39

"Ria?" I looked at him with my heart still racing by the ringing call.

"Who is it?" Advik asked again glancing at the phone and me.

I swallowed hard, trying to steady my voice. "It's... no one. Just a spam call, probably."

But the look in his eyes told me he wasn't convinced. He reached out, gently taking the phone from my hand and looking at the screen. His eyebrows knitted in confusion as he read the number.

He was almost going to pick up the call when it cut off on its own making relief spread over me. I took my phone from him and was going to walk away when he stopped me by holding my wrist.

"Wait." He said, and turned towards me, his expression serious as ever, "Is there something wrong? You can share it with me."

I wish I could.

Tell him. My heart spoke, and I opened my mouth but couldn't speak out.

I shook my head, "Nothing."

He studied me for a while before letting go of my hand, and nodding slightly, "Okay."

Exiting his cabin, I instantly unlocked my mobile and stared at the number.

Why is this person calling me?

Then, a message popped up on my screen, making my face pale.

'Happy Journey. See you soon.'

I immediately dialed Ruby's number and talked to her. She was shocked to hear that but tried to comfort me. I had already shared the number with her, and she's still trying to find out the information about that. The person who was behind this is dangerous. He's so cautious that we couldn't even find out anything from the number. Telling me to be careful, Ruby hung up.

How does this person know about everything?

The idea that someone is watching me, aware of my every move, sends waves of fear coursing through me. I took deep breaths to calm my nerves.

Half an hour later, we walked out of the office building, the day's exhaustion clearly evident on my face. The sun had dipped below the horizon, casting a soft twilight glow over the city. The cool evening air was a welcome relief from the stuffy office, and I took a deep breath, inhaling the freshness.

The streetlights flickered on, showing the path ahead as we made our way to the parking lot. The distant hum of traffic and the occasional honk of a car horn could be heard. I glanced at Advik, who was carrying a stack of files, and his laptop bag slung over his shoulder. His usually impeccable hair was slightly tousled due to the long working hours we had put in.

"Why are you here? How did you come?" I asked worriedly, spotting Aaron leaning against the car.

"My friend dropped me off from the practice. I came to discuss the surprise." He spoke, giving me a look.

My eyebrows furrowed, "Surprise?"

His eyes widened, "I knew it. I knew you would forget about it."

"What are you saying?" I asked irritated, looking around to see if someone was watching us. I asked in a low voice, "Can we sit in the car first?"

Aaron nodded and moved to sit inside. I tried to follow him, but Advik held my arm, halting my steps. He glanced at Aaron, who was seated in the backseat of the car, busy staring at his phone. Then, he took a step closer, meeting my eyes, and spoke in a dangerously serious voice, "Why are you scared?"

I blinked, and chuckled nervously, "Me?"

He just stared at me blankly, his intense gaze telling me to spill everything.

"You are just imagining things." And before he could throw another question, I pulled away my arm and sat in the driver's seat.

Ria. Behave Normal. Or else he will definitely know something is wrong.

After a while, he came and started the car, not before giving me a serious brief look.

I gulped and turned back to Aaron, "You were saying something?"

He looked up from his phone, and nodded, "Yes. Did you forget what is tomorrow?"

"Um...what?"

"Tell me the date."

I passed him an annoyed look and glanced at my phone to see the date. "Tomorrow is 21st July..." I whispered.

My eyes widened slightly as the realization dawned upon me.

Tomorrow is 21st July.

And the 21st of July is Grandma's Birthday.

How can I forget that?

Aaron gave me a tight smile,

"Did you plan anything?" I asked to which he shook his head negatively.

"It's you who always plan."

"But you are a grown-up now you should have planned it."

"Well, I am just 17. I'm a kid."

"No, you are almost eighteen." I slightly turned towards him, flipping my hair back.

He rolled his eyes. "No, I——wait what happened to your neck?"

I blushed and turned away.

He squinted his eyes to get a clear look but before he could see it, I turned around fully facing the road, and grabbed my hair to hide it, while pulling up my collars. I glared at Advik who was chuckling.

Clearing my throat, I spoke, "It's just a little...skin infection?"

"Really?"

I nodded and searched my brain for something more, "An insect flew into my cabin. Maybe it had done that."

"So Sad. What kind of insect was that?" Advik's teasing voice came, making me blush harder.

Aaron spoke, "Are you sure it was an insect and not some animal?"

Wait. Where does that even come from?

I blinked, trying hard not to burst out with laughter.

"What? No."

He looked unconvinced, "But Are you okay? Shall we go see a doctor—"

"No. I'm totally fine." I forced a smile.

"What if that insect turns out to be poisonous?"

"It was not."

"How can you be so sure?"

I released a deep breath, "Aaron, I'm fine. Stop annoying me and try to think about some ideas so that we can plan the surprise."

He dropped the topic and started thinking. But couldn't think of anything. I told him to search on Google but still, he couldn't find anything.

==========================

It was 11:48 p.m. when I quietly sneaked into the house, knowing Grandma would be asleep by now. The house was dark, with all the lights turned off. I motioned for Aaron and Advik to follow me.

Grandma never remembers her own birthday. I know she has no idea that in just 12 minutes, it will be her special day.

Every year, as the clock strikes midnight, Aaron and I celebrate Grandma's birthday with her and then carry out the surprise plan during the day.

This year, Aaron insisted that we should include Advik and make him a part of our tradition. I couldn't do anything but accept. Even though many things have happened between us there is a fear lingering in my heart. Fear of losing him because now, I have gotten attached to him in a way I couldn't imagine.

And attachment is a dangerous thing.

Very, very dangerous.

What if he is just pretending to be nice?

And how can you ignore everything he has done so far? My heart spoke out.

