Prashanth leaned against the low wall of the rooftop, watching the stars blink lazily in the clear night sky. The air carried the usual chill that comes around the month with a faint hint of the jasmine that bloomed in Raahini's garden below. As he watched the twinkles, Prashanth wondered the reason behind his grandmother making him the representative of the company. Why did she make him work with Lathika? Neither was he officially a part of the company nor does he have any experience in hosting an event.

It all seem to be making a weird connection which he couldn't clearly see yet.

As he rubbed his freshly shaven face, lost in thought, he barely noticed that Prasad had joined him. It wasn't until his brother tapped his arm with the cold beer bottle, he was handing over that he was jolted back to reality.

"What's got you thinking?" Prasad broke the silence as he opened his own beer bottle with a quiet hiss.

Prashanth sighed, opening his own. "The thing Patti has pushed me to participate in." He gulped the cold liquid in attempt to wash away his annoyance over his unwilling involvement in the party. "It's not even my thing and I have to be there as if it is."

"You talk'in about the company event? I see..." Prasad chuckled. "Guess Patti wants you to try something different," he nudged his brother's arm.

"I don't welcome this," Prashanth said as he walked ahead and sat on the charpoy bed. "But I'm fine with it. It's cool to argue about something I'm not an expert in."

Prasad raised his beer bottle and nodded. "If you are having fun then why not, right."

The brothers chuckled as they gulped down the remaining content from the bottle and each picked a second one. Far ahead, Madurai's fame, the Meenakshi Temple's bell toiled in a distant while Prasad popped open a pack of chips next to him.

"You are starting to look more like Appa," Prasad remarked out of the blue, his eyes twinkling as he gave Prashanth a sideways glance.

Prashanth smirked, taking a sip of his drink. "Is that supposed to be a compliment? Because the last time I checked, I still had all my hair."

Prasad chuckled, nudging him with his elbow. "For now, at least. Give it another year, and we'll see."

The brothers exchanged playful banter, the kind that only years of teasing could bring. Despite the distance that had grown between them due to their separate lives, moments like this reminded Prashanth of how close they once were.

"So," Prasad said after a brief lull in the conversation. He made himself comfortable on the charpoy bed, "you never tell me anything these days. What's going on in your life? Found someone yet or are you still married to the sky?"

Prashanth rolled his eyes, leaning back with the support of his hands. "You sound like Patti," he grumbled, though the question hit closer to home than he cared to admit. "No, no one yet. Besides' I'm too busy flying across the globe to even think about that."

Prasad raised an eyebrow. "Is that why you never call? Busy soaring above the clouds and forgetting you even have a brother?"

Prashanth laughed, shaking his head. "Come on, you're are not that neglected. I called you... what, three months ago?"

Prasad snorted, taking a long sip of his beer. "Oh yeah, such dedication. One call every quarter—you're really setting the standard."

They both laughed, the tension easing between them. But after a few moments of silence, Prasad's tone shifted to something more thoughtful.

"You know," Prasad began, picking at the label on his bottle, "I was kind of surprised when I heard you were coming to Madurai. You hardly ever think about home, so what changed?"

Prashanth took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as he glanced over at his brother. The teasing light in his eyes dimmed slightly, replaced by the weight of the truth.

Prashanth shrugged. "Appa called. Said Patti wasn't feeling well. Appa insisted I come down."

Prasad raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. "And you bought that? Patti's as tough as nails."

Prashanth laughed lightly. "Yeah, I realized that once I got here. She was fine. They just wanted to get me home, I guess."

Prasad shook his head with a grin. "Classic."

They fell into a comfortable silence for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts. The distant hum of the city below served as a backdrop to the night's revelations.

After a beat, Prasad spoke again, this time more carefully. "You know... Appa and Patti... they're both worried about you. Even I've noticed it, and I'm not around as much. You've been... distant. They just want what's best for you, even if they're going about it in a weird way."

Prashanth glanced at his brother, the words sinking in. He didn't like to think of himself as the source of concern for his family, but deep down, he knew there was truth in what Prasad said.

He turned his gaze back to the sky, his thoughts drifting to the brokenness of their family— about his father, Nagendra, who always seemed distant, and his grandmother Raahini, who held the family together despite their fractured relationships. He thought of his mother, who had left when they were young, and the weight of that abandonment still hung over him, even if he never admitted it.

Prashanth shook his head, trying to shake off the weight of it all. "I don't know, Prasad. I don't want to disappoint them, but I can't see myself settling down just because someone else thinks it's time."

"And I'm fine," Prashanth said after a long pause, his voice quieter than before. "They don't need to worry."

Prasad chuckled, but his expression turned serious, his gaze softening. "They don't need to, but they will. That's how you know they care."

Prashanth sighed, his gaze drifting to a distant faint star. He had always been firm in his choices, but moments like this made him question everything he had chosen in life.

▾▴▾▴▾▴

The morning sun shone brightly as Lathika drove to JM Spices. She had spent the entire night in a video call conference with her team, discussing how to make the event smooth and successful. To ease tensions in Madurai, she had gathered all the client details from both companies the day before and assigned the guest list task to her team, hoping to avoid further clashes with Prashanth.

As she passed through the security gate of JM Spices, she spotted Prashanth walking into the office building, radiating confidence and authority. Lathika couldn't help but wonder why they kept butting heads. They could have started off on a smoother note, which would have saved her a lot of headaches, but there was no way to turn back time. With a deep inhale and exhale, she jumped out of her car and strode inside.

Inside the meeting room, Prashanth sat in one of the chairs at the table, gazing at the azure sky as if something he yearned for was up there somewhere. Lathika knocked on the door before stepping in and taking a seat across from him. "Good morning," she greeted.

