As Taksh walked in with a smile, he saw Priyank sitting on the couch, laughing at something. However, the moment Priyank noticed Taksh entering, he immediately suppressed his laughter and turned completely serious. Sitting next to him was his aunt Priyanka, who was glaring at Taksh. He could easily sense that Priyank must have exaggerated the situation to her, which is why she looked so visibly upset with him. Without wasting a moment, Taksh walked over and sat beside her, speaking with a playful tone.

“Oh God… I ran away from the office thinking that finally, after so many days, I’d get a chance to see you. I thought I’d chat with you for hours. But here you are, sitting with an angry face like you’re going to burn me alive with just one look from your fiery eyes.”

Priyanka immediately tapped his hand that was resting on her shoulder and moved it away, sitting upright with clear disapproval. Priyank noticed all of this from the corner of his eye and smiled faintly but quickly restrained himself, knowing that things could escalate at any moment. Taksh then lightly slapped his brother on the head and turned to Priyanka, speaking firmly.

“Aunty, whatever this boy tells you, you start believing him blindly. Look, I suspended him from college for a few days, not because he did anything wrong. Think wisely; you're the managing director of the college. When a complaint came in that your nephew was involved in ragging, what were you supposed to do?”

Hearing Taksh’s words, Priyanka turned to Priyank with a sharp look. Feeling her gaze, Priyank quickly held up his packet of chips in front of his face and replied loudly, trying to sound innocent.

“Oh, come on… It was just a silly prank… When I was a junior in college, my seniors ragged me too. And it's not like I did anything terrible. I didn’t even say anything to the boys. I just told the girls they had to kiss me to enter the welcome ceremony hall peacefully… So, when the girls came forward and kissed me, how is that my fault?”

Priyanka couldn’t help but smile faintly at his explanation and then said teasingly.

“So, did you like any of those girls? At least get a girlfriend now. It would give me some peace of mind that my nephew has some beautiful girlfriends too.”

As Priyank smiled sheepishly and tried to big-chat on this subject, his eyes fell on Taksh, who was still staring at him. Making a face, he mumbled.

“I didn’t like any of them. They were just... whatever.”

“Seriously…”

“Exactly… I mean, someone good should’ve been admitted to the college just for me.”

“Oh, enough with the nonsense…”

Taksh sharply interrupted Priyanka and Priyank as they burst into laughter and engaged in fun banter. Priyank looked at his brother and then turned to his aunt; before he could say something, Taksh stopped him and spoke seriously.

“You know this is Mom’s college, and if someone had filed a complaint against her son, what kind of reputation would that have left behind? And just because he’s my brother, I didn’t want to show any favoritism. The moment that girl spoke up, I had to take immediate action. Ragging is ragging, no matter how mild. So I suspended him for seven days. Anyway, he was busy roaming around the college collecting kisses.”

Priyank, seeing his brother’s rising anger, tried to explain, but Priyanka stopped him by pressing his hand. She knew very well that Taksh wasn't someone who got frustrated easily. She looked at him closely and asked softly.

“Is there something else bothering you? Are you upset about something more than this?”

“Just stay away from that girl. I’ve already said it once, and when I say… stay away, I mean it; stay far away.”

Saying this, Taksh walked away from there. Priyanka and Priyank looked at each other. Priyanka, watching Taksh leave, turned to Priyank and asked.

“He was talking about some girl.”

“Maybe the one who filed the complaint against me. Her name’s Jheel, I think.”

“Is she pretty?”

“Pretty… Yeah, she looks beautiful… But the first time I saw her, she seemed... kind of cute.”

Priyanka gave Priyank a knowing look, and he glanced back at her. Then both of them turned their eyes toward the stairs and said together with a smirk.

“Maybe that cuteness has gotten to his head.”

Both immediately got up and followed Taksh upstairs. Meanwhile, Taksh had already entered his parents’ room, where Ranvijay was reading the newspaper and a nurse was checking Swara’s vitals. Priyank rushed inside and sat by his father’s feet. Taksh gave him a quick glance, then went to sit beside his mother, gently holding her hand and smiling warmly.

“Good evening… How are you feeling, Mom?”

Seeing Taksh sit beside Swara like that, Priyanka joined them and studied Swara’s face with deep concern. She sighed and said softly.

“Sometimes I just don’t understand how God can be so cruel. Swara has never wished harm upon anyone, yet today she lies here like a lifeless body.”

“Priyanka…”

Ranvijay’s stern voice made everyone turn to him. Priyanka immediately softened her tone, walked over to her brother, and said emotionally.

“Bhaiya, my heart aches…. She’s my friend, and I hadn’t spoken to her in five years. And now, she’s just lying here silently, unmoving.”

Priyank, hearing this, smiled faintly but then turned his back toward Swara. Ranvijay knew very well that Priyank barely ever came into this room, and even when he did, he could hardly look at Swara for more than five minutes. It pained him too deeply to see her like this. Understanding his younger son’s emotions, Ranvijay gently placed a hand on his head and turned to Priyanka, saying.

“I’m also upset with your friend; why doesn’t she want to wake up? And I’ve been waiting every moment. I don’t know why, but I keep thinking, if only I had been home that day… maybe she wouldn’t have fallen down from the stairs.”

“Bhaiya, it wasn’t your fault. Everyone was busy that day, and I don't understand why she gave all the staff the day off too. She’s so used to working by herself, she must have overexerted herself. No one even knows how she fell. It just felt like everything came crashing down.”

