|AUTHOR|

It was finally the next day and today Annie was about to open her bakery. Viraj and his friends were super excited. It had taken a lot of planning and organising to make the place look aesthetic. It was a cozy barkey tucked away at one of the most visited places in Deharadun.

The name of Annie's barkey is ANNIE'S SWEET TOOTH. This logo was a chocolate cupcake with strawberry icing and a yellow background. Viraj and his friends had been there at the bakery since 7am in the morning. Sameer had joined them about an hour later.

The aroma inside the shop was mouth watering. Annie had baked some amazing goodies and was eagerly wating for her first few customers who were none other than her friends to try it out. They just wanted to wait for a few more hours before they cut the ribbon and let the customers in. Surprise surprise the chief guest was none other than Colonel Bakshi.

He had actually come to Dehradun a few days back and Annie was more than happy to give him the honour. Who better than the one who had trained one of the most lethal soilders out there. Arjun's mom had also come down. She loved Annie like her own daughter and also considered Neel and Viraj like her own sons.

In fact she always showered more love on Neel and Viraj when the three of them visit her during their holidays which is usually not like a vacation.

Annie gestured Sameer to come to the other side of the room. The rest of them were busy and engaged with the guests and did not notice their absence. After the intense argument with Viraj yesterday Annie realised that there is no point in talking to Viraj. He always does what he wants so she decided to take the matter in her own hands.

" Sam you're one hundred percent sure that your friend will bring her here right? I want her here at any cost. It's okay if she misses the inauguration ceremony I don't care I just want to meet her. She will be here right?"

"Arrey Annie Didi you've asked me this question about a hundred times. You don't worry she'll bring her here for sure. She's like a sprite fire I'm sure she always fulfills her promises. You don't worry she'll be here. Also you should have seen Bhai when he was with Naina he was like another person." Sameer said laughing and Annie couldn't help but laugh.

"Aww that's so sweet!!! I want to see that. You better make this happen else I shall not help you with your stupid date that you're planning." Annie warned him.

" Jeez fine chill out. Go make sure everything is in order. Our family is about to be added with another member." Sam tried to calm Annie and pushed her towards the counter.

" Just one member I was thinking two. What about the girl you have a crush on and about to ask her out? Aww so cute you're blushing!" She pulled his cheeks and cooed at him. Sameer frowned at her, pushing her hands away he told her to go mind her business. Annie showed her tounge to him like a child and hopped towards her boyfriend.

Meanwhile Naina and her friends were still sleeping when someone knocked on their door loudly. Naina was the first one to get up. She looked at her friends with an irritated face groaning she tied her hair into a bun got up from her bed and moved to open the door. " I'm coming one minute." With that she opened the door, she was shocked to see Veer crying loudly in Lisa's arms and continuously muttering "Nea".

Lisa had a pained expression and asked Naina to take Veer. Naina nodded immediately and carried Veer in her arms. His arms went around her neck automatically and he hid his face in her neck. He was still hiccuping because of all the crying. Poor baby looked shattered. Naina rubbed his back and asked Lisa what was wrong.

" I honestly have no idea. Must be because you didn't tell him good night yesterday and also didn't meet him after story time. You have to handle this carefully Naina. He's really vulnerable and I think he had a nightmare. I have been trying to console him for the past half an hour. Take your time and bring him back once he calms down."

Naina nooded her head and hugged Veer tighter to her chest. She closed the door and moved towards her bed. Her friends were still sleeping well they will be awake any minute now.

Sitting on the bed she pried Veer's arms away from her and held his face in between her hands. He bliked his eyes and looked at her, finally he had stopped crying. Wiping his tears she asked him " Veer baby what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

His cheeks and nose were red because of all the crying. He looked at Naina with a heartbroken face and whispered "Bad dweam, bad man hit I huwt. Pain Nea pain." Oh god he had a nightmare about his father hitting him. Why are there such cruel people on this planet? Naina thought and wiped his face with wet wipes and hugged him once again which he reciprocated gladly.

She rubbed his back while he had a strong grip on her. " Veer it was just a dream. That bad man will never hit you again okay. When I'm there no one I mean no one can ever touch you okay baby. You're a strong boy right? Now come on stop crying and show me that smile."

Veer shook his head and buried his face further in her chest. Nania sighed hugging him and kissed his forehead that made him smile slightly. Well something is better than nothing. Just then Neena and Isha had gotten up and asked her what had happened. Naina recited the whole incident and hugged Veer tighter to her. Poor baby had fallen asleep. Neena rubbed his arms while Isha looked sadly towards him and ran her fingers through his hair.

