Love's perfect timing

Chapter 7: The Beginning of Something New

Urvi couldn't get the thoughts of Samarth out of her head. That day in the central lawn, their easy conversation, his playful banter, and the way they seemed to click—it all kept replaying in her mind like a favorite song on loop. As she lay in bed that night, staring at the ceiling, she wondered if it was just a fleeting moment or the start of something real.

Before she could overthink it, Urvi impulsively picked up her phone, opened Instagram, and

sent Samarth a friend request.

It felt like a bold move, one that made her heart race a little faster. She placed the phone back on her bedside table, trying to push the nerves away. "It's just a friend request," she told herself, but deep down, it felt like so much more.

She drifted off to sleep, her thoughts a swirl of possibilities. The next morning, as she groggily reached for her phone,

she was greeted with a notification:

*Samarth had accepted her friend request immediately.*

She blinked in surprise, her heart skipping a beat. She hadn't expected him to respond so quickly—or at all, honestly.

Feeling a mix of excitement and nervousness, Urvi scrolled through his profile, landing on a recent photo he had posted. In the picture, Samarth was wearing a deep purple kurta, his hair slightly tousled, his expression calm yet captivating. The rich color of the kurta complemented his skin tone, and Urvi found herself staring at the image for longer than she intended. He looked effortlessly handsome, the kind of look that made her heart flutter.

Without thinking, she liked the photo.

It was such a simple gesture, yet it felt significant, like they were both acknowledging the connection that was beginning to form between them.

The next day, Urvi's friend, Vani, was celebrating guy friend birthday. Urvi , Vani and Srishti had planned a small outing to celebrate— lunch and a movie, nothing too extravagant, but enough to make Vaibhav feel special.

Vani was a bold girl, with short hair, sharp features, and a confident presence that made her stand out in any crowd. She was the kind of friend who always spoke her mind, which made her a perfect counterbalance to Urvi's more reserved nature.

Srishti, of course, had been gushing about her new boyfriend the entire day, unable to hide her excitement. Urvi was happy for her, though a tiny part of her felt a pang of jealousy—not of Srishti's relationship, but of the ease with which she had found someone.

Urvi's experiences with love had been anything but easy, filled with anxiety, panic attacks, and the lingering fear of abandonment. But this time, with Samarth, things felt different. There was a lightness to it, a sense of hope that maybe, just maybe, this could be something real.

They went to the movies as planned, the three of them settling into their seats with a bucket of popcorn between them. Urvi tried to focus on the film, but her mind kept drifting back to Samarth. The way he had accepted her friend request so quickly, how he had reposted the picture—these small actions had ignited something in her that she hadn't felt in a long time. As the movie played out on the screen, she found herself thinking more about him than the plot, her mind wandering to what he might be doing at that moment.

After the movie, they headed to Haldiram's for lunch, the comforting smell of spices and freshly made sweets filling the air. The three friends settled into a booth, laughing and talking about the movie. But even as she engaged in the conversation, Urvi's thoughts were elsewhere, lingering on Samarth. She couldn't help herself; the connection she felt with him was undeniable, and it had taken root in her mind.