"Good morning to you too." Prashanth slid a cup of steaming coffee across the table to her. "I got one for you from the café while picking up mine," he said.

A small smile cracked on her rather straight face. "Thank you."

The smooth start of their morning quickly began to go downhill as they went over the planning of the events to finalise the guest list, vendors, catering and logistics.

"I've assigned my team to handle the guest confirmations," Lathika said briskly, her eyes scanning the list in front of her. "They're experienced and can handle the details."

Prashanth raised an eyebrow. "You assigned your team?"

"Yes," Lathika replied without looking up. "It's efficient. They know how to manage these things."

Prashanth frowned. "We're the ones in charge of this event. Shouldn't we be more hands-on with these key details?"

"I'm overseeing everything," Lathika said, her voice clipped. "But I trust my team to handle the groundwork. It's called delegation, Prashanth."

"And sometimes it's called avoiding responsibility," Prashanth shot back. "We can't just pass off the critical stuff and hope for the best."

Lathika's eyes narrowed. "I'm not passing off anything. I'm making sure we stay on schedule. You don't need to micromanage everything to make sure it's done right."

Prashanth leaned back in his chair, frustration bubbling to the surface. "I'm not saying micromanage, but we can't just delegate every major task and expect everything to magically fall into place. We need to be involved."

"That's not how leadership works," Lathika said, her voice rising. "Delegation is part of running a successful team. I've done this long enough to know when to trust my people."

Prashanth's eyes flashed with irritation. "And I also understand to know that sometimes you have to take direct control to make sure things don't fall apart."

The tension in the meeting room had reached its peak. Prashanth sat across from Lathika, their earlier argument still hanging in the air. The guest list, something Lathika had initially been confident about delegating, now felt like a heavier burden than she had anticipated. Prashanth's point—about being more personally involved—nagged at her.

After an hour of tense silence, Lathika pushed back from the table, standing abruptly. "I need some air," she muttered, not waiting for a response before stepping out into the hallway. The coolness of the corridor washed over her, and she leaned against the wall, closing her eyes.

Was I wrong to delegate so much? The question echoed in her mind. She trusted her team, but Prashanth's insistence on handling the guest list personally gnawed at her. She replayed his words, We, can't just hand off every major task and expect everything to fall into place.

Lathika took a deep breath, realizing that perhaps this time, he had a point. This event was too important for any detail to slip through the cracks, and the guest list—well, that was crucial. If she didn't handle it with personal care, they risked offending the very people they were trying to impress.

She straightened, resolving to do it differently this time. Fine, we'll handle it together. But I'm not giving up control completely.

When she walked back into the meeting room, Prashanth didn't look up, but she could sense that he was still frustrated. The tension was thick, but Lathika was determined to smooth things over—at least for now.

She sat back down, pulling her chair closer to the table. "Alright," she said, her voice calmer than before. "Let's handle the guest list together. You manage the list for Puthu Vannam Threads, and I'll manage the one for JM Spices. We need to make sure we don't miss anyone important."

Prashanth looked up, surprised by her sudden shift in tone. He studied her for a moment before nodding. "Fine. But we need to be thorough. No shortcuts."

"Agreed," Lathika said, her fingers already tapping on her laptop as she pulled up her company's contacts. "I'll send out the RSVPs for JM Spices. I've got most of our major partners confirmed already, but I'll reach out to a few key investors personally."

Prashanth leaned back in his chair, opening up his own list. "I'll handle the invites for Puthu Vannam Threads. We have a few big names on here—clients who expect more than just a formal email invite."

Lathika glanced over at his screen, noting the prominent names listed. "You're right. It'll be better if those investors hear directly from you."

As they settled into a more cooperative rhythm, the silence between them shifted from tense to focused. They each worked through their respective lists, occasionally exchanging suggestions or clarifying details about shared guests.

The task wasn't as gruelling as Lathika had initially feared, and for the first time, it felt like they were both on the same page—even if just for this one thing.

After a while, as the silence grew less oppressive, Lathika spoke again, her tone softer. "You were right," she said without looking up from her screen. "About the guest list. It needed more personal attention."

Prashanth paused, glancing at her in surprise. "Glad you came around," he replied, though his tone was less smug than she had expected. "We're managing big clients here. They expect more."

Lathika nodded, not feeling defensive this time. "Yeah, I realize that now. But it doesn't mean I won't be delegating the rest of the tasks."

Prashanth chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "Fair enough. But at least we've got the important stuff covered ourselves."

Lathika couldn't help but blame herself for delegating such a significant task to her team, especially since she had struggled to think clearly while trying to push Tara's betrayal out of her mind. Accepting her mistake felt overwhelming, but she couldn't shake the expectation that Prashanth would make a big deal out of it. To her relief, he surprised her by doing the opposite. His kindness in letting it slide brought her a sense of gratitude, reinforcing the idea that there was more to their dynamic than just conflict.

The two of them worked silently after that, but the air between them had changed. There was no longer the edge of a fight waiting to break out. Instead, there was a shared understanding, however reluctant.

By the time they finished sending out the RSVPs and confirming the guest lists for their respective companies, the meeting room felt less like a battlefield and more like a place where two professionals were finally finding common ground.

▾▴▾▴▾▴

Yesterday I had posted an announcement here but took it down shortly after. I wanted to take the story down and fix it where it needs to because something felt missing in here. But much to my own plan, I decided to go ahead with what is already written here and make the changes later.

Anyway, that's all for the boring announcement. 

So, how was the chapter?