CHAPTER 54! HIS LITTLE BOY #3
He marched back, placing it directly on Aryav's desk.
"What is this?"
Ayaan popped the side latches and pulled off the lid. Two gobhi ke parathe lay inside, wrapped in silver foil.
Aryav's hand stalled over the desk. He recognized the neat, precise geometric folds of the foil instantly.
Aadhira always folded them that way-a habit she refused to break.
Ayaan looked at him with quiet pride. "Mamma made them. Your favourite, right?"
Aryav didn't answer immediately. His thumb moved over the edge of the container, staring at the foil.
"Papa?" Ayaan asked softly.
"Why are you looking at the box like that?"
Aryav pulled his hand back, his voice flat. "Why are they still here? Why didn't you eat them at school?"
"I didn't eat lunch."
Aryav's posture straightened instantly. "You didn't eat?"
"I wanted to eat with you."
The office dropped into absolute silence. Aryav looked from the silver package back to his son's face.
"Come here," Aryav said softly.
He reached out, unwrapped a section of the foil, tore off a piece of the paratha, and held it out.
Ayaan frowned, leaning back.
"That's yours."
"Eat," Aryav commanded gently.
Ayaan took the bite. Before he even finished chewing, he tore off another piece from the edge and held it up to Aryav's mouth. "Now yours."
Aryav leaned forward and took the bite from his son's fingers.
They continued in the quiet high-rise office-one bite for Ayaan, one bite for Aryav.
After a few minutes, the foil was clean. Ayaan leaned back against Aryav's chest, letting his head rest against his father's ribs.
"Papa? I'm still hungry."
Aryav looked down at him.
"Wait."
Aryav reached for the landline on his desk, pressing a speed-dial button.
"Vivaan. Bring food to my office."
"How much?"
Aryav looked down at his son. "For ayaan."
Twenty minutes later, Vivaan walked in carrying a bag from the restaurant on the ground floor.
He unlatched the containers himself, placing a tray of dim sum on the low coffee table.
"It's hot," Vivaan noted, stepping back.
"Now Go ahead."
Ayaan sat on the floor by the table and went to work on the food.
Vivaan's phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out, glancing at the screen before stepping a few paces away.
"Yes, aadhira."
"Bhaiya..." Aadhira's voice was quiet over the line. "Ayaan hasn't come home. It's already been two hours. I'm worried, Bhaiya. I called his school teacher, and they said he left just after school ended-with you. But he wasn't..."
"Aadhira, Aadhira breath, He's with me," Vivaan cut in smoothly.
A brief pause. "Why you didn't told me bhaiya? Where are you guys?"
"I forgot to inform you , we are in Singhania headquarters. Ayaan wanted to see his father."
Aryav's head snapped up. His eyes locked onto Vivaan.
A heavy silence stretched across the line.
"He should have told me," she whispered.
Aryav heard the quiet receiver. His jaw clenched, his hand tightening around the pen on his desk.
Vivaan broke the silence.
"I'll bring him home shortly."
"Please make sure he eats."
Vivaan glanced back at the coffee table. "He's eating now."
"Okay, Bhaiya. Thank you."
The call disconnected. Vivaan slipped the phone back into his pocket.
"Is she fine?" Aryav asked, his tone low and dangerously flat.
Vivaan met his gaze dead-on. "Yes."
Aryav went still. He stared at the desk for a moment before looking toward his son. "Ayaan."
The boy paused, looking up with a dumpling half-raised.
"Did you tell your mother before changing your route today?"
"...No."
"Why?"
"I forgot."
"You remembered to tell Vivaan uncle to turn the car around," Aryav noted coldly.
"You remembered to bring me your lunchbox. And you didn't tell Mamma."
Ayaan looked down at the carpet, his shoulders curling inward.
"I forgot."
"Don't do that again," Aryav said, his voice firm. "Next time, you ask her first. Even if you miss me."
Ayaan nodded against his chest.
"Even then."
He looked up into his father's face.
"But Papa?"
"Hmm?"
"Can I still come see you?"
Aryav looked into the boy's eyes-eyes so terrifyingly like his own.
"Always."
Ayaan smiled, completely satisfied, and buried his face back into Aryav's jacket. Aryav's fingers moved slowly through his son's dark hair.
On the desk, Aryav's phone vibrated with work alerts. He ignored them.
Several minutes passed before Ayaan spoke again, his voice thick with sleep.
"Papa?"
"Hmm?"
"When is Mamma coming home?"
Aryav's hand stopped mid-motion.
He glanced toward the empty leather chair across from his desk.
For one second, the room felt empty in a way no amount of authority could fix.
Ayaan was still waiting, his small face turned up.
Aryav looked down at his son. "Soon."
Ayaan smiled, his eyelids fluttering shut. "Promise?"
Aryav held him tighter. He had no idea when Aadhira would come home-but looking at the child in his arms, he knew he would burn his entire life down before he broke that promise.
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Guys, just a tiny little clarification .????