Neha's POV:

The world is indeed circular and small. I felt the essence of this sentence the moment I revealed the name of the design firm in front of my family.

Just a few hours ago, I was disappointed and was figuring out the other options at my boutique, and now I am packing the luggage to board a bus at 9:00 p.m, confused right. Let me explain -

Flashback: a few hours ago

"It's GULBAHAR"

"What did you tell the name?" Anjum Aunty, who was in the kitchen, barged out suddenly.

"Gulbahar," I repeated the name cluelessly.

After thinking for a while, "Who is the owner of the firm?" Aunty came more forward and sat beside Uncle.

"I guess there is some lady; I don't know the name. Wait, I have the website of the firm. Let me check it out." I quickly opened the site.

"SUMAIYYA AZHAR," I answered, looking at the site, but when I faced them back, all of their eyes were as wide as saucers.

Flashback ends

"Get down at Tin Factory and call Danish; he will come and pick you up from there." Bhabhi was instructing me on all the routes and timings.

"Ji Bhabhi, I will keep you guys updated once I board the bus. Thank you for everything." After keeping note of all the details, I thanked her.

"It's Ok, Neha; see you tomorrow, Allahafiz", giving clear instructions, Bhabhi disconnected the call, as I can hear Bhai was calling in the background.

When I got to know that Miss Sumaiyya, the owner of Gulbahar Designing Enterprises, is the mother of Afsha Bhabhi, I freaked out. The lost hope rose again, and I quickly called her to request for accepting our contract. "Mamma will agree for sure; you just look over the paper work." Bhabhi guaranteed the contract.

True to her words, she called me after an hour for the confirmation of the contract but said that I have to come to Bangalore for the legal formalities, quickly preparing all the papers, I booked today's bus ticket to board for Bangalore.

"Neha, be careful and make sure all the things are packed." Pappa caressed my head and advised for my safety.

"Ji Pappa, don't worry, I will be careful," I assured and turned towards Ammi. "And Ammi, I will eat on time and call once I reach," I answered Ammi before she asked her usual question, making everyone chuckle.

"Neha, don't forget our deal to bring Mysore Pak for me," Dadi slowly whispered, so no one could hear her. Chuckling, I nodded my head and shown 'thumbs up' to her as yes.

Author's POV:

"Assalamualaikum Bhai, I have reached Hebbal just now," Neha called Danish as soon as the driver announced the stop.

"Ok, Neha, I will start now, and don't forget to get down at Tin Factory," Danish instructed about the stop to get down.

"Ji Bhai, Allahhafiz." Disconnecting the call, she packed her phone charger and airpods and got down to sit on the lower berth as it got vacated.

As she was getting down, the bus took a swift turn, losing her hold on the supporting rod and jerking to slip. Soon, she controlled her impulses and made herself steady. Booking upper berths in sleeper buses is equal to sitting on a roller coaster with no seatbelts attached.

After wearing the pair of sneakers, which was another task to find, the driver announced her stop had arrived, taking her things. She quickly got off the bus. It was a new yet unforgettable experience for her, to travel in a sleeper bus. "Bhai, I reached Tin Factory. Where are you?" she informed Danish of her arrival and asked about him.

"Just give me 10 to 15 minutes; I am near, stuck in traffic," Danish replied from another line, focusing on the driving. Ensuring of the wait, Neha looked around. It was 9:00 a.m. in the morning, yet greyish clouds were around, hiding the sun and pouring tiny droplets of rain fluttering the sense of touch with the cold. This never-back of the people around though, many buses, cars, and bikes are honking, and not to forget the pedestrians walking at the footpath, everyone are just buzzing around to reach their destination on time. Indeed, Bangalore weather hits a different vibe.

After having a final look at her appearance, she sat at the chair near the study table in the room, took the laptop, and glanced at the presentations and documentation of the boutique. After reviewing all the details, she messaged Priya about her departure and went downstairs.

"Beta, I am preparing lunch for you, and do come home directly after the meeting," Khatija Aunty, mother of Danish, told her.

"Ji Aunty, Allahafiz" giving a nod. She booked a cab for the Gulbahar Designing Enterprises office.

(Neha's outfit)

Meanwhile, Saniya, who had just arrived at HOTEL HORIZON PALACE (one of the famous five-star hotels all over India), called her assigned manager to check her schedule and the details of the shooting.

A day after Eid, she got an email about the preponement of a shoot and the location shift to Hyderabad. She got horrified and thought to back off out of fear of being exposed by her father. But later, she got a breath of relief when Neha called Afsha and requested to design her boutique. Getting happy about finding an excuse, Saniya explained the situation to Sumaiyya Aunty and took responsibility for the contract, booking the next flight to Hyderabad early in the morning.

Checking all the details, Saniya called her chachi to inform her about her availability. "Chachi, my shoot will be completed by 6:00 pm, and tomorrow I have a call time of 12:00 pm. So, I will go today evening or tomorrow morning and check the site details," she informed Sumaiyya Aunty about her schedule.

