Author's note: Thank you for the love on the last chapter. Can we please get this chapter to 90 votes?

Aahana Agnihotri

I gripped the steering wheel, my knuckles turning white. I stared down at the address and double checked the house number to make sure I was at the correct place.
Getting Adarsh’s address from HR wasn’t too difficult, but the most difficult part was getting myself down here. Throughout the five weeks that Adarsh was out of the office recovering from the stabbing, he was all everyone was talking about at the office. I had gotten different offers from several different groups to visit Adarsh, but I had obviously refused saying I would do it later. I had put it off so much that it was almost time for him to return to work this Monday.
Even my father who was always so busy for me had made time to visit Adarsh.

All thanks to a parent recording the entire fight and posting it online, Adarsh had now practically become a national hero.
My finger hovered over the ignition. I could just leave. It wasn’t like I owed him anything.

He saved your life, Aahana.

That little voice in my head reminded me for the thousandth time.

A woman walking her dog walked by my car. They both stopped and looked into the car, with judgment in their eyes. Great! They were judging me as well.

I slid lower in my seat to avoid their gaze till they left. 

This was stupid.

I got out of the vehicle immediately before I changed my mind again. Grabbing the bouquet and cheesecake, I made my way to Adarsh’s house.

Exhaling deeply, I walked through the gates. The main door was open so I hesitantly stepped inside the living room. 

The living room was brightly lit with the fluorescent tube light. A beige sofa set was arranged around a glass-top coffee table. The humming of the ceiling fan mingled with TV playing that no one was watching.
It was 7PM so hopefully it wasn’t too late. I wasn’t sure what the appropriate visitation time in these circumstances was. Perhaps I should have just visited with the others. Or I should have called or texted him to make sure that it was okay that I visited, but I didn’t do it because that would mean that I couldn’t chicken out.

A loud whistling sound from somewhere startled me. Before I could contemplate fleeing, an older woman emerged carrying a plate of vegetables. I recognized her instantly from the family photo on Adarsh's desk - his mother. She set the plate down and wiped her hands on her dupatta, eyeing me.

“Yes?” she asked, raising  an eyebrow.

Clearing my throat, I offered her a tiny smile. “I’m here to see Adarsh.”

She gave me a curt nod. “Do you work with Adarsh?”

I wasn’t sure what to say so I gave her a small nod.

“I keep telling Adarsh that he should quit working there and you should too. Only then will these big corporations learn,” she said, huffing.

The comment caught me off guard. “Sorry?”

“They overwork their employees so much and it’s not like they pay well. Look at my Adarsh, he was such a laid-back boy who had so many hobbies, but now all he does is work work. Even now while he is supposed to be resting, he is working. The company can’t even let him recover before exploiting him.”

I swallowed, unsure of what to say. I wasn’t sure if he was being allocated work, but being at the office and learning the workings of the office, I was sure that the reason he was overworking himself was to get ahead in the game and get into everyone’s good books.

“My handsome boy has dark circles and has lost so much weight. At this rate who will marry him?”

I cleared my throat as I looked at her. “Doesn't Adarsh already have a fiance?”
“A fiance? What are you talking about?” she asked, her frown mirroring mine. “He refuses to meet girls and doesn't talk to them properly. I'm fed up.”

“I thought... Amira said...never mind,” I murmured under my breath. “Is Adar—”

I stopped mid-sentence, looking over her shoulder. A man wearing glasses approached us with a scowl. He was wearing glasses, and his attention was on his phone. “Mandira, Amira has done something to my phone. Whenever I try to make a video call, I look like a cat. People are going to think I have turned into a cat,” he grumbled, fixing his glasses. As he moved closer, I guessed he was Adarsh’s father. When he registered my presence, annoyance gave way to confusion, before realization.

“This is Adarsh’s colleague,” his mother said, pointing at me. “What’s your name, beta? I forgot to ask.”

“Aahana,” I responded, my fingers clutching the bouquet tighter, the paper crinkled.

“Aahana?” his father repeated. “Mandira, this–”

“My dal!” she said, running to the room she appeared from when another whistling sound came from the kitchen.

“Sorry,” his father murmured, sheepishly.

“My wife is bad with faces and names so she didn’t recognize you. I apologize on her behalf.”

I shook my head instantly. “It’s quite alright,” I said, offering him a smile. “Is Adarsh busy?” I held up the bouquet and container. “I can just leave these with you–”

“No, no, please,” he said, waving at me to follow him. “His room is upstairs.”

Taking another deep breath, I followed him as he led me up the stairs. “I hope she didn’t say anything offensive to you.”

I smiled in response. It was telling enough for him to realize that his wife had indeed bad-mouthed my family’s company in front of me.

“She didn’t mean that way. She has been constantly criticizing the company and its work culture to all the visitors, and Adarsh has been trying to get her to stop. I hope you–”

Chuckling, I shook my head. After spending nearly two months with kiss-ups and constant brown-nosers, it was different to hear someone say something so real. “Don’t worry about it.”

Adarsh’s house wasn’t even a quarter of the size of my house, but instead of feeling claustrophobic it felt like I could breathe again. Every corner of my house was organized and decorated to be perfect, whereas Adarsh’s house had a little messy, mismatched decor.

“Adarsh, look who is here to see you,” he announced, as we made it to the top of the stairs.

Adarsh was lying on his back on the bed, reading a file. When he saw who it was, he sat up and instantly his face morphed in pain. “Aahana, what a pleasant surprise,” he said, wincing slightly.

I nodded. I thought he would be mad at me. Afterall, I was the reason, he had gotten stabbed and then like a coward,  didn’t even visit to check up on him. “Hi.”

