Seeing the distressed look on Anvitha's face, the elderly woman asked,
"What is it, Anvitha? What happened? Did I ask something wrong? Why are you crying now, dear?"
Only then did Anvitha come back to her senses. She quickly wiped her eyes and replied,
"No, no… it's nothing like that. You asked about the name Adhvaith, right? That question reminded me of something… It was my sister who named him," she said, ending the conversation there.
"Alright dear, once the child wakes up, give him something to eat. I'll be off now. I'll come back in the evening," the elderly woman said as she left.
Once Parvathi Amma left, Anvitha hurried to finish all her housework. It turned out to be perfect timing—she finished her chores just as Adhvaith woke up.
She bathed him again, dressed him in fresh clothes, and fed him. He seemed to be very hungry and ate everything without leaving a bite.
She then ate the remaining food and lay down on the bed to rest.
Perhaps because he'd had a good sleep in the morning, Adhvaith didn't sleep at all. He took all his toys and played loudly on the bed.
Seeing that, Anvitha said,
"Look at this little guy! I just put everything away, and you've already pulled it all down again? Well, as long as you don't disturb me, it's fine," and placed a pillow next to him, lay down, closed her eyes, and soon fell into a deep sleep.
About an hour later, she woke up and panicked when she saw that Adhvaith wasn't by her side.
"Oh no! How could I have slept for so long?" she exclaimed, and hurriedly searched the house.
It wasn't a big house, so she quickly found Adhvaith. He had gathered all his toys in the hall and was happily playing with them.
She stood there for a moment, watching him with admiration. She was deeply moved that he had let her sleep and hadn't disturbed her.
Filled with pride, she ran to him, picked him up, hugged him close, and showered him with kisses.
Adhvaith didn't know why his mother had suddenly run to him and kissed him so much. Still, he hugged her tightly and returned the favor with kisses of his own.
They exchanged kisses, smiling and playing together.
In the evening, Lalitha came over to visit Anvitha.
After playing with the child for a while, Lalitha said,
"Have you thought this through, Anvitha? The place you're planning to go—it's no ordinary place. Anything could happen there. And you look so much like Aadhira. Chaitanya will recognize you immediately. And if that happens, you'll have to face the consequences.
I don't know what your plan is, but you need to be very careful. From what I know, it's a very elite place. Even when we were in college, he used to arrive in a luxury car. So many things confuse me… I still don't understand how he managed to charm Aadhira into loving him. And I have no idea what happened between them that led to the breakup."
"So you didn't know that Aadhira was in love with Chaitanya?" Anvitha asked in disbelief.
"Oh no, how many times do I have to tell you, Anvitha? I only found out that Chaitanya is the father of Aadhira's child after you told me. If I'd known earlier, maybe we could have prevented Aadhira's death," Lalitha said, as Anvitha looked at her sharply.
"Aadhira was a good friend to me… but she never shared her personal matters with anyone. And now that's become a huge problem," Lalitha said, sighing as she continued working in the kitchen.
A little while earlier, they had returned from the grocery store with all the essentials. Lalitha was stacking the items while talking.
Anvitha, who was quietly listening to everything, didn't respond. She remained completely silent.Seeing Anvitha's silence, Lalitha asked,
"What happened, Anvitha? Are you hiding some kind of plan?"
"I don't know, Lalitha. But as far as I'm concerned, Adhvaith definitely deserves justice. If someone can love a girl and then easily betray her, then what's the point of studying to become a doctor? Isn't it wrong for someone in such a noble profession to deceive a girl like this? Especially Aadhira—do you really think he left without knowing she was carrying his child?"
"Surely Aadhira would have told him. If he still chose to leave her after knowing that, can we just let him go free?" she asked firmly.
"Okay, Anvitha… let's say you go to Chaitanya and demand justice. What if he doesn't accept it? What if he's already married? What will you do then?" Lalitha questioned.
Looking directly at her, Anvitha replied,
"I don't have answers to all those questions, Lalitha. I've never seen Chaitanya before. I don't know who he is, what he looks like, or what's been happening in his life. I don't care whether he's married or if he has kids.
What I do care about is why he loved my sister and then betrayed her. I only found Aadhira's diary after her death. In it, she wrote clearly that Chaitanya was the one who persistently pursued and loved her.
If he chased her down and loved her so intensely, how could he bring himself to leave her even after knowing she was pregnant? Are girls really so disposable to him?" she asked, grinding her teeth with anger.
"Your anger is justified, Anvi… but what can we do? Once you join that hospital, what exactly are you going to do to him?" Lalitha asked.
Anvitha remained silent to that question.
As far as Chaitanya was concerned, he would only see her and think she was Aadhira.
If the woman he loved and betrayed stood before him again, what would he feel? Seeing her every day at the hospital—wouldn't that hurt him at least a little?
Once he realized she was Aadhira, he would surely come forward and talk to her. He would fall in love with her again.
Why? Because Aadhira's diary made it clear how deeply he had loved her. Some pages of that diary made Anvitha's whole body tremble and her face flush with heat—it showed just how passionate Chaitanya had once been.
Would such love not return again? And when it did, then he must be taught a lesson—this is what Anvitha decided in her heart.
But she didn't share any of this with Lalitha.
Lalitha, noticing Anvitha's silence, said,
"You're definitely planning something big—that much I can tell.
But whatever it is, be very careful… and take good care of the child. That's all I can say for now.
I have a lot of chores at home. I also have to report for duty at the hospital tomorrow.
You attend your interview tomorrow and give me a call afterward, okay? I'll come see you in a couple of days," she said as she left.
After Lalitha left, Anvitha cooked dinner for herself and Adhvaith. After that, she spent a little time in the hall watching TV.
Just then, the doorbell rang. Thinking it was probably Parvathi Amma, she lowered the TV volume with the remote and went to open the door.
But it wasn't Parvathi Amma at the door…