A 5-year-old girl had been sleeping peacefully, her father entered the room and sat down beside her. He caressed her head and kissed her forehead "Khushi.. utho beta school jaana hai" 

She lightly opened her eyes and smiled at him "aaj nahi jaana hum aaj ghumi karne jayenge" she said innocently 

"beta dadda ko bahut kaam hai na hum sunday jayenge" he promises to take her out on the weekend. 

Khushi gets up and wraps her arms around his neck. Aarav pats her cheek lightly "kya chahiye meri beti ko?" 

"meri dost ke paas na wo bada wala tv hai Khushi ko bhi wo chahiye" she said innocently. 

Aarav's face fell dull hearing her but he still smiled "thik hai aap school se aaoge toh dadda aapko dilayenge" 

He picks her up and takes her to the bathroom. He pulls out the brush and applies toothpaste to it, he passed it to Khushi who stood on the stool to reach his shoulder level. Aarav also picks up his brush and both father and daughter brushed their teeth. He then places her into the tub and helps her bathe. She began to play in the water and throws water at him. 

"Khushi late ho jayega jaldi se nahao" he said, She agreed and then he takes her out. Khushi wears her uniform while Aarav gets ready to leave for work. Khushi runs and gets his tie, he bends down to her level and she places it around his neck. He adjusted it properly and looks at her with emotional eyes. 

She kisses his cheek "dadda aap best ho I am so proud of you" she said

Aarav hugs her and closes his eyes. He picks up her bag and places it on her shoulder. He walks out of the house with her. He made her sit inside the car and drove off towards her school. Within half an hour, he halts the car in front of her school. Khushi gets out and waves bye to him "jaldi aana dadda.. late nahi hona" 

Aarav nodded, Khushi runs into the school and Aarav drove off back home. He quickly runs inside and glanced at himself in the mirror. He is all dressed up as a corporate job personality but the reality is something else. He removes the tie and coat. He gets out again and drove off to the garage. He parked the car and the manager yelled at him "hamesha kyun late hote ho tum haan?" 

"sorry sir wo meri beti ko school chodte hue traffic mein fas gaya tha" he said

He hands the car keys to him and gets to his work. A jeep stopped and he looked at the person. Aarav gulps down his throat. The person looked at him from head to toe and smiled "subah se follow kar raha hun tumhe! dekha maine tumhari beti ko.." 

"kya chahiye tumhe?" he asked

He placed the money on the bonnet of the jeep and stared at him "Guru wapas chahiye mujhe! mera partner jo bade se badi chori badi chalaki se karta tha" 

Aarav picked up the notes and placed them back into his pocket "5 saal pehle wo Guru marr chuka hai samjhe tum! main apni beti ki parvarish ke liye ek rupayia bhi beimani ka kharch nahi karunga nikal jao yahan se.." 

"kaun beti? ye rishta ek jhooth pe kada kiya hai tumne Guru.." he said angrily 

"just get lost" he shouted. The man left and Aarav sighed in disappointment. He remembered Khushi wanted Ipad. He worked extra hours and went to the manager "Sir main aaj raat overtime karunga aap mujhe paise de sakte hai" 

The manager glared at him but his wife stopped "dedo.. ye hamesha karta hai na" 

He couldn't deny it and gave the money. He thanked her and left from there. He went to the shop and bought the Ipad for Khushi. He quickly went home, changed, and headed toward Khushi's school. 

Khushi had been standing at the gate waiting for Aarav to come and pick her up. She gets annoyed and crosses her arms "Dadda aaj phir late" 

After some time, Aarav comes running. Khushi glared at him and Aarav holds his ear "Sorry dadda late ho gaye phirse" 

She turned away, Aarav picks her up in his arms and shows her the Ipad "Ab toh maan jao" he said

Khushi smiles seeing it, she kisses his cheek and Aarav walks back to the home. He reaches home, Khushi sits on the couch and began to play on it. Aarav said "Khushi change toh karlo.. dadda ko phir wapas office bhi jaana hai" 

Khushi didn't listen, Aarav warms the food and feeds her. He smeared her head and left for the garage. 

Khushi's friend Sneha comes over with her mother. "hello Sneha.."

"Khushi.. look I got a new phone" she showed.

Khushi showed her Ipad "mere paas bada waala tv.. dadda ne dilaya" 

Sneha's mother was surprised at this. The little kid doesn't know her father can't afford to get such expensive items but buys them just for her. She doesn't even know her father is not a manager but a mechanic who is trying to protect his daughter from mistreating her in the high private school. 

Sneha leaves after some time. 

The next day, Khushi goes to school with Aarav and soon when Aarav left a man of his age approached Khushi. 

