Two days passed.
Two long days with no message, no call, nothing from Arsh.
At first Aakrati tried not to think about it.
He was busy.
She had seen the article about his company and his new project. It made sense that work had taken over his time.
But still…
A small part of her kept waiting.
That afternoon she finally picked up her phone and dialed his number.
The phone rang.
And rang.
And rang.
But no one answered.
Aakrati sighed and dropped the phone beside her.
"Great," she muttered. "Busy CEO."
Just as she was about to stand up, her phone rang again.
Her heart jumped instantly.
She grabbed the phone quickly, excitement rushing through her.
"Arsh?" she said while answering the call.
But the voice on the other side wasn't his.
"Wow," the voice laughed. "Did you forget me already?"
Aakrati paused.
"Krish?"
"Disappointed?" he teased.
She smiled a little.
"Maybe a little."
"Well that hurts," he said dramatically.
Then he added casually,
"Come downstairs."
She frowned.
"Why?"
"Just come."
She walked to the balcony and looked down.
And there he was.
Krish stood outside her apartment building, leaning casually against his car and waving at her.
Aakrati's face lit up.
"You're here?"
She ran downstairs quickly.
The moment she reached him, she gave him a quick hug.
"Krish! What are you doing here?"
He laughed.
"Nice to see you too."
She pulled back, still smiling.
"Seriously, why are you here?"
He shrugged.
"I'm opening a new hotel here."
Her eyes widened.
"Another one?"
He grinned.
"You know how rich I am."
She rolled her eyes.
"Show-off."
"Maybe."
They both laughed like old friends who had known each other forever.
"So," he said after a moment, "let's go somewhere."
Aakrati thought for a second.
"Shrisha is here too."
"Really?"
He smiled.
"Call her. I want to meet her. It's been a while."
Aakrati nodded.
"She's probably sleeping upstairs though."
Krish smirked mischievously.
"Even better."
A few minutes later they quietly entered the apartment.
Shrisha was still asleep on the couch.
Krish whispered,
"I have an idea."
Aakrati already knew that look.
"What?"
He grabbed a scarf from the table and covered half of his face.
"Robbers."
Aakrati tried not to laugh.
"Oh my God."
She covered her face with another scarf.
Both of them slowly approached the couch.
Krish suddenly shouted in a deep voice,
"Give us all your money!"
Shrisha woke up instantly.
"WHAT—?!"
She jumped up in panic.
"Who are you—?!"
Then Aakrati burst into laughter and removed the scarf.
Shrisha stared at her for two seconds.
Then threw a pillow at her.
"ARE YOU CRAZY?!"
Krish was laughing too.
"Relax!"
Shrisha pointed at them angrily.
"I almost died!"
Aakrati hugged her quickly.
"Sorry! Sorry!"
Krish added playfully,
"It was worth it."
Shrisha glared at him.
"You are both insane."
Then she finally laughed too.
A little later Aakrati said,
"Let's go somewhere."
Krish nodded.
"Perfect."
Shrisha went to get ready while Krish waited patiently in the living room.
He looked around casually.
"You haven't changed this place at all."
Aakrati shrugged.
"It's comfortable."
Soon the three of them were ready and headed to a nearby restaurant.
The evening was lively.
They talked.
Laughed.
Ordered too much food.
Krish kept telling stories about his new hotel project.
Shrisha kept teasing him about showing off.
Aakrati mostly listened, smiling quietly.
After a while Krish asked casually,
"So… where's Arsh?"
Aakrati looked down at her glass.
"He's somewhere out for work."
"You don't know where?"
She shook her head.
"Not really."
Krish nodded understandingly.
"No worries. He'll be back."
Shrisha suddenly jumped into the conversation.
"Don't you know how anxious she gets when she can't talk to someone she really wants to?"
Aakrati groaned.
"Shrisha!"
But she continued teasing.
"She can't wait calmly like normal people."
Krish laughed softly.
"Yeah… I know."
"She's restless."
Aakrati crossed her arms.
"This is unfair."
Krish raised his hands dramatically.
"We're just telling the truth."
Shrisha nodded proudly.
"We know you too well."
Aakrati sighed.
"Great. Two people against me."
Krish smiled warmly.
"That's because we like you."
The conversation slowly shifted back to jokes and random stories.
For a few hours, everything felt normal again.
Light.
Fun.
But later that night when they returned home and everyone went to their rooms…
Aakrati picked up her phone again.
Still no message from Arsh.
She stared at the screen for a long moment.
Then quietly placed the phone beside her.
She missed him.
But there was nothing she could do about it.