Breakfast the next morning was a somber affair. No one said much, and Ayaan was uncharacteristically silent as he focused only on finishing his breakfast. It was puri, and while Ayaan would normally have complained about it as he didn't like it, today he said nothing.
Mihir observed how Ayaan didn't even look up as he ate. He watched as his brother quickly finished his breakfast and excused himself. The boy was obviously still very upset. Maybe he should've spoken to him again yesterday, but Mihir purposefully hadn't, wanting Ayaan to take some time alone to really reflect on his actions and understand what he had done wrong.
Last night's incident had not hushed down easily. Mr. Mehta had been furious with what had happened, and he'd even spoke of pressing charges of assault against Ayaan. Thankfully, though, his wife, Mrs. Mehta, had stopped them, saying that Ayaan was just a boy, and such things happen. Sagar also hadn't been that badly hurt, as the fight had been broken up pretty quickly. Mihir also suspected that Mr. Mehta did not want to lose their deal with Sehgal Industries after all, as it would be very beneficial to his struggling company. And while Mihir couldn't less about the deal-he was only going forward with it because Alisha was insisting-he was thankful that it had saved Ayaan.
"Ayaan!" Mihir called out now as he stepped out of the house. Ayaan, on his way to the car, stopped and turned.
Mihir walked up to him. "Abhi bhi upset hai kal ki baat to leke, Ayaan?" he asked.
Ayaan shook his head quickly. "Nahi bhaiya. Mai upset nahi hoo. I'm okay."
Mihir didn't believe him but he nodded. "Okay...chal, aaj mai tujhe college chod dunga. I'll talk to your principal also, make sure there's no problem."
To Mihir's surprise, Ayaan shook his head again. "Nahi, bhaiya, it's okay. Sir se baat karne ki zaroorat nahi hai. Agar wo kuch bole to I'll let you know. Aur aap late ho jaoge ab mujhe chod ne ae to, mai chala jaunga." He forced a smile on his face and turned to leave.
"Ruk, Ayaan," Mihir stopped him. He turned the boy back around. Something was bothering him, he could see that clearly. Something maybe even other than yesterday's incident.
"Ayaan," Mihir said, "Tu kisi cheez ko leke pareshaan hai?"
Ayaan-"Nahi bhaiya, aisa kuch nahi hai. Bas Kal jo hua use leke thoda bura lag raha hai. Aur kuch nahi. Aap tension mat lo."
Mihir frowned. "Dekh Ayaan, kal jo hua, it was wrong but it's over. There's no point in dwelling on it. Apni galti ko samajh and move on."
Ayaan nodded. "I get it, bhaiya. Aage se koi galti nahi karunga, I promise."
Mihir-"Good, lekin don't be too hard on yourself also, okay? Tu kabhi koi galti kare to I'm here, you won't have to deal with anything alone. Mai hamesha yahaan rahunga tujhe sambaalne ke liye, samjha?"
Ayaan felt his resolve wavering when he heard Mihir's words. All he wanted to do was tell Mihir everything that was going on in his mind. About how miserable he was feeling thinking that he was a bother to Mihir. He hated the thought of keeping his brother at a distance and wanted nothing more than to sort everything out.
But he couldn't. It was time he stopped acting like a child. He knew Mihir loved him very much, but he did not want his brother to be fed up of him. He would do what his brother wanted and not pester him anymore.
So instead, he forced himself to just smile again and said, "I know, bhaiya. Lekin iski zaroorat nahi padegi. I've learnt my lesson."
Mihir nodded. He knew Ayaan was still bothered, but he was sure the boy would either open up to him when he was ready ot get back to normal soon.
Ayaan-"Acha, ab mai chalta hu, warna late ho jaunga. Bye."
"Bye, Ayaan. Take care."
*
"Kaisa hai tu?" Maan asked Ayaan in greeting.
Ayaan sighed, dumping his bag on his desk as he sat down. "Kya batau, yaar. Kitna bada siyappa ho gaya kal. Mom has grounded me for 2 weeks. Aur mera phone bhi le liya."
Maan hummed sympathetically. He and his family had been at his cousin's wedding last night, so Maan had heard about the incident from his brother. He'd tried calling Ayaan, but when the call hadn't gone through, he'd figured his phone must've been taken away.
Ayaan-"Mai to ab us Sagar ko dekhunga bhi nahi. Saala panauti ban gaya hai mere liye, sach mai."
"Tumhara jhagda hua kis baat pe tha kal?" Maan asked.
Ayaan was silent for a moment. He didn't want to tell the real reason. Even though it was just Maan, he didn't want to repeat those words. Instead, he said, "kuch nahi yaar, tujhe pata hai na wo kitni bakwas karta hai? Gussa aa gaya mujhe bas."
Maan shook his head. "I know wo kuch bbi bolta hai, but tu react kyu karta hai? Tere gussa ka hi wo fayda uthata hai."
Ayaan sighed. "I know. Lekin ab bas, mai bilkul gussa nahi karunga kisi par bhi. Ab to mai muh hi nahi kholunga apna."
