Suddenly the door to the hall opened and a group of people came in. They were dressed in office attires. A woman walked in with two other men. She looked to be in her early thirties while the two men accompanying her were much older. But they gave off a regal feeling. Several bodyguards were surrounding them. When they entered everyone in the hall became quiet and silently watched the group.
The woman dressed in a blue suit was holding a bag in her hand. The two men were wearing brown suits and were also holding something in their hands. Once they came closer the bodyguards made way for them and they stepped forward. Seeing them Bithi had already stood up and was now standing with a gentle but polite smile. "Thank you Vice President for coming. Thank you so much Biplab Sir and Mr Bhandari. I'm honoured to have to aty wedding. Please take a seat." Bithi personally showed them their seats.
After her voice died down the hall suddenly seem to come alive. Everyone started murmuring. At first, they were too stunned to see such high-profile people to think anything. But now they were even more shocked to see the Vice President of Jet in real life. Not only that but the two men beside her were also important figures in the company. They had seen them on the news quite a few times.
While the gathered people were whispering among themselves Bithi asked the caterers to bring them something to drink. "VP. I hope you can have at least some snacks. I know you're busy but please. It's my request. Bithi said to the woman in the middle. Her hair was tied in a fishtail and she was wearing a white shirt with a blue suit and trousers. She smiled slightly and said "I wish you have a happy life." and handed the gift. Although she behaved politely she had a dignified aura around her.
"Sir, I had your favourite Chicken Rezala prepared. Please don't leave without having a taste." She said to the person standing on the woman's right smiling a little more friendly. He was wearing a brown suit and his hair was neatly parted. Although it had strokes of gray in between he did not look old and haggard at all. He smiled and said "Of course. How can I miss it?" It was evident from his tone that he treated Bithi well and they were quite close. He was the man whom Bithi addressed as 'Biplab Sir'.
Bithi then turned to the other man and greeted him. She also smiled at him but it was a lot more reserved than her previous smile. This man seemed to be younger than the other. He was also in a brown suit and was neatly dressed. He congratulated her and handed her the gift. She thanked the three of them and then said something to which the three nodded. She then turned to the other guests and said "Please let me introduce them. This is our company's Vice President, Ms Seth. This is my department's head, Mr Chandra. And this is Mr Chandra's assistant Mr Bhandari." She introduced them one by one.
After that, she took them to a secluded place where they could rest since they directly came from the office. Once they reached the corner she came up to Mr Chandra and said softly "Sir, will President be coming?" Ms Seth heard her and said "No Ms Bhadra. President had to attend an important meeting so she couldn't come. She sent her regards. This is a card and her gift." She handed her two bags. One had her name on it while the other was blank. Bithi guessed the blank one was from the President. She thanked her again and took the gift. Then she excused herself as she was the centre of today's event and went to attend to other guests.
After greeting everyone she came to the balcony to rest when Ankita came up to her. "Bithi Di, where is this President everyone's talking about?" She asked curiously. "Oh, she's busy with an important meeting," Bithi replied. Ankita nodded and chatted with her some more. But whatever she did her hand was never empty. Be it juice or pakoda or ice cream. Her hands were always occupied. Bithi laughed seeing her so engrossed in eating even while talking to her. She told her to eat her fill and went away.
Ankita was now alone on the balcony. She leaned against the railing and are the food from the plate in her hand. As she lowered her eyes the previous innocent expression was gone. There was only a blank look but her lips were still curved up. If one looked from afar one would only see a young girl happily enjoying her food. Just then Tanmoy came next to her. His back was facing the hall so no one noticed that his usual "I dote on my sister" smile was gone. He stood there silently when a deep voice sounded "Well done Mr Chakraborty and Thanks for your cooperation." It was very low so only the two of them heard. "Thank you, miss...?" "Basu," Olivia said. "Thanks to you too Miss Basu." He nodded and left.
That night Ankita called Koushik. "Hello, Ankita?" He said. "Hi Koushik, can you come up to your roof?" She asked. Koushik agreed and they cut the call. Both of them reached their roof and met where the two houses faces each other. "Koushik, we'll be leaving tomorrow morning. I came to say goodbye." Ankita said. Koushik remained silent for a while and said "Wait a minute." Saying that he dashed downstairs. A few minutes later he came back. He was holding a keychain. It had three mini-figures of the three band members of Antariksha. "I didn't know this day would come so soon. I only have this to give you as a parting gift. He held out his hand. Ankita took it and stared at it for a while. They talked for some time and she waved and turned to leave. "So, which school is it?" Koushik asked. Ankita turned back and said one word "Ketu." Under the moonlight, Koushik saw a smile hanging on her lips and her face as gentle and sweet as ever.
Ankita came downstairs. But there was something different about her. Completely different. She had an indifferent expression. Her back was straight as she slowly stalked down the stairs. Her hands were stuffed inside her pockets and her slightly messy hair hovered over her eyes. She made no effort to move them and just lifted a pair of cold black eyes. The members of the Dey family sat in the living room. They were waiting for her. "Well done." She spat out two words and nodded. This attitude in this guise was a bit sudden to the people there but they came back to their senses. Even they forgot that this was all an act.