Chapter four

The Next Day,

"Lavanya, I am leaving. Don't forget to give me a call if you are going somewhere." she said as she wore her wristwatch.

"Wait wait... I am coming along with you." Lavanya shouted, rushing out of her.

"Coming with me? I am going to the office to work, not for loitering around the city. And most importantly, I am not a small kid to get lost." Nithya shrugged.

"Oh, Mental. To remind you, I have a test tomorrow. So I just wanted to explore the city to get rid of the stress. And about you, I know that you are not a child but I can't leave you alone here because I.."

"Lavanya. Come fast, it's getting late."

"I am ready... Let's go." said Lavanya rushing towards her with a blooming smile.

"Are you coming like this?" Nithya asked, amused.

"Um.. yeah?" She frowned, " Why asking?"

"Shoes. You forgot to wear them."

"Oops." She hit her on her head, "Sorry haan, I am coming." She said sheepishly and rushed back to her.

" Careful!" She shouted seeing her about to slip, "What a great start to my morning... Such a crazy girl she is." She chuckled by the end of her sentence.

"La... I am getting late."

"Coming!" she shouted, "Let's go..."

"Thank god!"

"Wait a minute!!" She heard her squeal again just when she was about to open the door.

"What now?" She said annoyingly.

"Here..." She showed her a woolen scarf, "It's too cold outside. You better wear this." said she wrapping the scarf around her neck.

Nithya smiled at her concern for her. She can be so adorable sometimes.

"Now why are you looking at me like that? Aren't you getting late?" Lavanya asked with a slight frown.

Nithya shook her head negatively, "Love you so much!" she said, pecking her cheeks soundly.

"I love you too... now let's finally go!" She said and both chuckled as they locked the door.

But as soon as they walked out of the house, they came across Akash who stood leaning against his black, shining SUV.

"Sir, You?" Asked a bewildered Nithya.

"Er... Good morning Ladies." He wished them sheepishly looking at their shocked faces, "Well, Pls Don't get shocked that I came to pick you personally. The only reason for doing this is that Your office location has been changed and since you recently shifted here so you may not know about the ways here. So you know..." his words trailed off.

"Why did you trouble yourself, Sir? You could have just sent me the address of the new location..."

"I did but it seems you didn't read my message yet."

"Oh yeah, her phone's battery was dead." said Lavanya with her cute, dimpled smile.

"See... Shall we go?" He asked.

"Sure.." Nithya smiled, formally.

"Then come on, get in!" He said opening the door for them with a wink making them chuckle.

Once they got themselves seated comfortably Lavanya nudged Nithya, "Oye Chamkili?"

"What is it, Madam?" She asked sarcastically.

"Didn't I say that he likes me? See… He came to pick us all by himself." Lavanya whispered as she blushed lightly.

"God! Not again La..." Nithya cried.

"Ahm ahm... What's happening?" Akash asked.

“N… nothing serious.We were just talking about the weather, isn’t it La?” She asked, shooting glares at her.

“Yeah… It’s so cold here. Giving me kashmir kinda vibes.” Said Lavanya.

“It’s usually very cold here during winters. But Summers can be intolerable.” said Akash,”By the way, Lavanya…”

Lavamya’s eyes sparkled in happiness when he called her name. She eyed Nithya giving her ‘I-told-you’ looks. Nithya looked away biting her lower lip, in order to stifle the smile that threatened to creep out.

"Why are you coming with Nithya? I mean to say, are you appointed in PS as well?"

Lavanya stared at him like a deer caught in the headlight while Nithya chuckled softly at her helpless situation.

"Actually I am an IPS Student and I am currently on duty."

"Duty here? With Nithya?"

"Yeah, Protecting Nithya from this evil world. And don't confuse yourself, it's me who appointed myself in this mission." she said lifting her imaginary collars.

"Well then all the best IPS Lavanya!" Akash mock saluted her with a chuckle.

Lavanya got relaxed seeing Nithya smiling wholeheartedly after a long time. 'Thanks for making her smile god ji!' she prayed silently.

"I am extremely sorry on her behalf. She acts so childish at times." Said Nithya apologetically.

'It's okay. I have no issues with that. Don't be sorry.' said Akash

Lavanya nudges her teasingly, "Stay quiet will you?" Nithya whispered.

"You were right Nithya. He is not behind me."

"Early realization!"

"Well then, I can't deny the fact that he definitely likes you. I am extremely sorry for being the third wheel all this time." she said sniffing dramatically.

Nithya sighed heavily and looked out of the window, the corners of her lips twitching slightly.

'I wish the day comes sooner when you will be able to smile wholeheartedly and openly.' She thought resting back.

In singhania Mansion.

"You are leaving again? It's not even a week since you returned from London and now you are going... leaving me alone?"

"Di, try to understand. It's been a long time since I have seen AR. I can't just relax because I am the MD. I do have some responsibilities towards it." Said Prithvi.

"Akash is there to manage, right? He'll handle it... just don't go leaving me alone." said Samaira.

"I know Akash is there but I can't leave everything on him and overburden him. Moreover, I have some work in AR." he said, thinking something and turned towards her, "And you are not alone. Mama, Mami, Nani all are here with you and Akash is also coming, they need you here di."

"But chote..."

"Bye di!" he said as he kissed her forehead and scurried away unless she uses her emotional card on him.

'How can I say it to you di? I am feeling so lonely even when you are with me, but you won't understand it." He smiled sadly and continued, "Those anklets, those voices... I don't know why but I always feel like someone is calling me.' he thought as he got into his car and drove towards PS Designs.

