Once Ritu leaves, Rajveer closes and locks the door before turning to Naina.

He feels a pinch in his heart, seeing tears in her eyes, which she is trying to blink away.

"Naina, please do not cry. I do not know what Dr. Mishra's problem is and why she spoke that way with you. Please do not take the nonsense she spewed seriously," he says, stepping closer to her to wipe the tears sliding down her face, but she moves back, not letting him touch her.

"Naina, what-" he starts to ask, confused about why she is moving away from him, but she interrupts him.

"Dr. Ritu is right, Sir. We should not be seen together. Getting linked up with me will not be good for your reputation and career in the army," Naina tells him, her heart breaking with every word she utters.

At Naina’s words, Rajveer feels anger rise within him. He yet again starts walking towards her, but notices her still stepping back, trying to create distance between them.

Feeling hurt and angry due to that, he quickly grabs her arm, not allowing her to move further away from him.

"Will you be able to stay away from me, Naina? Will you be able to see me every day in the academy, remember the kiss and the intimate moment we shared just a while back, and still stay away from me?" He asks, peering deeply into her eyes.

"Think first and answer me, Naina. If you say yes, I promise I will leave you alone and will never return to your life. So, tell me. Will you be able to distance yourself from me?"

Naina thinks about what answer to give Rajveer.

'Will you be selfish and tarnish the reputation and honor of the person you love just because you are too weak to stay away from him? Be brave, Naina. Sacrifice your love for the one you love,' Naina's mind tells her.

'But, Naina, will he be happy if you stay away from him? Agreed that it might save his honor and his reputation, but what about his happiness? Remember what happened a while back--the way he touched you and the way he kissed you. He, too, must feel something for you to kiss and touch you that way. So, will you snatch his love, his happiness from him, Naina? Will you be able to do that?' her heart reasons.

Naina is still thinking about what to do, but she jolts out of her thoughts when Rajveer pulls her even closer to him.

"Answer me, Naina. If your answer is yes, you can walk out of here. I promise I will leave you alone. I will even get myself transferred from KMA so you won't be bothered by the rumors regarding us."

Hearing that, she feels a sudden fear in her heart. She would have distanced herself from him for his sake as long as he stayed in the academy where she could at least see him. But how will she survive if he goes away? How will she breathe without seeing him every day?

"No," she says immediately, dismissing the thought of him leaving her.

"What did you say?" Rajveer asks, wanting to confirm if he heard right.

"Please don't go away. Please," she replies and hugs him tightly.

Hugging Naina back, Rajveer roams his hands on her back, trying to make himself believe that she is here with him and is not going away from him.

But when the restlessness of his heart does not go away, he breaks the hug and slams his lips into hers.

She gasps due to his sudden kiss, and he enters his tongue inside her mouth, deepening the kiss and reassuring himself that she is right here with him and will never leave him.

Naina reciprocates the kiss, getting intoxicated by the feeling it evokes in her.

She moans when he pulls her closer, plastering his body against hers. His kiss is rough and demanding, and she loves every bit of it.

When the kiss ends, Naina moves back, shyly tucking her hair behind her ear.

Rajveer smiles, seeing his feisty Naina feeling shy.

"Hmm, I did not know you had this talent too," he tells her, knowing very well that he will hear her question in a second, and she does not disappoint him.

"What talent, Sir?" She asks, curious to know what he was talking about.

He moves closer and whispers in her ear, "The talent of shyness."

She blushes, hearing him, and turns away from him, trying to hide her embarrassment.

Taking a step closer to Naina, Rajveer snakes his hand around her waist and pulls her to him, making her back collide with his chest.

Then, resting his chin on her shoulder, he asks her, "Why?"

A pleasant shiver runs through her spine when she feels his breath on the nape of her neck.

His closeness and her body's reaction to it make it hard for her to concentrate on what he is saying.

Rajveer smiles at the way Naina is reacting to his touch. His heart is beating furiously against his chest, and his caged desire for her is threatening to break out.