" Naina I really don't know what to say. I think Sister Brenda is right you have to keep away from him. It almost feels like your his mother. We will be leaving in a month this will only end up shattering his heart."

"I agree with Isha. Naina we know how much you love Veer but you do know right it's not possible for you to adopt him." Neena made another valid point.

" What do you want me to do? I'm trying okay. My heart tugs everytime he calls me "Nea" and I don't care if we're leaving in a month anymore. I don't want to leave him here but also at the same time I have nothing to give him. I just hope things get better with time." Naina looked towards Veer in her arms and sighed. She kissed him on his chubby cheeks and tweaked his nose. He laughed and opened his eyes. For Veer Naina was the best thing. He always felt safe with her and wanted to hug and cuddle with her.

" Oh look who's awake. It's the monster. I'm going to get you now." Neena moved towards Veer with her hands in the air and Veer squealed and jumped from Naina's arms. Neena and Isha chased him tackling him they tickled him until the room was filled with his laughter. Naina was still sitting on her bed and admiring the view. His laugh was like a chime of bells so adorable just like him. She wondered how can someone hurt such a pure soul.

" Okay okay pipe it down guys. Come on Veer your teacher is waiting for you. You have to get ready for the day right. You're going to the zoo with the other kids today, aren't you excited?" Naina asked him enthusiastically clapping her hands.

He ran towards Naina and gestured her to carry him. She lifed him and told her friends she would be back in another 10 minutes. " That's like my good boy. Are you feeling better now?" Veer nodded his head she reached the toddler's room and put Veer down back on his feet. " Nea no go! Stwy, pwese."

"Oh god why does he do this all the time" Naina thought. She took a deep breath and looked at him " Veer you know I can't. Don't you want to go to the zoo to look at all those animals. It'll be so much fun! I promise to see you in the evening okay."

Veer looked disappointed but nodded his head anyway. He pulled her down Naina keeled in front of him, he hugged and kissed her on the cheek and walked towards his teacher who was smiling at them. He went with her but not before waving at Naina once again.

Naina waved back at him and walked back to her room. This morning was already too long for her. Neena was once again completing some record while Isha was busy typing and smiling at her phone. Naina frowned at her,It's not like her to act so cheerful this early in the morning.

Coming to think of it she's been stuck with that phone on her face for quite some time now. Naina was kind of suspicious. Who was she texting? She hates texting, hell she's never ever texted Neena or Naina so much. Something was definitely up. Naina was about to snatch her phone when she got up and locked it.

She crossed her arms and frowned at Isha " Who are you texting so much? You hate texting! What's going on?" Isha looked frazzled " What are talking about I wasn't texting I was just reading something funny." Isha defended, crossed her arms trying to look intimidated.

" Really? Fine whatever I'm going to go take a shower. Also Veer is fine now" saying so Naina moved to gather her clothes. "That's great" Isha replied yet again engrossed in her phone. Neena turned giving a weird look to Isha and raised her eyebrows asking Naina what was wrong with Isha.

" Something is definitely brewing!" Neena mumbled to Naina. " Beats me. I'll bet you it has to be something related to that surprise stop. Why is she gigging? Gosh that is so freaking weird."

"Oh my god! She is fucking giggling! Haha that has never happened before. I think we'll find out." Neena replied observing Isha keenly. " Yeah of course, okay I'm off to take my shower. You go next." Neena nodded and got back to completing her work.

Once she was done showering. She wore a floral top with jeans and moved out of the washroom. Neena went to take her shower while Isha was working on her laptop. She looked at Naina and clicked her tounge. " No you're not going to wear this. Go change your top. Wear that blue colour top which looks like a dress. You can wear the jeans but change your top."

Naina groaned " No no I'm not wearing that top. It's too fancy also it's a cold shoulder top. I'm not in the mood for that." Isha stared at her angrily and did not listen to any of her excuses. Tired of arguing Naina obliged and wore that blue top. To her surprise she actually looked amazing.

Isha approved, Neena too complimented her. Isha took a quick shower. Naina left her hair open and pinned it to one side. She applied some eyeliner, kajal and some lip gloss. Then she completed her look with some long dangling earrings. Neena and Isha were gaping at her. Naina usually never dresses up so much.

Naina noticed her friends looking at her, she shrugged casually saying "Don't look at me like that. I was in a mood to dress up okay. Go get ready both of you go." Neena shook her head and chuckled while Isha was smirking at her she couldn't wait to surprise Naina.

They quickly got ready had their breakfast and were out to explore Deharadun in a jiffy. They had particularly booked a taxi for this. First they visited the Tapkeshwar temple which was dedicated to Lord Shiva. It was one of the most beautiful places they had ever seen. There were so many water springs near the temple too. They prayed for happiness and health. It was very fulfilling and satisfying. They felt at peace after visiting the temple.

