Aryan and Sanju were in their room. He stood on the balcony, staring at the golden rays of the morning sun. Her soft touch on his shoulder brought him back to reality, and he turned to look at her.
“What are you thinking, Aryan?” Sanju asked gently.
“We should announce about Amma and Appa,” he said, his voice thoughtful. “But before that, I need to speak to Naren and tell him everything we discussed yesterday. I doubt if he’ll believe it.”
“Tell him confidently. He will believe you,” Sanju assured him. “We cannot break him by telling the truth. He has just relaxed after so many traumas.”
“Correct,” Aryan nodded. “I’ll invite him home today, and later we’ll have a press meet.”
“Fine. Call him and inform him to come.”
Aryan nodded and immediately called Naren, asking him to come over to his mansion. Without any questions, Naren agreed to come.
Later, Aryan, Sanju, and his parents were seated in the living room when Naren appeared at the doorstep. He stood frozen, unable to believe what he was seeing. Ranjit noticed him and called him inside, and everyone turned their attention toward him. Aryan got up, walked toward Naren, held his hand, and gently brought him inside, standing before his parents.
Naren’s eyes flicked from Aryan to his parents in disbelief.
“Uncle, aunty… how are you?” he asked, his voice low.
“We are fine. How are you?” Devika replied with a smile.
“Come, sit with us,” Vishnu invited warmly.
Naren sat with them, still dazed, looking at Aryan, waiting for answers.
“After the accident,” Aryan began, “somebody rescued Amma and Appa. After your father’s accident, I got a call from an unknown number telling me they were alive. At first, I didn’t believe it. But the second time, Appa himself spoke to me. That’s when I went and brought them here. I took them to the hospital for a full check-up, and once they were fine, I brought them home.”
“I’m so happy, Aryan,” Naren said emotionally. “But what about the bodies that were found in the accident?”
“It was one of Appa’s old friends and his wife. They had met them that day and joined them on the trip.”
“Ohhh… but I’m so happy,” Naren repeated with genuine joy.
“I’ve planned a press meet in the evening to reveal that they are alive,” Aryan said. “But I wanted you to know before I do that. Even Amma and Appa wanted to meet you.”
“How is Maya?” Devika asked gently.
“She is fine,” Naren replied. “After the accident, she’s recovering well.”
Aryan gave him a subtle glance, signaling not to go into details.
“I’m planning to get her married soon,” Naren added quickly.
“Very good,” Vishnu responded warmly. “We shall do it together. You are not alone. It will be our family wedding.”
Naren felt emotional, guilt building inside him as he remembered his father’s attitude towards Aryan—and how Aryan’s parents had shown only love in return.
“Hey, don’t feel bad,” Devika said kindly. “We are family. I’ll come and meet Maya soon.”
“Okay, aunty,” Naren said softly.
Soon after Naren left, Sanju took Aryan back to their room.
“Aryan, why didn’t you tell Amma and Appa about Maya?” she asked curiously.
“Let the scars of pain we had from Maya stay only with us,” Aryan replied quietly. “They’ve suffered too much already, and now I don’t want them to have even a bit of sadness in their lives. And moreover, they wanted to be a family and do Maya’s marriage… let’s not spoil that with bitter memories. Even I want to be part of the marriage—at least for Naren’s sake.”
“You know what, Aryan?” Sanju said softly, her eyes filled with love. “You make me fall in love with you more every day. I’m so proud of you.”
“Oh, I see!” Aryan grinned. “So, give me something special.”
He hugged her and nuzzled into the crook of her neck.
“You want something special?” Sanju teased. “Fine, I have news for you.”
“What’s the news?” Aryan asked, pulling back slightly.
“Pavi called me. She met Maya, it seems.”
“Oh? What does that have to do with us?”
“Maya asked her how Naren bro and Pavi met,” Sanju said, her eyes playful.
Aryan pulled back from the hug, a hint of tension in his expression.
“Pavi told her that she works for Maya’s other brother and met Naren bro through him.”
“Naren’s other brother? Who is he?” Aryan asked, confused.
