Delhi

The atmosphere at the Roy family villa was livelier than usual.

Ishita looked at the dishes in slight astonishment, a warm feeling rising in her heart.

Her younger sister, Priya raised a brow. "Wow. Are you sure you're not secretly the Empress of some hidden kingdom? This feels like a royal feast."

Ishita shot her a look. "Jealous much?"

"If you hadn't said anything, I would have forgotten that you have so many fans here," Priya pouted and smiled, turning her face away dramatically, 'Yeh ladki toh poore ghar ka pyaar le gayi.'

[This girl took away all the love of the entire household.]

"Eat, or you'll turn into a pig," Ishita rolled her eyes and replied.

Her mother while putting more food in Ishita's bowl, furrowed her brows, "You've gotten skinnier. You're not eating well out there, are you? There's no one to take care of you in Mumbai."

"Mom, I'm not a child anymore, I can take care of myself."

"You're always the one I worry about the most," Her mother said while adding more food, "Eat more, you keep yelling but look at how skinny and pale you are looking."

Sitting at the head of the table, her grandma snorted, "What are you saying? Just eat, stop whining. You're thinner than my cat."

"Dadi, I'm not that thin," Ishita pouted in dissatisfaction.

"Thin as a skeleton, not worth mentioning," the old lady shot her a glare.

Her father coughed lightly and finally turned to her, "How's college?"

"Pretty busy," Ishita answered, "But everything's fine."

"Don't push yourself too hard. Try to come home more often," Arvind said in a soft voice.

Priya leaned in and whispered, "See, I knew it, you're everyone's treasure."

"And you're the delivery mistake." Ishita retorted without mercy.

"Ha, you really know how to pick on me," Priya rolled her eyes.

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After her shower, Ishita wearing a loose white T-shirt and cotton shorts, walked out of the bathroom while drying her wet hair. As she turned on the bedside lamp, she paused.

Priya was already curled up under her blanket, holding the stuffed bear she'd gotten at age six.

"What are you doing on my bed?" Ishita stared at her helplessly.

"Because I missed you," Priya said without any shame, smiling innocently.

"Get out." Ishita sighed, her voice was filled with obvious helplessness.

"No." Priya turned over, refusing to move.

"You still kick in your sleep?"

"Absolutely."

"Ugh."

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Mumbai

A black Range Rover came to a smooth halt outside the estate of the Singhania mansion. The guards immediately straightened at attention as the man stepped out.

Aarush Singhania, dressed in a fitted black shirt with the sleeves rolled up, walked past them without a glance. The wind tugged slightly at his damp hair.

"Chachu!"

A small figure ran toward him. Veer, his six-year-old nephew, threw his arms around his legs, his cheeks still sticky with candy.

Aarush caught him effortlessly. "Why are you outside in pajamas?"

"I was waiting for you!" Veer grinned. "Grandpa said you were coming home today."

Aarush looked down at the chocolate smeared on his collar. "Let me guess. You bribed Auntie with that smile again?"

"Nope!" Veer lied instantly.

"Hmm." Aarush sank into the sofa with Veer on his lap. "What do you want?"

"Chocolate!" Veer waved his tiny hand in front of him, his eyes full of expectation.

"You forgot the toothache already?" Aarush raised his brows.

Veer pouted, looking away in guilt.

"Alright, alright." With a soft sigh, Aarush handed him one. "Here, take it. But just one."

Veer's face lit up as he eagerly unwrapped it and popped it into his mouth. But the next second, his tiny face scrunched up in disgust.

"Eww!" He spat it out instantly, wiping his tongue furiously.

"Chi! chi! chi!!"

From the stairs, Aarush's younger brother, Vivaan, burst into laughter looking at their antics. "Bhai, did you give him the bitter one again?"

Veer looked at Aarush with teary eyes, then quickly scrambled off his lap and ran straight toward their grandfather.

"Great Grandpa! Great Grandpa! Chachu is behaving naughty again! I don't want him. I want a chachi!"

Grandpa laughed helplessly, patting Veer's head, "Stop troubling the child, both of you."

"By the way Grandpa, Veer is right, Bhai should really find a wife!" He said, then playfully glancing at his brother, "Don't know who he keeps calling in his sleep..."

Grandpa's eyes widened in surprise. "Aarush, you have a girlfriend?"

