Ruhana gives presents to her sister and daughter, and the girls are all merry. She smiles, seeing them happy. The two girls play along for a while until Anamika feels sleepy due to the effects of the medicines. Ruhana makes her lie on the bed and covers her with the duvet. At the same time, she finds her daughter sleeping; her head is on her aunt’s arm. She smiles and makes her little one sleep properly.

She adores the two girls with a smile on her face. These two bring solace to her. Her sister is her first child, as she says. She’s lost in thoughts when Vineet’s voice falls into her ears.

“Don’t worry. Vo dono tumhare pas hi hain. Kahin nahi jaayengi dono, tumhe chhod ke.” He says.

“Tum sach keh rahe ho na? I mean, I know, ki tum shayad ab bhi naaraz ho jo bhi hua usse. Aur Maa-Papa....” She’s still speaking, but he keeps his finger on his lips.

“Shh! Main naraz nahi hoon, Ruu. Han, pehle mujhe gussa aaya tha, lekin maine tumse vaada kia tha na ki main tumhare saath saath Anamika ka bhi pura khayal rakhunga. Toh vo vaada tootne kaise de sakta hoon main?” He says.

“Tumhe haq hain, Vineet. You have it, main jaanti hoon tum bas meri wajah se chup ho.” She says, downing her gaze.

“Aisa nahi hain. Ab Anamika bhi toh hamari family ka hissa hain. Maa-papa kuch nahi kahenge. Tum chinta mat karo. Tum jaanti ho na tum udaas ho jaati ho toh mera bhi kisi kaam mein mann nahi lagta.” He says it innocently.

She says nothing but just hugs him, resting her head on his chest. He’s been her supporter ever since the beginning. He’s the one to give her a chance, and even now, he’s being her supporter when the media is making false allegations against him.

Silent tears dropped from her eyes before she could wipe them off. He makes her lie on the bed and begins to stroke her head in order to make her sleep while she walks down memory lane to when he first held her hand.

*Flashback Begins*

The exhibition in Singapore proved very successful. Ruhana’s happiness knew no bounds. She’s earned a lot of money in a few days. Vineet’s meeting also proved successful, and he bagged the deal. Soonish, it’s time to return home—back to India.

It’s the last day of their stay in Singapore. Both Vineet and Ruhana had some spare time, and the former proposed the idea that they go out and shop a little. Ruhana is hesitant at first but agrees with Vineet’s insistence. Anamika is happy that they’ll be going out.

“Hum dinner bhi baahar karenge. Okay, Di? Please.” Anamika requests.

“Par hum yahin dinner kar sakte hain naa?” Ruhana says this because she is thoughtful about the expenditure.

“No, no! I’m bored, Di. Aaj toh ghumne jaa rahe hain. Aur waise bhi Mr Vineet hume treat denge. Unhone kal hi bola tha. Hai na?” Anamika says this and looks at Vineet, who’s sitting on the couch.

“Oh yes! Come on! Let’s go. Nai toh aane mein late ho jayega. Aur phir kal early morning nikalna hain naa.” He reminds the girls.

Ruhana and Anamika nod affirmatively, and the trio leaves for the outing.

*****
They first stopped at Universal Studios. The three souls were awestruck to see the grand entrance of the adventure park. Anamika chuckles to see the environmental beauty of and around the park. Ruhana is mesmerised too. Vineet purchases three tickets, and the trio enters the adventure park. They stroll around, and they find many people inside the park. Anamika insists on visiting the mini-Hollywood in the park. Vineet obliges, and they set off on the journey. Ruhana is also enjoying the journey now.

After spending at least three hours at Universal Studios, they head out of the park. They decided to pay a visit to the Armenian Church, which is one of the most popular churches, as Ruhana insists. After that, they visited Marina Bay, which is a shopping complex. The trio gets on with their adventure.

A few hours later, they return to their hotel; it’s almost half past nine. They’re tired, and soonish, they retire to their rooms. Anamika changes the clothes and falls asleep in no time while Ruhana finalises the packing. They have to leave for the airport early in the morning. When she lies on the bed, it’s 10 p.m. She sighs deeply and relaxes on the bed. Anamika snuggles closer to her sister and hugs her cosily. Ruhana strokes her head, and she trails down the incidents that happened during the day. She’s truly thankful to Vineet for all his help, and she didn’t realise it until she fell asleep.

The next morning, she wakes up as her alarm buzzes. It’s just 6 a.m. But they have to reach the airport, so she decided to freshen up first and then wake up Anamika. A little while later, they checked out of the hotel and reached the airport. Their 10-day trip has come to an end.

*****
After reaching home, Ruhana and Anamika settle into their usual routine. The former got busy with her office work, while the latter got busy with her schoolwork and studies. Ruhana finished the order that Vineet gave her, and he’s quite pleased with the work that she has done.

While working on Vineet’s order, she got a few more orders, and she doesn’t even have time to breathe. She just manages to take out time for her sister, and the two girls have begun to enjoy life as it comes to them.

The lady now owns her own studio, and the two girls have a flat to call their own. Yeah, Ruhana purchased a flat with her earnings. Anamika is super happy for her sister, and she wishes to work hard and do something for Ruhana as well.

One fine day, Ruhana is in the office, working on her designs. There’s some meeting, and Vineet has asked her to work in the office. Also, he wants her to decorate some artistic pieces for the whole of his office. She’s elated.

She’s in her cabin, working on a design, when someone knocks on the door, and she allows the person inside. She’s astonished to find Vineet in her cabin. She greets him, and he begins to take a close look at the design that she’s working on. He praises her efforts while she shows him some files that belong to some of the orders that she got.

Vineet listens to her, and then, unknowingly, he holds her hand, making her nervous. He looks at her intently and then says something that leaves her astonished and touched.

To Be Continued.

What did Vineet say?

Stay tuned.