Sixteen days later

Today was surely not her day.

The moment she stepped out of her house, some or the other thing came up to ruin her important day. She couldn't keep up even with the sweat all over her face, ruining her makeup.

The cafeteria seemed to be more quiet today. There were nice empty spaces all over the area that brought out the beauty of the cafeteria and finally made peace with her restless self.

"Good morning, Ms. Mahapatra."

Ipsita turned to her back and her eyes eventually landed on the man. It was the first time she was seeing him right in front of her eyes.

"Bhai," she managed to whisper, abruptly standing up from her chair.

"Please be seated, Ipsita."

Abhijeet flew to Sambalpur this morning for an important meeting with the manager of his company's branch here in Sambalpur.

Before he would get accompanied with anything he'd come for, he called Ipsita to meet him at a nearby cafeteria.

Abhijeet occupied the seat in front of Ipsita and replied to a few emails by the manager for a minute, not knowing that Ipsita was already going through a whirlwind of thoughts.

Coming to know the fact that her dead sister is still alive somewhere in another state was enough to shake her to the core.

It was a hard time for her to keep herself from confronting her uncle and aunt, who'd recently visited her house, about how Alpana is still alive and if she really is, then whose last rites were performed ten years ago.

But the best part of the story? Obviously, Abhijeet. The man who built himself and a tech company from scratch. The man who is so passionately in love with his woman, that he could go extents to win her back.

"Have you ordered anything?" Abhijeet asked casually, glancing from his phone to Ipsita.

Ipsita's mind drfited back to reality. It was obvious that she had many questions today. And she was determined to get her answers.

"Not yet, bhai."

She turned the pages of the menu booklet blindly. Indeed, she was looking for a combination of light food, least messy, more sophisticated and most importantly low cost.

"Puri upma tarkari khaibe?"
("Would you like to eat puri upma tarkari?")

She looked up at him. That was her favourite breakfast food item.

"How did you know?"

"Alpana," he answered with a small smile.

Somehow, hearing the name brought smile to Ipsita's lips too. All these years, she had no idea of her sister loving her this much.

"But," she hesitated. "Won't it be a little... messy?"

"Who's even judging?" he laughed it out.

Ipsita instantly smiled and sighed a breath of relief.

Abhijeet took her gesture as a 'yes' and called the waiter to order.

"Honestly speaking, I was super conscious since last night for this meeting," she said, pulling her legs up and folding them on her seat.

"Why?"

"You're a CEO. A very reputed person in the tech industry. And I'm just a college student, who's also the sister of the woman you love. Yet, I was feeling conscious of every single thing before meeting you."

Abhijeet laughed more openly this time while adjusting his blazer. He was clearly understanding her little brain causing to come her up with such thoughts.

"We are meeting for the first time," he began. "Maybe that's why you were conscious instead of being comfortable and having fun with your future brother-in-law."

"Oh! No way," she put her hands on the table with a light bang. "Once I get comfortable, you'll get to know how much more dangerous I am than Alpana di."

The food arrived soon and their conversations became more lighter and fun.

They talked about everything. Ipsita's college and friends, Abhijeet's company's history and his friend Nishedh, his college days with Alpana and a few of shared romantic moments.

The air between them contained lots of laughter, light-hearted jokes and a sweet sense of a brother-sister relation that both had craved for, since childhood.

Ipsita, too, shared with him about her little crush on Hridayansh. Though Abhijeet was surprised to receive this new information, he let go of no chance of teasing her by Hridayansh's name all the time.

"Well, Bhai," Ipsita called him when they were almost done with their meal. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Ipsita. You don't need my permission."

"How did you find Didi?" And how were you so sure that the person who was in that vegetable market was... her?"

Abhijeet's smile dropped slowly. Not that he was hesitant to talk about Alpana. It was the fact that how much of a sensitive topic she has become for him, that it possesses the capability to bring a smile on his lips and also... take it away.

He didn't answer her immediately. Instead, he paused for a few seconds, wiped his hands with the tissue paper and slowly leaned forward.

"People never believe me, Ipsita," he began, his voice turned a bit deep and hoarse. "A cinematic delusional love story like mine is rare. Only I, Nishedh and hopefully Alpana know the truth. The rest of the world simply refuses to believe."

