Naina and Sameer were walking fast on the platform, making their way through the crowd. Well, to be precise, it was Naina who was walking fast and pulling reluctant Sameer with her.

"Nainaaa... maine kitni baar kaha hai tumhe... " Sameer almost whined, "local se jaana zaroori hai kya? Mumbai ki aabadi dekhi hai tumne? Din-ba-din badhti jaa rahi hai."

Naina dodged a lady in front of her and replied, "Sameer local se jana kitna kifaayti hota hai. Hum kam paiso me aur kam samay me pohoch jaate hai... aur tumhara yeh darr chhod do ab..."

Sameer made a face like a kid who was forced to walk against his wish. He had put forth all the nice points for their debate about how they shouldn't go by local. But every point of him was smartly crossed by Naina and she made him finally drop all his weapons for protest and convinced him.

Sameer found the crowd to be denser than usual and this made his decision of not taking Naina with him for local travel more firm. But today he had no option. He had demanded a long kiss in the kitchen and Naina had given it to him. He knew how his wife uses some of these tricks on him to make him agree to what she wants.

"Poori Mumbai ko aaj hi local se jaana hai kya... " he muttered before a man coming in his direction collided with him, to such an extent that he was pushed back with a great thud. He rubbed his shoulder, glaring at the man behind who seemed totally unbothered and then disappeared in the crowd. Ignoring, his hand went forward instinctively to find Naina's, but he caught only air in his fist. He didn't realize that the strong impact resulted in the loss of their handhold.

He looked ahead for Naina, but he didn't find her. Frowning, he looked around, panic taking over him within a moment. There was such a rush of people coming from all directions, that he couldn't move even a few feet from his place.

How can the platform be so crowded? He mused.

"Nainaaaa... " he hollered her name, looking at the direction of the local.

When did the local come to the platform?

He didn't notice it. Pushing the people around him, who were mostly pushing him backwards, he tried to walk... no, he tried to run... but nothing worked. He was unmoved from his place.

He yelled her name again, his stomach producing all the energy to make his voice as loud as possible. His eyes looked for her black wavy hair reaching her waist, but he didn't find it. He scanned through people for a girl wearing a blue suit and pink dupatta, but there was no one in the crowd wearing that combination.

Why she had to wear the same dress as the day when she was lost?

His brain sent him more panic signals, resulting in his heart taking a bullet speed to beat with, his forehead and palms glistening with sweat, his breathing accelerating and throat choking. Not to forget his eyes brimming with slight tears.

He wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes and cleared his throat. He cannot afford to let history repeat, else he won't survive.

He pushed whoever came to his way with all the force he had. It had started darkening with no lights on the station getting switched on. He needed to find Naina quickly.

What if the crowd pushed her somewhere else?

What if she had already left the station just like last time?

What if she has boarded the local and is looking for him?

He ran... ran for his life... Naina was his life and he couldn't live without her. She was the necessity for his life... for his existence...

"Sameeerrrr..."

Sameer's heart functioned for the moment. He looked in the direction of the voice and a sigh of relief passed through his mouth when he found Naina at the door of the train.

But she was far away from him, in the bogie that was quite farther from the place he was standing. He had hardly moved from his place and she had moved ahead this much in this timespan.

He directed himself towards the train and the loud siren was heard.

Is the local already departing?

He ran again... in the crowd... in the darkness... but the train still seemed away from his reach.

Why wasn't the distance lessening?

He looked at Naina. She looked worried. Worried for him. She seemed to have panicked too. Half of her body was still outside the train, she had barely held the handle for the support. He increased his speed, noticing the dreadful sight.

....and the train started departing.

"Sameer.... " Naina screamed and forwarded her hand towards him.

He was still afar...

The moment he felt he was somewhat closer, he stumbled upon something and fell flat on the ground. He didn't bother about him being hurt, his instincts told him to check on Naina first.

She was frightened, almost on the verge of crying. She first looked in the direction the train was moving and then back at Sameer.

Is she trying to do what she shouldn't?

No... she can't do this... she shouldn't do this...

Sameer was petrified. Naina must not think about this. He tried to get up, but failed. His hands couldn't gather the energy to lift his body.

The train had taken a speed and he saw Naina closing her eyes for a moment and then sighing.

Noooooo....

She joined her hands to pray. She raised her feet in the air andㅡ

"Nainaaaaa...." Sameer screamed. He used all the energy he had and opened his eyes.

