37
Chapter 37
Will You Come Home?
The following week passed quietly.
For the first time in years, peace didn't feel temporary.
It felt... possible.
Aarav continued visiting almost every day.
Sometimes he came to help Kabir with homework.
Sometimes they played football in the apartment courtyard.
Sometimes he simply stopped by for dinner.
He never arrived without calling first.
And if Anaya had plans, he respected them.
Slowly, trust grew where fear had once lived.
---
One evening, Kabir spread his school books across the dining table.
"Dad."
"Hmm?"
"I have homework."
Aarav pulled out a chair.
"Let's see."
Kabir handed him a worksheet.
At the top was a simple question.
Write about your family.
Kabir chewed on his pencil thoughtfully.
Then started writing.
?My family is my Mumma and my Dad.
My Mumma makes the best aloo parathas.
My Dad makes funny-shaped pancakes.
We laugh a lot.
I love them very much.?
He looked up proudly.
"Done."
Aarav read the page.
For a moment, he couldn't speak.
Five simple sentences.
Yet they meant more than any business award he'd ever received.
He quietly signed the worksheet.
"I'm very proud of you."
---
The next afternoon, Aarav had an important board meeting.
It ran longer than expected.
Halfway through a presentation, his phone vibrated.
Normally, he ignored calls during meetings.
But the caller ID read:
Kabir
He immediately excused himself.
The directors exchanged surprised glances.
Aarav stepped into the hallway and answered.
"Hey, buddy."
A tiny voice came through the speaker.
"Dad..."
Aarav instantly became alert.
"What's wrong?"
"I fell."
"Are you hurt?"
"My knee."
"Did the school nurse clean it?"
"Yes."
"Good."
Kabir sniffled.
"It still hurts."
Aarav smiled gently.
"I'll be there in ten minutes."
"But your work?"
"It can wait."
Without another word, he ended the call.
When he walked back into the meeting room, everyone looked at him.
"I'm leaving."
One director frowned.
"But sir, the meeting-"
"My son needs me."
There was no anger in his voice.
Just certainty.
He picked up his files.
"You can continue without me."
Then he walked out.
Not a single person tried to stop him.
---
When Aarav reached the school, he found Kabir sitting outside the nurse's office.
The scrape on his knee was small.
Very small.
But his eyes immediately brightened when he saw Aarav.
"You came."
"I said I would."
Kabir smiled.
"I know."
Aarav crouched beside him.
"Want some ice cream?"
Kabir gasped.
"Can we?"
"We'll tell Mumma after."
Kabir giggled.
"She'll know."
"Probably."
They both laughed.
---
That evening, Anaya was waiting outside the apartment.
She folded her arms the moment they arrived.
"I heard someone ate chocolate ice cream before dinner."
Kabir looked at Aarav.
"You said she wouldn't know."
"I said she'd probably know."
Kabir sighed dramatically.
"Dads aren't always right."
Aarav nodded.
"That's true."
"I'll remember that."
Anaya couldn't stop herself from laughing.
---
After dinner, Aarav helped Kabir brush his teeth.
Then read him a bedtime story.
Halfway through the book, Kabir was already asleep.
Aarav quietly closed the storybook and switched off the bedside lamp.
As he stepped into the living room, he found Anaya watching him.
"What?"
"You've memorised his bedtime routine."
He smiled.
"I've been paying attention."
"I noticed."
She had.
He remembered which cup Kabir liked.
Which blanket he preferred.
Which stories made him sleepy.
None of it was forced.
He simply cared.
---
A few days later, Aarav's grandmother invited Anaya to lunch again.
After everyone finished eating, she called Anaya into the garden.
"I want to ask you something."
Anaya smiled.
"You sound serious."
"I am."
The older woman looked toward the children playing outside.
Kabir was chasing butterflies with his cousins.
Aarav was pretending he couldn't catch them.
Even though everyone knew he was letting Kabir win.
The sight made the grandmother smile.
"They already look like a family."
Anaya followed her gaze.
"They do."
The older woman gently took her hand.
"Then why are you still living separately?"
Anaya looked surprised.
"Dadi..."
"No pressure."
The older woman smiled kindly.
"But I think all three of you deserve to wake up under the same roof."
The words stayed with Anaya all evening.
---
Later that night, as Aarav prepared to leave, she walked him to the door.
He noticed she seemed distracted.
"Everything okay?"
She nodded slowly.
Then asked the question that had been on her mind all day.
"If..."
She paused.
"If one day Kabir wanted us to live together..."
Aarav didn't interrupt.
He waited.
"...would you be ready?"
He looked at her for a long moment.
Then answered honestly.
"I've been ready since the day I found out he was my son."
He smiled softly.
"But I won't ask until you're ready too."
Anaya felt her heart race.
She stepped a little closer.
Not enough to close the distance completely.
Just enough.
"I think..."
She smiled.
"...that day might not be very far away."
Aarav smiled back.
For the first time in years...
The future didn't feel uncertain.
It felt like home.
To be continued...