8:00 AM — Anamika’s House
Breakfast was already set on the dining table.
Anamika had just woken up, still half-asleep, and slumped into the chair beside it.
Saaniya, on the other hand, was already dressed — ready to leave early for work.
She had asked Aditya to come and pick up Anamika later.
Yawning, Anamika said lazily, “Don’t you ever get tired of working so much?”
Saaniya lightly flicked her on the forehead and replied, “Ask yourself that sometime! The only difference between us is that I work during the day, and you prefer acting like an owl at night!”
Anamika pouted. “Wait—so you saw me working last night?!”
Saaniya looked away and said, “Yeah! I have this habit of checking on you once or twice at night. You were working till 2 AM, right?”
Anamika nodded slightly, a sweet and mischievous smile appearing on her lips.
“I don’t know why… but good ideas only come at night. Maybe because that’s when our mind starts dreaming!”
“Maybe! Anyway, I’m leaving now. Eat your breakfast properly… Aditya might arrive around nine, so be ready. He’s a businessman, and his time is valuable. We should respect that, understood?”
Anamika blinked playfully and said, “Yeah, understood!”
Saaniya had just reached the door when Anamika called her name.
“Saaniya!”
Saaniya turned back.
Anamika asked in confusion, “By the way, these earrings… when did you buy them?”
Saaniya touched the earrings and said, “These… actually, I didn’t buy them. Someone left them behind.”
Anamika tilted her head.
“Someone left them? Then why are you wearing them? You never wear anyone else’s jewelry!”
Saaniya smiled faintly.
“Yeah, I usually don’t. Actually, they were left for me. I was going to return them today, but I thought… if someone spent money just to see me wear them, then maybe I should at least wear them for a while.”
Anamika pretended to think like a little child and said, “You mean someone left them for you? Then that means it’s a gift! You shouldn’t return your gift — you’ll break the giver’s heart! Do you really want to break someone’s heart?”
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Saaniya’s face became expressionless. Her tone turned firm.
“Whether someone’s heart breaks or not, it doesn’t matter to me. If I start worrying about such small things, I won’t be able to move forward even a single step. My life… is meant to break hearts.”
She said that and left.
Anamika folded her hands and looked toward the door like an innocent rabbit, whispering to herself,
“Why does she think she can break people’s hearts so easily?”
Closing her eyes for a moment, she sighed, “Hmm… someone needs to tell Saaniya that pretending to be stone-hearted doesn’t make you one. She’ll always be an angel — no matter what. But… who gave her that gift, I wonder?”
Thirty minutes later…
Aditya’s car rolled into Anamika’s garden.
He parked and walked toward the house, ringing the doorbell.
No answer.
He waited, then rang again. Still nothing.
Frowning, he muttered, “Am I late? No… I came half an hour early! Then what’s going on?”
He folded his arms, thinking hard — and looking unintentionally adorable while doing so.
Then suddenly, a thought struck him.
He shook his head immediately.
“No! That’s not right! But… fine, I’ll ring one more time. If no one opens, then…”
He pressed the bell again.
Still no response.
No sound from inside.
Taking a deep breath, Aditya walked around to the back of the house.
He looked up at the balcony and mumbled, “It’s not right to enter through someone’s balcony… but I’m getting worried now. Maybe I should call her once?”
He took out his phone and dialed — but her phone was switched off.
His worry deepened.
Unable to stop himself anymore, he grabbed onto the side pipe and climbed up to the balcony.
It was unlocked.
Aditya quietly stepped inside.
The house was silent. Too silent.
He looked toward the main door — and froze.
Right there, in front of the door, sat Anamika.
On the floor. Cross-legged. Eyes closed. Hands folded together — lost deep in thought.
Aditya couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
He tiptoed back, closed the balcony door, removed his shoes, and sat down right in front of her.
He didn’t know how to bring her out of her thoughts.
He didn’t even know what she was thinking about.
But looking at her like that… he felt calm.
She looked so cute — just like a little rabbit.
Aditya smiled and gently brushed her forehead.
“Come on, wake up now… What are you thinking so deeply about?”
Startled by the sudden voice, Anamika’s eyes flew open!
As soon as she saw him, she froze.
Aditya was sitting right there in front of her.
She quickly looked at the door — it was closed.
Her voice came out softly, “You… you… how did you come inside?!”
Aditya made a helpless face and said, “What could I do! I knocked so many times, but no one opened the door! I even called, but your phone was off! My poor heart got scared! I thought my Miss Mangaka was in some big trouble, so I had to use my secret powers!”
“Secret powers?” Anamika’s eyes widened like a child’s.
Aditya couldn’t hold his laughter anymore — he burst out laughing.
His smile was so beautiful that Anamika just kept looking at him.
Trying to control his laughter, Aditya said, “Sorry… sorry! I’m really sorry! But what could I do — I just couldn’t stop laughing! You actually believed I have secret powers?!”
Anamika said innocently, “Yeah! Because you always tell me the truth. So there’s no reason to doubt you!”
Aditya fell silent at her innocence.
Then he said softly, “You shouldn’t believe everything I say so easily… right?”
Anamika tilted her head.
“So you mean to say you don’t have any secret powers?”
Aditya looked away, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.
“Yeah… I mean, obviously! I’m just an ordinary guy — how could I have secret powers!”
Anamika held his face gently, turning it toward her.
“I told you once — whenever you say something, look into my eyes and say it. If you don’t, how will I believe you?”
Aditya’s face turned completely red.
He froze where he was.
Anamika’s gaze met his — searching for something unspoken.
Then she asked sweetly, “So now tell me… how did you come inside?”
Like an obedient child, Aditya pointed toward the balcony.
“I came through the balcony.”
Anamika’s expression changed immediately.
She shouted, “Are you stupid or what?! Are you out of your mind?! From the balcony?! What if you fell?!”
Her eyes were filled with worry, and seeing that, Aditya said, “I was worried about you! You didn’t open the door, and your phone was off…”
Anamika quickly interrupted, “It was my fault! I shouldn’t have locked the door like that! What if something had happened to you?! What if you fell?! It would’ve been my—”
Before she could finish, Aditya pulled her into a hug.
The world seemed to stop.
He spoke softly, “Hey… why are you panicking so much? When I was a kid, I used to climb trees all the time — I stole plenty of mangoes too! So you really don’t need to worry about me. Now tell me, what were you so lost thinking about?”
“I…” Anamika’s soft voice reached his ears.
Aditya released her and looked into her eyes.
“Was something bothering you?”
Anamika shook her head. “No… I was just thinking about something.”
“What?”
To be continued…