Their next stop was Zonal Anthropological museum. Museums can be boring but Naina insisted more liked threw a tantrum to visit this. Neena and Isha were not happy about that, but nevertheless gave up and visited the museum. It was a an interesting museum and also beautiful inside. The museum tried to recreate scenes from the everyday life of early inhabitants of Garhwal. They also displayed some aircrafts to portray how life was in the Himalayan region.

Needless to say Isha and Neena found it interesting eventhough they were skeptical about it in the beginning. "See I told you this was going to be fun!" Naina exclaimed jumping on her feet slightly. Isha and Neena shook their heads and rolled their eyes at her.

As usual Naina bought a book from the souvenir shop that described the history and some of the places in Dehradun, nothing surprising there. Neena and Isha purchased some key chains and other goodies from the shop.

They exited the museum with happy faces and were famished. It was already 12:30 pm. Time does fly when you are having fun and enjoying your day. "Okay so two places done. Now my turn. Let's go I'm going to take the both of you to the surprise stop. We can have lunch there." Isha exclaimed excitedly and was still texting on her phone continuously. Her friends wondered as to who was blowing up her phone.

She told the driver about the location and they were off towards their mystery destination. Naina had a feeling Isha was up to something. She tried to make a detour but no Isha did not stop at all she was hell bent on reaching this mystery stop. Neena too tried but no luck.

"Come on guys why don't you trust me. I'm not kidnapping you. This is ridiculous, you guys have known me for the longest and is this how much you trust me?" Isha huffed crossing her arms and looked out of the window offended that they didn't tryst her.

" Excuse me don't get so emotional, the last time Naina and I trusted your stupid mystery destination you took us to a club and the worst part was you got drunk we had to do so much drama to cover up your bullshit. You didn't even face the consequences because you were passed out." Neena pointed out one of many experiences with their crazy friend.

Naina nooded her head and started laughing. It was Isha's 21st birthday and she gave them a surprise when it was supposed to be the other way around. Isha was wasted that day and did all sorts of drunk acts. Luckily Naina and Neena were sober. Isha shoved both of them for yet again reminding her about that incident.

" Fuck you, I thought we agreed to never I mean ever bring up that incident. Yeah whatever this one is completely different I promise." She flipped her hair and got back to texting. Neena and Naina frowned at her. This was definitely going to be a disaster Naina thought. Well nothing good comes out when Isha plans such surprises.

Thirty minutes later they reached their destination, ANNIE'S SWEET TOOTH. "A bakery? Your mystery stop is a bakery. Okay that's actually quite decent, I thought you'll take us to the strip club or something. I'm so glad it's not that." Naina replied admiring the look of the bakery while Neena was laughing her ass off.

" Oh please I'm not that bad, besides I'm the fun one among the three of us. Naina don't worry I will take you to the stip club soon enough.You both are just too boring , always following the rules and blah blah boring." Isha stretched the word boring. She tugged Naina towards the steps that lead to the bakery.

Naina pulled her hand away, she glared at Isha. " I'm not going in there until and unless you tell me what's all the hussle about? I demand answers now." Neena looked bored she was scrolling through her phone and wating for them to finish their stupid argument.

"Naina please pretty please with a cherry on top. Just come okay, trust me on this one. It's a great bakery a friend suggested it. Apparentely the opening of this bakery is today. So cool right? So please come with me."

Meanwhile, the bakery was buzzing with laughter, happiness and chatter. Sameer and Viraj had just gone out to buy more ingredients from the closest supermarket. Everything was sold out and Annie needed more items to make some delicious pastries. She was still waiting for Smaeer's friend/crush to show up with Naina.

She called Sameer, she was losing her patience by the minute. He answered the phone after 4 rings." SAM! Where are they? It's almost going to be 1pm! I want to meet her and I want Viraj here when she's here. When are you guys coming back?" Annie asked him frantically.

"Chill Di, don't shout damnit. We'll come in another 30 minutes and as for my FRIEND, her name is Isha okay I believe they're already outside the bakery. Go check out I think Naina is drilling Isha because she's hesitant to come here." He stressed on the word friend telling her to check outside and look for 3 ladies arguing. To her surprise she could indeed see 2 of them having a heated argument and the third one looked bored she was trying to be the mediatior.

"Oh my god you're right! They are right here. Who's Naina in this?" Annie asked excited that she was finally about to meet the one who had caught Viraj's attention. "Hold on one minute, yeah she's wearing a blue long top." Sameer whispered he didn't want Viraj to suspect anything.