He was panting heavily, his forehead was laden with sweat. Scanning around, he found himself in his bedroom, on the mattress.

"Sameer... kya hua?" He heard Naina's sweet but full of concern voice. As he found her at the door, he exhaled the last sigh.

What a horrendous dream it was!!!!

He wiped the sweat from his upper lips, sitting and dragging himself behind to rest his head on the wall.

"Koi boora sapna dekha Sameer?" Naina was next to him, sitting on her knees. Her hands caressed his cheek and a hand.

He only nodded.

"Kya sapna dekha?" She asked as she passed him a glass of water and fixed his messy hair.

Sameer noticed each of her features keenly as he took a sip. Her brows furrowed as she was waiting for his answer. Her cheeks were more chubby than usual. Her hair was wrapped in a towel, while she wore a yellow suit without a dupatta. She looked incredibly gorgeous.

Worry doesn't suit her divine face. He mused.

"Pata nahi... ab yaad nahi aa raha hai..." He said and passed the glass to her without matching her eyes.

"Achchha hai ab yaad nahi aa raha... " she said smiling and wiped his wet lips with her thumb. She then cleaned his sweaty forehead and kissed his hand, soothing him from the impact of the dream as much as she could.

He smiled back at her, though each and every moment of the dream was haunting him at the moment. He couldn't forget it.

He tried to be normal and asked, "mujhe uthaya kyu nahi?" looking at the alarm clock.

"Aaj ravivar hai na... aur tumhara koi audition bhi nahi tha... isliye socha sone du... " She replied, maintaining a cute smile.

He looked down, feeling guilty of hiding it from Naina that there was an audition he was called to, but he wasn't going.

"Papa ko bahar bheja hai sambar ke liye sabzi laane... yaad hai na, aaj Preeti-Jiju aur Tanvi aa rahe hai nashte ke liye," Naina reminded him.

Sameer had actually forgotten. But after Naina mentioned it, he recalled yesterday's discussion.

Naina tried to get up from her place, but her hand was grabbed by Sameer swiftly, "Naina... thodi der mere paas me hi raho na... " he mumbled.

Naina would have otherwise coaxed him to let her go. But it sounded more like a plea than a sweet demand. She hadn't pushed him regarding the dream but the state she had found him in after waking up, she comprehended he needed her at this moment.

She folded her knees on either side and moved closer to him, keeping his hand in hers and entwining their fingers. They stayed in silence for a minute, finding it more comfortable than words.

Sameer shut his eyes, replaying the moments from his dream again and again.

Why did he see such a dream when they haven't traveled in a local for long?

He had even forgotten that incident. Naina was a confident girl and she had traveled alone in this big city Mumbai after that.

While for the interviews, he had accompanied her because he wanted to.... There wasn't any fear of her getting lost, or him being over-protective about her. It had a different reason.

Then why this dream suddenly?

He tried to find a meaning behind this weird dream.... a dream that came out of nowhere... a human does see dreams randomly but there's always something in the subconscious mind, a random moment from the 24 hours of a day, that gets reflected in the dream.

His mind took him to the railway station again. This time, he focussed on the details. No, it wasn't the Andheri Railway station. Nor was it Goregoan, nor Dadar, nor Vasai. He couldn't identify it. And he didn't understand why it was so dark. He unknowingly replayed the moment when Naina was about to jump from the train. The way she looked so firm for that act, it made him scared again andㅡ

"Mai yahi hu Sameer.... Tumhare paas...."

The voice like a hummingbird dropped on his ears again. He opened his eyes and found Naina's peaceful face.

Even his closed eyes work as a tv or what?

She pointed at their hands through eyes, wearing a gentle smile on her lips and Sameer realized that he had held her hand tightly out of fear. Releasing his tight hold, he let her move or even leave for the kitchen.

Instead, she slowly unwrapped the knot of the towel, unraveling it while piercing her gaze deep into Sameer's eyes. Her fingers slipped through her silky but wet hair, detangling the locks and herself leaning closer to Sameer.

Sameer chuckled, closing his eyes when she flipped her hair on the other shoulder with a jerk and the water sprinkled on his face. His wife on her fourth day of periods would always be mischievous and witty.

He inhaled her feminine scent, something that bewitched him every time his nostrils welcomed it. The sprinkles of water on his face calmed him down, soothing his burning body. He sighed and a genuine smile lit his face up as he saw Naina aiming for his lips. She caressed his cheek, rubbing her thumb on his stubble, making it rasp. She kissed his lips utterly softly, letting their lips brush each other's hardly, making Sameer wanting for more.

