Dear Destiny

16- Dear Moonlight

*REET*

I arrived home, exhausted and ready to collapse, only to hear my mother announce that we were hosting guests tonight - my father's boss, of all people. Great. Now I'd have to help prepare dinner.

As usual, I wandered into the kitchen, hoping to assist my mother. But, as always, my clumsiness got the better of me. I slipped while trying to steady myself, and in an instant, the full bowl of flour I was holding flew out of my hands. The kitchen floor - and I - were suddenly covered in a layer of white powder.

My mother's eyes blazed. "Reet! Can't you do anything right?" she scolded, her voice sharp with frustration. I stood there, red-faced and covered in flour, enduring a long lecture about how my clumsiness always created chaos.

After about an hour of being reprimanded, she assigned me the task of cleaning up the mess. But, of course, I managed to make things worse by tipping over the tub of water I was using for cleaning in the process. This earned me another two-hour scolding session from my mother, who was beside herself with exasperation.

Finally, after what felt like a lifetime of lectures, I was sent off to clean up myself and change into an Anarkali.

I stayed quiet in my room, trying to avoid causing any more trouble. My mother had warned me so much that if I set one foot outside before dinner, I would be dead. Honestly, I wasn't too excited about meeting these formal guests anyway.

After what seemed like forever, it was finally time for dinner. I was called downstairs, where I knew I'd have to be on my best behaviour. My father was entertaining his seniors, and the last thing I never wished was to embarrass him.

As I made my way down the stairs, I spotted a man in his 40s, dressed sharply in a tuxedo, laughing along with my dad. He didn't look too old - in fact, he was quite handsome for his age. But as my gaze lowered further, my breath caught in my throat. I froze mid-step.

Atharv.

There he was, sitting at our dining table, dressed in a formal tuxedo. My father's boss's son? The shock of seeing him here made me misstep, and before I knew it, I had tumbled down the stairs, landing flat on my back. Ouch. That hurt.

All eyes immediately turned to me: my parents, my father's boss, and those intense, dark eyes of Atharv's.

Mortified, I hurried to my feet, my face burning with embarrassment. My mother, still irritated from earlier, muttered under her breath, "This girl can never let anyone have peace."

"I'm okay! I'm okay!" I blurted, trying to brush off the fall as though it were nothing.

My dad chuckled nervously, turning to his boss. "Ah, sorry about that. Anyway, this is my daughter, Reet."

The man smiled kindly at me, and I glanced down, too embarrassed to hold his gaze. "Hope it didn't hurt much, sweetheart," he said warmly.

I shook my head and nodded in response.

"Come, grab a seat," he offered.

I quickly took a seat next to my dad, directly across from Atharv. When I finally worked up the nerve to look up, Atharv was already staring at me. I gave him a small, nervous smile. He grinned, a genuine grin, shaking his head as if he found the whole scene amusing.

Sure, it was embarrassing, but seeing him smile made me smile too. Or, if I'm being honest, blush.

Dinner was mostly a conversation between my dad and the man who I now knew as Atharv's father. The whole time, Atharv and I remained silent, not even acknowledging each other. My mother was busy serving everyone, while I focused on finishing my meal, feeling the awkwardness hang in the air.