Author's pov

This Sunday isn't that bad. Samriddhi didn't want to admit it, but she enjoyed it, and whatever she thought about Richard, he wasn't that bad.

Yes, he is a little childish sometimes, but she believes that 'We never let the child inside us die.'

She doesn't trust him completely yet, but maybe one day she will. Who knows? Moreover, she is happy that Henry didn't try to annoy her today. He gave her space, and maybe if she talks to him and makes him understand, he'll stop bothering her.

In the evening, they all went to the club, but Samriddhi denied it. Last time's incident still haunts her.

You see, the specialty of time never remains the same. It changes. The reason for her bad experience at the club is now her brother. Who imagined that such a thing would ever happen?

Maybe she never wants to see his face, but she knew that he is not a bad person, so she gave him a chance.

The next evening, when she came back home after work, Hannah and Namrita went shopping. Because her birthday is going to be celebrated in full Punjabi style, Namrita takes Hannah to buy some Indian outfits for the celebration.

Samriddhi didn't go with them; she had an outfit for the celebration, and she decided to help Kohli Aunty.

All her relatives who live in the States, some other family friends, and Namrita's colleagues are invited. There is so much work to do, so Samriddhi decided to help her.

Kohli Aunty and Samriddhi were both engrossed in their work when Vihaan came back. Well, he is here for Namrita's birthday as well as some official work-related events.

"Evening ladies." He greeted them. Samriddhi only nodded, but Kohli Aunty replied.

"Good evening, Bache. How was your day?"

"Little tiring but amazing, Chachii (Aunty). What are you guys doing?" He asked

"Getting the things done before Nimii's special day." Mrs. Kohli replied.

"Let me help you guys, so tell me what I should do." He asked.

"No, you should rest. We will handle it; you must be tired." Mrs. Kohli replied.

"Not at all, Chachii; give it to me." He took the tray and started making ladoo (an Indian sweet) by himself.

They are all engrossed in their work.

"How long will you be staying here, Samriddhi?" Vihaan asked.

"I don't know. They didn't specify the time. They just said that I have to stay there until further orders." She replied.

"Did you miss home?" he asked.

"Of course I do." She replied, and she again started her work quietly.

"Chachu was always so excited about her birthday." He said.

"Hummmm. He was. You know what Samriddhi, Nimii de Papa (Nimii's father), starts preparing for her birthday like months before. He always organized a big celebration, like a wedding. The whole house was decorated, and every single person in our town was invited to her birthday." Mrs. Kohli shared happily.

"Acha ji (really)," Samriddhi asked.

"Hummmmm. He always wanted a daughter, and when she was born, Hayy Rabba, Oh ta khushi ch pagal hi ho gae (oh god, he totally went crazy in happiness)." She chuckled, then continued, "When he was on his death bed, he took a promise that I would never stop her birthday celebrations as he does, and here I am doing all this all alone without him." Kohli Aunty got emotional at last.

"Kohli Aunty, please don't cry if Uncle sees you like this; he will be hurt so much. Please don't cry." She consoles her, but Samriddhi doesn't know that someone is noticing her actions very keenly.

They all worked late at night, and the next morning they headed to their respective jobs.

Henry also came back from Boston. He and Beck had an important meeting over lunch to attend. They both settled into his Lamborghini sports car.

Henry was about to drive when Beck interrupted, "Boss, please don't open the roof; the air will ruin my hairstyle."

He let the roof close and drove them to their destination. After meeting, they were driving back when he received a call from Hannah.

"Hey, are you back?" She asked.

"Yes, I'm. What's up? " He asked.

"Actually, I have Samriddhi's car, and I promised her to pick her up after work, but I'm going to be a little late, so will you pick her up?" she requested.

"I don't think she's going to like it." He replied.

"The thing is, she has to pick up the cake for the evening, and I need her car. Vihaan offered to pick her up, and I denied that I'd be on time and pick her up, but I'm late, and I won't be able to pick her up. So you can pretend that you are just crossing her path. Please help me; if the cake is ruined, she will kill me." Hannah said.

"OK, fine, tell me where she is." He cut the call and said to Beck, "Will you take a cab? If you don't mind,

"Of course, Boss." She stepped out, and he drove towards her.

She is standing there in the middle of the road, waiting for Hannah. She is so mad at her because the cake will melt.

Then suddenly, a black Lamborghini stopped in front of her, and she saw Henry driving the car.

He stepped out. "Evening, Ms. Samriddhi. What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for Hannah." She replied with a frown.

"Let me drive you home." He offered.

