Is there anyone out there thinking that maybe the reason Aryan does not accept Imlie as a friend is because he is not ready to lose one again.
Like, for all intents and purposes, Arvind, Arpita's husband, was a dear friend who he lost because he was not able to reach him on time to save him from Aditya.
So he shut himself off from people so he wouldn't ever again have to lose anyone else.
And here comes Imlie, who he likes as he knows more about her, and wow, she is like a breath of fresh air and he sees her as someone who could really become his friend.
But also, she is so affected by the one person because of whom he lost one of his best friends and just, he isn't ready to go through that again.
So he shuts off any thoughts of friendship, from Imlie, but from himself too.
Because while he can justify that he wants to protect Imlie as she is someone who inspires him, he could never justify losing her because of Aditya.
And all that care, protection, support comes from a place that he knows about but just doesn't want to name because he is scared of losing it.