Yeah, but he never mentioned he has feelings for you. My brain threw the sentence like a rock making me think about it more deeply.

But his actions did. How can you ignore all the beautiful memories he has given you?

Don't let your overthinking ruin the beautiful present.

I totally agree with my inner voice. Why am I even letting these insecure thoughts consume me, things will turn out fine. And even if it won't I will find a way to survive.

Hope and trust are the things that run this world.

I need to place my trust in him and hope that he doesn't break my heart.

We will see what happens at the end.

For now, I must enjoy my present with him.

Gently, I pushed open my grandma's door, which opened with a creak. I shut my eyes, hearing her stir. She's a light sleeper, the complete opposite of me. In my case, not even an earthquake could wake me up once I'm asleep.

I glanced at my wristwatch—one minute left.

She shuffled and turned on the lamp, illuminating the dark room. I signaled to my fellow workers behind me that it was time. With only five seconds remaining, I appeared in front of her with a cake in my hand.

"HAPPY—!" My voice was cut off by her scream.

"THIEF!" She screamed with fear, and then, Advik turned on the lights before she could hit us with her stick, thinking of us as thieves.

Her voice died down as soon as she saw us. I was right, she was holding her stick up in the air, ready to land it on my head and attack us. Her chest went up and down as she breathed heavily while looking at us wide-eyed.

"Happy Birthday, Grandma!" I spoke as sweetly as possible and smiled at her innocently.

"Kids! you scared me. Y'all know I'm a heart patient, right?" She spoke to us, putting her hands on her heart.

"Sorry, for that granny. We thought to surprise you." Advik went towards Grandma and kissed her forehead, wrapping his arm around her shoulder, and making my heart melt. He glanced at me and continued, "It was all Ria's plan. I told her it's not a good idea."

My melted heart became ice again, and I glared at him, "What? It wasn't mine. Aaron planned this."

"Stop crying, Ria. You are an adult now. Accept your mistakes," Aaron said making my jaw drop. Before I could say anything else, he spoke, "Sorry Grandma, Now, let's cut the cake. I'm dying to taste it." Aaron said, eyeing the cake and giving the knife to Grandma.

We sang 'Happy Birthday' to her, and she sliced the cake adorned with the number 83.

It made me sad, to see her getting older. But this is life I guess. I wished people could stay with us forever.

Blinking away my sad thoughts, I refocused on the present.

Grandma fed me a slice of cake, bringing a smile to my face. Together, we enjoyed the moment.

Time flew by, and when I glanced at the clock, it was already 1:30 a.m.

I picked up the cake and stood up to put it in the refrigerator. My eyes fell on the orange juice peeking out from the fridge, telling me to drink it.

I put a straw into the drink and quietly made my way back to my grandma's room. Inside, Advik and Aaron were seated on the carpeted floor, engaged in lively conversation with Grandma, who sat comfortably on the bed.

".... And then after failing badly, I was devasted, your grandpa told me it's a comma, not a full stop. Till the time you're alive, it will always be the comma, and you will realize you can start over anything in life. There's no age to chase your dreams. And That's when I started the cafe."

I sipped from my straw hearing half story.

"That's so inspiring," Advik spoke with a smile making his dimple pop out. I smiled admiring him. He is charming, handsome, hot, caring, respectable, and whatnot. I felt bad for doubting him earlier. He is different. Different from what I actually think about him.

I don't know what the future holds, whether he will be in it or not, but at this moment, I feel lucky to have him in my life.

Glancing at him, I watched as he chatted happily with my loved ones like they were his home. I couldn't help but find myself falling for him even more.

Just hope he doesn't break your heart. My brain mocked but I pushed that thought away.

He won't. A voice came from my heart, making the corner of my lips turn up in a smile. I sighed and stared at him, leaning against the doorframe while sipping the juice.

I watched as he glanced at his wristwatch and stood up slowly, saying, "I think I should go now."

"What? It's almost midnight. Where do you want to go at this hour?" My grandma spoke sternly, her eyebrows knitting together like two caterpillars having a meeting.

He blinked and smiled nervously, "Um...My home?"

Grandma's eyes twinkled. "Well, this is your home too. Stay here tonight." She then turned to me, "Since Aaron's room looks like a tornado hit it, you can sleep in Ria's room—"

I choked on my orange juice and coughed violently.

"—she will sleep in my room with me." She ended the sentence, saving me from getting a heart attack.

Lesson: Always hear the full sentences before reacting.

I tried to control the cough that was not stopping due to my recent choking. I think the juice had gone into my nose. My eyes watered as I struggled to catch my breath.

They all looked at me, and Aaron gave a water, which helped me stop my coughing.

"You Okay, dear?" Grandma asked with concern, to which I nodded.

"What happened suddenly?"I looked at Advik, whose eyes were glistening with amusement. He was trying hard to hide a smirk that was threatening to break free. My cheeks heated up, seeing his gaze telling me he knew exactly what my mind was thinking.

"Could it be because of that insect?" Aaron spoke, innocently.

And I froze.

"What?" Grandma's confused voice entered my ears.

"Yeah, a very strange insect bit her and flew away," Aaron spoke, making me face-palm myself mentally.

Can't he just keep his mouth shut?

"Really? Where?" My grandma's concerned-filled voice came.

"Yeah, show her. Maybe she would help." Advik teased with a smirk, making me glare at him harder. I wanted to kill him. He was the reason behind all this, and now he is messing up things more than it already was.

Removing the look of horror from my face, I plastered my best smile and spoke, "It's nothing. I am perfectly fine. They are just trying to scare you. Come Advik. You have office tomorrow." Before anyone could interrupt and question further. I took his hand and dragged him out of the room.