"No, thank you; Hannah will be here any moment. You don't have to worry. Please, you can go." She denied it instantly.

"It's ok, I'll wait with you." He pretended as if he knew nothing.

"I'll call her again." She dialed Hannah's number, and she said she was stuck in traffic and would be late.

"I'll drop you. Let's get in for the sake of this cake. It's too hot, and the cake will melt." Henry requested.

Seeing there was no option, she agreed defeatedly, "Okay."

He opened the door for her and then sat in the driver's seat. He was about to drive when he remembered Beck's request from earlier. So he presses the button to close the roof.

"Let it stay open." She said suddenly, then realized she shouldn't say, "No, I mean whatever you like, sorry."

"What? No. You shouldn't apologize for that. I'll let it open. I thought your hair would be ruined by air, so I was closing it." He replied

"No. They don't ruin. Let it open if you want," she said, and he nodded.

He starts driving and asks her, "Music?"

"Hmmm," she nodded.

The song playing on the radio is
LOVE OF MY LIFE.

She started to lip-sync the song, and his whole attention was on her instead of the road. On the other hand, her whole attention is on the road.

'She doesn't care about her looks like others, but still, she is the most beautiful woman in the world. I could watch her my whole life like this, enjoying music and journeys like there is no tomorrow.' He thought to himself.

"You like Queen?" he asked.

"Who doesn't?" she replied.

"That's true." He replied. "Isn't Namrita's birthday tomorrow?" He asked.

"Yes, indeed, but we decided to surprise her at midnight." She answered.

"Cool." He mumbled.

They reach their destination. She stepped out and said, "Thank you, Mr. Brown."

"It's Henry for you." He reminded her again.

She didn't reply and turned to leave when he said it again. "Don't you want to talk to me?"

"After Nimii Dii's birthday celebrations." She turned and replied, then again turned and left.

They celebrated Namrita's birthday at midnight. Karen also came to surprise her.

The next morning, Mrs. Kohli's whole house is decorated like a newlywed. They all wear traditional Indian outfits.

Hannah also chose an Indo-Western outfit because traditional Indian outfits were too heavy for her taste. Samriddhi helped her get ready.
(Hannah's look👇)

"You are looking gorgeous, Motto."
She said this to Hannah while pulling her cheeks.

"All thanks to you. When will you be ready? The guests are arriving. Everyone is ready except for you." Hannah said

"Don't worry about me; I don't take much time. You just go; I'm coming after you," she replied.

Henry's pov

The moment I stepped into Mrs. Kohli's backyard, it looked totally unrecognizable. The whole house is decorated with Christmas lights and flowers.

But people around me wear Indian outfits. All of them looked strange to my eyes; I had never seen something like that before. Isn't it am complaining or something they all are looking great.

I was observing everyone when Hannah came toward me.

"Hey."

"Hii." I replied with a smile and observed her from head to toe.

"Don't look at me like that; I know I'm looking like a genie." She whined like a child.

"No, no, you are looking beautiful." I replied genuinely. "You are looking different, but it's great."

I'm just saying that when Richard came to us and started laughing at Hannah,.

"What are you wearing?" He asked.

"Aghhhhh!! I knew that I'm looking weird," she said dramatically.

"Don't listen to him." I said.

Then we met Namrita. She and Mrs. Kohli both wear heavy Indian clothes with heavy jewelry. They all look different to our eyes, but still, everyone is looking beautiful.

We wished her well and gave her a present. Everyone is here except for one. I'm dying to see her. What does she wear? How is she looking? I remember the last time I saw her wearing an Indian outfit for the first time in my office. She was looking drop-dead gorgeous that day.

But where is she now? My eyes were searching for her here and there when Richard whispered in my ear.
"Look, brother, there she is."

I turned and saw her. She is looking gorgeous—more beautiful than anyone. She's wearing a rust color dress. Which is not heavy as compared to other outfits. Still not so simple. She wears heavy earrings, which complement her look. She doesn't wear heels; instead, she wears some flat footwear, which looks perfect with her dress.

(Samriddhi's look👆)

"Mera putt kina sohna lgda nazar na lgg j kithe (my girl is looking so beautiful; may God protect you from evil eyes)." Mrs. Kohli went to her and said, She also rotated her hands over Samriddhi's head and then touched her knuckles on the sides of her head like this👇.

"Don't faint, okay?" Hannah whispered in my ear and ran.

"You look gorgeous." Hannah saidto herr. "You should dress up like this daily"

"Why didn't you apply makeup?" Namrita asked her.

"I did," she protested.

"Applying eyeliner doesn't count in makeup," Namrita said.

