10 AM – At the Theater
Anamika, Ruhi, Rudra, and Aniket stood in the long theater corridor.
Aditya and Rahul had gone to buy tickets for everyone, while Ira had left the hotel early, claiming she was off to meet her friends.
Aditya hadn’t stopped her — he knew she was still upset with him.
Until her anger cooled down, he had no choice but to quietly agree to everything she wanted.
Anamika’s face was clouded with sadness — Saaniya wasn’t here.
Rudra had lied to her for now, telling her he’d sent Saaniya out for urgent work and that she hadn’t had time to stop and inform her.
Watching Anamika’s downcast face, Rudra let out a heavy sigh and muttered to himself, "Saaniya is late… I knew this would happen. His condition was bad, and that surgery was bound to take longer… it might even be afternoon before she gets here. But I can’t tell Anamika this. If she finds out the truth now, she’ll just worry even more… and after all, that man is her father!"
He lowered his gaze, lost in his thoughts.
Ruhi, meanwhile, stood nearby, tangled in her own questions.
But Aniket? He had reached his limit with the somber atmosphere.
He grumbled under his breath, "I was promised a movie and some fun… but these people look like they’re here to mourn someone! How am I supposed to enjoy myself like this?! Even I’ll turn into a corpse at this rate!"
Rolling his eyes, he quietly slipped away.
Meanwhile
Finally, Rahul broke it.
“How’s Ruhi doing?”
Aditya’s face lit up with pride. “Better than either of us imagined! If she weren’t here, my workload would have doubled.”
Rahul smiled faintly and nodded.
“Mom was worried, but I knew there was nothing to fear. See — I was right!”
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Aditya glanced back at him.
“Yeah, absolutely. By the way, how’s your dad now? Still the same anger?”
Rahul paused for a moment before answering, “Well… there’s no cure for his temper. He hasn’t been home in days. Actually, I came here to talk to you about this. I was worried he might… you know… come after you again.”
Aditya’s lips curved into a calm, reassuring smile.
“Don’t worry about that. Ruhi is my sister too. Keeping her safe is my responsibility.”
Relieved, Rahul exhaled and smiled.
They started walking back toward the others — but stopped dead when they spotted Aniket.
Aniket had returned, holding a half-deflated balloon.
With a mischievous grin, he tiptoed behind Rudra, Ruhi, and Anamika and — pop! — stabbed the balloon with a pin.
The sound was loud enough to make Ruhi jump and cling to Anamika, crying out “Mommy!”
Rudra, standing right where the balloon had burst, remained perfectly calm — as if nothing had happened.
A man standing nearby dropped his phone in shock, looking around like the ceiling was about to collapse.
He quickly picked up his broken phone and walked away with his head down.
Anamika burst into laughter at the sight, which made Ruhi laugh too.
Even Rudra’s lips twitched into a faint smile.
Aditya and Rahul finally joined them.
Aditya waved the tickets in the air.
“Come on, let’s go in! And Aniket — if you pull a stunt like this inside, I’ll pretend I don’t know you!”
Aniket made a face and teased, “Your Miss Mangaka will still recognize me, right? What do you say, Anamika?”
Anamika smiled softly. “Yes, of course.”
Aniket shot Aditya a smug little grin, making Aditya squint at him.
When will this guy stop buttering up everyone?
His narrowed eyes practically shouted that he was just a little bit jealous.
Trying to recover, Aditya turned to Anamika with an innocent look.
“By the way… if I did something embarrassing in public, what would you do?”
He clearly wanted the same reassuring answer Aniket had just gotten — but before Anamika could reply, Rudra jumped in with a laugh.
“What do you mean, what would she do? She’d make you do squats right there — holding your ears! Right, Anamika?”
Ruhi crossed her arms and frowned.
“Aditya sir would never act like a monkey in public. So that’s never going to happen!”
Rudra teased back, “What never happens will happen someday! Maybe he’s just asking now to clear it up in advance! Got it, little one?”
He lightly tapped Ruhi on the forehead — which made Rahul step forward immediately.
“I’m sorry, but you can’t hit my sister like that.”
Rudra blinked, startled.
“Oh… sorry! I was just—”
“Even as a joke, please don’t ever do that again. Please,” Rahul said firmly.
Then he turned away, but halfway to the theater door, he smiled back.
“Shall we go inside now?”
Ruhi followed him.
Aniket threw an arm around Rudra’s shoulders.
“You don’t have a sister, so you made the mistake of touching someone else’s sister — right in front of her brother! Don’t worry, I’ll train you later so you don’t get scolded like this again!”
Aditya was about to follow them inside when Anamika suddenly grabbed his hand and began walking with him.
Aditya froze for a split second — but didn’t say a word.
He didn’t want this moment to end.
Softly, Anamika said, “You all accepted me just as I am. So I should do the same. No matter how any of you behave, or where you are, I’ll be with you. If you’re wrong, I’ll apologize on your behalf… and if you’re not, well… I don’t know how to fight, but I’ll still stand by your side.”
Aditya gently brushed her forehead with his hand.
“Don’t worry. I’ll never let you feel embarrassed because of us. And as for fighting — well, you’ll just have to learn someday. That way, you can fight Rudra for suddenly sending Saaniya off without telling you! And I promise I’ll teach you. Believe me, I’ve practically got a PhD in fighting with Ira!”
Anamika let out a soft laugh at that.
Meanwhile
Sitting in the back seat of the car like a sulking child, she muttered,
“Stupid brother… stupid, stupid brother! He didn’t even say sorry this time, didn’t even try to stop me! And no bribes to make me forgive him either! He’s gotten way too mean now. Fine — I’ll make sure he pays for this! He even went to watch a movie without me!”
