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Ever since her conversation with Aahan, she had felt far heavier than she anticipated.
She knew this wasn't what was expected of her.
Speaking to another man when her wedding was just two months away was entirely taboo in the eyes of society.
Yet, she felt utterly helpless at the moment.
More than anything, she felt profoundly lonely, and she wanted nothing more than to blame her current recklessness entirely upon that loneliness.
A few months ago, she was the very woman who preached to everyone that if someone felt the need to hide something from their family, it was bound to be wrong and unethical.
It was funny how she found herself trapped in that exact situation now.
She honestly couldn't understand what was wrong with speaking to another man, especially when she wasn't romantically involved with him. They were just great friends.
'Do you really believe he considers you a mere friend?
' Her mind interjected the very next moment, making her feel even more awful.
She cast her eyes up toward the ceiling, her fingers busy tapping a restless rhythm against her study table.
She tried her absolute best to concentrate on what choice would be ideal for everyone involved, but she could come up with nothing.
She was completely blank. For once, her heart wasn't answering her at all; it just felt entirely empty. Had she really turned so heartless over time that she couldn't even register a single emotion right now, experiencing nothing but a vacant space?
The terrifying thought scared her to no limit. She desperately did not want to lose her emotions because of some random man.
Her hand reached for her phone, slowly typing in a single name: Raghav Hooda.
He had been her ultimate guilty pleasure once upon a time.
The screen loaded, immediately showing search results filled with numerous interviews and high-profile gala appearances.
She felt like a total joke for looking, but still, his deep voice and professional presence did something inexplicable to her.
She couldn't quite name the feeling, but the very sound of his voice brought a sudden, calming wave over her.
It had been so much better before, back when she didn't personally know him and merely harbored a distant fan crush on him.
From that safe distance, she had imagined him to be the absolute perfection of the man she wanted in her life.
Ironically, her manifestation for a man like him had actually come true, only to transform into a total curse that twisted her life completely upside down.
And she couldn't blame a single soul for this absolute mess except herself.
She simply couldn't. Not even Raghav Hooda.
She was the one who gave him the stage to play with her feelings.
She had been so incredibly eager to find true love and build a completely different life than her mother's that she had dived headfirst into the fantasy of romance.
It was that exact desperation which ultimately led to her complete devastation.
She let out a long, deep breath, letting go of her phone to pace around the small space of her room.
Crossing her arms tightly, she reflected bitterly on her own mistakes.
Her head felt incredibly heavy. A few months ago, she genuinely thought nobody would ever pay attention to her, and now she somehow had two powerful men in her life.
Both were constantly trying to make her believe how important she was to them.
But was she truly willing to fall into that trap all over again?
And the absolute worst part? Aahan shouldn't even be involved in any of this.
It was her very own hesitation that kept giving him false hope.
Why couldn't she just say no? Why did she feel the need to continue this weird, ambiguous friendship they shared, especially when he had clearly shown through his actions exactly how he felt about her?
She finally lay down on her bed after much exhausting contemplation, choosing to sleep because she knew there was no end to this internal debate. She simply wasn't strong enough to make a definitive choice right now. And this time, the failure belonged entirely to her. No one else.
The very next morning, she woke up incredibly late, and only because her mother woke her up with a sharp scolding.
She groaned, noticing the clock already read eleven in the morning.
Having stayed awake until four a.m. agonizing over the complete mess her life had turned into, this late awakening was inevitable.
"Jayu, this isn't how a girl behaves when her wedding is just two months away.
When are you going to start taking things seriously, hmm?
" her mother lectured loudly. With her head beginning to throb the very next moment, Jayasvi rubbed her face.
Her brain was still struggling to reboot, and the loud screaming really wasn't helping; unable to find any words, she simply shuffled toward the bathroom to take a bath.
"I don't know what kind of girl she is. She is not at all serious about this marriage.
Most girls wake up early, join yoga, or exercise daily to be in their best shape, get skin treatments, or use skincare to look their absolute best for their wedding.
But she doesn't care about anything. Her terrible routine makes me itch so much, but she isn't ready to behave herself," her mother continued snapping while mopping the bedroom floor.
She was clearly disappointed in Jayasvi and genuinely didn't know how this girl would even survive marriage.
She possessed zero level of responsibility, and that was the exact thing which terrified her mother.
She could no longer live a free life, ignoring all the screaming and scoldings while hiding away in her own dreamland.
To her mother, it felt as though Jayasvi wasn't taking a single thing seriously.
Around the house, she always seemed entirely silent, never trying to add her own input into the planning of her own wedding.
The wedding didn't even seem to be hers, but rather a distant relative's.
Even during the bridal lehenga shopping, she had just agreed to the outfit her mother chose without contributing a single thought of her own.
To her family, it now felt as though they were forcing this marriage upon her, and that she wasn't ready for it at all.
But if that was truly the case, why did she never say anything?
Yes, she had thrown major tantrums initially, but they had assumed it was just a case of cold feet before it eventually calmed down into total dullness.
No arguments, no words exchanged. Just quiet agreement to whatever was told to her. It was as if she had turned completely numb to everything.
She stepped outside, only to receive a message from Aahan asking to meet at a cafe today.
