When I Met Him Again

Aanya gasped and spun around, startled to see Aryan standing at the door.

"Mr. Aryan!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide with surprise.

He raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing outside my room?"

"Actually... Aunty told me to call you for dinner," she replied nervously.

He nodded. "I'll come," he said shortly and turned to close the door.

"Mr. Aryan, wait!" she blurted, causing him to pause. He looked at her again.

Aanya cleared her throat. "I… actually need your phone."

He gave her a confused look. She rushed to explain.

"My phone recharge expired, and I told Tara to send me the notes—but she didn't. I tried calling her on WhatsApp using Wi-Fi, but she didn't respond. Prerna's not here either, or else I would've asked her."

He stared for a moment, then silently turned and walked into his room.

Aanya blinked. Did I say something wrong again?

But to her surprise, he returned with his phone and handed it to her without a word.

"Thank you," she said softly and quickly dialed Tara's number.

Tara picked up. "Hello? Who is this?"

"Tara, it's me, Aanya!"

"Aanya? Whose number is this? Where's your phone?"

"This is Mr. Aryan's number," Aanya said, lowering her voice as Aryan stood nearby.

"WHAT? Mr. Aryan?! Whoa!" Tara shouted on the call, making Aanya cringe.

"Tara! Please, not now. My recharge is over, and you didn't send the notes. I had to borrow Mr. Aryan phone."

"Ohh, I totally forgot! I'm sorry! I'll send them now. Should I send them to your phone or Mr. Aryan's?" Tara teased.

Aanya glanced awkwardly at Aryan. "To my phone only. Bye!"

She returned his phone. "Thanks again, Mr. Aryan."

He gave a silent nod.

"Um… actually, I need another favor," she said, hesitantly. "Could you please recharge my phone? I'll give you the money—I just don't have it in my account right now."

Aryan looked at her for a moment, then said, "Okay, I'll do it."

Aanya beamed. "Thank you so much, Mr. Aryan!"

---

At dinner, Aryan, Aanya, and his mom were seated. Devika sighed, "Prerna still hasn't come back."

"She told you when she'd be back?" Aryan asked.

"She said she'd return soon," Devika replied just as Prerna walked in.

"Prerna, you're so late! Everything okay?" Devika asked.

Prerna looked tense for a second, then forced a smile. "Yes, mom. My friend came late, so I had to wait."

Aryan glanced at her. "Had dinner?"

"Already eaten," she said quickly.

"You could've called," Devika scolded.

"I forgot. Sorry, mom," Prerna replied, escaping to her room.

---

The Next Morning

In the car, Aanya handed Aryan some cash. "Mr. Aryan, here's the recharge money."

He looked puzzled. "What's this?"

"For the recharge. I said I'd return it."

"There's no need."

"Please take it. You helped me, and I don't want to take advantage."

He finally accepted it.

He took it? Aanya thought. Does that mean he doesn't like me? In movies, the guy always refuses the money if he has feelings… right?

---

At College

"You gave him the money and now you're shocked he took it?" Tara laughed.

"I've seen in movies—if someone likes you, they won't let you pay," Aanya mumbled.

"Maybe he didn't want to offend you by refusing," Nisha said.

"Or maybe he's just a gentleman," Meera added. "Don't overthink. Just find out if he likes Ankitha or not."

---

Meanwhile at the Raichand House

Arvind's wife smiled. "I really liked Aryan's family. Despite losing his father, he manages everything so well."

Arvind nodded. "Even I'm impressed. I was thinking…"

She leaned closer. "What if we asked about Prerna and Dev? We could all become family—not just business partners."

Arvind considered it. "Hmm… It's a good idea. I'll talk to Aryan."

---

Later That Evening

Back in the car, Aanya gathered her courage.

"Mr. Aryan, you don't like music?"

"When did I say that?"

"That day, you said you prefer podcasts…"

"I said I listen to them more. I didn't say I hate music."

"Ohh! Then I misunderstood. I thought someone with your taste might hate music," she chuckled awkwardly.

Aryan gave no reaction.

She stopped laughing immediately. Oops. Did I offend him again?

Suddenly, Aryan received a call. It was Rahul from the office.

"Sir, can you come right now? There's an issue with the client."

Aryan frowned. "It'll take 10–15 minutes. I have to drop someone…"

After the call, Aanya said, "Mr. Aryan, you were talking about me, right? You need to drop me first?"

He nodded.

"No problem. I'll come with you to the office."

He looked at her, surprised.

She smiled. Let's see how this turns out…

—

End Of Chapter 17.