Rekindled | ✓

Chapter 11. Breakup

🎶 Champagne Problems

Published on 26.10.2022

❝ you had a speech, you're speechless,
love slipped beyond your reaches,
i couldn't give a reason,
champagne problems. ❞

🥀

Ayansh was seated on his place with his fingers clutching a pen as his hand trembled ever so slightly, his heart thumping due to uneasiness, his face tense and a few people surrounded him, watching him with something akin to pity and helplessness.

Inaaya stood a little away, letting her weight fall against the jamb of the glass door as she looked over at him, her face contorted into an expression of empathy.

"It's alright, Sir." Rohan said with a tired sigh and shook his head lightly to see how Ayansh wasn't ready to give up when he was clearly struggling to sign the papers due to the cast.

Ayansh remained silent, continuing to try despite the humiliation and incapability he felt.

"Not to sound rude but this is a waste of time." Alex muttered, earning a glare from Sameer, a 'shut up' mouthed by Felix and oblivious to him, Inaaya straightened up, digging holes in the back of his head by her glower.

Ayansh didn't pay heed. The frustration he felt from himself was way more bothering than getting offended by some petty comment.

Inaaya wanted to speak, say something to him but she didn't know what. How could she say to him to stop trying because it's visibly futile? It wasn't the broken wrist but the self-esteem which was being crushed as he struggled and failed while the people who are meant to look up at him were looking down at him. It had been fifteen minutes and he was still trying to do a proper signature of his on a spare paper before signing on the main documents and he was failing miserably. And everytime he failed, it just made the embarrassed, self-conscious part of him to try foolishly to succeed.

"Sir," Felix called out in a restraint tone. "It's really not that urgent. You and we both know that with the cast, you won't be able to."

Ayansh clenched his teeth and after a few seconds, he let the pen drop, his gaze on the paper which was scribbled as if a child had been practicing how to write. Alex heaved a breath of relief.

Emma picked up the main documents from the table. Inaaya had her gaze fixed on Ayansh and her heart squeezed in her chest to watch him disheartened and disappointed and unable to look up and meet anyone's eyes. She noticed how he had fisted his left hand and the irrational part of her wanted to hug him, tell him that it's not a big deal as his overthinking brain might be making of it and most importantly there's nothing to feel embarassed about. She hoped he could look up at her once.

"Sir," Emma addressed him and her voice was normal, no unnecessary pity or any other emotion laced it. "It's okay to give up," she stated. "You tried, gave your best, it didn't work out and it's fine. You did what you could. Now, you can't force something to work in your favour when it's obvious it doesn't want to. Really not a big deal." She shrugged.

Inaaya heard that and maybe it was a small, simple thing to say but all of a sudden, she got a new perspective, something she might have forgotten or overlooked, she didn't know.

People moved but she stayed.

She watched Ayansh who had his head hung low, trapped in his own frailty and although, she didn't how she could help him, she knew what she had to do for herself. She glanced up at Sameer and then turned around and walked out of the office.

A decision had to be taken.

A decision was taken.

Inaaya texted Josh to meet her at a restaurant in the evening. She specified the address and time and said she had to talk about something important.