Chapter 8: Tangled Threads

1 months ago

aakanksha4

@aakanksha4

Sunlight filtered through half-drawn curtains, casting long, golden streaks across the room.
Riya was curled up awkwardly on her couch, fully dressed, her hair a mess, her laptop still open and buzzing low.
Files lay scattered across the floor like fallen dominoes.

Her phone vibrated violently on the table.

She jolted awake, disoriented. The screen glared at her with a digital scream:

17 missed calls.

Papa. Kabir. Baba. Kabir. Kabir. Maa.Badi Maa. Tirth. Trupt. Kabir. Bade Papa. Kabir. Kabir...

Riya groaned, her head falling back into the cushions.

"Oh no... I’m so DEAD!"

As if on cue, Kabir called again.
She answered immediately.

"Dekho! Zinda hai! RIYA ZINDA HAI! Jashn ka ailaan karo, saathiyon!"
Kabir’s dramatic voice echoed through the line.

"Sorry naa..."
Riya rubbed her eyes.

"I was legit about to file a missing person’s report. Or maybe... a lazy person’s one."

"I passed out. On files. Literally. I’m so sorry—"

"Riya. It’s Sunday. You know, the sacred day of naps, junk food, bad TV, and zero guilt? What are you even doing?"

"Working. And apparently, forgetting that sleep exists. I have to head back to the office."
She stretched, already pulling her hair into a bun.

"On a Sunday? You mean... NO Sunday?!"
He gasped dramatically.

"What kind of dystopian world are you living in?"

"Kabirr!"

"Enjoy your Sunday—oh wait—do Sundays even exist if you're working? Enjoy your... bland weekday that dares tocall itself a weekend."

"Don’t mock me. You love these files too."

"Haan haan. But zyada paani mat peena, okay?"
He laughed.

"Kabirrrr! I'm never entering a men’s washroom again, I swear! I still need therapy!"

Kabir chuckled on the other side, picturing her half-horrified face.

"Good girl. Now GO. Before you fall asleep on someone else’s confidential murder file."

---

Riya walked in, still tying her hairup into a bun. She paused when she saw a cleaning crew outside the women’s washroom. The door was open, tools laid out, and a caretaker was repairing the hinges.

She was surprised. And more surprised when she saw Arjun, standing nearby, overseeing the work like a stern supervisor.

Arjun felt Riya’s curious gaze on her.

“Don’t flatter yourself. It’s about security.You can’t break doors in government buildings every time nature calls.”, he spoke without even looking at her.

RIYA smiled. “I’ll take that as a ‘you’re welcome.’ ”

Arjun gave her a flat look. As soon as the caretaker finished the lock, Arjun clapped once.

“Back to the lower levels. I want full inventory checks done today.”, Arjun ordered to which the man obliged. As the man gathered his tools, Riya got an idea.

---

During the lunch time, Riya found the same caretaker, after shyly bribing him with tea and biscuits, she brought him along to the records room.

“I don’t need help with files. I just need help lifting boxes and shifting old shelves. You’ll be supervised. Please?”, she requested him with a puppy face.

The man nodded and she grinned. They got to work.

An hour later, Arjun walked towards the record room, file in hand, only to stop at the door.

Inside, the caretaker was moving heavy boxes under Riya’s directions. Riya was up on a stool, brushing cobwebs from the high shelf.

Arjun’s face hardened instantly.

“What is going on here?”, Arjun spoke scaring the two.

Riya nearly fell off the stool, but she jumped down quickly.

“He’s just helping me with the heavy stuff! I’m not letting him read top-secret files, relax.”, Riya was defensive.

“This isn’t a storage closet in your house. These files are classified. What part of “internal clearance” do you not understand?”, Arjun was fuming.

“What part of “I’m trying to do my job efficiently” do you not understand? I’m not compromising your beloved system. I’m just not a bodybuilder.”, Riya was firm but calm.

Arjun glared at her, ready to argue further—but then something in her expression made him stop. A tensed silence followed.

“One hour. And I check every box after.”

She turned back to the caretaker with a triumphant little smile. They exchanged a subtle high-five.

Arjun walked out without another word.

But Riya was sure she saw the ghost of a smirk tug at the corner of his mouth.

---

Arjun knocked gently at the door. Pihu, a 5-year-old whirlwind in pink pajamas, opened it.

“ARJUNNNN CHACHU!”, she threw herself at him. He picked her up with a rare, genuine smile.

“Hey, bachcha. Troubled your mom today?”, he kissed her forehead.

“Thoda sa!”, Pihu spoke innocently.

“She tried to build a fort in the laundry basket again, the proofs of which lie in the hall itself.”, Sonali announced from the kitchen.

Arjun chuckled as he walked in. The home was warm, cozy, filled with laughter, something that Arjun Raute once dreamed of. It was Sameer Rathore’s home.

“Look who’s here. Surprised you’re not haunting the ETF at this hour, in the absence of your boss.”, Sonali walked out from the kitchen with a tray full of snacks and tea.

“Already did. Left it in chaos.”

Saying so, Arjun’s mind raced back to Riya at once, wondering what new trouble she must be inviting at the moment when he wasn’t around.

Sonali kicked a cushion lying in her way in annoyance as she moved towards the center table with the tray in hand.

“Iss ladki ko ek bhi minute ke liye akela nhi chhodd sakte! Tabahi hi aa jaati h!”

Arjun hummed in approval, his mind still stuck to Riya.

When Sonali sat next to him, he jerked out of his thoughts.

The duo shared a knowing smile while Pihu was seated on Arjun’s lap.

---

After a lot of promises and negotiations, Arjun got ready to leave. Little Pihu wasn’t ready to let him go.

“Rathore’s out of town. If you need anything, you can call me.”, Arjun tried to sound as formal as possible, care, still evident.