"Do these kinds of girls really exist?" Richard asked me.

I chuckled, then replied, "Yeah. She is standing right in front of us." I replied, She is really looking stunningly breathtaking.

Richard went to her and hugged her again. Her eyes are big like sausages because she didn't expect that. I dragged him from his collar and freed her from his hug. She smacked his head and said, "How many times do I have to tell you? Boundaries. "

"You can say that without hitting me. By the way, you are looking beautiful." Richard complimented her.

"I have already warned you that I'm a strict sister. So now suffer." She said instead.

"Woah, she is looking beautiful, and why was I weird?" Hannah asked Richard.

"She is looking like a goddess, while you are looking like a genie." He said and run away when Hannah tried to hit him. She also runs behind him.

Their childish behavior earned a laugh from Samriddhi, which melted my heart. She is always serious around me, but Richard's presence showed hidden emotions in her, which I'm dying to witness.

She left even before letting me compliment her, but that's OK. I have a whole day to compliment her.

She is running from here to there and helping Mrs. Kohli. She takes care of everything and everyone.

But a pair of eyes on her bothered me so much. She didn't notice because she was so engrossed in work. But I did, and all I want is to rip him apart.

Damn it, but I can't repeat the same mistake again. He didn't do anything, but still, his eyes were not leaving her.

After the cake-cutting ceremony, they all gathered on the dance floor. It's weird, and loud music is playing on the DJ. Maybe into some Indian language.

"Don't worry, your ears will be fine. I didn't like it earlier, but now I'm used to this music. I think you should also get familiar with this music because Samriddhi likes this kind of music." Hannah said to me teasingly.

A bunch of songs are playing, and everyone is dancing on the dance floor. To my great surprise, Richard is also dancing with Mrs. Kohli and Namrita. Although I know he doesn't understand a word,.

But he is copying their steps very easily. Hannah accompanied me, and Samriddhi is standing a little far from us.

She is enjoying the song and also lip-syncing it. Then suddenly Namrita came to her and started dragging her towards the dance floor, but she denied it.

Namrita dragged her to the dance floor, but she didn't dance. Both mother and daughter insisted her to dance, but still she stood there quietly and denied it continuously. Then Namrita said something in her ear, and she looked towards her with puppy eyes, and Namrita mouthed please to her.

Then the song changed, and Samriddhi dragged Karen to the dance floor.

    (Same song and same dancesteps)

They all started dancing with slow-motion steps. Samriddhi, paired with Karen, thank God not with that idiot.

Namrita was paired with her stupid cousin.

They are all dancing very nicely. Hannah started hooting. I didn't understand the song, but Samriddhi's facial expressions really compliment her steps.

This dance performance is much better than the last I witnessed in her kitchen. Last time, she was jumping and screaming.

But now she is dancing gracefully with each step, lip sync, and facial expression. God she is an expression queen.

I'm watching her without even blinking because I don't want to miss anything. Then she made eye contact with me and left the dance floor.

Why?

As if my feet had their own brains, I started following her.

Then she tried to set her scarf, or swal. I don't know the right term for that piece of cloth.
(It's called dupatta, by the way, my lovely readers.)

And her scarf hit me on the face, right in my left eye. She also noticed that her scarf hit something, so she turned and saw me holding my palm on my left eye.

She panicked at seeing me like this.
"I'm so sorry, Mr. Brown. I didn't notice. Oh god, I'm so sorry. Let me help you."

By saying that she holds my hand in her soft one. She saw my eye and softly blew air with her mouth.
"I'm so sorry." She kept apologizing to me and I am just mesmerized by her.

"It's ok, it's not your fault." I tried to calm her because she was in extreme panic.

"Very generous of you to say that, but it is my fault." She said this and held her scarf's edge in her fist, warming it with her mouth, then softly started warming my eye.

She did the same process a couple of times. Well, my eye isn't that hurt, and it feels okay now.

But seeing her worried for me and taking care of me made me a little selfish, and I enjoyed her caring side quietly.

Then suddenly, a kid pushed her from behind, and she disbalanced herself.

Our fronts collided, and to prevent her from falling, I held her by the waist.
We are so close that I can hear her raised heartbeat in our close proximity.

We were closed but still apart. Her arms are between us, which stopped our fronts from colliding.

She seems so tiny in my grasp. When her senses hit her. She hurriedly freed herself from my hold, took a step back, said "sorry," and ran.

"But you said you would talk to me?" I screamed from behind.

"After the party," she replied, running.

Oh, run, tigress, run. One day, you will definitely get tired of running.

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