Theeran took Vaishnavi out to eat. But Vaishnavi's mind was preoccupied with what Janvi had said. Seeing them go out, Janvi smiled mockingly and thought to herself, "Let's see if I can do something with you," and started eating.
Here, Theeran brought Vaishnavi to the garden, made her sit on the swing, and started swinging her.
Then Vaishnavi, with a tearful face, turned and asked, "Brother, isn't Dad related to us?" Theeran seriously asked her, "Vaishnavi, do you like him very much?" To which Vaishnavi replied, "I like him very much... I really like being with him, he takes good care of me. I want him as my father," and suddenly jumped down from the swinging swing and stood in front of Theeran.
"Brother, you promised me, didn't you? You said you would give me whatever I ask for, right? Please, brother... I want him as my father," Vaishnavi pleaded. Theeran asked, "Vaishnavi, is it enough if only you like him? Shouldn't Mom like him too?"
Vaishnavi hesitated and said, "Mom should like him too, brother." Theeran nodded his head thoughtfully for a few moments.
"Okay... If Mom likes him and wants to live with him, then he will definitely be your father. No one can stop this, no matter what they think. It cannot be changed," Theeran said. Just then, Narayanan approached them.
He had gone out for work early in the morning and was just returning home. As soon as Vaishnavi saw him, she shouted "Grandpa!" and ran to hug him. He lifted her up and affectionately said, "Come here, my darling." "What's wrong, my darling? Your face looks so sad," he asked, sitting down on a nearby chair. But when Vaishnavi remained silent, burying her face in his neck, he looked at Theeran questioningly.
Theeran briefly explained what had happened, and he chuckled, saying, "Is that all?" He then made Vaishnavi sit on his lap and began to comfort her.
"Vaishu darling, should you be sad about this? As your brother said, it's enough if only your mother likes your father. Your father will be with you for your entire life," he said, and Vaishnavi looked up at him. Her eyes shone with a mixture of hope and surprise.
Immediately, Narayanan said, "Yes, darling, I'll give you lots of ideas. You do exactly as I say. Then you'll see, your mother will like your father very much." Only then did Vaishnavi's face brighten.
"Really, Grandpa? So what should I do?" she asked eagerly, resting her hand on her cheek. He kissed her forehead and whispered something in her ear.
Vaishnavi listened attentively to everything he said and replied, "Okay, Grandpa, I'll do as you say," and smiled. Theeran watched them silently but didn't say anything in protest. Just then, Sarath approached them and said, "Sir, I've prepared everything as you instructed," and handed him a document.
He took it and gave it to Theeran, saying, "Here, son, all the details you asked for are in this. It will be very helpful to you." Theeran replied, "Thank you very much, Grandpa," with a mischievous look on his face. Sharath, who was watching all this, said, "Wow, there's nothing wrong with calling him Little Master. The amount of fear one feels when seeing Master, that same amount of fear comes from seeing this guy too," and he immediately sent a message to Hari about what had happened.
Hari, who was watching everything he sent, became more and more curious to know who Theeran was. While looking at the message Sharath had sent, a woman bumped into him as he came downstairs for some work and fell down.
But our Hari stood firm and bent down to see who the woman was. The woman, who got up groaning in pain, saw all the files she was carrying scattered on the ground and angrily started scolding without even looking at who had bumped into her.
"Hey you idiot, are you walking with your eyes on your back? You brainless fool!" Pooja, Mullai's friend, started shouting disrespectfully right away.
In her anger at falling, Pooja started speaking rudely to the person who had bumped into her. Hari, surprised by this, said in a firm voice, "Hello madam, I was walking on the side. You were in a hurry and bumped into me and fell down."
"What, me?" she was about to say something angrily, but then she saw Hari's face. Immediately, she was even more shocked.
"Oh my God, did I bump into him? And I even scolded him?" she muttered to herself, and then said aloud, "Sir, I was walking correctly. You were looking at your phone and bumped into me. If you want, there's a camera there, check it," and she bravely picked up all the scattered papers and left.
Hari watched her go, a slight smile on his lips, "How..."
