10 PM…
Aditya had wrapped up his work for the day, but going home wasn’t on his mind yet.
A jewelry store bag lay on his desk — the same one Shekhar had handed him to give to Anamika. A return gift… something Aditya now had the responsibility to pass on.
He stared at the bag, his lips curved into a worried frown.
Sigh… “Uncle, you’ve really put me in a tight spot,” he muttered. “When and how am I supposed to give this to her? And ever since Ira came back from the US, she hasn’t let Anamika out of her sight! If I give it in front of Saaniya, she’ll murder me on the spot. So what do I even do?!”
Just then, there was a knock at the door and Ruhi walked in.
Seeing her, Aditya quickly tried to hide the bag under his desk — but Ruhi had already caught a glimpse of it.
Approaching his desk with her usual calm tone, she said, “Sir, the timing of tomorrow’s meeting with Mr. Mehra has been changed. It’ll be in the afternoon now.”
Aditya simply nodded. Ruhi turned to leave but stopped at the door and added, “By the way sir… my work for today is done.”
Aditya looked confused. “Yeah? So… you can go home.”
Ruhi smiled. “So that means… I’m officially off duty now, right?”
Still confused, Aditya nodded again. “Yes… your workday’s over.”
She smiled sweetly and walked out.
Aditya reached for the bag again and was just about to place it back on the table when —
SLAM
The door suddenly burst open without a knock!
Startled, Aditya exclaimed, “What the—? I thought you left, Ruhi!”
Ruhi walked in with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “I never said I was leaving, sir. I just asked if I was off duty… and you said yes. Which means I’m not your employee anymore right now.”
Aditya groaned and rolled his eyes. “Can you stop twisting things and just tell me what’s going on?”
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Ruhi pointed toward the bag. “You were hiding that from me? Why? If you're hiding it from an employee, that means… it’s personal. Or to be more precise… a gift for someone special?”
Aditya let out a long breath. “The downside of having a smart employee — nothing ever stays a secret.”
Ruhi dropped into the chair across from him and said playfully, “So? Who is it for? Lady Boss?”
Aditya gave a guilty, childlike nod — like a kid caught stealing candy.
Ruhi’s eyes widened with curiosity. “So what did you get for her?”
Aditya took out a small box from the bag and placed it gently in Ruhi’s hands.
She opened it — inside was a stunning ring.
Its platinum band held a custom-cut diamond shaped like a Camellia flower.
It was a Camellia-Cut Diamond Ring.
Ruhi’s breath caught as she looked at it.
“This ring… it’s the one that was advertised as ‘The Ring of Pure Love’, right? It’s usually used for… proposals… or engagements!”
She hesitated, glancing at Aditya, then asked softly, “Are you… planning to propose to Lady Boss?”
Aditya’s gaze fell. His eyes clouded over with painful memories — the bitter memory of being rejected six years ago.
Before Ruhi could finish her sentence, he interrupted her, “No! It’s not like that. Actually… Shekhar Uncle bought it as a thank-you gift for Anamika.”
“Thank you gift?” Ruhi echoed, still eyeing the ring suspiciously.
Aditya gave a small lie. He couldn’t reveal the real reason Shekhar wanted to thank Anamika.
“She helped him with something important in the US. So he wanted to gift her something. For some reason, out of all the rings in the store, this was the one he liked.”
Ruhi still looked unconvinced. “Then just give it to her. What’s the problem?”
“Uncle doesn’t want it to be from him,” Aditya replied. “He wants me to give it to her… as if it’s from me.”
Ruhi grinned. “So if we really think about it… he wants you to propose to her!”
Aditya shot up, “I can’t do that!”
His heart filled with flashes of the past — every time Anamika had pushed him away. From childhood… to that painful proposal six years ago… she had always run from affection and closeness. And Aditya never understood why.
In a quiet voice, avoiding her gaze, he said, “There’s so much I want to do for Anamika. But if I confess my feelings now, she’ll run away from me again. And I… I can’t let that happen.”
There was silence. Then Ruhi smiled gently.
“I get it now. So here's what you’ll do — leave it all to me! Just do exactly what I say, and you’ll be able to give that ring to Lady Boss without proposing. And she’ll accept it too.”
Aditya looked at her with doubt, meeting her overly confident gaze.
“What exactly is going on in that head of yours?”
Ruhi simply grinned and gave him a thumbs-up. “Just trust me!”
Meanwhile… at the hospital…
Saaniya stood stunned as she watched Aniket going around helping everyone.
From taking patients to their rooms, helping nurses carry things, to reading bedtime stories to little kids — Aniket was doing everything.
And somehow, in just one day, almost everyone in the hospital seemed to know him!
He even brought coffee for some of the nurses at the reception.
While handing them out, he eventually reached Saaniya.
She looked at him with emotionless eyes and mocked, “Looks like you got kicked out of your job, and your company went bankrupt too!”
Aniket gave her a sarcastic smile and held out a cup. “Yep! Quit my job! And to celebrate, I’m treating the entire hospital staff to Starbucks! Have one!”
Saaniya sighed deeply and muttered under her breath, “Bloody idiot…”
As she turned to leave, Aniket grinned at her irritation.
He placed the coffee bag on the counter and said, “Distribute the rest, will ya?”
Then — like a happy troublemaker — he ran after her.
From a distance, Rudra had been silently watching everything.
His eyes held questions he couldn’t ask.
He smiled faintly to himself and whispered, “Seems like the wait I’d held onto for so long… has finally ended. She once told me I'd regret waiting. Maybe today is that day… But more than regret, I feel something else. I feel happy… that you…”
He stopped mid-sentence.
He kept watching Aniket and Saaniya’s playful banter — noticing how Saaniya’s expression kept changing.
And that… wasn’t something that happened often.
Rudra smiled… and walked away.
But wait... What was Rudra really about to say?What wait is he talking about?
And most importantly… What is Ruhi’s mysterious plan?!