But he knows he needs to confirm her feelings for him first and also confess his feelings to her before moving forward.

"Why are you not answering, Naina?" Rajveer asks, grazing his lips over the side of her neck and placing butterfly kisses there.

Drowning in the haze of pleasurable passion, Naina thinks hard about the question Rajveer is waiting for her to answer.

After a while, she remembers his question but is confused about what he wants to ask.

"You asked me why. But why what, Sir?" She voices out her confusion.

"Why did you kiss me back, Naina? Why did you let me touch you? And why are you letting me be this close to you?" He elaborates on his question.

Naina takes a sharp breath hearing his questions. 'How do I answer those questions and tell him I did all that because I love him when I am feeling shy to even look at him?'

Naina exits his hold and takes a few deep breaths to calm herself before saying anything to him.

Rajveer waits patiently, giving Naina the time and space to answer him.

"Tell me, Naina. Why did you let me kiss you and touch you?" Rajveer repeats his question after a few seconds.

"I... I-" Naina tries to speak but is unable to utter another word.

"Yes, Naina. I what?" Rajveer urges her to answer.

"I will go now, Sir. It is already time for lights out, and with the rumors circulating about us in the academy, it will not be good if anyone saw me leaving your room after the lights out," she says to him, and he feels annoyed with her answer.

"Naina, you will not step out of my room unless you answer my question," he tells her firmly, and Naina narrows her eyes at that.

"Well, Sir, I will not do everything according to what you say. I am going to walk out of your quarter right now without answering your question, and you will not stop me," Naina counters, her voice as firm as his.

"Naina, don't challenge me. You will lose." Although his voice sounds serious, she can see playfulness in his eyes.

"It's too late for that now, Sir," she says, and Rajveer smiles at her stubbornness.

"Ok then. You may go now. But I challenge you that I will make you answer my question within the next twenty-four hours," he tells her.

"And I challenge you that no matter what, you will not be able to make me answer your question. Not within the next twenty-four hours at least." Naina folds her hands over her chest.

Hearing her, Rajveer leans closer to her and whispers in her ear, "Think again, Naina. You will regret losing this challenge when you hear what the loser will have to do."

"What will the loser of this challenge have to do?" Naina asks, feeling slightly nervous but excited too.

"Well, it's simple, Naina. If I lose, I will do anything you say. And if you lose, you will do anything I say. No questions asked."

When Naina looks thoughtful and says nothing for a while, Rajveer speaks again. "Hmm, I think you want to back out now. It's ok. You can. I knew you did not have it in you."

Saying that, he inwardly smirks, waiting for her to accept the challenge. He knows she will definitely do it after him telling her that she does not have enough guts to do it.

"No, Sir. I am not going to back out. I am a soldier, and soldiers always complete their mission," Naina tells him confidently.

"We shall see, Naina. We shall see," he says to her, glad that she accepted the challenge. Now he can make her confess her feelings for him.

"Ok, Sir. You will see me winning this challenge."

"There are still twenty-four hours left for that. But before that, I want to ask you about something else, Naina."

"What is it, Sir?" Naina looks questioningly at him.

"Well, you were calling me just Rajveer a while ago when I-"

Rajveer cannot complete that sentence because Naina keeps her hand on his mouth but quickly withdraws it too.

He looks fondly at her blushing face.

"But now you are calling me 'Sir' again. Don't you think you should now drop that 'Sir' from my name? At least when we are alone?"

"Only five minutes are left for the lights out. I really need to go." Naina avoids his questions and quickly turns to walk out of the door before Rajveer can stop her.

Rajveer smiles, shaking his head as Naina runs out of his quarter.

Sitting on the couch, he thinks about the moments he spent with her after coming out of solitary confinement.

After realizing his love for her, he had decided to hide his feelings from her and distance himself from her, even though he knew that his heart would be burdened with sadness and loneliness without her in his life.

But he now feels so light, with only happiness filling his heart.

"Naina," he whispers, knowing she is the only reason behind his happiness, realizing she is the only source of his peace.