Stars Not Aligned

1.

Author's Pov-

Meera stood before her team head . Her eyes down.

"This is how you work ? Tell me Miss Meera Srivastava " Bhaskar roared throwing the pendrive in a corner of his office.

Meera flinched.

"You were asked to make a simple new modern design but you incompetent piece of ....." Bhaskar stopped mid sentence.

Meera closed her eyes in humiliation. She had done her task but he hadn't liked it.

"Get out . Just get out before I throw you out of this building" he said keeping his finger on the bridge of his nose and fell on his recliner.

Meera took a step back and walked out of the air conditioned office. Outside every other employee was looking at her . She felt her self respect draining from her identity.

Trying to ignore the stares she went to her seat and sat before her computer screen.

"Don't stress over him he is a bitch" Lavanya leaned towards Meera said  trying to uplift her.

"It was my fault. I should have worked harder" Meera spoke keeping her head on the desk.

"Harder my foot . He wouldn't have cared if you have presented your head on a platter. Mother fucker" Lavanya cursed through her teeth.

"Shhh don't please , someone might hear" Meera didn't wanted another scolding.

"Come on everyone curse him. I am just contributing to the same social service" Lavanya shrugged.

Meera tried to suppress her smile.

"What should I wear today ?" Lavanya asked Meera.

"Are you going out somewhere ? "

"Yes , with Arhaan" Lavanya said dreamingly.

"Show me the already selected ones" Meera said.

Lavanya showed her four dresses and Meera suggested her which will be apt for the evening.

"You too should start dating Meera. I know relationship sucks sometimes or I should say many times. But it's worth giving a chance" Lavanya said with a smile.

Meera stopped in her work . Motionlessly she looked before, her computer screen glowing. It was not the first time Lavanya had mentioned anything like that. But everytime she says something like this Meera is left stunned. Her face draining it's colour in those moments.

"I know you won't find someone yourself. I will do that for you. Your Cupid Lavanya Singh" she said typing on her keyboard her eyes focused on the screen.

"Sure" Meera said emotionlessly.

*****

Meera ran to the bus stop . She will miss the last one too. The weather had changed showing the signs of rain. She checked her bag for the coins. And at that moment she realised she was missing something.

But what. Her wallet , phone , charger, files everything essential was in her bag then what was she forgetting.

What ?....

The pendrive.

Meera cursed her memory. Bhaskar threw it in his office and she was asked to get out. After that she didn't went again to take it. God foolish woman she was.

Meera ran towards her office building. It took her ten minutes to reach there. She stopped before the enormous glass window building. Regal Realms, the premier jewelry brand in the country. With a legacy of excellence spanning decades, Regal Realms has become synonymous with luxury and prestige. Their jewelry adorns royalty, celebrities. The epitome of opulence and refinement.

Nestled in the heart of the city, Regal Realms' office building stands as a beacon of modernity and sophistication. With sleek lines and contemporary architecture, the building's facade is adorned with expansive glass windows that stretch from floor to ceiling, offering panoramic views of the bustling city below.

She worked here. Getting inside she was stopped by the watchman whom she said she had forget something important. The office was empty by one. The employees leaving it half an hour ago.

Praying and wishing Bhaskar's office not to be locked Meera reached the floor.

The lights were off and the weather outside changed suddenly. Suddenly, a rumble echoes across the sky, heralding the arrival of thunder as raindrops start to patter against the earth.

Within seconds the glass windows were covered with droplets of water falling from the sky.

It was the first rain of June.

Meera walked towards Bhaskar's cabin . She pulled it's door and it was locked. She tried again and again the door didn't moved.

She kept her head on the glass door. The pendrive and other references too which she will need for drawing more designs of the jewellery.

It was her weeks of hardwork. She can't design anything without those reference. And Bhaskar will throw her from the terrace if she didn't show him something worth it tomorrow.

As the storm intensifies, the rain falls in torrents, cascading from the heavens in a relentless downpour

Meera gasped when she heard something in the emptied building. The darkness not helping her too.

"Is anyone here ?" She asked. Maybe some employee was here. Maybe.

She heard nothing in response. But then came another sound and then another. Meera looked around, trying to find the source of noise with her phone's touch light. Heavy rain pouring outside with lightning and thunderstorms accompanied .

And suddenly something shattered on the floor and broke. Meera's phone fell on the floor and she was left stunned. Nothing visible in the darkness.Meera bent down trying to find her phone on the floor. Her fingers touched the metallic device and she picked it. Before she can't light the torch again she felt someone behind her .

Scared and shocked she trembled. Not turning around she ran from there in the blackness. Her steps slipped and she fall . Her eyes closed in reflex realising the hurt .

But she landed on something or else someone. Fear creeped her out. Her hands though fisting the material of cloth that was in her contact.

A lightning came followed by the thunderstorm . The person's face before her visible for seconds in the lightning through the glass windows. Amidst the dimly lit backdrop of a rainy night, a figure emerges, cloaked in the shadows of the storm. Clad in a sleek suit of midnight black. His expression stoic and inscrutable.

Meera stepped back and back until she was against someone's chair. Time seems to stand still as they lock eyes, each recognizing something familiar and yet unknown in the other.

The familiarity of the face shocking her. Stunned she tried hard not to fear. She knew the man whose face shined in the lightening.

How could she forget him. Her worst dreams and memories didn't allowed her. He took a step towards her and she clutched her handbag to het chest closing her eyes.

Fate was never in her favour.

And as the storm rages on around them, these two stand at the threshold of something new and unknown, their destinies entwined by the hand of fate amidst the backdrop of the tempestuous rain.

*****

New story. New beginning

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