"So, it was you who drew that mandala art?" Ritu questioned Shreeparna, who was helping Asha clean the room after everyone finished eating.

Shreeparna looked up at Ritu, surprised. "How do you know? Jai Dada told you? Didn't he?"

Ritu nodded. "Definitely he did." Ritu's eyes strayed toward Jai, who was now lifting one of the boys to get the emergency light from the high shelf. He had been avoiding direct eye contact with her since the flower incident. Every time she caught him looking at her, he was averting his gaze with lightning speed. It was becoming a challenge for her to hide her grin at his embarrassment.

Ritu still didn't have the answer to his question. What changed in these two days that she was ready to risk everything to help him? This man was so simple yet so enticing to her that she was finding it difficult to get him off her mind. Since childhood, she has always demanded things that were hard to get. Exactly what happened when she decided to get into fashion designing and created an issue with her mother. This time, it felt the same. Despite knowing it was almost unachievable, she still wanted it.

A flash of thought crossed her mind. If what she was feeling toward Jai is equal to temptation, then what she had with Pihu cannot be named the same. With Pihu, she felt more at ease. She was like a supportive confidante. She could always count on her when she needed any help and it wasn't available from her family members. But...Jai...he came unannounced, at the most unexpected times, and dealt with her worst.

Ritu sighed and shifted her gaze from Jai to the girls. "I am taking inspiration from it to include in my designs. You don't have any objection, right?"

Shreeparna's eyes widened as she stared at Ritu, bewildered. "You're taking inspiration from my design? Didi... I... do not know what to think about this." She took an abrupt pause while collecting the paper boxes and the plastic glasses in her hands. "I just draw whatever comes to my mind."

"And that is exactly what we call talent, Shree," Asha quipped in. She was the oldest of the kids. "I always tell you, you should get into art college."

Ritu nodded in agreement. "She's right. You definitely should cultivate your talent in art. Whenever you're ready to take classes from a renowned artist, just give me a call. I'll make the arrangements."

Shreeparna stared at Ritu for a few seconds, then her eyes strayed from Ritu to Jai. "Jai dada won't like it if I ask you."

Ritu was taken aback at her confession. "And why do you think so?"

"He always tells us if we want anything, we should always go to him and no one else. This world is filled with selfish people who'll never do anything without having things in return. And if we aren't careful enough, we might make a deal that'd prove to be too costly for us. We can be deceived easily."

Asha had been mostly silent. But now she added in, "Dadu (late Jagannath Basu) and Jai Dada had given us everything that's essential for living. But after Dadu's death, it has been tight on his pocket to take care of all of us. It was Akash da who advised him to look for new homes for us so it'll become easier for Jai dada to navigate through his tough life. If we get adopted, his expenses will get reduced, and he won't have to worry too much about earning more money. But it'll be difficult for all of us to get separated." Asha looked at Jai and the other kids for a split moment, then blinked and averted her gaze. She went back to cleaning the floor.

Soon the girls got up with the trash and went out the door. Ritu bit back her words for a prolonged period until she pulled out her phone to check the time. It was almost five o'clock.

It felt like a stab of an ice-cold dagger right through her chest. She sprang to her feet and screamed, "Jai!"

"What?" He shouted back as well, clearly unprepared, alarmed, and worried at the same time. "What happened?" He hurriedly came running toward her with a grimacing face, his eyebrows furrowed in concern, hands still holding the emergency light he took from the boy. "What's wrong? "Is your stomach hurting?" he asked with genuine trepidation lacing his voice.

Ritu gazed at his worried face. He put down the emergency light on the floor and looked her over with questioning scrutiny. His eyes searching for any signs of discomfort she might be experiencing. Ritu should be panicking right now. But watching Jai getting worried for her made her feel unreasonably at ease.

Jai regarded her all over for a few moments before his eyes settled on her face, his eyebrows knitted in a concerned frown. "I told you not to eat them. But you're too stubborn to listen," he complained with a worried tone, then asked with a gentler voice, "Do you need something? Medicines?"

Ritu couldn't hold it anymore. She flashed a small smile and shook her head. By then the kids had also gathered around. They looked between the duo with a look between curiosity and concern.

"You don't want medicines? Then warm water or something?" Jai asked, now clearly vexed. "If you don't tell me what it is, then how can I help you, Ritusha?"

Ritu shook her head again, sporting the same soft smile on her face.

"What is it?" Jai asked again.

Ritu's eyes scanned the faces of the kids for a quick second before she looked straight at Jai and said calmly, "Well, I think I am in trouble."

"Trouble?" Jai's frown deepened. "Since when are you not? What happened now?"

Ritu raised her phone and showed him. Jai was still confused. He cluelessly stared at the screen, which had Ritu's face as the wallpaper, then shifted his perplexed eyes to her face. But he said nothing and waited for her to break the mystery.