"Ok, Saanu, take care, and I will inform you of the further details later." Sumaiyya Aunty disconnected the call as she got a call from the receptionist.

"Ma'am Miss. Neha has arrived," the receptionist informed Sumaiyya Aunty about the arrival of Neha. "Ok, send her in." Giving her approval, she got up to welcome Neha.

"Assalamualaikum, ma'am." Neha entered the cabin after getting approval.

"Waalaikumassalam Neha, Come and sit," Sumaiyya Aunty replied, gesturing for her to sit at the chair adjacent to her table, and she sat beside her to discuss freely.

"Afsha has already told me about you. MashaAllah, at this very young age, you are opening your own boutique, and MashaAllah, your designs are also elegant and modest. I loved Adil's suit you designed." Aunty expressed her delight openly.

On the other side, listening to the sweet praise of Sumaiyya Aunty, Neha kind of felt the building of new motivation. Earlier, due to all those hurdles, a room of insecurities got clouded in Neha's mind, though she was surrounded by her near-dears who were encouraging and supporting her. Second thoughts slightly took a way into her mind, and now, when she heard praise of her work from a stranger, all those negative thoughts took a back turn. Sometimes getting acknowledged for our work helps a person rebuild their strength and motivates them to work harder.

With a newfound energy, Neha opened her laptop and presented her theme-a fusion of the Indian age old Karigari with the modern fashion.

"MashaAllah, I am really impressed by your vision. Let me show our catalogue; if you find any interesting, we can go with it; else, we are available for customization as well." Sumaiyya got impressed with Neha's vision and opened her laptop to display their catalogues to Neha.

After 2 hours of discussions and meetings with the site contractor and architect, Neha and Sumaiyya came up with a customised design under the budget planned.

"My niece, Saniya, is already in Hyderabad; she is one of the interior designers for our company; she will handle onsite work from our side," Sumaiyya Aunty announced.

Agreeing to it, Neha forwarded her assistant Priya's number as the point of contact. "Ok, ma'am, then I will forward my assistant Priya's number as a point of contact, as I am planning to stay this weekend in Bangalore itself.".

"Oh nice, then please do come to home tomorrow for lunch along with Afsha and Danish, and don't call me Ma'am," Sumaiyya Aunty insisted. This discussion and meeting made both of them develop an unknown connection, which may be due to their common interests, passions, or vision. Sumaiyya felt Neha was a younger version of herself, and even Neha got inspired by Sumaiyya's positive yet domineering aura.

"Ok, Au...Aunty, InshaAllah, I will try to come," Neha hesitatingly agreed to the lunch.

Understanding Neha's hesitation, "Don't worry, dear, you are like our family; we will be glad to host you, and even Afsha and Danish will also be there," Sumaiyya aunty assured her. After thinking and doing the time calculations in her brain, Neha finally agreed to Sumaiyya's invitation happily.

"Ok Aunty, Allahafiz, I shall meet you tomorrow; Khatija Aunty must be waiting for me at lunch," Neha greeted Sumaiyya Aunty and left from the office.

Neha released a breath of relaxation. Today she has not only gotten a good deal, but she has also met a person who is inspiring and down to earth. She even felt some connection with Sumaiyya Aunty-an unknown deep connection as if they were related. Finally letting a good smile on her face, she got in a cab.

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Next Day

After having breakfast, Neha ascended to her room itself, instructing the last-minute guidelines to Priya as Saniya was coming on the site: "Call the contractor and architect also so that all three can pace on the same page," she added, to which Priya agreed and made a note.

As the clock stuck 11, Afsha barged into Neha's room to inform her to get ready but got amused seeing Neha's worriedness. She was pacing back and forth in the room with a phone in her hand, anticipating a call from Priya to get a review of today's meeting. Shaking her head, Afsha caught a hold of Neha and made her sit.

"Sometimes we need to let out a few things and sit back and enjoy the outcomes," Afsha explained to Neha. "Just leave everything and get ready; we are leaving in half an hour," and advised to get ready for lunch at Raza Mansion.

Understanding Afsha's context, Neha took out her cotton dress and matching hijab for lunch and went to the bathroom to shower.

(Neha's outfit)

Being a weekend, Bangalore's traffic got worse, turning the one-hour ride into two and a half hours, making the trio exhausted and drained.

As soon as they descended from the car, Afsha ran to the Raza mansion to empty her bladder. Danish, too, followed behind her to check on Afsha, leaving Neha outside. As she was busy talking with Priya, she didn't check the way Afsha and Danish went.

After taking all the necessary information from Priya, Neha got relieved and turned to the other side. To her surprise, neither Danish nor Afsha were present, getting confused between two buildings. Neha stepped forward and entered one of the buildings cluelessly.

Neha raised her hand to ring the bell of the main door, but before that, the door was opened by a man.

"You." The man and Neha were surprised to see each other.

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Who can be the man?

Any guess, leave your guesses in comments. Let's see who can guess it right.

Next part of this chapter will be uploaded soon........

Don't forget to vote and comment...............