"W-we… we were just here for your—"
Anshika stammered nervously, trying to form a sentence.
"For the signatures on the papers, right?"
Seema suddenly cut in with a bright smile.
"Y-yes, yes… for the signatures,"
Anshika quickly agreed.
Om looked at both of them and gave a faint smile.
"Right… I forgot. My bad. Okay then, let's go finish the process."
He gestured toward the door.
"Yeah, yeah, let's go… we should be leaving anyway,"
Anshika said hurriedly, speaking without even thinking.
Both Om and Seema looked at her, slightly surprised by her behavior.
Without wasting another second, Anshika stepped out of the room, quickly glancing around as she left.
Seema and Om followed behind her.
As soon as they came downstairs, Om greeted his uncle,
"Good evening, Uncle."
His uncle smiled and nodded in response.
Om then headed straight toward the kitchen.
Meanwhile, Anshika and Seema sat back down on the sofa beside Riya, who smiled at them briefly before returning to her phone.
In the Kitchen
Om grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and took a sip.
Then he looked at his aunt and asked casually,
"Aunty… what are those annoying girls doing here?"
Hearing that, both Sharda and Soumya smiled.
"Oh, don't say that, son. They've come with your papers. But tell me… what have you done?"
Sharda asked, looking at him.
"No, no… aunty, you're not allowed to ask any questions about that. Just sign the papers quietly. I've already had a long debate with unclle about it. Now you don't say anything, okay? After all… you're my lovely aunty-mom."
Om replied while drinking water.
"What? Your uncle already knew about this? But he didn't tell me anything,"
Sharda said, surprised.
"Yes, we argued a lot about it today. He even wanted to transfer everything in my name, but I stopped him. It took a lot to convince him."
Om explained calmly.
Sharda shook her head slightly and said while working,
"You should've let him. Who do we have besides you? These two girls will get married and leave one day… you are everything to us."
Then suddenly, she looked at him with a teasing smile.
"Tell me one thing… do you like that mayor's niece? She seems very cute… very sweet. Should we fix your engagement as well?"
Om chuckled.
"Oh come on, aunty… I'm too young for all that."
Sharda laughed.
"Go away, you naughty boy. Now go sit with your uncle. I'll come. And today, those girls are definitely eating here."
"Okay, aunty."
As Om turned to leave, he added teasingly to Soumya,
"And hey, lizard… make something good. We're here to eat, not just look at it."
Soumya rolled her eyes.
"Just wait till your wife comes… then I'll see whose food you like more."
Sharda smiled, watching their playful banter.
Back in the Hall
Om sat down next to his uncle.
"So… the clinic opens tomorrow. Did you make any preparations, or are you just going to manage somehow?"
his uncle asked.
"Everything will be done, don't worry. In fact, I think you should retire now. I'll take care of the house from here on."
Om joked.
His uncle grabbed his ear playfully.
"I'm still young! How can I stop working and sit here listening to your aunty all day? I've been telling you since morning—leave all this work for now. This is your age to enjoy life."
"Ahh… uncle, that hurts!"
Om said, trying to free himself.
"Stop acting. Why are you crying like a girl?"
His uncle laughed, patting his back.
Just then, Sharda and Soumya came out, placing food on the dining table.
"Come on everyone, dinner is ready!"
Anshika and Seema had been quietly watching everything.
And smiling.
For the first time—
Anshika saw Om like this.
Happy.
She had seen him smile back in school too…
But never like this.
Never this free.
Never this real.
For a moment, she just wanted to keep watching him like that.
But as soon as Sharda called for dinner—
Both Anshika and Seema stood up quickly.
"No, no aunty… please just sign the papers. We should leave now,"
Anshika said hurriedly.
"Oh no, dear. I've already made food. You're here for the first time—I can't let such lovely girls leave without eating. Come on, don't be shy."
Sharda insisted warmly.
"No aunty, maybe some other time… it's already quite late,"
Seema added politely.
Sharda's expression fell slightly.
"Oh… alright, beta, if that's the case…"
Seeing that—
Om walked up to them quietly and said in a low voice,
"Sit down and eat quietly… or I'll tell everyone that you two were watching me shirtless outside my room."
Both of them froze.
Their eyes widened as they stared at him in shock.
Without wasting a second—
They quickly walked to Sharda with bright smiles.
"Oh aunty! You got upset… how can we refuse when you've made food with so much love? We can't let you feel bad."
Sharda's face lit up again.
"That's like good girls. Come, sit."
She made them sit at the table.
Meanwhile, Anshika and Seema shot an annoyed look at Om—
while he just smiled and took his seat.
But deep inside—
Anshika was smiling.
"Good thing you stopped us… I wouldn't have wanted to miss more time watching you anyway."
She thought quietly—
Hiding her happiness behind a calm face.