"But I do," Ipsita interrupted before Abhijeet could change the topic. "Trust me, I do. You can tell me."

There was something different about Ipsita's eyes and smile during that moment that didn't go unnoticed by Abhijeet.

And hence, Abhijeet, instead of countering her, as he usually does, paused for a moment. He didn't answer immediately or gave any reactions. His lips simply parted away.

"Nishedh, my personal assistant, visited Thiruvananthpuram for a students' tech event. He stayed there in Kerala for about a month. Since the event lasted for a week, he'd previously planned for a family trip for the remaining weeks."

"And he saw didi somewhere?" Ipsita asked as soon as Abhijeet ccontinuedllo#¶99#

"Partially correct," he answered. "Actually his wife, Amisha, saw her first."

Before Ipsita could ask anymore questions, Abhijeet continuedllo explaining the incidenAO.

"How?"

"I was shocked at first. Nishedh narrated me the whole incident. They were at the same vegetable market, exploring few fast foods. There was this famous tourist place nearby so they'd decided to explore this market as it was well-known among tourists. As soon as they entered the space, Amisha spotted her, buying meat at some meat shop. She quickly recognized Alpana, despite of shocking of the fact that how could she be alive."

The air between them was now tensed, as if they, themselves, were a part of that incident.

He continued, "Amisha, before marrying Nishedh, served as an intelligence officer at R&AW. For years, she worked on covert operations, even spending time undercover in Pakistan under an assumed identity. Even after leaving the service, those instincts never left her. So when she looked at that woman... she didn't just think she resembled Alpana. She knew."

Ipsita's lips parted slightly, but she listened without interrupting. She realized how the depth of the situation is still unknown to her innocent mind.

"Amisha called me that evening. She told me that she identified Alpana at a vegetable market in Kerala."

"And you believed her... immediately?"

"I didn't," he answered honestly. "I wanted to, but I couldn't. I was not able to process that information. If her parents had declared her dead almost a decade ago, then how she'd be alive? Deep inside, I'd always have a suspicion that her parents might be lying to the world, and after Amisha's call, my suspicion slowly changed into hope."

"But how was Amisha didi so sure that the woman she saw was none other than Alpana?"

"That was exactly what I asked her first. And do you know what she replied?"

Ipsita shook her head.

He smiled sadly and said, "Because identifying people who don't want to be identified... used to be my job."

Silence settled between them. Neither of them spoke for several seconds.

Ipsita was still in utter dilemma. She didn't expect an ex-R&AW agent to be involved in this case. And she absolutely did not expect her to identify Alpana in a crowd of hundreds, who was believed to die ten years ago.

"So... that was the day you realized..."

Abhijeet looked out of the window and sighed.

"... that the girl the world had mourned ten years ago... had never died."

Just then, the waiter arrived beside their table, placing the bill neatly on the wooden surface.

"Whenever you're ready, sir."

Abhijeet gave him a small nod and reached into his wallet. Almost at the same moment, Ipsita unlocked her phone and opened her UPI app.

"Half-half?" she suggested, already scanning the QR code.

Abhijeet looked at her phone, then quietly slid it away from the stand with two fingers before placing his own card on the bill.

"I invited you, Ms. Mahapatra."

Ipsita frowned, "So?"

"So, I pay."

"That's unfair!"

"It's tradition."

"What is tradition?"

"The one where the person inviting pays."

Ipsita crossed her arms and said, "I don't follow that tradition."

Abhijeet smiled, "But, I do."

She sighed dramatically, "You know, CEOs are impossible."

"And cousins are stubborn."

"I'm not your cousin," she replied swiftly.

"No," he chuckled softly, "but you're Alpana's. That makes you family enough."

For a brief second, Ipsita didn't know what to say. The sentence had landed with unexpected warmth.

She looked away, hiding the smile that had quietly found its way to her lips.

"Fine," she muttered. "But next time, I'm paying."

He laughed - a genuine, unguarded laugh that drew a curious glance from a nearby table. "Sure."

He picked up the payment receipt and stood.

"And when we do... I'll let you argue with the bill again."

"Deal," Ipsita rolled her eyes, though the smile never left her face.

Before they could reach the glass door towards the exit, something strike Abhijeet's mind. He unlocked his phone and opened an image from his gallery.