In AR

"I hope you understand your job role properly. And if you have any doubts you can ask either me or Preeto for help." he said, "And one more thing, Your Boss, PSS is quite short-tempered. His anger is always at a peak, so very careful around him."

Nithya gulped in nervousness but said, "I'll take care, Sir. Don't worry."

"I like your determination." he smiled, "Anyways, let me introduce you to Preeto..."

He called out a girl in her mid-twenties and introduced Nithya to her.

"Preeto, She's PSS's new PA, Miss Nithya Gupta. As she is new here, it's your responsibility to make her feel comfortable."

"Sure sir." she smiled politely and wished Nithya smilingly.

"You may go back to your work for now Preeto."

"Ok, sir!" and she left to her workspace.

"So this is it. Welcome to PS designs. I won't be present here from now on because I'll be handling another branch in Mumbai itself. So yeah, All the best!" said Akash.

"Thank You Sir!" it was nice meeting you." she said politely.

"Err, I have something to say..." he began, scratching his forehead sheepishly, "I know you must have felt it quite weird when I personally came to pick you for work and now all these..." he said looking at her face.

"Um... I don't know why but I do feel a strange connection with you as if I have known you for ages. You evoke the brotherly instincts in me."

Nithya looked up at him in shock and confusion. "Sir..." came her hesitant words, "Sir, i..."

"Bhai... You can call me Bhai. I don't have a little sister and I think you can fill that space in my life." Nithya's eyes moistened at his words.

"I promise to stand with you and help you in any circumstance, just give me a call... I'll reach by your side." he said, caressing her head lovingly.

"Thank you..." she whispered teary-eyed, "Thank You... Bhai!"

"So, I'll take your leave now. Take care..." said he, patting her head lovingly and left.

Nithya wiped off the corners of her eyes with a soft smile playing on her lips when her ringing phone alerted her.

"Hi Priya..."

"Did you reach the office safely? and Your Boss, is he good with you?" came her concerned voice from the other side of the call.

"Yes. I reached the office safely and the boss isn't here yet, he'll arrive in the evening."

"Ok, that's cool. So, how was your journey with... Ahm ahm... Akash singhania?" Priya teased her.

"Just don't listen to her. You know how she is. It's all rubbish..." She groaned and she heard Priya chuckle on the other side, "Instead, he takes me as a little sister." she said, as she recalled his words.

"What? Are You serious? Not bad... I heard about love at first sight but sister at first sight, is quite unique." She chuckled. "Anyways did he say that or you assumed it by yourself?"

"Yes, he confessed it all by himself. and he even asked me to call him Bhai."

"That's good. Congratulations on getting a brand new brother on the first day." She laughed and continued in a sober tone, "Akash Singh singhania is quite impressive huh... I'll have to meet him."

"Oh really? And how's that possible?"

"Because I am coming to Mumbai!" said Priya, making Nithya's eyes go wide in shock.

"Really! Wow... that's awesome." Said Nithya happily.

"Okay okay. Now go and do some work. Don't wanna get scolded on your first day itself... see you soon." Priya cooed.

"See you soon, Bye!" said Nithya, dropping the call.

In the evening,

After a quite long drive to freshen up his mind, Prithvi walked into the office with his PSS'ish attitude, silencing the entire fashion in mere seconds.

On the other side, Nithya felt a gush of wind hitting her, stilling her for a moment. She felt her heartbeats racing up like she was running in a marathon.

But then she saw everyone going back to their workspaces with utter silence confusing her. Seeing her confused face, Preeto nudged her, "This is common here. You heard about silence before the storm?" she whispered.

"Er.. yeah."

"This is that silence before PSS's entry. He is here."

'oh! Maybe that's why my heart is beating rapidly in nervousness.' she wondered.

One by one all the employees wished him politely as he walked past their cubicles giving them curt nods.

"How can one look so so handsome yaar?" Preeto gushed, "Won't you look at him? Just look na..." Preeto's slight pull imbalanced her and her phone slipped from her hand, falling on the ground just when Prithvi was about to cross her cubicle.

"My phone..." and she lowered down to pick it up and missed looking at Prithvi who walked past her temporary cubicle to his cabin.

"You saw him? He's so handsome isn't he?" Asked Preeto.

"My phone fell off, so I kinda missed it." she said.

"Boring girl!" she shook her head at her.

With time all got busy in their works including Nithya who was learning everything about the company from Preeto as well as helping her complete her files.

In PSS's cabin,

"What's the schedule?" He asked, just when he walked into the cabin with Aman, his manager following behind him.

"No meeting today. These are a few files which need your attention for now." said he placing the files on his table.

"What about the PA? Is someone appointed yet?" he asked going through one of the files he just kept.

"Miss Gupta... She is appointed as your PA."

"Send her to my cabin!"

"Sure PSS!"

After sometimes,

Nithya is walking towards the cabin with tension lurking on her face. Her heart was beating rapidly with every move she took towards the cabin.

She took a deep breath as she stood before the door clutching the scarf just above her chest in a tight grip.

"Nithya, calm down..." She muttered to herself and knocked on the door after composing herself with a long sigh.

"Come in!" She heard a familiar voice shocking her to the core.

'This is not possible!' she thought, her eyes welling up she walked into the cabin to face Prithvi who was mirroring her expressions. They looked at each other in shock.

On one side, Prithvi was getting flashes of him walking around the Havan Kund (Sacred Fire) his palm intertwined with someone as the priest declared them married, On the other side, Khusi stared at him intently recalling her past.

Feeling a throbbing pain rising in his head and echoes of the anklet's sound, he excused himself leaving behind a shattered Nithya who slumped down on the floor, bursting into tears.

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