About an hour later…
Anamika stepped out of the building with Dr. Niharika. Aditya was sitting on a bench in the garden, working on his laptop.
The moment he saw Anamika, he closed the laptop.
Saying goodbye to Niharika, Anamika smiled softly, “I’ll come again next week! And… please don’t tell Saaniya that I was here!”
Niharika took a deep breath and replied, “I won’t interfere in your matters… but I’ll give you one piece of advice — secrets can weaken even the strongest of bonds. So, try not to keep any secrets between the two of you.”
Anamika smiled faintly and nodded.
Then turning to Aditya, she said, “Shall we?”
Aditya stood up and replied, “Yeah… I’ll get the car.”
He walked away, and Anamika glanced back at Niharika one last time before following him.
Niharika’s face showed no expression, but her mind was heavy with thoughts.
Meanwhile“So… did you meet your father?”
Anamika smiled faintly and replied, “I saw him… he’s fine.”
Aditya looked at her — she was gazing quietly out the window, her eyes fixed on the sky.
He thought to himself, “Just saw him…?”
Aditya wasn’t happy that Dr. Niharika hadn’t let Anamika meet her father properly.
At the same time,
“How could you forget my favorite ice cream flavor?!”
Standing in front of her, Shekhar wore his usual calm expression as he said, “I’m sorry, kid… I forgot! I’ll bring your favorite next time. For now, eat this before it melts.”
Pouting like an upset child, Ira said while eating the ice cream, “Fine… I’ll let it go this time, but next time I won’t!”
“Alright,” Shekhar replied with a small smile, while Aniket, sitting nearby behind a pile of files, watched them quietly.
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
His cheeks were puffed out like a pufferfish — probably because of jealousy from a little girl who got all the attention of his father today!
He suddenly called out like a grumpy child, “Dad! Can you check this file, please?”
As Shekhar got up and walked toward him, he asked, “When are you going home? Are you going alone?”
Ira replied innocently, “Driver uncle is here! I’ll finish this ice cream and then go home with him.”
Now standing beside Aniket, Shekhar said to Ira, “Go safely. Should I drop you?”
“No, no, uncle! Why trouble yourself? I’ll go!”
She stood up, wiped her mouth and hands with a tissue, and walked away.
After she left, Shekhar looked at the files and said, “Why were you sulking earlier? Acting like a kid who didn’t get ice cream?”
Avoiding eye contact, Aniket muttered, “Why would I sulk? I don’t even like ice cream.”
“I know. That’s why I didn’t get one for you,” Shekhar said calmly.
Then after a pause, he added, “By the way… a new restaurant opened nearby. Want to grab dinner there?”
Aniket looked up at him, surprised.
Shekhar’s face remained expressionless as always — stern, unreadable — but there was a faint trace of care in his eyes that he couldn’t hide.
Aniket smiled and replied, “Sure… as long as you’re paying the bill.”
Turning away, Shekhar said, “When a father is around, the son doesn’t pay the bill.”
Aniket smiled silently.
Meanwhile, about half an hour later…
Ira’s car broke down in the middle of the road.
The driver couldn’t fix it, so he went to call a mechanic.
Ira stood near the car, waiting.
Just then, another car stopped beside hers.
The window rolled down — and inside sat Rivan.
Smiling, Rivan said, “Hey… remember me?”
Ira turned her face away.
Rivan stepped out of his car, stood in front of her, and said playfully,b“You really don’t remember me? Seriously?”
Without looking at him, Ira replied coolly, “Ira remembers everything… but only what’s important.”
Rivan chuckled, walked around to face her again, and said, “Oh, right! Our first meeting wasn’t exactly memorable enough to make me important to you. No worries — I’ll remind you!”
He tousled his hair, took off his suit jacket, tied it around his waist, and loosened his tie.
Watching this, his secretary, Mr. Shah, sighed deeply and thought, “Convincing him to wear that suit in the first place took me an hour…”
Rivan smiled innocently, “Now do you remember, baby doll?”
Frowning, Ira said sharply, “I’m not a baby!”
“But you’re cute,” Rivan grinned. “And my big bro said his sister acts like a kid. So, I thought ‘baby doll’ suits you!”
Hearing that, Mr. Shah sighed again and smiled helplessly, thinking, “Looks like I’ll have to teach my young boss what names are appropriate to call girls by…”
Ira pouted and said angrily, “You idiot! You’re such a donkey! And by the way, you can’t call him ‘big bro’! He’s my brother — only mine!”
Trying to understand, Rivan tilted his head slightly, “Then… what should I call him?”
Ira crossed her arms and turned away, “Call him whatever you want, but not ‘big bro’!”
Rivan moved closer, mimicking her tone perfectly,v“For me, he’ll always be ‘big bro’! That’s what I’ll call him!”
Ira puffed her cheeks like a squirrel and grabbed his collar,b“He’s my brother — only mine! Got that, mister?!”
Rivan smirked, leaning closer with a teasing tone, “Oh-ho! Baby doll’s angry now, huh?”
Just then, a calm voice came from behind — “Boss… you shouldn’t talk like that. Apologize to the little lady.”
Rivan turned around to see Mr. Shah and complained, “But she started it! Look, she’s still holding my collar!”
“A gentleman never forgets his manners, boss,” Mr. Shah said firmly.
With a sigh, Rivan gently freed himself from Ira’s grip and said, “So I’m the only one who has to act gentlemanly, huh? Miss, maybe you should try being a gentlewoman sometime.”
Ira frowned, “I am gentle!”
Rivan chuckled, patting her forehead softly, “If i wasn’t getting late, I’d have shown you what the real definition of ‘gentle’ is — the one your brother… oh, sorry… my big bro taught me.”
Ira glared at him furiously as he got back into his car.
Mr. Shah smiled apologetically and said, “I’m sorry, little lady. He’s a bit immature, but he means no harm.”
Still frowning, Ira asked, “Why are you working for him? You used to work for my brother!”
Mr. Shah smiled gently, “It’s still his work, little lady. Rivan… he has no one left in this world now. Mr. Aditya wants to see him succeed. But if he’s left alone, that’s impossible. So he assigned me to help young boss Rivan.”
He walked back to his car and said, “We’ll meet again soon, little lady. Take care of yourself.”
As the car drove away, Rivan’s innocent smile remained the same — but Ira’s face still carried a frown full of irritation.