Maan smiled. "Wow. Kitni peaceful ho jaegi hum sab ki life fir."
Ayaan shot him a glare. Maan laughed. "Chal ab muh mat bana," he said. "Aur zyada mood mat kharab kar. Jo hua so hua. Aur teri punishment bhi to do week ki hai bas. Then everything will be back to normal."
Back to normal. Ayaan bit his lip. Would things ever really go back to normal for him?
*
"May I come in, Sir?
Mihir looked up from his work to see Annie standing outside his office. He nodded. "Come in."
Annie stepped in. "Sir, ye files Mehta Industries se aye hai. They want to arrange a meeting to finalize the deal soon. So shall I go ahead with it?"
Mihir sighed internally. The Mehtas. Why were they such a constant presence in his life? Mihir had no doubt that Mr. Mehta would now hold Ayaan's actions from yesterday over his head to get what he wanted.
"Okay, meeting arrange kardo," he told Annie. "But...koi jaldi nahi hai. Keep it next week or something."
Annie nodded. "Waise, ek baat bolu Sir...I had visited their office last week...bolne nahi chahiye, lekin kaafi rude log hai, sach mai. They're nothing like you. No wonder unki company itna doob rahi hai."
Mihir smiled at her ramblings. For some reason, she had begun to trust him enough that she no longer had any filter in front of him. Mihir liked that.
"Ayaan kaisa hai, Sir?" Annie asked.
Mihir-"He's okay. He wasn't hurt or anything, thankfully."
Annie nodded. "I'm glad to hear it. He's such a lovely boy. Bekar mai phas gaya tha wo Kal. I'm glad he's doing okay!"
Mihir smiled at her. "That's very sweet of you, Annie. Thank you."
Annie beamed, pleased. She turned around to leave but stumbled. "Ouch!"
Mihir stood up immediately. "Are you okay?"
"Haa, Sir, mai wo bas-ouch!"
Mihir came around, putting a hand on her elbow to steady her. He looked down and was surprised to see a bandage peaking out of her shoes. "Tumhare pair ko kya hua?" he asked.
Annie-"Kuch nahi Sir, bas wo Kal thodi moch aa gayi."
Mihir-"Moch aa gayi? Then what are you doing in office today? You should be resting!"
Annie waved off his concern. "Are nahi Sir, mujhe to aisi chote lagti rehti hai. Pehle do baar mere pair mai moch aayi hui hai. Mai doctor ke paas bhi gayi thi. I think mai bas jaldi mud gayi abhi isliye thoda dard ho raha hai. It's no big deal, I can manage."
Mihir shook his head. "Come with me," he said, then gently guided her to sit on a chair. "I'm going to call the driver, you're going to go home and rest. Tum is week office nahi aogi."
Annie tried to protest. "But, Sir, I-"
"No buts, Annie. Go home and rest. Nothing is more important than health."
"Are nahi Sir it's really not-ah!" Trying to get up quickly, Annie stumbled again. Mihir reacted on instinct, putting his arms around her waist to stop her from falling.
The two of them froze. Their faces were inches away from each other. Mihir's heart began to race at the proximity. He looked into Annie's eyes and for some reason, found himself unable to look away. Annie was no better. Mihir's touch was sending goosebumps through her body.
A knock clang broke their trance. Annie's phone had fallen to the ground. Startled, the two of them broke apart, looking away. Annie took the support of Mihir's desk to stand while Mihir moved away.
After a few moments of awkwardness, Mihir picked up Annie's phone and handed it to her. "I'll-uh, I'll call the driver. And Ayesha will help you out." Annie nodded silently. Neither of them looked at each other.
Once she was gone, Mihir took a deep breath, then shook his head at himself. What the hell was wrong with him? She was his secretary, for God's sake! He needed to get a grip on himself. The last thing he wanted was to make Annie uncomfortable, or worse!
*
After dinner that day, Mihir came to Ayaan's room. Ayaan was doing college work. He looked like he was struggling with something.
"Konsa subject kar raha hai?" he asked as came in.
Ayaan looked up. "Math, bhaiya. Kal submit karna hai assignment."
Mihir nodded. "Dikha kya hai, let me help you."
But Ayaan shook his head. "It's okay, bhaiya. I'll figure it out. Aap thak gaye honge, jaake rest kar lijiye."
Mihir was surprised. Ayaan was normally more than happy to take his help in studies. He always said Mihir made things easier to understand for him.
"I'm not tired, kiddo," he said. "I can help you for some time."
"Nahi bhaiya, aap jaake so jaiye. Aaj office se bhi late aaye aap, thakawat to hogi. Mai karlunga. Waise bhi, khud se karna bhi to seekh na padega na mujhe?"
Mihir was a little confused by his words, but decided to let it go for now. "Okay," he said. "If you're sure. But seriously, let me know if you need any help, okay?"
Ayaan smiled and nodded. As soon as Mihir left, though, his smile dropped. He looked down miserably at his homework. Truth was he really could've benefitted from Mihir's help, but he didn't want Mihir to stay up late because of him. He would have to do this himself. Sighing, he got back to work.
*
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