"Look, she's getting away, she seems like a cunning one," he thought to himself, and then went to attend to the task he had come for.
As time passed, everyone left for home when the office closed in the evening. Mullai also came out of her cubicle and walked quickly towards the elevator.
Just then, Ilangovan, calling out "Mullai," ran up to her and got into the elevator with her. Mullai looked at him, and he said, "What happened, Mullai? Why didn't you come to the canteen at noon? Everyone was waiting for you, and since you didn't come, we ate and left."
Mullai replied, "There was a meeting. It got late. Sorry." Ilangovan said, "What can you do about the meeting? Never mind," and then started talking to her about something else.
A short while later, when the elevator opened, he stepped out and noticed Mullai limping slightly. He quickly knelt down in front of her and lifted her foot to examine it.
Before Mullai could react, he had already held her foot, and she steadied herself by placing her hand on his shoulder. She asked, "Hey, what happened? Why are you holding my foot?"
He replied, "I should be asking you that. What happened to you? Why are you limping?" Seeing that her ankle was swollen, he asked anxiously, "Hey, how did you get hurt?" He tried to lift her, but Mullai moved away from him.
In a flustered voice, she said, "Hey, it's just a small injury. Don't overreact," and walked ahead. Ilangovan asked, "So, your leg doesn't hurt when you walk?" Mullai turned back to look at him and said, "It doesn't hurt at all. You go home safely." After sending him away, saying, "We'll see tomorrow," she turned to her side as if something had occurred to her.
There, standing in the car parking area, Bhadran was watching her with a stern face and an inexplicable anger. Mullai felt scared seeing that anger.
"Why is he looking at me like this?" "Let's just take an auto and go home," she thought, and stepped out, looking for an auto-rickshaw.
Just as an auto approached, and before she could flag it down, Bhadran stopped his car in front of her. Mullai hesitated, wondering whether to get in or not, when Bhadran's voice, laced with irritation, came from inside, "Do I have to open the car door for the madam too?" Quickly, Mullai opened the car door and got into the front seat.
The next moment she got in, the car sped off at a furious pace. He vented all his anger through his driving, and the speed terrified her; she felt dizzy and nauseous.
Because she was sitting in the front seat, it felt like the car was narrowly missing other vehicles. Her trembling increased. "Oh my God, why is he driving so fast?" she thought. Unable to bear it any longer, she started shouting, "Sir, sir, stop the car!"
Bhadran ignored her and drove even faster. She pleaded, covering her mouth with her hand, "Sir, please, I can't take it anymore." For some reason, Bhadran stopped the car. She almost hit the dashboard when he stopped, but somehow managed to steady herself. She quickly opened the car door and got out, and the next moment she started vomiting.
She vomited so much that it felt like her intestines would come out. Feeling dizzy, she sat down on the road. Bhadran brought a water bottle and offered it to her. She took it, rinsed her mouth, and washed her face. Unable to stand up, she extended her hand towards Bhadran, saying, "Sir."
Bhadran looked at her and her outstretched hand, then, without taking her hand, he bent down and lifted her into his arms. Mullai, without protesting, put her arms around his neck like a garland and asked, "Why were you driving so fast, sir?" "Are you leaving? I can't do this," she said with a weary expression.
Seeing this, Bhadran's heart softened. He simply said, "I'm not going anymore," and helped her sit inside the car. He then went to the other side, started the car, and drove off. Mullai felt as if all the energy had drained from her body, so she slowly closed her eyes and leaned back in the seat.
Bhadran drove, glancing at her occasionally, and found himself admiring Mullai despite himself. He didn't know where his anger had gone. Even though she was exhausted, her face was radiant. A strand of her hair was brushing against her face, and he reached out to move it away.
Just then, Mullai opened her eyes and, with a retching sound, vomited inside the car again. Bhadran, startled, stopped the car and asked, "Hey, what happened?" As he approached her, Mullai got out of the car and tried to run to the side of the road.
In her haste, she tripped over a stone and fell heavily in the middle of the road. Her hand landed on a sharp stone, and blood gushed out.