"Aapse baat karni hai" he said politely 

"Dadda ne stranger se baat karne se mana kiya hai' she refused. 

"lekin main toh dost hun unka" he said bending down to her level and giving her a chocolate. 

Khushi looked at him innocently "aap dost?" 

"haa aapko pata hai aapke papa bad hai.. wo aapse jhooth bol rahe hai" he said

"Dadda kabhi jhooth nahi bolte" she refused and run inside the school. 

The teacher hands over the form to everyone. "so students aap kal paise submit karenge trip ke liye" 

Khushi got excited as her friends will be going. Later, in the afternoon Aarav comes and picks her up in his manager's car. Khushi sits inside and Aarav buckles up the belt. Aarav drove off towards the home and Khushi said "Dadda.. Sunday ko school picnic hai khushi ko jaana hai" 

"thik hai chale jaana" Aarav agreed as he could work that day and earn extra. 

He reached home, and Aarav opens her bag and takes out the form. He saw the amount which was five thousand. "abhi toh ipad ke liye they paise.. kahi aur se jugad karna padega" he thought. 

He signed the consent form. He takes Khushi into the room and places her to sleep. He changes and Khushi wakes up with his voice. Aarav leaves the house quietly and Khushi wondered where he left at such late night. 

The next morning, Khushi wakes up and she sees her father had an injury on his face. She asked "Dadda ye kaise lagi aapko?" 

Aarav remembered last night, doing a stunt at a nearby shooting place. He smiled "kuch nahi beta bas gir gaya tha" he replied

"dadda aap khushi ko bolte ho pal khud kitna girte ho" she said sadly.

Aarav tucked his head with hers. He places the money inside her school bag "paise maine rakh diye hai ye teacher ko hi dena thik hai na" 

Khushi nodded and went to the school. Aarav gets busy at work and didn't get any chance to pick her up. Sneha asked Khushi to come in her car and Khushi notices the car to be the same as her father's. 

The driver takes the car to the garage as Sneha's father wanted something from him. Khushi sees her father repairing the car and gets shocked by it. Khushi gets off the car, she secretly follows her father. 

"Sir aapke car ki chabi chahiye meri beti ko lene jaana hai" he said

"ye sab karne se tumhari aukaat hamari tarah nahi ho jayegi.. you will still be just a mechanic" the manager taunted

He smiled and takes the car keys. He turned and found Khushi standing there with tears in her eyes. Aarav walked a bit but Khushi run away from there. He places the key back and runs to the house. 

He entered and saw Khushi finding his clothes which were covered in blood. Many times, he had performed those dangerous stunts just to fulfill her demands. Yesterday's clothes were still in the laundry. 

Khushi looked at her father, Aarav had tears in his eyes. Khushi runs to the room and lays down on the bed. 

The next morning, Aarav woke up he goes to Khushi's room but finds her already getting ready for school. She was struggling to tie her hair properly, Aarav moved and helped her with it. He didn't have the courage to speak anything to his daughter. Khushi had been also silent. 

He went back to his room and Khushi follows him. He turned to her and wanted to apologize for lying to her. Khushi tries to reach the wardrobe, Aarav opens it and lifts her up in his arm. Khushi pulls out his shirt and Aarav shuts it. 

"Dadda ye peheno.." she said softly

Aarav was touched, he wore the shirt chosen by his daughter. She grabs his hand and walks out of the house. She saw the car and a smile appears on her face.

She walked away but Aarav stops her "Khushi car.."

She looked up at him and said "ye toh sneha ki car hai na? jab aap loge khushi ke liye tab jayenge" 

His eyes get filled with tears, he gets on his knees and holds his ear "I am sorry dadda ne aapse jhooth bola aapke dadda best nahi hai" 

The little angel wiped tears and said "dadda aap best ho.. aapne itne big waale school mei bheja Khushi ko I love you dadda aur Sunday Khushi aapke saath jayegi picnic pe nahi" 

Aarav hugs her tightly lifting her in his arm. "Khushi dadda ka ek aur secret bhi hai" he said

"aap bad they.. par ab good ho.. isliye Khushi aapko kabhi chodke nahi jayegi" she promised him. Aarav was just left amazed at her maturity. She held his hand and walked along with him with a proud smile on her face. 

She walked a bit but returned to him. Aarav bends down and Khushi touches his wound "phirse wo nahi karna.." 

"nahi karunga promise" he agreed. 

Khushi kisses his cheeks and walked into the school. Aarav saw his old friend standing at a distance, he smiled at him. He showed thumbs up to Aarav for becoming the best father to a daughter. 

.............................................................................

Happy Father's Day to all the dads who made a lot of sacrifices for their children.