"There she is."

Ipsita stopped mid-walking and turned back. She looked at the phone and realized within seconds.

She took the phone from Abhijeet's hand with trembling fingers.

The photograph had clearly been taken from a distance, somewhere inside a crowded weekly vegetable market.

A woman dressed in a black burqa stood beside a small stall, a cloth bag resting in her hands. Most of her face was hidden beneath the veil, yet one careless gust of wind had lifted it just enough for the camera to capture a side profile.

Ipsita froze almost immediately.

Those same brown eyes. That small pink nose. The faint curve of the lips she had seen only in childhood photographs.

"Didi..."

The word escaped her lips before she could stop it.

Abhijeet quietly looked away, allowing her a moment she deserved.

She was unable to comprehend that she was the one who attended her sister's funeral ten years ago and today she's seeing the same person. Alive. Healthy. In front of her.

When she finally regained her composure, the two of them agreed on one thing that they would not act in haste.

Amisha would continue observing the area discreetly until they could determine exactly where Alpana lived, whether she was being watched, and whether she was there by choice or under coercion.

Only after gathering enough information would they approach the authorities with the evidence. If Alpana had indeed been hidden from the world for a decade, every person responsible for stealing her identity and freedom would answer for it through the law.

Their first priority, however, remained unchanged.

To bring Alpana home.

Alive, safe and finally... heard.

The evening had settled softly over the Mahapatra household when Hridayansh reached the front door, the borrowed book tucked neatly under his arm. He had only taken it yesterday - Ipsita's physics class notebook and in the rush of leaving college, he had forgotten to return it.

He rang the bell once. A few moments later, the door opened.

"Hridayansh? Come in, beta."

"Good evening, aunty," he greeted politely, stepping inside. "I just came to return Ipsita's book. I forgot to give it back to her today."

"Arre, why did you take the trouble of coming all the way here?" she said, taking the book from his hands. "You could have returned it tomorrow in college."

"It was on my way, aunty," he replied with a small smile.

She placed the book on the table near the sofa and glanced toward the hallway. "Ipsita isn't home right now."

Hridayansh looked up. "Oh."

"She has gone out with her friends to a café," she continued casually. "You guys group, I think. You didn't join?"

For a brief second, something inside Hridayansh stilled.

A café?

Ipsita had not mentioned anything about going out. Not to him. Not even in the group chat where everyone usually shared the smallest of plans.

He quickly pushed the thought aside before it could show on his face.

"No aunty, actually I was having headaches since yesterday. So I'd denied from my side."

"Oh. No worries, beta. Must be exams pressure. Take care of your health."

Hridayansh smiled, but his mind had already begun piecing together the quiet inconsistency.

Ipsita was not the kind of person who hid ordinary plans from her close friends. If she had truly gone to a café with Lavanya and Taarini, someone would have mentioned it.

Still, he kept his voice steady.

"Please tell her I returned the book."

"Of course, beta. Will you have some tea before you go?"

"No, aunty. I should leave now. Thank you."

It was almost eleven in the morning when Hridayansh stepped out of Ipsita's building, the returned book no longer in his hands but the uneasiness still lingering in his mind.

He had barely crossed the gate when he saw her.

Ipsita was walking from the opposite side of the lane, her bag slung over one shoulder, strands of hair escaping the loose braid she had tied in a hurry. For a second, both of them paused.

Then, almost instinctively, they lifted their hands and waved.

A small smile appeared on Ipsita's face as she walked toward him.

"Hey," she said, slightly breathless. "You came home?"

Hridayansh nodded. "To return your book. Aunty said you were out with your friends."

Ipsita's smile faltered, that didn't go unnoticed by Hridayansh.

"Oh," she murmured, lowering her eyes. "Yeah... Maa must have said that."

The hesitation in her voice was quiet, but unmistakable.

Hridayansh did not question her immediately. He simply stood there, waiting, giving her the space to speak if she wanted to.

Ipsita looked up at him again, her fingers tightening around the strap of her bag.

"Hridayansh," she said softly, "I need to tell you something."

He nodded once. "Okay."

She took a deep breath, as if gathering courage from somewhere deep within herself. "It's about my cousin... Alpana didi."

