Chapter 1

Author's POV

The clock struck 2 p.m.

One by one, the examiners began collecting the answer scripts. The familiar rustle of papers, the scraping of chairs, and the quiet sighs of exhausted students filled the examination hall.

Pragya placed her pen on the desk and let out a slow breath.

It was over.

She handed her answer script to the examiner and walked out of the examination hall with a quiet confidence in her step. After months of lectures, assignments, practicals, sleepless nights, and endless examinations, she had finally reached the end of her eighth semester.

Outside the examination centre, she stopped and looked around.

She was waiting for one person.

Archismita.

Pragya leaned against the railing, scrolling through her phone while occasionally glancing toward the examination hall. She had barely managed to wait patiently when, finally, a familiar figure emerged through the doors.

Archismita.

The moment their eyes met, Pragya's face lit up.

Their last examination was officially over.

No more hurried revisions.

No more frantic notes.

No more late-night study sessions.

No more professors reminding them about deadlines.

No more examinations.

They had survived the final semester of their B.Tech. in Biotechnology.

Now came the final wait—the results.

Once the results were declared, they would officially become graduates.

For a moment, neither girl said anything.

They simply stood there, looking at each other, almost unable to believe that the chapter they had spent years living through had finally reached its final page.

Pragya smiled.

"So... we're actually done?"

Archismita gave her a tired laugh.

"Apparently."

And just like that, two students walked away from the examination centre—not knowing exactly what the future held, but knowing that whatever came next, they would face it together.

In the parking lot, Anubhab stood beside his car, patiently waiting for his sister and her best friend.

Despite his demanding schedule and the countless responsibilities that constantly occupied his time, Anubhab always made time for his angel. No matter how busy he was, Pragya somehow remained an exception to every rule.

While waiting, he leaned against the car and went through a few office documents on his tablet, occasionally glancing toward the examination centre.

Then, his eyes found her.

Pragya.

The moment their eyes met, a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

He didn't need to ask how the examination had gone.

The unmistakable sparkle in his sister's eyes told him everything.

She had nailed it.

Anubhab knew that look. He had seen it countless times before—the quiet confidence, the barely concealed excitement, and that little gleam that appeared whenever Pragya knew she had done well.

He lowered the tablet and waited for them to approach.

Finally, Pragya and Archismita reached the car, their faces carrying the unmistakable relief of students who had just survived their final examination.

Anubhab looked at his sister with quiet pride.

"Well, Angel?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "How badly did you traumatize the examiners this time?"

Pragya rolled her eyes.

"Very funny, dabhai."

Archismita laughed beside her.

Anubhab's smile widened.

For him, this moment was worth every busy hour he had sacrificed.

His little sister had finished her final examination.

And he couldn't have been prouder.

They all settled into the car, and Anubhab took the driver's seat. Pragya slipped into the passenger seat beside him, while Archismita settled comfortably in the back.

During the examination period, Archismita had been staying at Pragya's house. Her hostel was far too distant from the examination centre, and neither Anirban nor Anubhab had even considered letting her travel that distance every day.

To them, Archismita was not merely Pragya's friend.

She was family.

Both Anirban and Anubhab treated her with the same warmth and affection they showered upon Pragya, making sure that she never felt the absence of a family of her own. Their home had quietly become a second home for her—a place where she could eat without hesitation, complain without fear, and feel cared for without having to ask.

As Anubhab pulled the car out of the parking lot, he glanced at the two girls through the rear-view mirror.

"Since both of you absolutely rocked the examination, we're going out for dinner tonight," he announced. "And invite Miss Designer and Miss Historian too. Otherwise, Miss Historian will create such a huge drama that I'll never hear the end of it."

Archismita laughed from the back seat.

Pragya shook her head, already knowing exactly whom he was referring to.

"I have to go to the office after dropping you both home," Anubhab continued. "So, both of you get some rest when you get home and be ready by eight. We'll go out then."

Anubhab never treated Pragya's friends as merely her friends.

Niharika, Aarohi, and Archismita were his sisters too.

Having watched them grow alongside Pragya, he had naturally developed the same protective affection for all three of them. He teased them, scolded them, spoiled them, and kept an almost brotherly watch over them.

Niharika's chaotic antics often earned her a lecture, Aarohi's endless drama was a regular source of amusement—and exasperation—and Archismita held a particularly special place in his heart. Knowing that she had grown up without a family of her own, Anubhab made sure she never felt like an outsider whenever she was with the Banerjees.

There was no distinction in his eyes.

If Pragya needed him, he was there.

If Archismita needed him, he was there.

If Aarohi or Niharika called, he would show up just the same.

He might complain, threaten to lecture them, or pretend to be annoyed by their antics, but beneath every word was genuine affection.

And the girls knew it.

To them, Anubhab was not simply Pragya's elder brother.

He was the protective elder brother they had collectively acquired along the way—the one who would tease them mercilessly, spoil them shamelessly, and stand between them and the world without hesitation.

In Anubhab's world, there was no "my sister" and "my sister's friends."

There were simply his girls.

Pragya suddenly turned toward him.

"Will Papa come with us?"

There was a brief pause.

Anubhab's expression softened.

"He wanted to, Angel. But he has a surgery scheduled."

The excitement on Pragya's face faded almost instantly.

"Oh."

She turned toward the window, trying not to let her disappointment show.

Anubhab noticed.

Of course he did.

He knew his sister too well to miss the subtle change in her expression. Without taking his eyes off the road, he reached across and gently placed a reassuring hand over hers.

"Hey," he said softly. "Don't be sad."

Pragya looked at him.

"Papa wanted to come. You know that, right?"

She gave a small nod.

Anubhab squeezed her hand gently before returning it to the steering wheel.

Their father always tried.

Anirban's profession demanded more from him than most people could imagine. As a surgeon, his time was never truly his own. Emergency calls, complicated procedures, long surgeries, consultations—the hospital could claim him at any hour. Even when he was physically at home, his mind was often occupied with his patients.

But whenever he could, he made time for his family.

And whenever Anirban couldn't, Anubhab tried to fill the space.

It was something he had never considered a burden.

He simply did it.

For Pragya, he was the brother who showed up when she needed him, the person who remembered the little things, the one who made sure she never felt neglected because their father's profession demanded so much of his time.

Perhaps Anubhab understood better than anyone that being there for someone wasn't always about having endless time.

Sometimes, it was simply about making the time you had count.

And for his little sister, he always did.