His hands were stopped by hers that were raised to pull her closer, intertwining their fingers and keeping their hands on the mattress. She indirectly informed him that she was in charge of this and continued putting soft and short kisses on his lips. He gave up and let her take it wherever she wanted to. Well, he had approved her as his Queen long back.

Naina moved to his forehead to put a kiss, descending to his eyes, the tip of his nose and the cheeks; coming back to lips in the end. He sighed as his parched soul got drenched by the love of his life.

He still couldn't forget the dream, he was now more interested in deducing a meaning out of it, trying to figure out if there's anything that destiny wanted to show him.

Did it really imply something?

****

There was a rush in the kitchen, in the living room, rather in the entire house. Sameer and Naina were working in the kitchen to prepare Idli-Sambar and chutney, while Rakesh was arranging the living room neatly. Sameer was given the task of preparing the coconut chutney while Naina herself took the responsibility of Idli-Sambar. There was the noise of the mixer, the aroma of the spices in sambar, and casual chit-chat between the couple.

In the living room, Rakesh changed the sofa and cushion covers with the washed ones, decked the tea-table with a nice table cloth, not forgetting to keep the two Kadambini magazines on it. He had performed pooja of Lord Krishna in the morning and himself cleaned the whole wooden shelf and arranged all the holy books like Bhagwad-Geeta and Tulsi-Ramayan on it. All the vases were poured in with water and flowers from the garden adorned them. The books and cassettes on the antique wooden rack were properly sequenced and stacked, while the cordless phone and Television sets were neatly cleaned with a dry cloth. The couch, the sofa chairs and two cane stools were arranged in a manner so that guests can accommodate.

It was yesterday when Rakesh suggested to Naina to invite Preeti-Shubham and family at home to help in making a decision on the big question lying ahead of them. Though Nirmalaji had politely denied the invitation for herself and Dadi Sa, Naina was glad that she allowed Preeti-Shubham and Tanvi to have breakfast with Maheshwari family.

Preeti joined Naina earlier with her own Idli pot so that they can serve more people at a time and no one has to wait. Shubham and Tanvi joined half an hour later and the house was filled with jolly people who happily interacted with each other. Naina and Preeti served the hot idlis to the men i.e. Rakesh Papa, Shubham and Sameer, and Tanvi first.

The chatter continued around Shubham's office load and Rakesh sharing the anecdotes of his new job where he would officially complete one month as a supervisor in three days. Whenever it shifted to Sameer's auditions and his career, Naina smartly changed the topic to something else. Preeti's enrolment for a parlor course was still needed to be kept as secret, while the main topic of this get-together was supposed to bring at last.

Tanvi left for home when Naina-Preeti finished theirs and Rakesh finally broke the news.

Preeti and Shubham turned happy listening to it. Shubham spoke first, "Waah Naina! Yeh toh bahot achchhi khabar hai ki charo firms ne tumhe select kiya hai."

Preeti too chirped in exhilaration, but in a mood of teasing, she uttered, "yaar mujhe samajh nahi aata yeh CAs mere pichhe kyu pade rehte hai. Maine koi bank luti thi kya pichhle janam me..."

All laughed at Preeti's joke. She too laughed and continued, "mujhe toh pehle hi pata tha ki yahi hone wala hai. Naina, ab toh tu khud decide kar tujhe kaunse firm me kaam karna hai."

"Lekin wohi toh samajh nahi aa raha hai." Naina confessed, making a small face.

Upon being asked by Shubham why she is confused, Naina shared that she found all the firms equally good to work with, and she found it hard accepting one of them and denying the rest three. Shubham then continued to ask about the specification of her work she was told by the firms, the stipend they offered to Naina and whether she had any personal inclination towards any firm.

"Mehta & Associates? Woh kyu?" Shubham asked her.

Naina adjusted on the stool, "woh paas me hi hai na unka office... yaha Andheri me hi hai... toh jyada pareshani nahi hogi. Aur timing bhi flexible hai," she revealed with a smile.

Shubham snorted with a chuckle, "sirf isi wajah se? Woh sirf 500 rupaye de rahe hai. Tumhe paise nahi kamane?" When he noticed that he had caught Naina off-guard, he continued, "Naina, bahot kam logon ko yeh mauka milta hai khud firm select karne ka... Apne intelligence ki sahi keemat pehchano... aur sath hi sath apna aur apne ghar ke economics ka bhi socho."

