Did I ask for your help?" Parth snapped.
"No, but I still want to," Ranjit replied smoothly.
"And why would you?" Parth turned sharply, staring into his eyes.
"Because… I like you," Ranjit said with a smile.
Parth said nothing. He turned his eyes back to the scene in front of him, jaw tight.
By evening, everyone returned to the hotel, exhausted from the long day. All they wanted was a little rest. Professor Mishra addressed them before they dispersed:
"Rest for now. At dinner, we'll discuss tomorrow's schedule."
It was around 10 at night. After dinner, everyone went to sleep. Vedanshi never slept right after eating, so she went out to the garden area of the hotel for a walk. She was walking without her phone, which she had left in her room. Suddenly, she heard footsteps behind her. When she turned around, Nayan was standing there. He too looked surprised to see Vedanshi.
"What are you doing here so late at night?" Nayan asked.
"I was just taking a walk. But what are you doing here?" Vedanshi replied.
"Is that how you answer your professor, Miss Vedanshi?" Nayan said, which made Vedanshi a little embarrassed.
"Hey, I'm just kidding. No need to feel so awkward. Actually, I also don't lie down immediately after dinner, so I come out for a walk," Nayan explained.
Then, the two of them began walking together, step by step, side by side. Nayan had his hands clasped behind his back, while Vedanshi held hers in front. She had tied her hair into a bun, and the shorter strands in the front fluttered lightly in the breeze.
"So, how was your day today?" Nayan asked.
"It was really good. Honestly, being there still feels like a dream, sir," Vedanshi replied. Nayan smiled faintly and said, "That's how it feels at every site."
For a while, their conversation remained about the site.
Suddenly, Nayan asked, "Why did you ask me yesterday whether I was happy or not?"
Vedanshi fell silent for a moment, completely unprepared for such a question from him.
"It's because… I don't find you very comfortable around Sanjana ma'am. That's why I asked. But I've noticed that she really likes you and seems happy with you," Vedanshi finally replied.
"Yes, she must be happy, she's the one who got what she wanted. But I'm not. Some things only look good from the outside, but in reality, they're nothing less than a terrible nightmare," Nayan said.
Vedanshi suddenly stopped walking and looked straight at his face. A thousand questions flooded her mind at that moment, but she couldn't bring herself to ask them and Nayan wasn't going to explain either.
Neither of them realized that from the hotel balcony, Sanjana was glaring down at them with burning eyes, as if she wanted to hunt them both that very night.
Meanwhile, on another balcony, Parth was also standing, staring at them. His face carried the weight of regret. "If only I had shown courage back then, Vedanshi would've been with me today," he thought, letting out a deep sigh. His hands gripped the railing tightly, his face turning grim.
Who knew what storm tomorrow might bring?
The next morning, everyone was seated at the breakfast table. Mishra Sir was explaining various aspects of Rakhigarhi to the group. Vedanshi glanced toward Nayan, and as soon as Nayan looked at her, he immediately turned his face away. Vedanshi felt something strange. Sanjana looked at Nayan and a victorious smile appeared on her face. After breakfast, everyone headed to the site.
Even during lunch, Nayan kept his distance from Vedanshi. He didn't say a word to her, and just like that, almost a week had passed. Everyone was supposed to return to Nagot the next day. In this entire week, Nayan hadn't spoken to Vedanshi even once. Vedanshi was feeling quite hurt. Her friends had noticed it too and were surprised.
It was four in the evening. Everyone had to submit their data to Mishra Sir, so they were all busy fixing their files. "I hope I don't make any mistakes. Otherwise, Mishra Sir will bury me right here among the ancient civilizations. Came to be an archaeologist, will end up as history," Vedanshi muttered to herself while hurriedly organizing her papers into the file.
She finished everything and thought of taking a walk in the garden. She had also called her friends there for tea.
"Vedanshi, you've prepared your file, right?" Sagar asked while stuffing snacks into his mouth.
"Yeah, I just finished it. We have to submit it to Sir at dinner. Yours might be fine, but you know Mishra Sir. If anything goes wrong, he'll tear me apart. And then hang my skeleton in the museum with a tag saying 'Former Archaeologist'," Vedanshi replied.
"Yeah, you're absolutely right," Sagar agreed. Everyone was sipping tea.
"Guys, can I say something? Don't you think Nayan Sir's behavior has been a bit off lately? I mean, he hasn't spoken to any of us this whole week. This is strange, man," Akshay said while sipping his tea.
"Definitely something to do with Sanjana. I'm damn sure," Sagar added, also sipping his tea.
"Yeah, he's been with Sanjana the whole week. And I saw that they even shared the same room," Nikhil added fuel to the fire. Everyone stared at Nikhil except Vedanshi. Nikhil shrugged his shoulders.
"What do we care about? They're husband and wife. If they don't stay together, should they stay apart?" Vedanshi said irritably. Her annoyance was clearly visible. She got up and walked away.
"What happened to her now? What did I even say?" Nikhil asked. "Ah, it's jealousy, my friend, jealousy," Akshay said with a smile, and Sagar gave him a high-five. Nikhil also smiled faintly.
Vedanshi stormed down the hotel corridor, muttering under her breath.
"Why am I even bothered? If he doesn't want to talk, fine. Why am I feeling so bad? Now that his wife is around, of course he won't care about anyone else. Hmph!"
Still grumbling, she turned the corner and collided hard with someone.
"Hey! Who's running like a thief on the loose? Do you have eyes or buttons?" she snapped, brushing the dust off her jeans as she scrambled to her feet.
Then she looked up and froze.
"S… sorry, sir. I didn't notice. I thought it was just a student…" Her voice faltered.
Nayan's expression hardened.
"Oh, so if it were a student, you'd speak like that? You weren't watching where you were going, yet you're the one scolding. By the way, what's the rush? The trip's tomorrow, not today. For your information, we came here by bus, and that's how we'll return. Maybe you forgot to pack almonds for your memory, hmm?"
The usual warmth in his smile, his trademark was gone. His face was stern, almost unrecognizable.
"Sorry, sir…" Vedanshi murmured, lowering her head, but before she could finish, Nayan had already walked away.
She blinked after him, bewildered.
"What just happened? I've never seen sir like this before. Why did he suddenly switch from Buddha to Hitler?" she whispered to herself, retreating into her room.
The moment the door closed behind her, Nayan emerged from behind a pillar. He leaned against the railing, eyes shut, fists clenching the metal until his knuckles turned white.