Chapter 16: 1 month 27 days

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UPDATE : There were supposed to be NO targets for this one but the reach is VERYY LOW‼️

‼️TARGET: 15 VOTES 5 COMMENTS‼️
(this is the lowest I feel right now..and its horrible)

Song suggestion: Manchala

दुनिया जहां कि बंदिशों की
ये कहाँ परवाह करे
जब खींचे तेरी डोर
खींचे तेरी डोर
मनचला मन चला तेरी ओर

——–𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘——–

It had been exactly one month and twenty-seven days since Sidharth last saw Meera. Twenty-seven days that had dragged on like years in his mind, yet somewhere, deep down, she had never left.

He didn’t admit it to anyone, not even himself, but the memory of her—the last fight, the way she looked at him, the helplessness in her eyes—still lingered like a ghost in the corners of his mind.

Yet today was not about ghosts. Today was about obligation. About a meeting he wasn’t sure of but had promised his mother he would.

An arranged marriage meeting.

The thought of it made his stomach twist. It's for the best, he thought.

He ran a hand through his hair, standing in front of the mirror, his mother’s gentle voice humming somewhere behind him. Vedang his brother, and his mom were already downstairs, waiting for him.

His mother stood by the doorway, calm and composed as ever. “Chale?” she asked, her tone light, but Sidharth could sense the expectation behind it.

“Yeah,” he muttered, not meeting her gaze. The car ride was quiet, Vedang chattering occasionally, his mom giggling at something Vedang said. Sidharth barely heard.

His mind was elsewhere, restless, coiled tightly around the last month, around everything he hadn’t said, hadn’t done, hadn’t fixed.

The restaurant was elegant, partitions separating each table into private corners. The kind of place that was careful to keep the world out. The girl he was to meet hadn’t arrived yet.

His mother, who had accompanied him, was settling at the table with Vedang and his mom. Sidharth lingered near the entrance, phone in hand, pretending to check messages.

Time dragged. The girl’s absence made the room feel larger than it should, emptier than it needed to be. He got up as he got a call.

A man entered from beside him, talking on his phone. The way he carried himself was off too arrogant, too sure. The man paused, laughing softly into the receiver, as if the world owed him something.

And behind him… a girl. Sitting politely, her posture rigid, hands folded in her lap. Sidharth froze.
Something in the air shifted. He couldn’t place it at first. A faint scent, or the weight of familiarity it made his chest tighten.

His gaze darted, but he told himself it was impossible. He couldn’t be seeing… no. That wasn’t her. It wasn’t.

Meera.

Sidharth’s hand tightened around his phone until his knuckles were white.

What the hell…

After a few minutes he saw the guy getting up and going toward the washroom, still speaking into the phone.

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