Naina lowered her eyes and then looked at Sameer, finding him looking at her in the moment. She nodded, understanding Shubham's point.

Shubham suggested to her that she should work with Deshpande & Co. as it was a reputed firm and they were offering her a good stipend.

Naina's shoulders slumped, "Lekin unka office toh Borivali me hai... kitna door tha woh..."

Rakesh intervened, who was only a listener till now, "door hai toh kya hua? Shukar manao ki bus badalne ki zaroorat nahi hai... aur stipend me 1000 rupaye koi nahi deta Naina."

Shubham too then explained to her that he knows Mr. Deshpande, the founder of the firm, personally and that they can give her the practical training certificate beforehand so that there wouldn't be any technical issue for her Group 1 exam in May.

After a discussion that lasted for five more minutes and Sameer's push, Naina finally agreed to work with the said firm. She had liked the office and the way her interview was conducted. But her selecting a firm closer to home had a different reason.

When the discussion was over, Preeti and Shubham requested to leave. Preeti hugged Naina tightly, feeling happy that her sister's professional journey would start in just four days now.

She held Naina's arms with affection and voiced, "baki sab toh thik hai... Lekin Naina, iss articleship ke chakkar me tu likhna mat bhool jana... mai puchhti rahungi tujhe...." She passed a warning look to Naina to let her know that her sister would be having a vigilant eye on her writing. Looking at Sameer, she added, "Jijaji, aap bhi ise tokte rehna agar yeh bhool jayegi toh... aur ab toh madam ko appreciation letter bhi mil chuka hai...."

Naina's smile wavered upon the mention of the appreciation letter. She looked at Sameer through the corner of her eyes, who now had a slight frown on his face.

Naina only nodded, keeping a warm smile. The goodbyes took place when Shubham called Preeti from the lobby and Naina assisted Preeti to the door, just to delay the question coming at her with a bullet speed.

She took her time to shut the door, wishing the men in the room to disperse and do anything other than standing there like a statue and stare at her. When she finally turned, she found Sameer's questioning eyes right on her.

There was no escape now!

"Kaunse appreciation letter ki baat ho rahi thi?" Sameer asked. His tone was casual; curiosity reflecting on his face.

Naina fidgeted with her dupatta, she couldn't keep her eyes on Sameer. "Woh... uhmmm..." she cleared her throat, "Kadambini ke office se Prashansa Patra aaya hai," she informed, keeping a small smile on lips.

"Sach? Kab? Dikhao mujhe...." Sameer said with wide eyes and a wide grin.

Not preferring to answer his question, Naina picked the envelope that was kept in the book of 'Tulsi-Ramayan'.

Sameer read the letter carefully, taking and interpreting each word slowly. When his eyes reached the end of the letter, he had a bright smile on his face. His eyes still fixed on the letter in his hand while he almost jumped on his heels and voiced, "woww Naina... tumhe Kadambini se appreciation letter aaya hai... kab aaya yeh?" He looked at her hopefully.

He was still curious to know when did this letter arrive and why wasn't he present at that moment. He would have lifted her in happiness, whirling her with himself and telling her how proud he was of her. Or probably he would have squeezed her in his arms in a tight hug and then pulled to himself for a deep kiss. He wished they should have only the two at home at that time.

Naina blinked her eyes rapidly. She was torn between hiding the news of the letter with Sameer and seeing him all perturbed and distressed that day. Saving Sameer from going into the shell again was more important to her than sharing about her achievement.

She glanced at her father once but that didn't help. He was still standing like a statue, being merely a spectator.

"Char... pp... paach din ho gaye." Naina confessed.

"Charㅡ" The excited tone of Sameer died down within a moment. "Chaar paanch din?' More than a surprise, his voice contained disbelief.

Naina only nodded, finding something to look at than Sameer's expecting eyes.

"Toh mujhe kyu nahi bataya?" Sameer sounded clearly hurt now. Observing Naina stuttering to answer, he peered at Rakesh, "Papa, aapko pata tha?"

Rakesh sighed, switching his gaze between Naina and Sameer, he replied, "haan, pata tha."

Sameer chuckled weirdly, "toh mujhe batane me kya problem thi?"

He glanced at the letter again to check if it had something that it couldn't be shared with him.

"Aisa... nahi hai Sameer..."

"Toh kaisa hai?" Sameer interrupted Naina, his tone turned a little harsh.