" Oh yeah I see her! She the one in between. She's looks cute and pretty! Oh my god I think I'll go and call them." Annie was about to cut the call when Sameer interrupted her " Di please don't. Isha will convince her to come you just wait patiently. As is it she's going to be bombarded by the presence of so many people. Just give them your yummy food and keep them busy we'll be back in about 20 minutes top okay?"

"Ugh fine you're no fun!!! I'll just wait for them to come inside. Bring the stuff fast I want to make my scones. I'll give them the cupcake by then. I want the both of you here in 20 minutes got it?" Annie told him with a stern voice, he muttered a small yes cutting the call.

Finally after 5 more minutes of argument between Naina and Isha. Naina realized Isha wasn't going to budge. Frustrated with her she pushed her friends away climbing the stairs she opened the front glass door of the bakery and entered, her friends walked behind her.

She was mesmerized by the interiors, it was so cozy and also aesthetic. She felt like she was at someone's home not a bakery. They cool air of the AC, some charms dangling on the roof they were charms of different cake shapes how cool and cute Naina thought.

"Damn it's so pretty in here and look at this place it's so clean, those paintings on the walls look amazing." Neena stated her observations. Naina and Isha nodded their head blindly still lost in the beauty of this place.

Just then Annie noticed that all of them had finally made it inside the bakery. She moved towards them introducing herself. " Hi ladies! All of you look beautiful today. I'm Annie, the owner of this place. How may I help you?"

Naina was the first one to give her a handshake. "Hi Annie! This place looks amaizng and the I like the name of this bakery too. I would love to try some of your cupcakes. I'm Naina by the way. This is Isha and this is Neena. It's great to meet you. You've done an amaizng job with this place. Got to admit this is the most homely place I have ever been to." She introduced herself and her friends. They all said their hello's and hi's

"It's great to meet you ladies. Thank you so much for your compliments. Why don't you go and find a seat I'll be back in a minute with your treats." All of them nooded and found a seat near the window. Naina felt like she had seen Annie somewhere before but just couldn't point out where exactly. She racked her brain left and right still came up with nothing.

"Naina why is your face like that. What exactly are you thinking about so hard?" Isha asked her while flipping through the menu and Neena was busy taking some picture. " Hey have we seen this Annie somewhere before? I feel like have seen her just can't put my finger where."

"Oh please you say that all the time. Maybe you had a Deja vu again." Neena replied still clicking some pictures. "Shut up, no this is not a Deja vu. I have definitely seen her somewhere. Where have I seen her? Tell me." Naina screamed at them.

"Would you keep your voice down. Look at everyone here they look so sophisticated. Behave yourself and please fix your hair, it looks like a bird's nest." Isha glared and her and went back to scan the menu. Naina flashed her the middle finger but fixed her hair anyway.

Arjun, Neel and Indu where busy talking to the guests that they didn't even notice that Naina was in the bakery. Just then Arjun glanced at the table where Naina and her friends were seated. His eyes widened with shock. He went to confirm with his girlfriend if she was the one who had invited them here. "Hey Annie quick question. Umm what is Naina doing here? You do know what will happen when Viraj comes here right?" He asked her leaning against the counter.

"Ohhh would you please chill. Yes I'm the one who called her here. You idiots are not going to do anything anyway so Sameer an I made a plan and voila she's here." Annie told him cooly. She kissed him on the cheek and moved towards their table with some cupcakes.

Just then Viraj and Sameer made an appearance with grocery bags. Naina was about to have her cupcake she noticed Viraj and the cake fell down with her mouth wide open. She mentally cursed Isha and was plotting a revenge in her head. "Isha I hate you so much! What the fuck is he doing here?" Isha looked at Viraj and smirked Naina, Neena muttered a "Woah this just got interesting" while eating her cupcake."God please save me" Naina sent a silent prayer to the almighty.

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Ta-da! Presenting chapter 18. I personally enjoyed writing this chapter. What do you think will happen when Viraj notices Naina is here? What do you think about Sameer and Isha?

I loved writing the cute moments between Veer and Naina. Poor Veer, he had to face so many obstacles at such a young age. But fear not he will find his happiness!

The next chapter will have a lot of surprises for you! I'm so excited for the next chapter! So I'm going at a pace, I'm hoping you people like it. Please doent me know.

I hope you liked this chapter! If you did please do vote and comment! I would love to know what you guys think.

I just wanted to add another point. I have never been to Dehradun. I apologise if the description is not up to the mark. I googled and read about some places, tried to depict them on my own. So if it's not precise I apologise.

Have a great day people! Happy reading :)

P.S. All the images used in this book are not owned by me.

The words in this post are dedicated to everyone who's out there reading my story. You guys give me hope and please remember that all of you are strong!