Ray of light

Chapter 1 - Collision

The world is made up of a diverse range of people. With wishes. Desires. Dreams. There are some that have nothing but are happy. And then there are some that have everything but feel a hollow ache in their heavy hearts that they carry to bed with every night.

One such individual is our male protagonist, Abhimanyu Birla.

Abhimanyu Birla walked into the top floor of the dashing Birla Enterprises building set in the highest skyscraper in Mumbai. The employees in the office place stood up instantly as he walked past them, dressed sleekly in his black suit. The atmosphere was grand as everyone stood still, holding their breath.

He heard a row of "good morning Sir" as he walked past the employees who bowed their heads down in recognition of their CEO.

He gave them all a tired nod of acknowledgment as he flicked through a file in his hands and ran through his meeting notes in his head.

Abhimanyu Birla is the oldest son of Harshvardan and Manjari Birla and the current CEO of Birla Enterprises. To the rest of the world, he had it all. He was intelligent, wealthy, personable, charming, and not to mention - undeniably and irresistibly good-looking. There weren't a lot of people that were not head over heels in love with him. Or wanted to befriend him. Or have him as their mentor. Or simply even be in his presence.

He had extensively traveled the world, dined at every lavish restaurant, won awards, and walked on the red carpet. Whatever he wanted, he could have at the snap of his fingers.

Except for two things.

True Love

And

Choice

Sighing, he reached his office and dropped his files on the table. Sitting back on his chair, he turned to the windows of his office and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes tight. Normally the view would display the skyline of Mumbai but Abhimanyu had the blinds almost always covered. Darkness. Much like most of his inner world.

The truth was.

Abhimanyu was tired.

He was tired of his life.

He was tired of pretending.

Pretending he was happy.

Pretending he was perfect.

When he wasn't.

The truth was there wasn't an ounce of authenticity in his life.

His family sat at one dinner table like they liked each other like they understood each other when it was all superficial. All over the top. None of them even knew each other. Anything about each other. Everything was regulated by assistants or house helps, he felt like he knew some of them more than his own family members.

His Father and Mother had their own arranged marriage on the basis of business, both belonging to wealthy families. And Abhimanyu had seen the result of that - intense arguments, fighting, and then finally distance and silence. Cold. Darkness.

Where had been the love?

Abhimanyu had never been raised with any.

He had expectations he had to abide by.

Everything was planned.

Including his own marriage. He turned back to his table and gazed down at his ring finger where lay a thin silver band, signifying his engagement to the darling Radhika Reddy, the heir to Reddy industries.

He had met her maybe three times before. She was simple and cut-throat, they had not much in common. More superficial conversation.

And they had not had much choice.

It was decided.

Both trapped.

Abhimanyu gulped, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulder.

Everyone wanted to be at the top until they realised what they lost - true authentic human connection. Everywhere he went, people were hell-bent on impressing him. He was fed lies or presented with people who thought he wanted to hear rather than just being themselves.

He was exhausted.

Sometimes he felt like a puppet.

And he was starting to wonder if he was one too.

Unknowingly he had started tapping his fingers on his table.

A nervous habit.

The empty coffee cup that sat on the corner of the table rocked once.

And then twice.

And then three times.

Threatening to tip over.

But Abhimanyu did not notice it.

Tapping away.

And then it wobbled a little too much and fell off the table causing Abhimanyu to look at the noise it made as it left the table.

But the crash never came.

And it never broke.

Because a hand caught the empty mug.

Like it was here to fill it.

And when Abhimanyu looked up, he gasped.

He was met by the most breathtaking smile he had ever seen.

His breath caught in his throat.

"Hi..." a beautiful bright girl said to him, giving him the biggest toothy grin he had ever seen. It hit him sharp right in the chest. Her eyes were a warm brown, reminding him of the sunset after you go into the ocean for a dip. There was a little glint of enthusiasm in them, a child-like enthusiasm bright and starry.

Straightening herself as she stood up, she placed the empty mug back on his table.

And then continued.

All dressed in bright clothes.

Like the sun rays, she was going to bring into his life.

"My name is Akshara... your new assistant"

I just couldn't help myself, could I??? It has not even been 24 hours since I posted the epilogue of Twist in Time and here I am... lol.

This will be a MUCH shorter story. Please expect slower updates!! And after this, I will go on a hiatus for sure and solely be a reader haha.

BUT I just had to pen this one down.

It is much more light-hearted and carefree... and I will let you in on a little secret, I have written the next few chapters already!

N x