the witch. They knew the truth; the women wanted, Shravan the tower, out of the house. But he - maybe also the rest of them - also have noticed in the way Shravan interacted with Kamini; a forced smile and a glint of amusement in his eyes that gave away the fact that he himself knew the truth of the women. Ramu Kaka had no doubt that Shravan who was said to be a very brutal lawyer could deal with women, so he along with rest enjoyed the showdown between Shravan the tower and Kamini the witch;

"You will be here alone as we all are going to the party, you won't get bored, right?" Kamini asked as she faked concerned.

"No, Chachi, don't you worry. You worry about me too much," Shravan responded with a sardonic smile as he looked down at her.

And after being assured that Shravan had no intention to crash the party which was giving her one more occasion to showcase her Pushkar in front of everyone else she was all set to show off. With Shravan not in the way, her youngest son would outshine every young lawyer present in the party without a doubt, with that thought Kamini walked away with a smug smirk on her face. As one by one, all the Malhotra, excluding Shravan, walked out, killing Ramu Kaka's urge to beg each one of the Malhotras to drag their tall tower with them, to not leave him behind to destroy his precious kitchen.

After seeing everyone off, Shravan closed the door behind him, and never before that moment, his tall frame had ever intimidated Ramu Kaka. To him, the London-returned son of Ramnaath Malhotra had always been a tall gentle giant, fascinating and charming to almost all of the house help. He always talked softly, always thanked them for any help, always had a gentle smile on his face, except for the days in which he was having a fight with Suman bitya, Tiwari Ji's granddaughter. But even on those days, he had a forced smile plastered on his lips while his eyes gave away his distress.

Until last night when Bahadur had informed him that Shravan had the intention to cook the dinner, he had always seen Shravan the tower - who now towering over him - a very kind young man. But he no longer seemed as one because, after all, he was going to destroy his kitchen within the next few hours or less...

"Can you help me out with something?" Shravan asked him so sweetly that he couldn't refuse.

After asking him to line up certain ingredients, Shravan turned to him with a smile and thanked him before telling him that he could manage from thereon.

"What? I thought at least you would let me be here," Ramu shattered as he once again looked around the sparkling kitchen of his.

"No, you can go, rest. I will manage it." Shravan once again assured him, but that didn't help. Now more than before he was worried about what would happen to his precious kitchen after the tall tower would be done with his 'cooking'.

"Are you alright?" Shravan suddenly asked as he noticed the weird behavior of the always passive cook.

"What do you plan to do with my kitchen?" Ramu blurted out with a lot of bravery even as he trembled.

"Plan? Nothing much, I will cook pasta, make the salad and done, my plan is very simple." Shravan said with innocence as he pretended to not know the reason why the short man in front of him was worried.

After observing the expression on Ramu Kaka's face - which changed from fear to anger and then distress - and he felt pity for the man and thought to assure him.

"Don't worry, I am not going to do anything bad to your precious kitchen," he said as patted the cook's shoulder.

"And anyway, Suman will be here with me, If not me, at least you can trust her, after all, she is a master chef," Shravan informed him with pride as he walked him out of the kitchen.

"Suman is coming over?" Ramu Kaka asked with hope and when Shravan nodded with a beaming smile, he was somewhat assured that his kitchen may survive the hurricane that was about to happen in it.

"Okay, now you can go," Shravan told him gently but with a firm tone that left no room for discussion.

After a few minutes of seeing him stand there in hope, Shravan looked at him with an expression of exasperation, making Ramu Kaka walked out with a deep sigh as he muttered something under his breath. Amused at the actions of the cook, Shravan observed him till was no longer in sight, before walking in to stand in the middle of the kitchen.

As he looked up at the clock ticking on the kitchen's wall, he called her to remind her to hurry.

"Where are you?" He asked her.

"Outside," She responded.

"You are early?" He asked, shocked as he started to walk towards the main door to let her in.

"No, Shravan, I am outside of my home," Suman told him as she shook her head with a smile.

"Oh..." He whispered with a frown, before continuing;

"You are going to be late." He stated with a sigh.

"No way. I will be on time. Just give me one hour and I will be there," she assured and ended the call before he could say something.

