Sejal had finally gone to visit her parents and her elder brother Denny, after a long time. As always, Ken was with her.
The moment the door opened, her mother smiled warmly and said,
"Now that you've come, stay with us for a few days at least."
Sejal returned the smile and replied,
"I can stay this whole week, Mom… but next week I'll have to return."
Her father chuckled and added,
"We'll see about that later. For now, just spend some time with us."
Soon after, her parents looked at Ken and said—
"Ken, you stay with us too. Make yourself at home. Later, you can visit your own parents."
Ken nodded politely and agreed without hesitation.
Her brother Denny had no idea she was coming. When he suddenly saw his little sister at the door, his face lit up in pure joy. He quickly called their younger brother Harry, who was living abroad, on video chat and said—
"Look who's here!"
Harry and Sejal spoke for a long time—laughing, teasing, catching up. Somewhere in between, Harry cheekily remarked—
"You're here for your studies, right? Then make Ken bring you along wherever you go. Why come alone?"
Sejal only laughed in response, not giving any clear answer.
After a while, the call ended.
---
Meanwhile… Dean had no idea Sejal was now staying at her parents' home for an entire week.
He kept texting her again and again, wondering why she hadn't replied yet.
Finally, Sejal went into her room, opened her phone, and sent him a message:
> "I've come to my parents' place. I'll be staying here for a week."
The moment Dean read that message, he packed up and left the office early. Instead of going back to his own apartment, he drove straight to his childhood home. Because the thought of spending a whole week away from Sejal felt unbearable.
When Dean suddenly arrived at his parents' home, his mother was surprised.
"You barely visit us… what brought you home all of a sudden?"
Dean smiled softly and lied—
"I just… missed you, Mom. So I came home."
Later that evening, he texted Sejal again:
> "I'm at my parents' house too. Can we meet this evening for a while?"
But Sejal hadn't seen the message yet.
And just then… Ken happened to notice her phone screen. It was locked, and he couldn't delete the message, but he had clearly seen it.
So, Ken casually turned to Sejal and said—
"Let's go out this evening. Let's have dinner at your brother's restaurant."
Sejal agreed without thinking twice.
---
The day passed by with family conversations, old memories, and quiet laughter.
By the time evening arrived, Sejal went to grab her phone. But Ken said—
"Do you really need to take your phone along? Dean is probably busy with work. You can talk to him at night. For now… just be present here, with your family."
Saying that, Ken gently took the phone from her hand and placed it back on the table.
The two of them stepped out together. But as fate would have it… at the street corner, they bumped right into Dean.
Dean looked surprised.
"You're not going to meet me today?" he asked.
Sejal, a little confused, replied—
"You didn't tell me anything."
Dean frowned slightly.
"I messaged you…"
Sejal paused, then said with a light smile—
"Oh, sorry! It's been a while since I came home. I guess I missed seeing it while talking to everyone."
Dean smiled gently.
"It's okay. But where are you two going now?"
Before Sejal could answer, Ken cut in—
"We're just heading out for a bit… to her brother's restaurant."
Dean glanced toward Sejal and asked—
"Will you meet me tomorrow morning before I go to the office?"
Sejal simply nodded.
What she didn't know… was that Dean had started working from his parents' house again, only so he could stay close to her—just for this one week.
---
To be continued… 🌙💬