Aarush's expression remained impassive. "No, grandpa."

His gaze flickered toward their mother, who was busy instructing the housekeepers. She hadn't looked at him since he entered.

His father, who had been quietly listening, finally spoke up. "How will he get a girlfriend? He's too busy searching for his... (someone)."

Though he mumbled, everyone caught his words.

Aarush's ears involuntarily turned pink.

"I'm going to take a shower," he muttered and walked away.

As he walked away, Vivaan called after him with a teasing grin. "Bhai, you are blushing?"

"Shut up." Aarush threw back without looking.

The room erupted into laughter as he disappeared into his room.

Later at the night...

After his shower, Aarush stepped out of the bathroom, running a towel through his damp hair. Then dressed in a soft grey T-shirt and track pants, he walked out onto the balcony.

He leaned against the railing, gaze drifting toward the moon hanging over the hills.

Ding ding ding~

Suddenly, the sound of his phone ringing broke the silence.

He glanced at the screen, too lazy to check who was calling, and simply answered, "Hello."

"Sir."

"What is it, Rohan?"

"Sir, about... Miss... Miss jungli... I mean Miss... your girl..."

'Why do I speak? Why do I live? Why do I have fingers capable of dialing this number?!'

How does one respectfully address a girl whom your boss has been longing for like a madman when you don't even know her name properly!?

He still remembered the last time he was punished to work overtime because of his loose tongue and this name issue!

Aarush immediately straightened up. "What about her? Did you find her? Where is she? How is she?"

There it was, the intensity in his voice that could even make a rock confess its sins.

Rohan snapped back to attention. "Sir, no..."

Aarush's voice turned cold. "You didn't find her? Then why are you calling?"

'Because my brain malfunctioned!' Rohan wanted to slap himself at that moment.

Rohan hesitated, then blurted out, "Sir, we're trying. I swear. But the truth is we know absolutely nothing about her. No number, no address, only a few vague details but these aren't helping. And name... err... We aren't even sure if she's in India or which country..."

There was no response from the other side.

God, this man makes silence feel like punishment.

He paused, mentally collapsing to his knees.

"Sir," he said with the most professional voice he could manage, "the team is trying their best. But it's like finding a needle in a haystack. A haystack that's on fire. And the needle... might not even be in this haystack.

Aarush didn't respond immediately.

Rohan waited for few seconds, until Aarush spoke again. This time his voice was little hoarse. "Keep searching."

Rohan sighed internally. "Yes, sir. Always searching. Even in my dreams, sir."

Aarush's tone darkened. "Don't dream about her."

Rohan nearly choked on air. 'Man, where's your focus?!'

But he managed to say out loud, "…Noted, sir."

'Maybe I should just become a monk and go to Himalaya. Less pressure, no jungle girls involved.'

Aarush's voice returned, sharp and cold as before, "And Rohan if I find out you've slacked even once... you'll be the next one we start searching for."

Rohan blinked.

"…Understood, sir. With unmatched devotion and slightly trembling hands, sir."

'You really don't value me, huh? You won't find a loyal, cute, and dedicated assistant like me again. Hmph!'

After hanging up the call, Aarush tossed the phone aside on the bed.

Sleep has long abandoned him. Disappointment after disappointment.

"So much time has passed, how has she been?" He furrowed his brows slightly, a faint pain flashing in his eyes. "Where is she now?"

"I wonder... does she ever think of me?" he murmured, his fingers subconsciously tracing the contours of the tiny butterfly on the bracelet, as if trying to feel that long-lost warmth.

It had become his companion since that day, the one she gave him years ago.

He couldn't help but chuckle, closing his eyes and whispering, "Come back, will you?"

"I shouldn't have left you alone there that day…"

"You promised you'd wait for me..." he whispered, voice breaking for the first time in years. "But I was the one who failed you."

Back then, he thought he would always protect her, but now...?

A part of him whispered the question he never dared ask out loud.

She is alive or not—?

He gritted his teeth and shook his head.

"Of course, she is."

He couldn't afford to doubt. Doubt was the luxury for those who could move on. He couldn't.

He took a deep breath, as if afraid to think any further, his fingers gripped the bracelet tightly, as though it was the last bit of sanity he had left.

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Next update soon!!