Glaring at his mobile, he once again walked into the kitchen and slowly started to prepare their dinner as his thought wandered back to the day, three weeks ago, when he had almost given her the letter he had written to her when he was just sixteen.

He had been so sure that he should give her the letter and tell her that he had been in love with her since forever, but that day, the more distance between them had shortened, the more his fears and apprehensions had pulled him into the darkness of doubts. Millions of questions had haunted him and the more he had tried to fight back, the more his fears had overpowered him, demanding from him answers he had been unable to find.

And when she had opened the door - standing in front of him with a beaming smile - his heart had been beating miles per second. Her smile had assured him somewhat, but it also had made him realize that he would never be able to walk away after confessing his love to her, that he wouldn't have been able to go to Bangalore as asked by his father. He had felt as if he would give her the letter he had been preserving for her for more than a decade, he wouldn't be able to go anywhere, he wouldn't able to back off even if she wanted nothing more than his friendship.

When that day, in her excitement she had dragged him inside, he had known that once he told her he wouldn't be able to walk away from her, no longer he would have cared how important the request his father had been. And that realization would have had scared him the day before, but that day with her standing before him, holding his hand in hers, it hadn't...

"Sumo, listen," he had stopped her, before continuing, "Woh...kuch kehna hai mujhe - I want to tell you something," he had started, smiling as he had looked down at her hand that was holding his.

"Me too!" She had responded.

"Me first," They had said almost at the same time.

And when she had repeated his claim that he wouldn't trust what she was about to say, he had corrected her;

"I do trust you, Sumo. I am trying to trust you with...me" He had whispered, before continuing; "that's what I came to tell you." He had told her before letting out a sigh and looking in her eyes and had let the walls that always guarded him crumble down.

"I know, last night I told you that I don't care, but I do care, Sumo, very much so," He had admitted in a whisper as he kept looking at her.

"But Shravan, your mother..." She had tried to say, but he had interrupted her.

"Has nothing to do with us. You were right, Nirmala Ahuja or anyone else has nothing to do with what's between us. And I promise to not bring her or anyone between us anymore, not even my trust issues." He had told her, assured her.

"But I want you to promise me something, Sumo." He had said as he held her hand in between both of his, before continuing, "Promise me you won't do anything impulsively that could hurt me - us. Most of the time you and I don't realize how our actions affect each other. So, promise me that you won't do anything that will end up hurting me, us." He had pleaded as he looked in her eyes without masking his fears.

"Shravan..." She had whispered his name, looking torn as she looked behind him at the door of her own room.

He had not paid attention to it then, and now he wondered why she had looked that way.

"I will do you the same," he had promised her as he looked down at her before continuing, "I know, I too hurt you whenever I am angry or when I am running from you, from myself, us. So, I too promise not to act impulsively." He had whispered with a nod.

And before she could have responded, his father had stormed into the Tiwari living room where they had been standing while yelling his name as if he had been doing something wrong. There had been something in his father's voice that had made their head snap in the direction where he had been standing, at the door.

"I had told you, Suman. But you didn't listen to me. Well, I will deal with you after I am done," his father had said as soon as he had come to stand in front of them before looking around as if he was searching for someone.

"Papa, what are you talking about?" He had asked his father, confused at his sudden weird behavior, the aggression he had shown towards Sumo had disturbed him greatly. He had never seen his father talking to anyone in that tone nor he had ever seen him looking so out of control. There had been something wrong in the way his father had looked at Suman that day, it had made him want to shield her by standing in between them even though he knew his father would never hurt her.

"What are you doing here, Shravan?" His father had asked him then as he glared at him, making him more confused than ever.

"I just came to tell Suman about my trip. You told me that it may take a few days, and I and Sumo had plans for this weekend, I had to inform her about it." He had lied to his father without blinking.

And then he had noticed his father looking confused between him and Suman, only to look down at their still intertwined hands, making them let go of each other's hand, awkwardly looking anywhere but at each other.

"Chachi?" He had only then noticed Kamini standing at the door, busy in muttering something under her breath.

Narrowing his eyes, he had then looked from her to his father, and then Suman, he had felt as if he was missing something. The way the three of them were not looking at him in the eyes had him thinking that they must be hiding something from him.