“Hmm… yes. Maya’s other brother—Mr. Aryan Chaitanya,” she giggled, watching his stunned face.
“What did she reply to that?” Aryan asked, his voice eager.
“Seems like she wanted to meet her Aryan brother and sister-in-law,” Sanju replied with a smile.
Aryan’s face lit up, and he pulled her into a tight hug, kissing her joyfully.
“God! Truly, I’m happy now. Come, let’s celebrate!”
He scooped her into his arms in a bridal style and carried her to the bed, laying down with her.
“Hello! What celebration are you talking about? Nothing will happen now!” Sanju warned, half-laughing.
“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you. Just for a while. At least a make-out,” Aryan whispered.
Sanju hummed in response, and soon, their shirts were tossed aside as he kissed her lips, their hands entwined. He trailed kisses along her jawline, collarbone, and chest. His hands moved from hers to her bosom, pressing softly. After a heated make-out, he kissed her forehead and her baby bump.
“I won’t be able to control after this, so… better we stop,” Aryan whispered.
Sanju smiled shyly and hugged him close.
“Don’t laugh, wifey,” Aryan murmured. “You’ll get back altogether after our baby is born. You won’t leave the bed.”
“That’s for later. Our time would be enough to take care of our baby at that time,” Sanju replied playfully.
“My cutie pie would understand and won’t make any trouble for her appa,” Aryan said with pride.
“We shall see that later. Now let’s sleep for a while. I’m tired,” she said, closing her eyes.
He kissed her forehead, pecked her lips, and gently patted her until she drifted to sleep.
Ranjith had taken charge of arranging the press meet at Aryan’s mansion. Everything was set by the evening, and the family sat in the garden, sipping coffee and enjoying the calm before the storm of attention.
Suddenly, Pradeep arrived with his father, Surendhar. Sanjana looked up in surprise.
“Uncle, you are here? You have surprised me,” she said with a warm smile.
“Aryan invited us, Sanju,” Pradeep replied.
Aryan welcomed them both graciously. Pradeep and Surendhar looked curiously at the elderly couple seated beside Aryan but didn’t immediately recognize them.
“Sir, Pradeep,” Aryan said, gesturing toward the couple, “they are my parents.”
Surendhar looked stunned. “You said they met with an accident.”
“Someone with a kind heart saved them,” Aryan explained calmly. “They called me when they discovered their identity. I reached out, brought them home, and took them for a complete check-up. I wanted to introduce them to you. Amma, Appa, this is Surendhar—Sanju’s uncle—and his son Pradeep, CEO of ARC Cosmetics. He also runs his own business.”
Vishnu greeted them warmly. “Hello, nice to meet you. How are you?”
“I’m fine, and I’m so happy to see you,” Surendhar replied genuinely.
“Aryan is really lucky to have Sanju in his life,” Devika added. “She’s such a sweet, kind-hearted girl.”
Surendhar smiled. “Even we are lucky to have a son-in-law like Aryan.”
Pradeep joined in. “Very happy to see you, uncle and aunty.”
Surendhar took a moment and then added, “It’s good we were called today. Actually, I’m planning Pradeep’s wedding.”
Sanjana chuckled. “Uncle, he’s already found a girl.”
Surendhar smiled. “He spoke to me, Sanju. So I thought of informing you all. Let’s have the engagement first.”
“But we could get them married directly,” Aryan suggested.
“No,” Pradeep interrupted gently. “Let’s wait until Sanju’s delivery. Only then will she be able to enjoy all the rituals at our wedding. Even Keerthy and Pavi would think the same. I want it to be that way.”
“That’s great,” Sanju agreed. “So let’s plan the engagement.”
“We should plan the baby shower for Sanju,” Devika said thoughtfully.
“Next week we shall have the engagement,” Surendhar decided. “And the following week we’ll plan the baby shower.”
“Good,” Devika agreed. “We shall take care of all the arrangements.”
Aryan turned to his mother. “Amma, our marriage happened in a very simple manner. Sanju’s uncle and Ranjith were the only ones who witnessed it, so I want Sanju’s baby shower to be a grand occasion.”