“I’ll let you both talk,” his father said, patting me on my shoulder. I immediately jumped away, my heart racing and stomach clenching with fear.

“Sorry,” he said, holding up his hands, looking as startled and embarrassed as me.

“I–”

“No, I’m sorry,” I rushed to explain. “I just… sorry.”

Adarsh and him exchanged a look–no doubt thinking that I was a weirdo–before leaving us alone.

“Would you like to have a seat?” he asked, waving toward the corner of the room where there were a few chairs and a side table. “It’s my little visitor area.”

I walked over, my grip tightening on the things I had brought for him. He dragged his feet to follow me.

As he settled on the opposite chair, he was cringing in pain. I wrung my fingers as I watched him find a comfortable position. Eventually he did, and he smiled at me. “I thought I would see you directly at the office next week.”

Shrugging, I pushed the flowers toward him. “I was busy. There were some other events that took priority,” I lied. The only thing I had done apart from working was spending every single evening at Hope for a Better Tomorrow. The kids and staff were understandably scared and nervous.

“Of course,” he said, nodding sagely. “But, I’m happy that you have been keeping track on my health updates through Ms. Meena.”

“What?”

He raised an eyebrow. “What? You didn’t think that she wouldn’t tell me that you have been slyly asking about my health?”

“I have done no such thing,” I snapped.

“Just so you know… she thinks you have a big crush on me.”

Was that why she was giving me those looks? I thought I was being sneaky. Well clearly I have a misunderstanding to fix the next time I saw her.  “I see you have managed to charm another woman,” I spat with as much venom as I could muster.

He laughed and then immediately contorted with pain. Breathing through his pain, he gave me one of his dazzling smiles.

“Well… I’m not a very good charmer though. Ask me why?”

I narrowed my eyes. He was a thorough charmer. I had yet to meet a person who wasn’t enamored by him. Even the kids who he had barely interacted with at the NGO were singing his praises of him and hailing him as their hero. So much so that they had made him get well soon cards which I could see were displayed on one of his nightstands. “You aren’t charming.”

“See this exactly why?” He pointed at me.
“Because the woman I’m trying to charm is insistent on throttling me even though I almost died for her.”

“Relax, it was just a scratch and there weren’t any damages to your organs,” I huffed. Or at least that’s what everyone at the office and Meena Ma’am said. “And who the hell told you to pretend to be my savior?”

“You were the one who did it first,” he countered. “Why did you do it?”

I didn’t know why I did that. I just threw myself in the way of danger to save Adarsh. It was probably just instinct. “It was a simple lapse in judgment. Won't happen again.”

Before he could retort, eager footsteps raced up the stairs. It felt like an entire army was approaching us, but it was just a little girl wearing a karate uniform. “Chachu!” she said, running to her Uncle and throwing her little arms around him. Despite the discomfort on his face, he smiled and hugged her back.

“Hi, my little rabbit,” he said, ruffling her hair. “Did you learn some cool moves?”
She nodded eagerly. “It was so awesome!” Then she noticed me. “Hey! You’re the one who drew the pretty tattoo for me and Chachu.”

I offered a small smile. “That’s right. How are you, Amira?”

Grinning, she gave me a hug too. “Do you want to see the new moves I learnt in my karate class?” she asked, her hands wrapped on the arm of my chair. “Oh what's that?” she asked, her attention already shifting to the box I had brought with me.

“It's a cheesecake,” I explained with a smile, opening it for her to see.

“For me?” she asked, her eyes widening with glee.

“It’s for your Chachu, but I’m sure he'll share it with you.”

“Chachu never eats anything that Dadi didn't make,” she said, her gaze strictly fixed on the cheesecake. “So, I can eat the whole thing.”

“Amira, how many times have I told you to not trouble guests with your chatter?” the other woman from Adarsh's family picture asked as she rushed inside. Grabbing Amira's hand, she dragged her away from.

“But, Mom...”

“Go wash up and change, Dadi is making your favorite dal makhni,” the woman said, giving Amira a stern glance.

Amira looked at Adarsh who shrugged. With a huge pout, Amira left the room, dragging her feet.

“Dad said we had a celebrity in the house,” the woman said, smiling as she looked at me. “Hi, I am Vedika. Adarsh's sister-in-law.”
“Hello, I'm Aahana,” I mumbled.

“I know,” she said, grinning.

Adarsh cleared his throat and gave his sister-in-law a pointed look.

“Oh right. Of course,” she said, walking backwards. “I'll let you guys finish chatting.”

“No, that's fine. I'm leaving anyway,” I said, standing.

Vedika looked at Adarsh who shrugged so she turned to me and nodded. “Well... I can walk you out.”

“Thank you for visiting, Aahana,” Adarsh said, slowly standing up.

“Yeah. No worries. Feel better,” I murmured, not meeting his eye. As I was walking with Vedika, I looked over my shoulder and Adarsh was staring at me with a smile. He even gave me a little wave.
When we made our way downstairs, Adarsh's parents  were waiting in the living room. The moment his mother noticed me, she immediately got up.

“So sorry I didn't recognize you,” she said sheepishly. “You won't fire Adarsh for that, will you?”

I laughed and shook my head. “Of course not. And don't worry about it.”

She looked at her husband accusingly. “See I told you it was going to be okay once I talked to her.” She looked at  me again, smiling. “Would you like to join us for dinner?”

“Mom,” Vedika hissed, trying to shake her head discreetly.

“What?” she asked, her hands on her waist.
“I'm a great cook. Ask anyone in our society.”

“I would love to but I have somewhere to be,” I lied. “And I'm running really late.”
Her face fell, but she quickly shrugged it off.

“Next time then?”

“Sure. Have a good night,” I said, running away before I ended up doing something stupid like taking up their offer and staying for dinner.