"Are you guys hiding something from me?" He had asked them, snapping them out of their thoughts.

"No, but you are getting late. Come on, I will drop you at the airport." His father had ordered and had held him by his arm and had almost dragged him away as if he was a child.

"Papa?" He had cried out in shock, somewhat amused at his father's strange behavior, and only that had snapped his father out of whatever daze he had been.

"You go first, I will be right behind you," he had told his father before gently removing his grip from his arm and ignoring his father's protest, he had walked back to where Suman was standing.

"I am sorry, I won't be able to meet Jeevan today." He had told her in a whisper, making her eyes wide in shock at the mention of one of the prospective grooms Nana ji had been haunting for her.

"Well, you were about to introduce him to me, right?" he had asked then, holding back a laugh.

"Shravan!" She had yelled at him as she punched his arm, making him laugh out loud.

"I promise that once I am back I will meet whoever you wanted me to meet." He had told with a teasing smile before sighing and whispering, "humari baat adhoori reh gayi - we didn't get to talk. But as soon as I am back, we will talk about it," He had told her while looking at her with a soft smile on his face before walking away.

And when he had reached Bangalore, he had gotten to know that his father's friend hadn't actually needed his presence as much as his father had thought so. There had been something strange about the whole situation, he couldn't pinpoint what it was. And when he had come back, everything had fallen back into its place as it was before he had stupidly tried to run away from her and his own feelings.

Now there was a certain calmness between them that he didn't want to disturb - the reason why it hadn't been necessary to resume their conversation as he was afraid to lose the peace that was there in their bond now. It had been only three weeks to the day he came back from Bangalore, but it had been three weeks in which he - they had been truly content and at peace with everything...

There was only one thing that was disturbing him now; his father and Suman's interactions. His father had been acting strangely from the past month or more, he had noticed that. But now he acted weird every time Suman was around while she had stopped coming to Malhotra house or his office if she knew his father was going to be there. Something was very wrong between yet they both were not letting him know what it was. He has to ask one of them what it was, he decided.

"Maybe tonight!" He muttered out loud as he looked at the clock on the wall in front of him, hoping she would be on time...

* * * * * * * *

Hurriedly Suman entered into her room and closed the door behind her with a bang. Dumping her bag on her bed, she moved to her wardrobe to open it, but as she stood in front of her, she couldn't decide what she should wear. Should she wear something nice and dress up for their dinner or go wearing her regular casual clothes?

"Biggest disadvantage of falling for your best friend; no more you have someone to ask advice from..." She muttered to herself in exasperation.

With a sigh, she picked out the most simple but classy casual salwar suit of hers and laid it on her bed, and almost run to take a quick shower. It took her only thirty minutes and she was ready in a navy blue suit with her hair open and pearl earrings dangling from her ears.

"Perfect!" She commented with a grin as looked at her in the mirror.

Nodding at herself and with the last look in the mirror, she picked up her bag once again and made her way out from her room. But just as she was about to open the door of her room, her phone rang.

"Nirmala auntie!" She smiled as soon as she picked up the phone.

"Suman, how are you?" Nirmala asked from the other side.

"I am fine, auntie. How are you?" She asked as she looked down at her watch, mentally calculating how late she is going to be.

"I am fine. Are you free? Can I talk to you?" Nirmala asked with hesitation.

"Of course, auntie." She responded, dumping her bag on the bed once again, she sat down as she could guess the subject of their conversation.

"Did you talk to Shravan?" Nirmala asked with hope.

Suman could only sigh in distress as she once again was reminded how tricky the situation was. She now knew Nirmala had given up on her son when she had walked out from his life after refusing his father a divorce, that Nirmala had somehow made herself accept that she can never be a part of his life, could never even hope for that. But now years later, Suman herself had made Nirmala realize that she could, and now every now and then she would be asked by the elder woman if she had talked to her son about her as she had promised three weeks ago.

While Suman felt she was just beginning to realize how deeply Shravan was scarred by the rejection he felt because of his mother's abandonment, she also has witnessed the intensity of Nirmala's longing to see her son, to hug him, talk to him and explain him her side of the story, that was the reason why she now was confused at what to do...