Taksh turned to look at his father, who was watching his mother with a deep sense of guilt. He too blamed himself, if only he had listened to his mother that day and not let the staff go on leave, and if she hadn’t been left alone, maybe this wouldn’t have happened. All he remembered was returning home to see blood everywhere. That day, for the first time in his life, he had felt real fear. When his father called and informed him that Swara had fallen from the stairs and hit her head, he rushed to the hospital, and seeing her like that… he still couldn’t find the words to describe how broken he had felt.

“Let’s forget everything else. Today, I’ll cook dinner. Everything Swara likes.”

Priyanka quickly announced, trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere. She ruffled Priyank’s hair lovingly and asked.

“What would you like to eat?”

“Come to the kitchen. I’ll help you. I have so much to tell you!”

They both happily walked away, chatting. Ranvijay continued to smile as he watched them leave. Taksh turned to him and said,

“Papa, this guy takes full advantage of Aunt’s love.”

“What can I say? I’ve tried explaining it to Priyanka so many times, not to give in to everything he demands. But she never listens. Then I think maybe it’s better not to interfere between the two. When Priyank was born, Priyanka was emotionally shattered. She had decided never to get married, you know the reason very well, we already told you everything. That’s when Swara placed our baby in her lap and told her, ‘He is your son now. Raise him however you want.’ Priyanka never wanted to keep him away from his real parents, so she never gave him her name. Even today, he is known by my and Swara’s names. But the kind of love Priyanka has for him… just look at the way she included part of her name in his. To be honest, they’re like mother and son. And she absolutely adores pampering him. I’ll try talking to her again, but don’t stress too much. Go freshen up. I have some things I need to discuss with you.”

Taksh nodded and walked away.

****

Jheel quickly prepared dinner and sat down to eat. The moment she took her first bite, she kissed her fingers in delight and exclaimed,

“Oh wow… What a delicious meal… I nailed it.”

She lightly patted her shoulder in appreciation and continued eating happily while simultaneously scrolling through her phone, looking for part-time job opportunities. She needed to earn a little extra to cover her rent and food expenses. Suddenly, her eyes landed on an intriguing listing in a job column.

“Waitress for two hours…”

She started reading it more carefully and soon found a number mentioned under the ad. Without wasting time, she dialed the number.

“Hello, sir, I just saw your advertisement for the two-hour waitress job. I’m genuinely interested. Could you please tell me the location and the pay?”

The man on the other end replied.

“You get ₹10,000 for just two hours. Come here, and I’ll explain everything in detail. If you like, you can come right now too; there’s a 10 PM to 12 AM shift available.”

She quickly looked at the clock. It was exactly 9 PM. Smiling slightly, she said.

“Okay, sir… I’m coming.”

She began eating hurriedly, and while doing so, she started talking to herself, her mind swirling with thoughts.

“₹10,000 for just two hours… What kind of job is this? Maybe it involves serving alcohol… Or what if it’s something shady…? It all sounds a bit too strange… But then again, where else would I earn so much money in just one night? If I can earn ₹10,000 today, that would be enough to pay my rent and cover groceries for the month…”

She paused for a moment and whispered thoughtfully.

“Why am I thinking so negatively already? Let me just go and check. If everything seems fine, I’ll do it. And if not, it’s not like they can chain me down and force me to stay. Exactly… It’s wrong to suspect people without knowing the truth. I should at least see for myself.”

After finishing her meal, she got dressed, gathered her things, and stepped outside. There were still quite a few people sitting and chatting in the road. She passed by them with hesitant eyes and quietly slipped out. She hailed an auto and gave the driver the address that had been shared with her via WhatsApp. The ride ended in front of a nightclub. She looked at the club from a distance, her heart sinking a little as she murmured.

“Something doesn’t feel right… Should I go back?”

She stood outside for a few minutes, nervously glancing around. Then, gathering some courage, she whispered to herself.

“Getting scared won’t solve anything. If I want to do something, I need to face it. Let me just go in and see.”

She walked up to the bouncer standing at the entrance and spoke to him. After hearing her out, he guided her toward the inside. As she entered, she saw several other girls standing together. Seeing them eased her nervousness a bit, and she softly said.

“Sir, I spoke to you earlier about the waitress job…”

The man, who was standing with a clipboard, looked at her and spoke to her.

“Yes. These girls are also here for the same reason. Listen carefully, because I don’t want anyone later claiming they weren’t informed. I’m not offering ₹10,000 just randomly. Very wealthy clients come here. They drink heavily and tip generously. Some girls have walked out with over ₹1 lakh in tips alone, just by serving drinks. I’m not suggesting anything beyond that... All I expect is that you wear these clothes and serve drinks to the guests. And along with that...”

As he spoke, he pulled out a small packet of powder. Jheel stared at it curiously, not quite understanding what it was. The other girls started murmuring among themselves. One of them, perhaps noticing Jheel’s hesitation, stepped forward and said.

“My friend recommended this place. Our job is to serve alcohol and carry this powder around. No one touches you without your consent. The tips are unbelievable. Forget ₹10,000, you can earn three times more than that if you get lucky.”

Jheel listened to the girl carefully, processing her words. She then looked around at the others and gave a faint, cautious smile before nodding slowly in agreement.