Falling Softly

MEMORIES

Recap

Rahul, Kavya's brother, came to stay with them for a couple of days. He and Aaryan doesn't get along well, Aaryan offered to help by taking him to his exam center the next day. In the last chapter, Aaryan was leaving for an interview in the morning.

Kavya's POV

My hands were moving fast today as I packed my lunch. I was a little excited to have my brother back with me, even if it was just for a day or two. Having a familiar face around gave me a sense of peace. Don't get me wrong, Aaryan and I are getting closer and learning about each other almost every day, but having a family member around was such a blessing. When we used to fight all the time before marriage, I never thought I would be this happy just for his presence in the same house.

I remember when he was a little baby. Bathing him, getting him dressed was the best part of my day. My eyes would hunt for him as soon as I arrived home from school. I would help him fall asleep in the afternoon, play with him, make him laugh, and laugh back at him in pure joy. Mom even admitted him to the same school as mine. As we grew up, we started to fight more and became a little annoying to each other, our lives drifting apart in two directions.

When my marriage got fixed, he wasn't happy with it. He would never put his nose in my matters unless there was something to troll me about, but that time was different. He came to me, laid out a plan for me to run away and live my life. It was surprising for me because up until then, we used to throw punches and exchange harsh words. For him to show this much care for me was a bit of a surprise. However, I never planned to live a life on the run, and running away was never in my mind.

The decision was almost imposed on me, but he fought back with whatever he could. That was the main reason why he doesn't get along with Aaryan. When Aaryan came to visit us at our home, Rahul didn't even talk to him. All he saw was some monster, who was snatching away his sister against her will.

I didn't want to go against my parents, and Aaryan was good-looking. I heard from my relatives that he had a good heart. Although some of them were against the marriage because of the financial differences between our families, money was never in my mind when choosing a partner. We talked a couple of times on the phone before we eloped into marriage. I guess I was just trained like that since childhood. All I ever knew was that this is how marriages happen.

When I came out of the kitchen, I saw Rahul. He was comfortable on the sofa, staring at his phone with AirPods settled in his ears. I went to the bedroom and changed into my work clothes. I donned a plain rayon kurti and printed leggings, grabbed my purse, and took off toward the living room.

"Rahul..." I spoke as I came out of the room. He couldn't hear me due to his AirPods. I shook him a bit, and he looked at me and stopped something on his phone.

"Dinner is in the kitchen, and I will be back around seven, okay? If you need anything, just give me a call. Aaryan will be coming home in a few hours. Don't wait for him for lunch, just eat. He might come late," I said.

"Okay," he said, continuing with his phone while I went towards the lift.

Aaryan's POV

I breathed heavily as I sat on the bus, my eyes fixated on the screen. Another failure. I was expecting a positive result from this interview, but it didn't pan out. It was almost three in the afternoon, and my forehead was filled with droplets of sweat. I stared outside at the buildings and imagined myself getting a job. In a few minutes, I had already started calculating how much salary would be left after rent and sending money home, thinking about future plans and vacations, but then I was brought back to reality as my phone buzzed. It was Natasha.

"I am not ready for another bad news," I said to her. I had enough for today.

"No, it's good news," she sounded confused.

My eyes lit up a little as I heard her excited voice.

"What's the good news?" I asked.

"Well, I talked with your company's lawyer, and they don't want to escalate the matter to court. They offered a settlement."

"I'm listening," I said, carefully.

"They said they won't be able to pay you back right away, but they agreed to get you back in their company with a promotion into a completely different team. The payment hold was due to your manager and his bad reviews and accusations about you. They will look into the matter and maybe fire him. If you want, we can still push them for your salary and reject this settlement," she explained.

"I'll accept it, as long as I'm not working with that as*hole again," I responded.

"Are you sure about it?" she asked.

"Yes, I am."

"Just take some time, okay? Give me confirmation by tomorrow," she said in a concerned voice.

"Okay," I said and ended the call.

Well, that was some good news. I would have my job back, but the experience taught me not to endure unprofessionalism and to speak up when the time is right to avoid such a mess again. It also exposed my skill set, giving me clarity on areas I needed to improve and upskill to keep up with the industry.

Thank you for reading, as usual add some stars please. I also posted the next part already so check it out.