INSEPARABLE HEARTS 2

Chapter 130

Happy Reading

The tension in the office was thick.

Keerthi sat stiffly, her bottom lip slightly swollen, a scrape near her eyebrow. Ruby, across from her, dabbed at her cheek with a tissue. Neither spoke. The principal, Mr. Deshmukh, sat behind his desk, arms crossed, jaw tight.

“This is not how we handle conflict in this school,” he said firmly. “You’re both suspended for two days. And we’ll be calling your parents.”

Ruby rolled her eyes.

Keerthi simply nodded, eyes forward.

Soon enough, Vikram — Keerthi’s father — entered, Their presence shifted the energy. Vikram looked at his daughter, then at the principal.

“I’m here for Keerthi and Dharshi. Ruby’s not our responsibility,” he said curtly.

The principal nodded, sliding forward the incident report. “We’ll need a signed apology letter. Verbal apologies will not be enough. Physical altercations are taken seriously.”

Vikram glanced at Keerthi. She met his eyes, and surprisingly, he didn’t look angry. Just... calm.

He signed the document quietly, then stood.

“I’ll take them home. Thank you for your time.”

_________

The car was silent until they pulled out of the school gates.

“I shouldn’t have hit her,” Keerthi finally said, her voice low.

“No,” Dharshi added, “but she crossed a line.”

Vikram smiled faintly, eyes on the road.

“You know… Dev and I were exactly like this in high school.”

Keerthi blinked. “Wait — like what?”

“One of us was calm and wise… the other was dramatic and had to punch every single wall to express themselves .”

Dharshi turned, wide-eyed. “Wait… dad was the calm one?!”

Vikram chuckled. “no, beta. That was me. Dev used to get into fights just because someone borrowed his notes without asking.”

Keerthi smirked. “Okay that’s totally me.”

He grinned. “Exactly. You’ve got your Chacha’s fire. And that’s not a bad thing. But you girls have to learn where to draw the line.”

The car turned into a street lined with trees.

“Keeping secrets… hiding pain… it never works. We’re here to help you. But only if you let us.”

There was a pause.

“Also,” he added with a mischievous whisper to Keerthi, “don’t worry. I won’t tell your mom.”

Keerthi exhaled a breath she didn’t know she was holding.

__________

Instead of heading straight home, Vikram stopped at a small corner café.

“Seriously?” Keerthi asked, eyes widening.

“You’re suspended. You’ve got time,” Vikram teased.

They sat at a booth by the window, ordering their usual — mango for Keerthi, chocolate chip for Dharshi, and old-school vanilla for Vikram.

“Dev and I used to come here every Saturday,” he said, licking his cone. “This was our escape. From parents, pressure, heartbreaks... and yes, stupid fights too.”