When the car stopped in front of the Dey residence, Koushik alighted first and extended his hand for Ankita to hold on to. After a few seconds of hesitation, she placed her palm on his. He carefully helped her down. The housekeeper opened the door when they rang the doorbell. Seeing Ankita in that state, he hurriedly let them in.
Once Ankita settled on the sofa, Koushik inquired, "Where are Subhashish Kaku and Trina Kakima? Please call them, Dadu."
The housekeeper was an old man who had been working for the Dey family for a long time. Ankita was like a granddaughter to him. So her crumpled clothes and disheveled hair made him extremely worried, and he started fussing over her. Only after Ankita's reassurance about her health, did he calm down.
He replied to him, "Madam is stuck in an important meeting and Sir got a sudden emergency in his clinic, so both of them will be late today. What happened to Anu maa?" He asked with a worried look.
Koushik was about to say something when Ankita secretly pulled his shirt and gave him a look. Koushik stared at her dejectedly for a second and heaved a sigh.
"She got injured while coming home. A motorcycle almost ran over her but she dodged it at the last moment and hurt herself. I was passing by and decided to give her a lift." He really felt guilty for lying to the old man.
Malay Tah, the housekeeper, cursed those bikers for some time and said to Koushik gratefully, "You're a good child, my son. Thank you so much for helping her. I can't imagine what she would have done if you weren't there."
"No, no Malay Dadu. Please don't say that. Anyone would have done so if they were in my place."
"Anu maa, where did you get hurt? Shall I call a doctor? You heard that Sir won't be back in a while, right ?If you feel any discomfort let's take you to the hospital." The old man said, sitting beside her.
The cook brought over two glasses of water. Koushik took a glass and thanked the cook, then sat opposite Ankita with a serious look. He might have convinced the housekeeper that Ankita was fine, but that was not the case for himself.
Ankita waved her hands, flustered by his intense gaze, "Hey, you guys. There's no need for all that. I'm fine. It's no major injury. I'll be fine after applying some ice pack and antiseptic cream on my wounds. See, just little scratches."
She showed her elbows to both of them.
Koushik frowned upon seeing those scratches, "Please get changed and come down. I'll help you apply the cream."
Suddenly remembering something, he looked at the housekeeper, "Uh... that won't be a problem, right? I'll just help her with the cream ."
He became embarrassed, realising that the housekeeper might misunderstand his intentions.
The old man laughed and said, "Relax, dear. I can tell you mean her no harm. There's a first aid kit in her room. You can just help her there. And I'll ask the cook to prepare something for you two. You must be hungry."
Koushik wanted to refuse but the housekeeper had already left them for the kitchen. There was an awkward silence between the two.
Finally, Ankita spoke up softly, "Will you come up?"
"I'm sorry, I was a little distracted. Could you please repeat?"
Ankita did and he went silent after that.
Seeing his hesitation, she lowered her head and muttered, "I'm sorry for last time. I regret everything. I really do. Will you give me a chance to make up?"
She looked at him with moist eyes. Koushik smiled at her and nodded.
"Thank you. Thank you, so much." She jumped up in joy and hugged him.
Startled at first, he patted her back lightly.
"Friends again?" He looked at her expectantly.
Ankita smiled brightly and said, "Friends." Suddenly, she sucked in a cold breath and clutched her belly, curling into a ball.
"See, that's why I tell you to jump around less. Now tell me what happened," Koushik said sternly.
Ankita pouted, "Deepa kicked me here earlier. I think it's bruised."
Koushik sighed, "Let's go to your room right now. I'll get you some ice to put on it."
He led her to the stairs.
"Sss." Ankita hissed softly as she placed her foot on the first step.
"What happened?" Koushik asked worriedly.
"I sprained my ankle," Ankita whispered.
Koushik looked at her left foot. It appeared quite swollen. Then
"Hey!"
Ankita shrieked when all of a sudden she was lifted from the ground. Koushik had picked her up in his arms and without listening to her protests, he carried her to the door of her room.
Only after feeling the ground beneath her feet did Ankita's heart calm down. She sighed in relief and invited him in. Then, she took her clothes to wash up and change in the bathroom. Koushik was all ready with the kit. The moment Ankita was out, he told her to sit on the bed. Then, he carefully applied antiseptic cream on her bruises.
While he was busy, Ankita was looking at his handsome side profile in a daze. His squinted eyes were focused on her wounds. The usual curly hair was messed up from the fight with Deepa but added to his beauty nonetheless. His long fingers gently moved around as he applied the cream. Even the slightly crumpled uniform failed to dull his breathtaking beauty.
Olivia commented in her heart, 'Pretty boy.'
"Done." He straightened up and said.
Seeing Ankita staring at his face in a daze, he waved in front of her eyes, "Done admiring my handsome face? If so, then go down and get some ice pack from Malay dadu."
Ankita was startled.
"Who's admiring your face? What nonsense! I'm going down. You too come quickly." Ankita turned red like a tomato and shouted before running out of the room.
Koushik chuckled, "Silly."
He stared at the door and thought 'This is good. We're friends again. I missed this side of her so much.'