“Go on. What do you want to talk about, all of a sudden?”

  Saniya waited for Anamika to speak, smiling softly.

  Anamika closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them slowly.

  “Those… earrings. Who gave them to you? And yesterday—what did that strange question even mean?”

  Saniya’s smile faded a little.

  “That’s it? You looked so serious, I thought it was something bigger!”

  Anamika thought to herself, “Oh, there’s so much I want to ask you, Saniya. You’ve hidden a lot… but I’ll ask slowly. Just like all my responsibilities fell on you at once, I don’t want to dump all my questions on you in one go.”

  She nodded lightly. “Yes. For today, I just want to know this much.”

  Saniya sighed softly, as if she was trying to buy herself some time—to think about how to explain it.

  Then, with a faint smile, she asked, “Do you really want to know? But why? Look… I’m not upset that you’re interested in my life. I’m just wondering why you—”

  “I started getting too interested?” Anamika completed her unfinished line with childlike innocence.

  With a helpless but gentle tone, Anamika continued, “I’ve always cared about you, Saniya. I always wanted to know about your life—every single day. I wanted to ask what happened today and why. But every time… every single time, I lost the courage to ask!”

  Saniya smiled. “And now, my brave little friend—do you finally have that courage?”

  Anamika looked up at her and said softly, “Now I believe that someone does believe in me. And because of that belief, I finally trust myself enough to protect you. You were disturbed by that gift and then by that weird question yesterday. I want to know why.”

  Saniya stood up, walked over, and gently caressed Anamika’s hair.

  “I believe in you too, and I’m proud of you. You’ve always protected me. And honestly… I didn’t mean to hide this from you. The thing is—I wasn’t really clear about it myself.”

  She sat beside her and added, “But now, I’m a little clearer. At least… about that gift. Those earrings were given to me by Aniket.”

  “Aniket?!” Anamika looked confused for a moment, but then Aditya’s words flashed through her mind.

  She remembered what he’d told her and thought, “So the earrings really did mean something… Aditya was right! Oh… so Aniket actually meant—”

  And then Saniya burst out, “That idiot Aniket thinks I’m jealous!”

  Anamika’s eyes widened in shock as Saniya continued ranting angrily.

  “That jerk told me yesterday that he gave me those earrings because he thought I’d get jealous—since everyone else was giving you gifts! He thinks I’m that petty?! Seriously, that donkey?! And that weird question—‘What do you like more—rivers, lakes, seas, or mountains?’—yeah, that was his too! What the hell was he even thinking asking something like that?! What does my preference even matter to him?!”

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  She kept ranting furiously, while Anamika sat frozen, her mouth slightly open.

  Inside, she thought, “Why does Saniya misunderstand Aniket so much? Those earrings meant ‘Change for your own happiness.’ And if I think about that question from his perspective… it actually has a deeper meaning! He didn’t ask her that to tease her—she’s just misunderstanding him completely!”

  As Saniya kept swearing in frustration, Anamika felt genuinely bad for Aniket.

  She held Saniya’s hand and said firmly, “Stop!”

  Then, glaring at her, she shouted, “You… you’re such an idiot!”

  Saniya’s eyes widened in disbelief.

  It was the first time Anamika had ever called anyone an idiot—and of all people, she called her!

  “Wait—did you just say that by mistake, or did I mishear you?!” Saniya asked, stunned.

  Anamika took a deep breath and stood up. “No. You heard me right. You really are an idiot! How can someone like you judge someone so wrongly? I agree, Aniket isn’t someone who expresses things directly—but his actions and his gifts clearly said everything! Why didn’t you understand?”

  “What are you even saying? Explain it properly!” Saniya asked, confused.

  Anamika stared at her in disbelief. “Seriously?! You’re my friend and you don’t understand metaphors? Shame on you!”

  Saniya blinked in confusion.

  It felt like she was looking at a completely different version of Anamika—a shy, quiet girl who suddenly found her voice and confidence!

  Anamika looked straight into her eyes and said, “I’m giving you one week—just one! Clear all your misunderstandings with Aniket and bring that gift back! I already felt bad that you returned something given with love, but now that I know it was from Aniket—I’m actually mad at you!”

  Saniya looked embarrassed. “Well… you could just tell me what it meant—”

  “I’m not telling you! You’ll find out yourself. When you make an effort, you’ll understand how wrongly you’ve judged him!”

  And with that, Anamika stormed off angrily.

  Watching her go, Saniya mumbled to herself, “This is the first time I’ve seen her angry… and why does her anger look so cute?! Or has it always been this cute?

  And why is she defending Aniket so much lately? Even Rudra was on his side yesterday—and then he told me to read novels and study metaphors! (raising her voice slightly) What’s wrong with everyone?!

  (speaking softer, almost whispering) Did I… really misunderstand him?”

  While Saniya stood there lost in confusion, Aniket had just reached home—only to get another shock.

  His father was packing his bag to leave, while Aditya and Ira were about to get into the car.

  Seeing them, Aniket ran toward Aditya—he wanted to talk—but Aditya, still angry, ignored him and sat inside.

  Watching the two, Ira thought, “Did they fight? Weird. I hope I’m not in some parallel universe.”

  Aditya told her to get inside. She nodded and smiled politely.

  As she sat, Aniket muttered, “At least she’ll say good morning to me! Unlike you!”

  Aditya glanced at him, forcing a tight smile before turning away.

  Ira smiled sweetly and said, “Good morning, brother! I have to go now—Aditya bhai is taking me to his office. If I make him late, he’ll change his mind!”

  “Yeah, he’s a grump!” Aniket said, pouting.

  Just then, Shekhar walked up from behind and said firmly, “He’s not grumpy—he just respects time.”

  Aniket rolled his eyes dramatically.

  Shekhar turned to Aditya and said, “You should go now. Never be late for work.”

  Aditya smiled. “Of course, uncle. Don’t worry. And Aniket will also reach the office on time.”

  And after saying that he started his car and they left

  Watching them leave, Aniket squinted suspiciously. “That sounded less like a compliment and more like a conspiracy,” he muttered.

  Shekhar’s stern voice cut through his thoughts.

  “Who wakes up this late?! I told you to come home early last night—I had work for you! But no, you went to Aditya’s house instead!”

  “I forgot, Dad,” Aniket said sadly.

  “Give me your wallet and your phone,” Shekhar ordered.

  Aniket looked confused, but under his father’s commanding gaze, he handed them over.

  Shekhar slipped them into his pocket and said, “You’re walking to the office today.”

  “What?! No way! Dad, the office is too far!” Aniket protested like a child.

  Shekhar got into his car and replied, “And you’re young enough to walk that far! On foot means on foot! Understood?”

  Aniket sighed. “Fine! But if I’m taking this punishment, I’ll take a treat too!”

  Shekhar raised an eyebrow. “What?”

  Blushing slightly, Aniket turned away and said in a cute, shy tone, “You’re my dad, that’s why I’ll take the punishment. But I’m your son too—so you owe me a treat in return!”

  Shekhar sighed, smiled lightly, and said, “Alright. First, reach the office.”

  He drove away, and Aniket watched the car disappear down the road.

  “Aditya’s taking out all his anger like a TV serial villain!” he muttered, pouting again—then started walking like a sulking kid.