Akhil looked down before taking his coat off and placing it on the rack behind him, for no other reason than to prolong the confrontation he knew was coming. Once he turned back around, his Father was still sitting in the same position looking incredibly calm.
“Well, explain yourself,” the man said as he spread his hands and Akhil fiddled with his shirt sleeves as he muttered,”I lost track of time.” Malik cleared his throat and Akhil looked up before straightening up and answering,”I lost track of time. I’m sorry.” Malik shook his head and got up before walking around the desk and leaning on the other side.
“It’s not me you have to apologize to. Amir took over the meeting. Luckily, we still managed to keep the investors from pulling their shares,” he explained and Akhil opened his mouth to say something but Malik raised a hand and he fell silent, once again. “Akhil, I know you take your position very seriously,” Malik said and Akhil nodded but Malik continued and said,”I won’t pressure you to tell me about why you weren’t here or why you took so long for lunch when the cafe is only 10 minutes away. But I don't want a repeat of this.” Akhil nodded and assured his Father,”It won’t, Abu. I promise.”
Meanwhile Laila was sitting on her desk as she emptied her bag and came across the handkerchief. Picking it up, she smiled at it as Akhil’s face flashed in front of her. Though, she was broken out of her thoughts when her big sister opened the room door and entered. “Didi, what are you doing,” Laila asked as she hid the handkerchief back in her bag and closed it.
Roshni simply locked the room before sitting on the bed next to her sibling, the mehendi on her hands still bright red as she grabbed Laila’s hands on her own. “Laila, why would you go and meet Akash alone,” she asked and Laila sighed before pulling her hands away and getting off the bed with her bag. “Because you can’t go and see him. Didi, you’re getting married and if Jiju finds out about this do you know how hurt he’ll be,” she tried to get her sister to see reason as she opened her closet and put the bag inside it.
Roshni got off the bed and stood next to her sister as she lowered her voice and whispered,”He is dangerous. What if he had hurt you?” A smile graced Laila’s face as she thought about Akhil being there to protect her but she quickly hid it by closing the closet and saying,”Well, he didn’t. Okay.” Rolling her eyes, Roshni was cut off from saying more as someone knocked on the door.
“Roshni, Laila, the tailor is here with the new suits,” their Ami called from outside and Roshni sighed before walking over to the door. ‘I can only hope that Akash stays away’ Laila thought as she followed her sister out of the room and downstairs where multiple dresses were laid out.
On the other side of town Akhil entered his house early and was very surprised to see people already sitting in the grand living room. “Hello,” he called before standing next to his Mother who looked at the Uncle and said,”This is my other son, Akhil. We’re looking for a girl for him, too.” Akhil raised an eyebrow but was cut off from asking anything as the man nodded before answering,”I can look around for a few available girls but I wouldn’t worry. After all, both boys are well-off and seem young enough. Give me two weeks.”
Mrs. Malik nodded and the man took his leave after shaking hands with Akhil. Sitting down next to his mother, Akhil undid his tie as he asked,”Why was he talking like you were looking for two marriages?” Handing her son, a glass of water Mrs. Malik answered him as she lowered her voice,”Your Father thinks that we should start looking for a girl for Rahul, as well.” Akhil paused mid sip of his water before lowering the glass and looking around. Once he saw no one around he asked,”Does Rahul know?”
All Mrs. Malik could do was shrug and Akhil shook his head before standing up. “Ami, please make sure Rahul really is going to accept this relationship. Marriage isn’t the answer to every problem and ruining someone’s life isn’t the right way to solve our problems,” he explained before picking up his suitcase and walking up to his room.
As Akhil went into the bathroom he looked at the clothes that were laying on his bed before searching for his handkerchief. When he couldn’t find it in the pile of clothes, he looked through his suitcase before scratching his head and wondering where he could have put it. But as he recanted the events of the day, a stupid smile spread across his face as he thought about Laila having it.
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