Startled with Sameer's sudden mood change, Naina fumbled again, "tum... bahot udaas the uss din... toh maine..."

"Kis din?" 

Naina stepped towards him, "woh uss din dopahar ko jaldi aa gaye the na ghar pe..." She had started fearing for Sameer's rebuke.

Sameer frowned and tried to recall the afternoon she mentioned. He snorted, clearly appearing sarcastic, "aur tumhe laga mai tumhari khushi me khush nahi ho paunga... nahi?"

"Nahi Sameer..."

"Ya phir tumhe daya aa gayi thi mujhpe... ki bechare ko bura lag jayega..."

Sameer's voice hadn't raised all this while, nor was he spitting anger while blurting out the harsh words. His tone was absolutely dry, as if there was no emotion in it. And that pierced straight to Naina's heart... rather her soul. The only thing that was visible to her was that absurd laugh when he finished.

Her heart sunk in grief and tears pooled in her eyes.

"Congratulations!!! Iss prashansa patra ke liye...."

Keeping the letter on the television set, Sameer left the house. Naina's feet were glued to the cold tiles. She crumpled her kurta in her fist, trying to clear her vision by making way to the tears out.

She knew Sameer wouldn't return home soon.

***

Holding hand in hand, Sameer and Naina reached the Andheri bus stop. Sameer had held Naina's palm firmly, while exposing himself to the traffic and keeping Naina to his left. They joined the crowd waiting for the bus.

"Tum bhi na Sameer," Naina sulked, adjusting her purse on her shoulder, "woh audition drop karne ki kya zaroorat thi? Mujhe chhodne aane ki kya zidd hai yeh tumhari?"

"Jaane do na Naina... Audition me select toh hota nahi hu mai..." Sameer snorted, keeping a smile, "kam se kam tumhe drop karne me khushi toh milti hai."

Naina peered at Sameer who was winking at her. He busied himself in checking the bus but Naina's eyes were stuck on him.

He was cracking some nonsense jokes all the while till the bus stop, laughing himself at his silly jokes. She was laughing with him too, giving him the satisfaction that his wife was all smiling and happy, just like him...

...but somewhere she knew all this was just a facade. As she was noticing this from the past three days...

The day when he got to know about her appreciation letter had passed in panicking and worrying about him for her. He had returned in the afternoon and was quite quiet... though later he indulged himself in casual chats with Papa and her, with little smiles and laughter in between. At night, she had scooted in his arms with not just a cute 'sorry' but making a cute face too, and he had happily accepted her apology and her tiny body in his embrace. They had kissed for a long time, not out of lust or any wish to take it further, but to cherish the moment of togetherness. The kiss signified their undying love for each other, where no matter how difficult the situation is, the love between them would always outshine everything.

Naina had presumed that Sameer was back to normal after that, but she was wrong.

There was definitely something off in him. It had been a week that he hadn't gone for jogging. And he never gave proper answers when asked about it.

She thought at least today he would go.... today being 1st August, she thought he would... but he didn't.

"Chalo, bus aa gayi..." A pull on her hand made Naina halt her thoughts. Entwining their fingers firmly, Naina followed Sameer to the bus.

The bus had two open doors. The conductor instructed the women and men to enter from the front door and back door respectively, making the crowd split into two lines. Sameer looked at Naina, immediately starting to look for the other ways of transport in his mind and not wanting to leave Naina's hand at any cost. But he had to... given the crowd pushing them automatically.

When Naina climbed into the bus, the ladies' seats were almost full to capacity, so she had to walk till the middle of the bus, standing there so that remaining women behind her could make space for themselves. While Sameer was almost one of the last ones who got the entry into the bus, ahead of him was a queue of men standing till the middle.

Sameer's eyes found Naina and his heart started beating with a faster speed.

For the past three days, he was trying to decipher the meaning of the dream he saw on Sunday morning. He constantly questioned if that dream had any kind of resemblance with their real life, if any of the sequence from it resonated with reality.

Somehow he believed that it wasn't just a normal dream... he believed it meant something... for him... he took it as a sign...

Like at this moment, they were again surrounded by a crowd, with a line of people standing between them as obstacles and not letting them come together. He started hating the crowd.

While keeping his constant gaze on her, he found her struggling to stand properly. She had clutched her handbag near her chest, protecting the purse and her femininity from outsiders. Beside her was a man, who was much taller, supporting himself with the handle above. The next moment, Naina adjusted her dupatta to cover her front, looking down and trying to have a hold on something for support. Sameer realized that she must be conscious because of the tall man standing close to her and his body and mind went into alert mode.

