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She's here.
She's in the office today.
I haven't seen her even once.
I still remember the night, the night when pretty much my world went upside down, driving home with a storm raging inside me. The image of that post burned into my mind—Geetanjali's cheerful caption, the date finalized, every detail planned out and broadcasted for the world to see, except for the man who was apparently at the center of it all: me.
When I reached home, the house was quiet, the kind of silence that almost feels like it's holding its breath. My mother was in the living room, sipping tea as if nothing monumental had just happened.
I didn't bother to sit. I demanded an explanation right then and there. Why would she take such a decision—my decision—without even asking me?
Her response was calm, maddeningly calm.
She told me that I had left her no choice. That I had been too wrapped up in work, too evasive whenever the topic of marriage came up. She said they were all getting older, and every year that passed felt like one step further from the future they had dreamed of—seeing me settled, happy, with someone to share my life with.
She said she wasn't trying to take my choices away, but she needed to push me toward something before it was too late. "You may not understand this now," she'd said, her voice quieter, almost pleading, "but someday you will. We only want the best for you, Atharv."
It didn't feel like the best to me. It felt like betrayal. But what could I say? That she was wrong? That I wasn't ready to marry Geetanjali—or anyone? The words stuck in my throat that night, not a single one could escape out of my mouth, it felt like as if somebody froze my speech. I couldn't say a single word in my defence that day.
Even now, days later, her words replay in my mind, blending with my own doubts. Am I being selfish? Or am I just not ready for the life they're pushing me toward?
But there's one thing I know for sure: this isn't just about my family anymore. It's about everything I've tried to build, everything I've lost. And somehow, through all of this, one thought keeps circling back to her. Evara.
It's 7:18 P.M. The office is almost empty, the interns are working in the basement lab.
"Ahaan call them up. I need to see her." I finally lose my patience as I slam the table and nearly shout at Ahaan sitting across me the table.
"Desperate, are we?" Ahaan taunts.
For her? Very.
"Ahaan call them." I repeat.
"Alright. You sure you want to see her? I mean it's been what, 2 weeks or more since you guys had— ahem ahem" He fake coughs, as he says.
"Can you just call them or should I ask someone else?" I get more impatient.