His brows furrowed immediately. He'd remembered Ipsita once talking about her cousin. Also, Mr. Sahu, a man who was working in the library, told him that a student named Alpana, her admission records were missing.

Ipsita began slowly, her words careful at first, then gradually spilling out with the weight she had been carrying all morning. She told him about Abhijeet Naik - a young CEO from Bangalore who had once loved Alpana. She told him how everyone had believed Alpana had died years ago from an illness, and how that lie had been accepted without question.

Then she told him about a woman in burqa in Kerala, that was Alpana.

Hridayansh listened without interrupting. His expression remained calm, but inside, his thoughts were racing.

Mr. Pritam Sahu's voice echoed in his memory: "Those files belonged to a seventeen-year-old girl named Alpana. She was reported dead due to an illness."

Ipsita looked at him anxiously. "I know this sounds unbelievable. I didn't even know whom to tell. But I just... I wanted someone to know."

Hridayansh met her eyes then, and for the first time since she had started speaking, there was something firm in his gaze.

"It doesn't sound unbelievable anymore," he said quietly.

Ipsita blinked. "What do you mean?"

He exhaled slowly.

"After our physics exam, I went to the college library to return a book. Mr. Pritam Sahu called me there because of something strange that had happened."

Ipsita's brows knitted together, "What happened?"

"You remember that evening in library?"

Ipsita nodded.

"Mr. Sahu told me that few admission files were missing. And after checking with digital records, they came to know that those files belonged to an ex-student named Alpana."

Ipsita's eyes widened instantly. For a few seconds, neither of them spoke. The noise of the street faded into the background, leaving only the weight of what they had just shared between them.

Then Ipsita whispered, almost to herself, "You mean, those files are in wrong hands today?"

"It might be," he nodded. "Did Abhijeet bhai mention in front of you about those files?"

"I don't... remember," Ipsita muttered. "Let me ask him in the evening."

"If he'd borrowed them through someone, then there's nothing to worry. But if..."

Hridayansh's voice faded until the end. None of them could imagine the consequence of the otherwise.

The guest house had fallen unusually quiet after dinner.

Padmanabha Mahapatra stood near the window, his hands clasped tightly behind his back. Rashmita sat on the edge of the bed, her face pale, a mobile phone trembling slightly in her grip.

"She was seen again," Rashmita whispered.

Padmanabha turned sharply. "Where?"

"At some weekly market."

The words settled between them like a storm waiting to break.

Padmanabha walked toward her, his voice low and controlled. "Who saw her?"

Rashmita swallowed hard. "I don't know. But the man called and said someone has been asking questions about her."

His jaw tightened. "Did they recognize her?"

"She was wearing a burqa," Rashmita replied quickly. "But they said her face was visible for a few seconds."

Padmanabha closed his eyes briefly, as if forcing himself to remain calm.

"This should not have happened," he said through clenched teeth. "We made sure no one would ever find her."

Rashmita looked at him, fear flickering in her eyes. "What if Abhijeet finds out? What if he reaches her before we do?"

At the mention of Abhijeet's name, Padmanabha's expression darkened.

"That boy should have forgotten her long ago."

"He loved her," Rashmita said quietly.

"His love was merely a few months old."

Padmanabha reached into his pocket and took out an old phone.

Rashmita stared at it. "You still keep that number?"

"For emergencies," he replied.

His fingers hovered over the keypad for a second before he dialed. The call connected almost immediately.

A rough voice answered from the other side. "Yes?"

Padmanabha lowered his voice even further. "She has been seen."

There was a long heavy pause.

"Are you certain?"

"Yes. And if anyone reaches her, everything will be ruined."

"What do you want us to do?"

Padmanabha looked toward Rashmita before answering, whose eyes were now filled with panic. Then he said the words that made her blood run cold.

"Move her before anyone else finds her."

The line went dead within a fraction of second.

"What if something happens to her?" Rashmita asked him, fearfully.

He turned toward her slowly.

"Something already happened to her ten years ago," he said coldly. "We are only making sure the world never learns the truth."

Outside the room, the house remained peaceful. Inside, however, a new plan had already begun, of which Abhijeet and Ipsita were completely unaware.

And this time, Alpana's parents were not just hiding a secret, they'd already begun a decade ago. They were preparing to protect it at any cost.

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