She smiled, glancing into her bowl. “Hey! Cheater, you made me eat this!”
“You liked it.”
“And I will burst now.”
“No you won’t. There’s still ice cream to go. And tomorrow I will make…”
“Tomorrow,” she rolled her eyes.
“Why that reaction?”
“I might be shifting back to Maya’s house.”
“No you are not.” He set his bowl down.
“This was one of her crazy experiments to stop me from leaving early…”
“Leaving?” His blood went cold.
Ritu shook her head. “I came here for this long because I am between jobs. I just finished at St. Jude’s Medical Centre. Now I am opening my own practice. I was planning to go back in January and start looking for clinic space.”
“We are still in December.”
“I know. But after I stopped working with Dr. Shravan, I got really bored. And Maya thought I needed a proper vacation…”
“So, you are not going early, right?”
Ritu stared at him, silent.No. Please, don’t go.
“I still haven’t locked my songs yet!” He grasped at straws.
“Don’t worry, I’ll send them to you from there too. God gave us the gift of the internet.”
“Are you even actively searching for my songs?”
“Yes, in fact. Wait,” she pulled out her phone and scrolled. “How is this?” She hit play.
Aankhon se tune yeh kya keh diya, dil yeh deewana dhadakne laga…
Nilay didn't even register the words or the melody, his eyes on hers that were wide, her brows waggling.
“When are you leaving?”
“First week of January. I am not staying until the end of the month but I haven’t told Maya yet.”
Oh, man. Thank god.He had three weeks. What for, though?
“Then don’t shift back to Maya’s house.”
“Why?”
“We won’t be able to meet.”
“Why not? I am an adult.”
“Who sneaks out of her niece’s house like she is a teenager out to meet her secret boyfriend.”
Her smile froze.