“Don’t worry,” Vishnu assured. “We’ll arrange it in a way that it’s no less than a wedding.”
“No,” Sanju protested playfully. “Let’s have it in a simple way.”
“No wifey,” Aryan said firmly. “What I said is final.”
Sanju sighed with a smile. “Okay, mouth zipped.”
Later that evening, after Pradeep and his father had left, Aryan and his parents got ready for the press meet. The event was arranged in the mansion’s lush lawn. Aryan and Ranjith went ahead to greet the press, while his parents waited for his call to join.
As Aryan stepped forward to the podium, all the media personnel stood up in respect. Ranjith took the mic.
“Thank you all for coming at short notice,” he began. “This is going to be a short meet, and our sir will address you now.”
Aryan stepped forward. “Thank you all for coming here. I’m very glad today to share an announcement. Everybody was aware that my parents were presumed lost in an accident. I too believed it… but I’m happy to say that they are very much alive.”
A reporter raised a question. “Sir, but their bodies were found, and the reports said they were your parents.”
“I have asked for an investigation on that,” Aryan responded calmly. “But the people who died in that accident were old friends of my father who had joined them on the trip.”
Another reporter smiled warmly. “Sir, so happy for you and your parents. We wish them good well-being. Can we meet them?”
“Sure,” Aryan nodded. “They will be here now. I wanted the world to know that the business King Mr. Vishnu Chaitanya and my mother Mrs. Devika Chaitanya are alive.”
At his signal, Bala escorted the elderly couple onto the lawn. As they walked in with grace and pride, camera flashes lit up the garden. Reporters eagerly leaned forward.
“Mr. Vishnu, how did you survive the accident?” one asked.
“Thank you all for coming today,” Vishnu began, his voice firm yet kind. “Thank God, the world still has many good hearts. Someone saved us from the accident. We were sick and unconscious for a long time. Once we recovered, I called Aryan and he took us back home. I want to thank that kind soul at this moment.”
“Sir,” a reporter asked, “can you introduce the person who saved you?”
“They didn’t want to come into the limelight,” Vishnu said respectfully. “They were simple and kind, and I respect their decision to remain anonymous.”
Another reporter asked cautiously, “Was the accident a planned one from any of your enemies?”
“No,” Vishnu shook his head. “It was just an accident. Nothing to do with my business.”
One more question came. “Sir, your son is already ruling the industry like you did. Are you coming back to the business world? Many would feel set back if news of your return spreads.”
“No,” Vishnu replied calmly. “I don’t have any plans to return to business. As you said, my son is already good at it. It’s now my time to be with my family and relax.”
A more somber question followed. “Sir, Mr. Chandrasekar recently passed away in a terrible accident, and his daughter too met with a horrible accident before that. He was your best friend. How do you look at his death?”
Vishnu paused, his face somber. “Yes… I miss him a lot. I was in a terrible phase when he died. His absence is a great loss to me. But I still have his son and daughter, who will be my children henceforth. I’m glad to be here for them for the rest of my life to fill the void Chandra left behind.”
A lighter question followed. “Sir, you’ve all been reunited after a long time. Can we have a family click?”
Devika smiled. “Yes, we are back together after a long time, but a family picture—not now. Soon, you will be invited to a big occasion in our family. You can take one then.”
Another reporter asked excitedly, “Can you share the special news now?”
“Yes,” Devika announced proudly. “We are expecting a new member in our family very soon. The occasion will be the baby shower of our daughter, Sanjana Aryan. You will all be invited for it.”
“Congratulations, Mr. Aryan,” a reporter said warmly.
“Thank you all,” Aryan replied. “I hope that’s all for today. We shall wind up now.”
“Sir,” another asked, “shall we have some clicks of Mr. and Mrs. Vishnu?”
“Sure,” Aryan said, gesturing with a smile.
The cameras clicked endlessly as the royal old couple posed gracefully. Their return made headlines for the next few days. The industry buzzed with the news of the former business demon’s return. Though Vishnu had made it clear he was out of business, a quiet fear lingered—was he still the hidden force behind Aryan Chaitanya, the reigning demon of the business world?
