Meant to be yours

Did she really changed?

Morning sunlight spilled through the massive glass windows of Modi Mansion, painting golden patterns across marble floors.
For the first time in two days...
the house felt alive again.
Jazz had been discharged that morning.
Strict bed rest.
Strict diet.
Strictly no stress.
Which, considering this family...
was almost impossible.
From the living room came laughter.
Loud.
Unfiltered.
Dangerous.
Jazz sat curled up on the massive cream sofa, blanket over her legs, a mug of warm milk in her hands while everyone hovered around her like overly dramatic bodyguards.
And at the center of the chaos-
Ishika.
Unfortunately for her.
"Tell us again..." Riya grinned wickedly. "How many nurses asked for your number?"
Ishika groaned.
"Riya-"
"Three," Melanie Rose interrupted casually, sipping coffee.
She looked entirely too amused.
"Actually... no. Four."
Ishika pointed accusingly.
"You're supposed to be on my side."
Melanie raised an eyebrow.
"I'm a professor."
Pause.
"Humiliation builds character."
The room burst into laughter.
Then-
everyone went quiet.
Because at the far end of the room...
Anamika Modi looked up from her laptop.
Slowly.
Dangerously.
Her eyes landed on Ishika.
"Four?"
Ishika swallowed.
"...Baby."
Riya nearly fell off the couch laughing.
"Oh my god-look at her face."
Jazz clutched her stomach.
"Stop-stop making me laugh..."
Melanie leaned back.
"Personally..."
She glanced toward Anamika.
"I thought the nurse was brave."
Anamika's voice came smooth.
Cold.
"What nurse?"
Riya whispered dramatically:
"She's dead."
Ishika buried her face in her hands.
"Oh my god."
Melanie smirked.
"The blonde one."
Anamika closed her laptop.
Very.
Very quietly.
"The one who touched your arm?"
Ishika blinked.
"...You noticed that?"
Anamika's expression remained unreadable.
"I notice everything."
Jazz muttered:
"That's terrifying."
Riya nodded.
"Romantic."
Payal, from the doorway, corrected:
"Terrifyingly romantic."
More laughter.
But Anamika was already standing.
"Melanie."
Melanie looked up.
"Yes?"
"Walk with me."
The room instantly went silent.
Riya leaned toward Ishika.
"Either they're discussing business..."
She paused.
"...or someone's getting interrogated."
-
Modi Mansion - Private Study
The heavy wooden doors shut behind them.
Silence.
The study smelled faintly of leather, coffee, and old books.
Melanie stood near the window.
Anamika walked toward the liquor cabinet.
Poured two glasses.
Offered one.
Melanie accepted.
Neither spoke for several seconds.
Then-
Anamika:
"The Wilson Group."
Melanie's fingers tightened slightly around the glass.
Anamika turned.
"Your termination."
Pause.
"Your share dump."
Another pause.
"The market crash."
She looked directly at her.
"Why?"
Melanie stared into her glass.
Then smiled faintly.
Not amused.
Not sarcastic.
Just... tired.
"I did it for Jazz."
Silence.
Anamika said nothing.
Melanie continued.
"And..."
A small exhale.
"For Rebecca."
That-
actually made Anamika blink.
She leaned against the desk.
"Explain."
Melanie looked out the window.
"When Rebecca left..."
Her voice softened.
"I waited."
Another pause.
"I told myself she was scared."
"I told myself she'd come back."
Her jaw tightened.
"She didn't."
Anamika remained silent.
Listening.
Carefully.
Melanie laughed bitterly.
"You know what the Wilson board asked me?"
Anamika's eyes narrowed.
"What?"
Melanie's expression hardened.
"They asked if Jazz's pregnancy..."
She swallowed.
"...would affect our public image."
The room turned cold.
Anamika's gaze darkened.
"Names."
Melanie smirked.
"Already destroyed them."
That earned the faintest smile from Anamika.
Melanie took another sip.
"They wanted me to spin it."
"To hide it."
"To bury Jazz."
Her voice cracked.
Just slightly.
"And I realized..."
She looked at Anamika.
"I was about to marry into a family that treated the woman I..."
She stopped.
Anamika finished it quietly.
"...love."
Melanie's eyes softened.
"Yes."
Silence filled the room.
Not uncomfortable.
Just heavy.
Anamika studied her.
Long.
Carefully.
Then asked quietly:
"How long?"
Melanie smiled sadly.
"I don't know."
"At first..."
She chuckled softly.
"She annoyed me."
"Then she made me laugh."
"Then she made me worry."
"And one day..."
Her voice dropped.
"I realized I was memorizing her food cravings."
Silence.
Anamika looked away briefly.
Almost smiling.
"That's bad."
Melanie laughed softly.
"It's catastrophic."
Then-
Anamika's face became serious again.
"What happens..."
She stepped closer.
"If Rebecca comes back?"
Melanie went quiet.
Completely.
Her eyes drifted toward the garden outside.
When she finally spoke-
her voice was almost a whisper.
"Then I step aside."
Anamika frowned immediately.
"You'd surrender?"
Melanie shook her head.
"No."
She looked at her.
"I'd let her choose."
Anamika's eyes sharpened.
"And if Jazz chooses Rebecca?"
Melanie's smile trembled.
Real.
Painful.
Then-
"I'll leave."
Silence.
Anamika stared at her.
As if trying to determine whether she was serious.
"You'd walk away?"
Melanie nodded.
"If it meant Jazz was happy..."
A pause.
Then softer-
"I'd disappear."
For the first time in years-
Anamika Modi had no immediate response.
She simply looked at Melanie.
Really looked.
Not as a rival.
Not as a business opponent.
Not as Ishika's infuriating professor.
But as a woman...
quietly preparing herself for heartbreak.
Finally-
Anamika spoke.
Low.
Certain.
"She'd be a fool not to choose you."
Melanie blinked.
Actually blinked.
Then laughed softly.
"Careful."
She smirked.
"Your wife already makes you look soft."
Anamika smirked back.
"Tell Ishika that..."
She moved toward the door.
Then stopped.
Without turning-
"If Rebecca hurts Jazz again..."
Her voice dropped.
Ice.
"She answers to both of us."
Melanie's smile disappeared.
Replaced by something deeper.
Respect.
"Understood."
And for the first time-
The rivals stood on the same side.