Sonali smiled, “I know! Just try to visit us a bit often!”

Arjun nodded and began leaving.

“Lock the doors!”, he told Sonali as she came to see him off till the main gate.

“Actually, I’m expecting a visitor, an old friend of mine. She should be here any moment.”

Arjun nodded in understanding and left.

Within moments the doorbell rang,again.

“That must be...”, she thought to herself and started moving towards the door. By the time Pihu had already begun with her guard duties.

She opened the door to reveal Riya, holding gift boxes and a nervous smile.

“HIIIIIIIII! PIHUUUUUUU!”, Riya shouted in excitement and began jumping up and down in joy. Pihu, too, did the same.

“PUCCHHHIIII!”, Pihu was super excited to see the one person she had been talking to on video calls, all her life, come out alive.

Riya picked her up in her arms and twirled her around. The room was full of laughter and Sonali just stood in a corner, admiring the scene in front of her eyes.

“Main bhi hu yahan!”, Sonali tried to gain some of her attention.

“SONAAAAAA DIII!”, the loud laughter began again.

They hugged, overwhelmed.

Hours of non-stop chit-chat and gossips later, the duo finally felt at peace. They had been missing so much in each other’s lives.

“OK! Now that my cheeks hurt and I am all well-fed, I got to go!”, Riya tried to get up, while Pihu was seated on herlap.

“No!”, she instantly disagreed.

Riya smiled and with a promise to be back soon for the Princess Tea party, she finally convinced the little baby, who held onto her as she was the most precious thing she had.

“Where are you staying, Riyu?”, Sonali asked packing some food for her.

“Hotel!”, Riya replied.

“What’s wrong with you, stay with us!”, Sonali was angry.

“What’s wrong with you? Isn't your husband a cop?Why in the world will I come and stay at a cop’s house, after spending the entire day with cops. I’ll go crazy!”, Riya joked.

“But seriously, till the time, you manage some accommodation, come stay with us!”

“I’ve talked to Baba; I’ll be shifting soon to some new place. Don’t worry, Di!”

---

Later that night, after a heartwarming evening at Sonali’s, Riya returned to her hotel room. Still smiling at the memory of Pihu's tea party invitations and Sonali’s warm embrace, she threw her bag aside and flopped onto the bed.

As if on cue, her phone buzzed with a video call from Kabir.

She answered with a bright face.

"Hello, Captain Mood-Killer!"
She greeted him with a grin.

"Excuse me? Captain Mood-Lifter reporting, actually."
Kabir smirked, lying sprawled across his own bed, tousled hair and tired eyes giving him a rugged charm.

"Guess who I met today?"

"Let me guess... Tom Cruise?"

"Nope. Better. SONALI DI AND PIHUUUUU!"
She squealed.

"WHAT?! And you didn’t take me on the call?!"
Kabir gasped.

"They were too cute to interrupt! Pihu didn’t let me go. I think she might’ve claimed me legally."

Kabir smiled softly, watching her animatedly narrate the whole visit.

"You should’ve seen her, Kabir. She’s like a mini cyclone in glitter socks."

"You both sound like the same species."

"Thank you. That’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me."

They both burst into uncontrollable laughter—loud, silly, unfiltered.

There was no need for pretence with Kabir. No holding back. With him, she was just Riya.

"Okay now serious talk."
She narrowed her eyes.

"Oh no. I know that face. What are you plotting, woman?"

"I want... a puppy. A golden retriever. I’ve even picked a name: Captain Fluff."

Kabir stared at her like she’d lost her mind.

"CAPTAIN FLUFF?! Riya, you can'teven handle a houseplant! You overwatered my cactus!"

"He was thirsty!"

"HE WAS A CACTUS!"

She clutched her stomach laughing, unable to breathe.

"I’ll take care of him, I swear! I’ll walk him, feed him, train him. He can even accompany me to office! May be even help catch criminals!"

"You want a dog to be your partner in ETF? What’s next—Captain Fluff filing FIRs?"

"Just admit, you’re just jealous he’ll be cuter than you."

"I absolutely am."
He smiled, gaze softening.

Their laughter faded into a moment of peaceful silence. The screen flickered gently, casting golden hues across theirfaces.

"I miss you."
Riya whispered.

"Always here. Even if you overwater me like the cactus."

"That cactus is still alive, by the way."

"That cactus is in therapy, Riya."

They burst out laughing again.

"Sleep now. Or you’ll turn into a ghost in your record room tomorrow."

"Fine. But only if you dream of Captain Fluff."

"If he chews my boots in that dream, I’m filing a complaint."

"Good night, idiot."

"Good night, trouble."

She hung up, heart warm and full.

---

Meanwhile at the ETF Staff Quarters, the night was quiet. The wind rustled softly outside the small, square windows.

Arjun Raute sat alone at the modest dining table in his government-issued staff quarter. A simple dinner lay infront of him—dal, roti, and sabzi, half-eaten.

The TV played muted news in the background, but his eyes weren’t watching.

They were lost.

The new recruit had been on his mind far longer than he’d admit.
Riya Mukherjee—loud, persistent, frustratingly bright-eyed.
And yet… unexpectedly capable.

He could still hear her voice ringing through the office, her laughter when no one else was around, her ridiculous mop-handle stunt outside the washroom.

She was not what he expected.
She was… nothing like Roshni.
And maybe that was the problem.

He stared at his plate, appetite gone.
He hated how she made him feel things—things he had buried deep, under grief and guilt.

"She won’t last a month, she isn't meant to be here!" he muttered to himself.

But even as he said it, a small voice inside whispered otherwise.

And that was exactly what unsettled him the most.

He stood, pushed the plate away, and walked to the window—seeking silence that wouldn’t answer back.

---

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