When Sanyukta woke up early next morning Randhir was already in the shower. She fixed them a quick breakfast of toast and eggs while he got dressed and they began eating quickly, with Sanyukta plying Randhir with an orange. They would often squabble over oranges, she insisted on taking their daily dose of vitamin C, especially when they had eggs or some other iron rich foods for breakfast. Randhir prefered juicing the oranges while Sanyukta would insist on eating them whole because of their dietary fibre, and like always she won the argument again but he made her feed him while he was busy with some last-minute modifications to the assignment on his laptop. She looked forward to these moments of domestic bliss when she would fuss over him unlike on other days when he stayed in the hostel. Randhir left after kissing her goodbye and she tidied up quickly before racing through her shower, not wanting to be late for her morning shift. As she clocked in just in time she rushed to the department before the supervisor began his briefing and work was distributed amongst the trainees for their shift. 

She was paired with Aryan and both carried on to their assigned area to begin the job. Like a typical boy of his age Aryan had been curious about Sanyukta, because she was so secretive about her personal life. He was glad she was attractive to look at, but wished she was more approachable. He often contemplated about asking her out for coffee but she never gave him an opening in their conversation. In fact she was always professional, almost as if she wanted to avoid being wooed. She never mentioned a boyfriend during his many attempts to eke the information out of her, nor did she seem interested in probing him about his life. But today he had spotted an unmistakable fresh hickey hidden on the back of her neck just under her ear, only just visible because they were working near each other and unlike others he had bothered to observe her carefully. He wondered whom she had given the privilege to and if he could ever have a chance with her. What he did not know was Sanyukta tactfully avoided him because she was aware that Aryan knew who Randhir was, and if he had any inkling of her being in a relationship with Randhir it would mean trouble.

Before she finished her shift she instinctively whipped out her phone and noticed several missed calls from her landlady. Alarmed, she immediately called back only to be told that there was a crisis at home, the lady had taken a fall in her bathroom and had fractured her leg. This happened a few hours ago and while her fracture had been attended to she was confined to bed and was in pain. Aman was in tears because his school was celebrating their annual day function and while he was due to perform she would be unable to attend because of her injury. She was hoping to convince Sanyukta to accompany him instead, as all other children would be ushered by their proud parents. Aman always felt miserable at such times, ruing the fact that his life could never be the same as other children who were fortunate to have their parents' love. Telling his grandmother to get Aman dressed for school, Sanyukta called up Randhir pleading with him to pick her up from work as they needed to rush back if they were to get to school in time. She asked her supervisor for permission to leave a little early, and because she was a dedicated worker he consented. 

She had waited about five minutes near the staff entrance when Randhir got there on a bike borrowed from Rahim Chacha, just like she had asked him to. She had been nervous because she knew Aryan would be watching her from the hotel floor where he was still at work, she was aware of the unhealthy curiosity he harboured for her. She felt relieved that Randhir had a helmet on which would make it impossible for Aryan to recognise him. In a few minutes they were home, changed and on their way as Randhir drove them to school. Sanyukta cheered Aman up, she always managed to perk up his mood when he was feeling low. She rushed him to the green room so he could change for his class performance. Both Randhir and Sanyukta took their seats in the auditorium and when Aman came on stage with his classmates she waved at him vigorously, drawing a big smile from him as he spotted Randhir and her among the audience. Randhir filmed the whole performance so Aman's grandmother would not have to miss it. Soon the audience gave the children an energetic ovation after which they joined their parents to watch their other schoolmates perform. 

Finally the award presentation started and when Aman's class was called up there was a huge surprise in store for the little boy, he was announced as the best all-rounder of his year and he beamed as he signaled Sanyukta to join him on stage. It was tradition for parents or guardians to join the proud achievers on stage. The announcer gave the audience a short presentation about Aman's triumphs through the year, his excellence in academics and co-curricular activities. His cooking video-presentation with Sanyukta had been the clincher, winning him the accolade. It was customary for the parent of the child to say a few words on behalf of the child and an emotional Sanyukta publicly thanked her fate for having given her the rare opportunity of co-opting the guardianship of Aman with his grandmother, who she explained, had been unfortunately laid up due to a fracture. In just a few words and with tears of joy in her eyes she expressed how Aman had given her the privilege of being his mother and how that had helped her feel complete as a woman. Her words were rewarded with a thunderous applause. 

A visibly moved Aman gave her a tight hug while still on stage and they were snapped by hundreds of cameras, including that of Randhir. It was a really special moment for Aman as several children, parents and teachers came forward to congratulate him. His class teacher commended Sanyukta on her contribution in Aman's grooming, fully aware of her role in the young boy's life. Randhir took several pictures that evening, and as the event wound up he insisted on taking them out to dinner to celebrate Aman's success. They stopped by for a meal at Aman's favourite fast food restaurant; on his persistence. As he chatted away happily over the meal Randhir and Sanyukta could hardly believe that the same boy had been sobbing a few hours ago. By the time they came home he was fast asleep. Sanyukta tucked him into bed and narrated the details to his grandmother, who expressed her heartfelt gratitude to both of them before they said goodnight to her. 

"Did you know that Aman's mother found out her husband was living with another woman while he worked in the Gulf, even as she was pregnant with the boy? It affected her so much that she did not pull through during her delivery. And that scoundrel simply went on to marry his paramour, never bothering to become a parent to Aman. That is why Aman's grandmother feels so guilty, she knows that her son is responsible for his wife's death and for Aman living like an orphan. Why do people change so much even after they have exchanged wedding vows?"' Sanyukta ranted on, expecting Randhir to understand how she felt, as he embraced her while they lounged in bed. "It is hard to predict what exactly goes wrong in any relationship that fails or becomes dysfunctional. That man chose the worst possible time to fall in love with the other woman, as his wife was pregnant with his child. The decent thing to do would be to offer a proper closure, for compassion's sake. One cannot walk away from a marriage as casually as he did, after cheating on his wife before forsaking her. If I stray away even a little feel free to kick me in a hard place to drive your point home!" He assured her by promising to find out more about how they could officially become guardians to Aman. She drifted off to sleep only when he sounded convincing in his concern for Aman's upbringing.