'Aahan, I can't,' she messaged back, desperately trying to convey the sheer difficulty of her current situation through text.
'Come on, Jayasvi. We are just meeting as friends.
We have met before as well. Let's meet up and talk through all these issues.
You'll feel lighter afterward,' Aahan replied almost instantly.
It felt as though he was exceptionally eager to see her today, intent on making it happen at any cost.
Yet, the mere thought of having someone to share her heavy burden with was a temptation too difficult to reject.
She hesitated, thinking it over for a moment.
She knew navigating this was tricky. But in the end, she wasn't doing anything inherently wrong.
What could possibly go wrong? she wondered, trying to force her own mind to believe the lie.
She changed into a collared, white-and-pink striped t-shirt paired with sleek cigarette pants, pulling her hair back into a neat ponytail.
The outfit gave her a much-needed boost of confidence as she stepped out of her room, casually informing her mother and Dadi that she was going out to meet a friend.
"Who is this friend?" her mother questioned immediately, unable to understand where this sudden plan had come from.
"It's a college friend, Maa," Jayasvi replied. It wasn't an absolute lie; she had first started speaking to Aahan during their college days, after all.
"And who exactly is this college friend? I am certain she must have a name," her mother probed further. She wasn't explicitly forbidding her from going out, but she still wanted to know the identity of this sudden friend who required an immediate meeting.
She? Jayasvi flinched slightly at the pronoun. How would her mother react if she discovered it wasn't a 'she' at all, but a 'he'?
"She is my senior, you don't know her. I'll come home soon. We are just going to a nearby cafe," she muttered, slipping into her coat and pulling on her boots. Her mother was gearing up to question her further when Dadi gently intervened to stop her.
"Let it be, beta. She is getting married in two months.
Getting out of the house after marriage is a difficult luxury, and you know that well yourself.
There are simply so many responsibilities waiting.
Learn to trust her. She is no longer a child.
And trust me, our Jayu is far more mature than we give her credit for.
She knows what is good and bad for herself.
Let her decide. She isn't a teenager who needs constant supervision anymore.
She is getting married in a few days; you need to start trusting her," Dadi spoke to her mother softly, watching Jayasvi quickly grab her bag and slip out the door.
"But Mummy, that is the exact problem—she isn't ready to take on any real responsibility.
She woke up at eleven today! If she continues doing this at her in-laws' place, what will they think of her?
What will they think we have taught her?
" her mother spoke anxiously, settling into the chair beside Dadi, genuinely stressed over how Jayasvi would manage her new life.
"Here is what you need to understand: don't forget she was the same girl who used to wake up at four in the morning during her exams. She is the one who used to sleep for only five hours a day and still function flawlessly during her internship.
She can handle responsibility, but we are simply not ready to view her as a grown-up.
We still want to see her as our little baby who used to cry the moment she couldn't spot one of us around her.
And more than anyone else in this house, you are the one who is not ready to believe that she has grown up," Dadi spoke gently, trying to soothe her daughter-in-law's anxieties.
Dadi knew better than anyone the sheer volume of sacrifices Jayasvi's mother had made.
She had single-handedly played the role of both a father and a mother while Jayasvi was growing up.
Whether it was arranging tutors or running around for school supplies, it was always her mother managing everything at the last minute.
And no matter how much she scolded Jayasvi to grow up, her mother simply wasn't emotionally ready to see her Jayasvi all grown up. Not even now, when she was on the verge of getting married.
Jayasvi checked Google Maps once more to ensure she was in the exact right place.
Navigating unfamiliar territory had never been her strong suit, but this cafe was truly nothing like she had envisioned.
She never expected a place like this to exist in Delhi, with its elegant stone carvings and beautiful outdoor table arrangements.
It was just so damn beautiful. She walked past a grand stone fountain, looking around the area in absolute awe while simultaneously trying to figure out where Aahan was.
She had messaged him just a moment ago, and he replied saying he had already arrived—but where on earth was he?
Unknown to her, Aahan was standing on the exact opposite side of that very fountain. The absolute moment he caught sight of her, he genuinely forgot to breathe. His eyes remained fixed upon her figure as she glanced around the space, actively searching for him.
The soft movement of her hair strands slipping out of her neat ponytail made her look even more ethereal in his eyes as the gentle wind blew back, playfully tossing her soft locks.
As she took another step forward to scan the crowd for him, he intentionally stepped further behind the fountain, trying to buy himself a little more time just to keep looking at her.
Her chosen outfit for the day made her look elegant yet. .. cute in a sweet manner.
He didn't know what kind of magic she possessed, but she was entirely wonderful.
He pulled out his phone, quietly snapping a few pictures of her without her knowing.
He caught every single micro-movement on her face: the precise way her perfect eyebrows arched in growing frustration at not finding him, her soft pink lips slightly parting as she typed out a message to him, and the cute, frustrated scrunch of her nose.
Even the sweet, impatient shrug of her shoulders caught his attention.
Every single detail about her was completely fascinating to him.
He was right in the middle of taking yet another picture when her eyes suddenly met his. Her eyebrows immediately arched in pure confusion as she realized his phone camera was pointed directly at her.