When Nirmala had narrated her side of the story, Suman had given her word to the elder woman that she would make the son and the mother meet and she had been ready to make it happen that day, three weeks ago, but then suddenly Shravan had held her hand in a tight grip as he feared he would lose her and had begged her not to do anything impulsively that could break the trust he had in her. And when she had looked up into his eyes, she had realized that what she had been planning to do would have probably done just that. And before she could have forced herself to take a decision, his father had stormed in with rage in his eyes, and she had realized just how lucky she had been to avoid a disaster by just a few seconds...

By letting him talk first, by hesitating the way she had, she had just saved both her and him from something that could have torn them apart, broken the trust that had just started to flourish between them...

She shivered whenever she thought about the consequences of what could have happened, knowing that if that would have happened, he wouldn't have had walked out with a smile, and his eyes nor longer would have had crinkled in a smile as they did now.

That day, Shravan had walked out after his father, with his smile intact on his face, and she had breathed in relief. She had apologized to Nirmala, who had been sitting on the bed with tears of helplessness in her eyes.

"Auntie, if you had met him now, he would never listen to you, would have never given you a fair chance to tell him your side of the story." She had then told Nirmala, had promised that she would talk to Shravan about her and whenever he would be ready to meet her, she would call Nirmala to comeback.

With that promise, Nirmala had gone back to her life in Mumbai, but every now and then, she would call Suman, to tell her how she had been looking at her phone in anticipation. It had been only three weeks, but Suman realized that the impatient heart of a mother couldn't wait any longer.

"Sorry, Nirmala auntie, I didn't get the chance to talk to him," Suman said as she closed eyes, feeling guilty.

"But I am planning to talk to him today over dinner." She informed her with a smile.

"You are having dinner with Shravan?" Nirmala asked curiously.

She couldn't help but ask, suddenly she wanted to know every little thing about him now that she had someone to ask about him, someone with whom she could talk about her son. She told Suman how no one knew about the son of hers that she left behind, how she had moved her life to Mumbai when her boss - Mr Ahuja - had transferred her to his company's newly opened branch. She also told Suman how with Aditya and Nidhi coming into her life, the void in her life had filled up. How from that day on, she never had regretted her decision, has never wanted to look back...

After hearing her that Suman felt a painful pang in her heart. Nirmala had someone who has replaced her son for her while Shravan has craved for his mother for all these years. She realized how only now when a way to be a part of his life has opened up, Nirmala wanted to take the opportunity to have him back, to get to know him, to be his mother. But what if Suman herself had never insisted on the matter? Would Nirmala had ever wanted to meet Shravan? And even now, did she realize the damage her abandonment and rejection had caused to her son?

Closing her eyes, Suman shook her head and forced her to not be so negative towards the woman who had been like a mother to her ever since she met her, for whom, despite all, Shravan still craved. Focusing back on the conversation she was having with the woman who actually could be the key to end the fear and the hesitation Shravan still has.

"Auntie, you won't believe, Shravan is going to cook the dinner tonight." She told her with forced mirth in her voice.

"Oh, really? Shravan knows how to cook?" Nirmala asked, smiling at the idea of her son in the kitchen.

He had been her helper when she used to cook daal, his attentive eyes used to take in every action of hers with the utmost attention. Before she had started to work in her office, that used to be their daily routine; as soon as he used to come back from his school, she used to make him sit on the kitchen counter and cook as he narrated whatever had happened to him that day. Oh, the longing she felt now to see her son once again...

"I will only after eating something made by him for dinner tonight," Suman responded as grinned.

"You go then, he must be waiting for you," Nirmala told her.

"Okay, I will call you soon," Suman said before ending the call.

Putting the phone aside, she thought about the ways in which she could open the discussion about Nirmala without making him angry or hurting him. But no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't find a safe way to do that.

"Think, Sumo, think!" She told herself as she paced around her room, only to realize she was getting late when she looked down at her watch.

"Sumo, you are done with, Qutub-Minar won't let you live after being this late." She muttered to herself before picking up her bag and making her way out of the door. Hurriedly she ran outside, ignoring everything else, starting her car, she made her way towards Malhotra house, praying that there was no traffic in the way. But alas, when had Delhi's traffic listen to her, as always, she was going to late because of it.

