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“You call this torture drama? I actually felt a spasm,” Grandpa declared.

“You yelpedbeforeI even touched you,” Shaurya countered dryly.

Grandpa rolled his eyes, clearly not ready to admit defeat. He was indeed putting on quite a show over the new exercise routine Shaurya had suddenly added to his daily recovery schedule.

Nandini walked over and crouched beside her grandfather. “Daadu, he’s not asking you to run a marathon. Just a few easy stretches. I think it’s a great idea.”

He looked at her like she’d switched sides in a war. “Yousupportthis madness?”

“If it helps you heal faster, absolutely.”

He sighed like the world had betrayed him. “I miss the days when being injured meant I got tea, sympathy, and no orders.”

“You still get the tea,” Nandini said. “Now rotate your toes again.”

He obeyed reluctantly, mumbling something again under his breath.

After two sets of toe curls and an attempted quad contraction, he slumped back with a groan.

“This is revenge,” Grandpa huffed. “You’re getting back at me for all those arguments we had over the mango tree.”

Shaurya smiled calmly. “That’s another fight we’ll continue once you’re better.”

Grandpa glared at him. Then at Nandini. Then, back at Shaurya.

“If this is what your recovery plan involves,” he said, breathless and bitter, “I don’t want you coming here to ‘help’ me recover. My Nandu’s love and care are more than enough.”

Shaurya stood, smug and unbothered. “Noted. But I’m not going to turn back on my words. I never do. So, whether you like it or not, I’ll be here anyway, and you have no choice. You’re stuck with me.”

“This is dictatorship,” Grandpa grumbled, wincing slightly as he rolled his toes again. “I wish Varun was here to save me from you.”

“He won’t be,” Shaurya replied coolly. “At least not until the weekend. I’ve strictly told him to stay away till the pizza party. He’s too much of a distraction to your regime.”

“Distraction?” Grandpa scoffed. “He makes me laugh. I feel better when he’s around. Unlikeyou, who I dislike very much.”

“The feeling is mutual,” Shaurya shot back smoothly, crouching down again to adjust the towel under the cast. “Now finish the last set of toe rolls. Let’s go.”

Grandpa mumbled something under his breath but did as told, flexing and circling his toes like it was the hardest thing he’d ever done.

Nandini shook her head, biting back a grin. “I’ll make some tea for us. Happy exercising, Daadu.”

She bent down to kiss her grandfather’s cheek, and he smiled like he’d just been handed a medal for suffering through the exercises. But when she glanced at Shaurya before turning to leave, something in his expression—quiet, intense, almost boyish—made her falter for a second.

His eyes lingered on her like he was half expecting a kiss too.

Nandini’s cheeks flamed. She turned quickly and walked out, praying he hadn’t seen the way her lips twitched in response.

But he had.

Shaurya turned back to the older man with a smug little smirk.

“Back to work, Mr. Raichand. Tea break is still three reps away.”

Grandpa rolled his toes again, defeated but not broken. As he moved through the final reps, he wondered how the tables had turned.

He had been the one who wanted revenge—payback for every bitter argument and every sharp-tongued exchange they’d ever had. But somehow, Shaurya had flipped the situation in his favour. Now, he was the one having all the fun… tormenting him in return, all under the polished, noble guise of helping him recover.

CHAPTER 14