Crossing the men in front of him one by one, requesting them, sometimes pushing them, mumbling apologies on his way, Sameer finally pushed the tall man behind him, not bothering about his glare one bit, and stood next to Naina.

Naina saw a movement happening close to her and before her eyes could catch the shirt of her husband, it was her sensitive nose that detected his white musk perfume first. She raised her eyes up and found Sameer smiling, making her heave with a smile too.

"Kaha tha na maine... taxi ya auto se chalte hai..." Sameer voiced.

"Sameer, mujhe buses ki timings pata nahi hogi toh kaise chalega," Naina asserted, "ab isise hi jaana hai na..."

"Itni bheed me jaogi?"

"Koi aur raasta hai hamare paas?" Naina narrowed her eyes.

Sameer sneered at her statement. He certainly didn't like it.

"Aise muh kyu bana rahe ho?"

His gaze softened when it came back to her, he sighed before speaking, "jab hum boutique ki tayyari kar rahe the aur tumne CA karne ka decision push kar diya tha... tab bahot bura laga tha mujhe... laga meri wajah se tum apne career pe dhyan nahi de rahi ho..."

Naina's brows knitted, she turned keen listening to references of their Ahmedabad life.

Sameer continued, "tab socha tha jald se jald boutique ko settle kar dunga, taaki tum CA ki padhai pe focus karo... socha tha tumhare office ke pehle din tumhe chhodne aaunga, sham ko pick up karunga... wapsi ke raste me hum sabarmati ke ghat par jayenge, sath me achchha waqt bitayenge... aurㅡ"

His exasperated venting was stopped by Naina as she put her palm on his arm. Taking a deep breath, Sameer calmed himself down; getting aware that they were in a bus.

"Tumhe kisne kaha yeh sapne poore nahi honewale?" Naina kept her tone casual. She needed to be all positive while talking to Sameer these days. She couldn't let her guards down.

Sameer snorted, looking away, "inn sapno se darr lagne laga hai mujhe Naina."

"Tch... Sameer..."

A hefty brake jolted every passenger in the bus, pushing them forward and resulting in passengers collapsing on one-another. While Sameer balanced himself with his strong grip on the suspended handle, he held Naina from her waist with the other hand, preventing her from falling behind. Naina had grasped his shirt into her hands as she arched backwards, squeezing her eyes shut. When she slowly opened them, she comprehended that the other standing commuters had almost hurt themselves while they were the only two saved from falling.

Ahhh.... thanks to the arms of her husbands that had become stronger due to the exercise.

Sniggers of two ladies sitting next broke the eye-lock of the Maheshwari couple. Even for the brief moment and amidst the curses by the people to the driver, they were lost into one another's eyes. They both blushed profusely, finding themselves in a filmy position.

"Tumhe pata hai kuchh palon ki khasiyat kya hoti hai?" Naina queried as she balanced herself.

Sameer only raised her brows.

"Kyunki woh hamare soch se pare hote hai... hamare sapno ke daayro se bhi aage..." she completed.

Sameer chuckled, discerning what she implied through it and blinked his eyes in assent.

After a walk of just five minutes from the Borivali bus stop, Sameer and Naina reached the Deshpande & Co. office at 9:20am. Thankfully, Sameer was allowed inside the office and he was impressed observing the infrastructure. It had a modern touch unlike the Mehta & Associates one. Naina's induction formalities were completed and Sameer waved her goodbye along with the best wishes, slowly walking back towards the main door of the office.

"Sameer," Naina called him as he stood outside, "sham ko lene aaoge mujhe?"

Sameer smiled brightly and Naina saw him genuinely happy after a long time.

"Banda aapki khidmat me haazir rahega Madam," he replied, bowing down a little and earning a laugh from Naina. He blew a kiss in the air and left the office premises gleefully.

Naina's smile dwindled seeing his retreating figure. His conduct in the past few days had been alarming again. It had taken him almost a week to get over the Aryan incident. This was certainly different, but she knew it cannot be ignored.

She needed to talk to him... before her grip on the things loosened...

*********

Hey guys, do let me know how you find this chapter.

Do you notice any change in Sameer's behavior? Any thoughts on it?

Any theory about Naina's articleship?

Do shower this chapter with your votes and comments. I would love if you interact more with it.

Love. ♥️