Pulling her mobile out of her bag, she called Shravan, hoping he wouldn't be too angry.

"You are running late." He stated as soon picked up, without letting her talk.

"You are never going to say 'hello - hi' or 'how are you?' before getting to the point, right?" She ranted in an attempt to divert his attention.

"We talk on the phone at least ten times a day, do I really have to say 'hello - hi' each time? And about asking 'how are you?' So tell me, Suman madam, even though the last time we talked was an hour ago, in this past one hour, how have you been feeling?" He taunted her sarcastically.

"How rude, Shravan!" She said, pretending to be scandalized as she held back a laugh.

"Let that be, tell me how late you are going to be?" He asked her as he tried to decide he should or shouldn't continue at the same pace he was cooking their dinner.

"Only about 15-20 minutes." She said as the cars in front of her started moving.

"Okay. Drive safely." He told her as they ended the conversation.

She put her mobile aside with a smile on her face. His anger and sudden outburst weren't as difficult to manage as she had thought them to be, she just had to find a way to deal with them. His outburst when she had sent him the wrong message by mistake had made her realize that how her ill-treatment and mistakes from the past still could haunt them if they didn't do something about it. And ever since then she had picked the habit to call him to let him know how late she was going to be. The small things she never paid attention to made huge differences. On her part, she was making efforts to slowly eliminate the apprehensions he has because of the behavior of the immature girl she had at sixteen.

And it wasn't only her, she noticed how Shravan too was slowly trying to understand her the way she has always desired to be understood by him. There was an unsaid agreement between them; that both of them were going to take their time to assure each other and themselves that what they had between them was something worthy of letting go of their own fears and apprehensions. She wanted to give Shravan enough time to realize that she was worthy of being trusted so he would let go of his hesitation and prejudice against women and marriage.

He had shown so many signs that he feared the failure of the bond she thought as unbreakable; marriage. Never before she had realized just how deep-seated his fears were. While she craved the security and stability that a confession would bring between them, she knew he feared it would take away whatever they had. His fears and cynicism were too deep-grounded for them to ignore, she now could tell how haunted he was by them even in the moments of peace.

She knew he trusted her as a friend, but the fear of abandonment and rejection didn't let him trust her as his lover, his partner for life. And no matter how frustrating it was for her impatient soul, she knew she has to be patient about it because his trust issues were based on the fallen marriage of his parents, his mother's abonnement and the rejection she herself had made him feel - they were nature after-effects of what had happened and no matter how much he himself tried to let it all go - in a way or another - his past never has let go of him.

She had seen his struggle to trust her, to forget and forgive the mistakes she had made a decade ago while seeking forgiveness for the mistakes he himself made after coming back. The Shravan Malhotra she had seen in the past few months was someone very afraid of getting hurt. His whole system worked on self-preservation, even the slightest hesitation from her side made him feel alarmed and worked up.

Three weeks ago, when he had pleaded her to not be impulsive, she had realized that she had to earn his trust back and help him heal but at his own pace, without hurrying him. The trust she had taken for granted when they were teens - the trust which had made him stand under the hot sun of summer and wait for her for hours, sure of the fact that she would come - she wanted him to trust her once again with the same firmness. There had been such an unconditional trust from his side back then, which now was missing. And she has been trying to earn it back, and she was succeeding in it, she knew...

After knowing him for years, seeing him change from Chashmish to Qutub-Minar, she knew Shravan Malhotra was someone who devoted all of him to the people he loved and cared for. He trusted blindly, loved to the extreme, has the habit to make the people he loved his universe. She has seen the way his world revolved around his father - the reason why she has to act with utmost caution when it came to his father. And she agreed to what Pushkar had once said; the girl Shravan Malhotra would love, have as his wife would be the luckiest girl. And she planned to be that girl...

"I will do whatever it takes to make sure we become what we were always destined to be..." Suman whispered as she nodded in determination with hope shining in her eyes...

* * * *

A/N:- Here! I hope you all liked this chapter...If you find the timeline confusing, let me know... :)

Please let me know your thoughts in the comments... :)

Thank you so much, each and every one of you for the sweet words and for lovely comments...They are the source of my determination and encourage me to keep writing... :)

Thank you! *Hug*