Ritu couldn't help but feel a small thrill at Jai's confusion. She had never seen Jai being so nervous and agitated before. During all of their past encounters, he always had this calm aura surrounding him despite the circumstances. But now that he was genuinely worried for her and it was showing on his face with full intensity, she was vastly satisfied from inside.

For once she thought to continue with the drama, but then the thought of the real problem crossed her mind, and she rolled her eyes and brought the phone down.

"It's five pm! I was supposed to return within three hours!"

"Your phone is on airplane mode," commented Jai quietly.

"Huh?" Ritu's eyes widened in alarm as she turned the screen toward her and noticed the small airplane sign on the top right corner. "Oh my God!" They must have called her several times already by now and probably started on the rescue mission already. "Oh no!" Pihu! She couldn't think anymore. Ritu raised her eyes to Jai, horrified.

They both stared at each other with distinct expressions. One with a concern-coated face, the other's face etched with newfound dread. Silence ensued with a dramatic pause.

The kids surrounding them began whispering.

"Are they playing the staring game?"

"No, dummy. This is way more dramatic than that."

"Why does she look like she's about to explode?"

"Maybe Jai Dada did something bad and disappointed her. Probably she's going to scold him."

"Nah, I don't think so. They've been looking at each other with that intensity the whole afternoon. They're probably in love."

Both Ritu and Jai's faces colored as the kids' not-so-discreet whispers reached their ears.

Jai was the first one to break the silence by clearing his throat uncomfortably and giving a dry cough. His eyes darted toward the kids as he gritted his teeth. "Yoddhas, shut it!"

A few giggled at his warning and scurried away, leaving them in an awkward situation. Jai returned his gaze to her. "Please, ignore them. They don't really know..." He trailed off but didn't look away from her.

Ritu was past feeling mortified. Today, she found herself in more awkward situations than she had ever encountered in her entire life. This needed to stop! Something was beating rapidly in her chest, and her ears felt hot. She turned away from him and mumbled, "They're going to kill me! Or worse, ground me!"

Jai raised his eyebrows as he craned his head to take a look at her face. "What? I didn't quite catch that."

Ritu was past embarrassment. She swiftly turned back and grabbed Jai's arm, forcefully turning him around. Jai let her do so without questioning anything. As they walked out the door of the house, Jai shouted back at the kids, "I'll be back around nine. Don't wait for me for dinner."

The kids responded back altogether, "Bye-bye, Ritusha didi. We'll wait for your return soon."

Ritu waved at them with a smile. But her smile dropped shortly as she bit her bottom lip and turned around. Jai started the bike purely on his instinct while observing the subtle shift of her mood. He put on the helmet and gave her the spare one.

Meanwhile, Ritu was dead scared to turn off the airplane mode. She knew she'd be bombarded with the call and text notifications once her phone went back to normal mode. So, she pushed the phone back into her pants' pocket, put on the helmet, and climbed on to the bike behind Jai.

Jai quietly said, "You should've been more careful. Your reckless attitude will get you into trouble someday. Today can very well be that someday."

Ritu scowled but said nothing. Every single one she ever knew personally called her that. Reckless. She used to believe she was courageous, tenacious, or even rebellious. But lately she had started to accept that she actually was largely reckless.

Jai revved the bike, and they set off in silence, the night air crisp and heavy around them. Ritu's thoughts churned. She could feel the warmth of Jai's back while her mind was filled with an unsettling mess. How would she handle it? Her mind wasn't even processing correctly. What could've happened to Pihu if they had already caught her? Had she snitched on her? Did they know she was with Jai?

She winced. How would she face her father? He clearly asked her to act responsibly. She failed him. Yet again.

Jai noticed her colorless face through the mirror. He quietly grabbed her hands one by one, startling her, and made them grasp around his waist. Once her hands held onto each other, Jai placed his left hand on top of them and gave them a soft, assuring squeeze. He didn't say anything, but no words were needed after that gesture. Ritu held onto him snugly, feeling both apprehensive and consoled, which was definitely an odd combination. She had never felt something like that before, and it definitely stirred something in her.

They reached Ishani within half an hour. The street that led to their villa was almost empty. Jai parked three blocks ahead of Ishani so that no one could see them together. Ritu climbed off, pulled off her helmet, and gave it back to Jai, catching his gaze briefly. There was nothing but silence between them, thick with everything unspoken. She wanted to say something, but the words wouldn't come.

Jai pulled up the helmet glass and gazed at her as he took the spare helmet from her hand and hung it on the handlebar of the bike before asking calmly, "Is it a bye, then?"

Ritu pulled out her phone without looking away from him. "Not until I have your number."