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Adithyan Acharya sifted through the mountain of paperwork his secretary had stacked on his desk, muttering under his breath as he tossed letters aside in frustration.

Starting over in the Bangalore branch of Acharya Groups had come with its share of challenges.

But now, at last, he is here  in Bangalore. After two long years of isolation in Mumbai, away from his family who had already settled here, Adithyan was finally home.

He had brought his secretary along from the Mumbai office—a decision he didn’t regret. She was older, dependable, and above all, loyal.

His brow furrowed as his eyes scanned a particular letter addressed to his father, Arul Acharya. Without hesitation, his other hand reached for the phone.

Adithyan dialed his father’s number. Arul answered on the last ring.

“This better be important…” came Arul’s gruff voice on the other end, and Adithyan’s scowl deepened.

Retired. His father had apparently retired. What the hell! He wasn’t even old enough to retire and sit at home. No, this was just an excuse. A convenient way to spend his days playing doting grandpa to little Mannat and baby Agasthya, dumping the entire company on Adithyan’s shoulders.

Through the phone, he could hear Mannat’s giggles and Agasthya’s happy babbles, which only made his scowl intensify. Damn it, he was jealous. Jealous as hell. He wanted to be there too—at home, rolling on the floor with his niece and nephew. But when did he have the time?

Ironically, back when he was living in Mumbai, he somehow managed more quality time with the kids. He would make those short trips to Bangalore and soak up every second with them. Now, even though he was in the same city, things were worse. The office consumed him. And staying closer to the office didn’t help. The family home was more than half an hour away, and battling Bangalore’s infamous traffic every day wasn’t practical. So, he stayed near the office during the week and rushed home only on weekends—like some college kid. He hated it. He absolutely hated it.

“Who the hell is Vamika?” Adithyan demanded without preamble, his tone sharp.

“Vamika?” Arul’s voice carried genuine confusion. “You called me during work hours to ask me about a woman?”

“You tell me…” Adithyan muttered, shaking his head.

“I honestly have no idea what you are talking about,” Arul replied, still sounding puzzled.

“Okay, then how about this—come clean. You have got a secret family somewhere on the other side of the state? And Vamika is my sister from another mother, is that it?” Adithyan shot back, irritation dripping from every word. If he was going to be dumped with the entire company’s responsibilities, he might as well get some fun out of annoying his father.

He could practically hear Arul’s controlled breathing on the other end. If Mannu and Aggi weren’t sitting next to him, Adithyan was certain he would be getting an earful of colorful curses right now. But since Grandpa Mode was on, Arul was on his best behavior.

“Alright, jokes aside,” Adithyan said finally, tone sobering. “I have got a letter here addressed to you, informing you about her life and that she has graduated successfully.”

“Are there any other letters? From the same address?” Arul asked, still clueless. “And is there a surname mentioned? That might help jog my memory.”

“Yeah. Vamika Trivedi,” Adithyan answered, reading off the letter.

“Damn! Yes, Vamika Trivedi… Parth Trivedi’s granddaughter,” Arul said at last, recognition dawning in his voice. “Parth uncle is a close friend of your nana. But why on earth am I being sent her details in a letter?”

“Little Vamika?” Adithyan repeated, surprise flickering across his face. He hadn’t thought of her in years. The name dragged up a half-forgotten memory. A young girl with two ponytails and a mouth full of braces.

He had only seen her a handful of times, and honestly, he couldn’t even conjure a clear image of her face. What he remembered was a quiet, unassuming girl who seemed intent on fading into the background. He had been at her parents’ funeral tool, but he hadn’t paid much attention to her then.

In fact, he had met her a few times before that too—back when her parents were still alive and he had accompanied his nana to visit Parth Nana’s house. How old had she been then? He couldn’t recall exactly, but she had been so young that friendship between them had never been an option. He vaguely remembered she had a baby sister, too.

After his nana passed away, those visits stopped, and over time, he lost touch with Parth Nana and his granddaughters completely.

“She might not be so little anymore,” Arul broke into his thoughts. “The letter said she graduated, didn’t it? She must be quite grown now.”

“Just graduated means she is what—twenty, twenty-one at most? Still little Vamika, if you ask me,” Adithyan said dryly.

“Right… she was only a few months older than Atharv,” Arul added.

“But why are you getting a report on her?” Adithyan pressed, brows knitting.

“No idea,” Arul admitted. “I haven’t heard from Parth Uncle in ages. They moved away from Mumbai after his son and daughter-in-law passed away. Just check if there are any other letters from him.”

“The letter isn’t from him,” Adithyan said grimly. “It’s from his solicitor.”

“What? Why would he need to get in touch through a solicitor?” Arul sounded alarmed now.

“Stay on the line. Let me check with the Mumbai team if they received any letters before. Maybe something got misplaced during the branch relocation.”

Arul stayed silent as Adithyan quickly connected with someone from the Mumbai office, instructing them to search for any previous correspondence. Minutes later, he had the details, and the news left him stunned.

“Papa…” Adithyan began, voice tight. “Parth Nana passed away a year ago. And… he named you and Maa as legal guardians for Vamika. They have been sending letters, apparently a couple of them, but we never saw them. Damn! What must they think of us? That we ignored them on purpose? And why on earth couldn’t they just pick up the phone? Who even relies on letters anymore?”

“We should have been there for the girls…” Arul let out a heavy sigh. 

“Yeah, well, you should also know that according to this letter, Vamika is arriving in Bangalore in two days,” Adithyan said, his tone clipped.

“What?!” Arul exclaimed. “But your Maa and I are leaving for our hometown for two weeks. Appa’s health isn’t good and he has been asking me to come for a while now. I can’t not go, Adi.” His voice was tinged with helplessness. He wanted to be there for little Vamika, but his father needed him too.

“Of course you can’t skip it,” Adithyan said impatiently. “I will take care of it. But I need all the details. And let me make it clear, I am counting this as yet another mess I have inherited because you decided to ‘retire.’”

“Vamika won’t be a problem,” Arul said, trying to reassure him. “She has always been a sweet girl. All you have to do is help her settle in, make sure her needs are taken care of. If I remember right, she doesn’t get full control of her inheritance until she is twenty-five—or if she marries before that. I recall Parth Uncle mentioning it once. He rewrote his will soon after his son passed away. Until then, Acharya Group probably acts as the trustee. Just get in touch with their solicitor and confirm everything. Since you are now the official representative of the Acharyas, that technically makes you her guardian of sorts.”

“I knew I should have taken a different career path like bhai,” Adithyan muttered under his breath. “He escaped all this and dumped it on me. You better ask Atharv to start coming to the office after college hours. Let him get a taste of reality early.”

“This will be a piece of cake, Adi. It won’t take you long at all to make sure she is settled and comfortable.” Arul chuckled. 

Adithyan rolled his eyes heavenward, wondering why he didn’t feel the slightest bit reassured.

A/N

Here goes the first chapter..

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