Beautiful disaster (completed)

Chapter 26 - His Birthday

Kiara's pov

As I piped messy letters spelling out "Happy Birthday Kabir!" on the chocolate cake, my mind wandered back to our conversation two days back. He had made an offhand comment about me spending too much time with Dev at work. At first I was annoyed, but then it struck me - could Kabir be jealous? The thought made my heart race. After years of coldness and conflict, the idea that he might see me as more than just a colleague opens up possibilities I had long given up on.

I wiped the sweat from my brow as I looked at the lopsided cake sitting on the kitchen counter, feeling a swell of pride. Baking was not my forte, but I had wanted to surprise Kabir for his birthday today with a homemade cake.

I still had vivid memories of burning cookies in home - but growing up in a boarding school with mediocre food, I had learned a few basic recipes out of necessity.

I woke up early today and put on some upbeat Bollywood song "Koi Mil Gaya" from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai movie to pump myself up as I gathered the ingredients and supplies.

"Pagal tha me pahle ya ab ho gya hu," I sang along to the lyrics.

Following the simple chocolate cake recipe meticulously, I mixed together the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another. As I added milk to the wet batter, a few splatters landed on the kitchen counter. I grabbed a paper towel to quickly wipe them up before they left a sticky mess.

"Okay, now to carefully pour the batter into the pan," I muttered to myself, tongue poking out the side of my mouth in concentration. The song changed to "Ladki Badi Anjaani Hai" and I found myself swaying to the catchy beat as I smoothed the batter.

I greased and floured a round cake pan in preparation. This was my first time using this pan. The kitchen was Maya's domain, with its array of spices and the lingering scent of her culinary experiments. But today was an exception. Kabir's birthday wasn't something I could ignore, not after the roller-coaster of emotions he had woven me into.

Maya had buy me a set of basic baking pans last year in an attempt to encourage my culinary curiosity. "Kiara, maybe if you try baking, you'll discover a hidden talent!" she had said with an encouraging grin.

Carefully pouring the smooth batter into the pan, I felt a spark of pride. I may not be great at cooking, but I had come this far without any major mishaps

After sliding the pan into the preheated oven, I set the timer for 30 minutes. "Please don't burn, please don't burn," I chanted, peeking through the oven window every few minutes.

As I waited, my thoughts drifted back to Kabir. We had a complicated history, going all the way back to middle school. He was my best friend back then...until he wasn't.

I can still remember the awful moment when everything changed between us. I was walking past his locker when I overheard him talking about me to his friend. "Kiara? Yeah, she's alright. A bit of a nerd though. Always has her nose in a book," he had said with a chuckle. "Sometimes I wonder why I hang out with her so much."

I was crushed. How could my best friend stab me in the back like that? Without so much as a confrontation, I cut him off completely.

Years later, our paths crossed again at the cafe. And I got a job in the same company where he was already working. And coincidentally I ended up being on his team. He made my life hard, assigning me to work on front end technology which I had no prior experience with.

"Kiara, this component needs to be refactored. The code is sloppy," he would say, his voice dripping with disdain. "I expect better from my team members."

It was a miserable time for me.

But over these past few months, something has shifted. Yes, we still get under each other's skin often.

"Kabir, I've reviewed this code thrice already. I really don't see any issues with it," I had argued during one particularly heated code review session.

"Well, look again," he retorted. "I don't accept subpar work on my team."

After the confrontation at his apartment, after the team dinner, things changed. But underneath the barbed words, I've caught glimpses of the boy who was once my closest confidante. The boy who used to bring me homemade food when I was stuck studying late in the library. The boy who would prank me by hiding my textbooks, then help me search for them with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

Sometimes I think Kabir has seen those glimpses too. Like when he stayed late to help me debug a particularly nasty issue, even buy me dinner also.

The buzzing timer interrupted my thoughts. I cautiously opened the oven door, bracing myself for the worst.

But to my surprise and delight, the cake looked...decent, just slightly lopsided. A beautiful golden brown with no charred edges in sight.

I pulled the cake out, prodding it gently. Seemed done. I carefully transferred the cake onto a cooling rack, the rich chocolate aroma making my mouth water. As I waited for it to cool completely, I whipped up a quick chocolate frosting, adding a splash of vanilla extract for extra flavor.

I shook my head, realizing my thoughts had wandered. Focus, Kiara! Smoothing chocolate frosting over the cake, I glanced at the wall clock - 4pm already?

Where had the day gone? I needed to get ready if I wanted to make it to Kabir's place before it got too late. I took a quick shower, blow dried my hair into soft waves, and applied some light makeup. After slipping on a breezy blue sundress and strappy sandals, I was ready to go.

Before I could overthink this anymore, I placed the cake carefully into a gift box and headed out to find an auto rickshaw.

Luckily there was no rainfall today. The bright sun warmed my face through the open sides of the auto as we navigated lunch time traffic to Kabir's apartment. I watched the bustling city pass by, people going about their Sunday routines. Couples strolling hand in hand, families out for a meal, children playing cricket in the narrow alleys.

As the auto pulled up to Kabir's building, I paid the driver and stepped out, cake box balanced carefully in my hands. My heart was pounding as I climbed the stairs to his floor. Was this a mistake? Would he even want to see me on his birthday?

My nerves grew with each step as I walked to Kabir's apartment. When his building came into view in the distance, my heart began to pound. Just stay calm, be friendly, I coached myself.

"Come on Kiara, you've got this. Just wish him a happy birthday from the heart," I muttered under my breath as I walked to the elevator.

With the clunky cake carefully enshrined in a box, I made my way to Kabir's apartment. An unexpected fluttering of butterflies performed acrobatics in my stomach. A million scenarios, each more whimsical than the last, bounced around my head.

I imagined his door swinging open, his eyes lighting up, maybe that soft smile teasing his lips – just like that night when he took care of me, the thunderstorm outside cloaking the raw intensity of our inadvertent closeness.

But life, unlike our fantasies, has a peculiar sense of humor.

Stepping out onto Kabir's floor, I slowed my pace, my heels clicking on the tiles. I planned to leave the cake with the security guard to pass along if Kabir wasn't home. Rounding the corner, I halted abruptly.

My heart plummeting to my feet. There, standing outside Kabir's door, was a woman.

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Hiya!

How's your weekend going? 😁😁

Here's the update I promised.

Kiara planned a surprise for Kabir, but ended up getting surprised herself. 🤭🤭Can you figure out who that lady was at Kabir's place?

Please vote and drop some comments to help me out 😇😇