Chapter 36
Manisha stepped out of the clinic feeling like the world’s weight was crushing her.
Her mind was racing with all the problems she had to deal with: the fake website, telling Sunil the truth, and Dr. Rocky’s outrageous price tag.
Despite being in a town where Manisha knew she had people she could turn to in dire straits, she’d never felt more alone.
As the sun lowered on the horizon, she thought about how the only person she wanted to turn to right now was Sunil.
But she still hadn’t responded to his latest email, and now wasn’t a good time, already steeped in embarrassment as she was.
She felt like she was drowning in a sea of debt and despair.
She walked down the street, trying to do the math in her head again. It would take her a year to be able to pay off the egg-freezing procedure, even if she found a job immediately and cut her self-imposed sabbatical short. But did she even have enough healthy eggs to last a year?
Lost in her thoughts, Manisha walked for so long that the sun set, and she eventually found herself standing in front of Chai Time.
The coffee shop had closed for the night, but she just stood outside, unable to move.
From behind the glass, she saw Rohit’s familiar silhouette.
He was walking toward her, a warm smile on his face.
“Manisha?” he said as he unlocked the door and swung it open. “What are you doing here?”
“Rohit…” Manisha sniffled, trying to hold back her tears.
His face immediately filled with concern. “What’s the matter? Come in,” he said urgently.
Inside Chai Time, the silence mocked her as she fought to quiet her sniffles.
“Let me get you some water,” Rohit offered.
“How about something stronger?” Manisha suggested, giving up the pretense and dabbing at her eyes.
Rohit disappeared into the back and emerged with a stash of booze: wine, vodka, and tequila. “What’s your poison?”
“I could use a shot of anything right about now,” Manisha said, trembling.
“I’ll join you,” Rohit said, grabbing a bottle.
As they cozied up at the counter, Rohit poured the sweet tequila into two shot glasses. Manisha didn’t waste a second, downing hers and asking for another.
Rohit obliged and poured her another shot. Manisha took a long sip and let out a satisfied sigh.
“Ah, much better,” she said, feeling more composed.
Rohit leaned closer, searching her eyes, and asked, “What’s on your mind? Do you need a listening ear, or should I put on some tunes? Or we can sit here silently and let the tequila talk.”
Manisha said nothing at first. A long stretch of silence passed before she finally spoke. “It’s embarrassing. I messed up everything.”
Rohit nodded sympathetically. “I get it. We’ve all been there.”
“Have you ever wanted something so badly but knew it was out of your reach? And it was kind of all your fault?”
Rohit leaned back and thought momentarily. “I have. It’s kind of what I’m going through right now.” He considered her. “So, what can we do to get it back within your reach again?”
Manisha smiled, grateful for the support of this man, once a stranger, but who, in a matter of days, had become a friend. His words were like a warm embrace, and she couldn’t help but imagine that Sunil would have said the same thing.
“Thanks, Rohit, but I don’t think we can.” Manisha was sipping her tequila when the lights above the counter began to flicker.
“Sorry, those damn lights,” Rohit said, glaring at them as if doing so would make them behave. “They act up sometimes when the dishwasher is running. I swear, they’re a ticking time bomb.”
A ticking time bomb. Manisha felt her tears return.
“Hey, it’s okay,” he said, pulling her into a tight embrace. “I’m here for you. You don’t have to go through it alone.”
Manisha looked up at Rohit, her eyes hazy from crying, so grateful for his presence.
“I just feel so lost,” she said barely above a whisper. “I thought I had everything figured out, but now I don’t know what to do.”
Rohit held her tighter, his hand rubbing soothing circles on her back.
“It’s okay to feel lost sometimes,” he said. “Life is unpredictable, and once in a while we just have to step back and reassess our priorities. That’s all it is.”
Manisha nodded, taking comfort in his words. She knew he was right. She needed to take a huge step back and figure out what to do next.
Meet Sunil.
The thought came to her, unbidden.
“I just wish I could find someone who loves me for who I am, faults and all. Although lately I feel like I don’t even like who I am,” she said, her voice trembling softly. “So, then I go and screw things up for myself even more.”
Rohit pulled back to look at her, his eyes holding hers with an intensity that made her heart race.
“Trust me, Manisha. There is someone out there for you who will love you for exactly who you are. You’re an extraordinary woman.
The way your mind works is incredible, your laugh is infectious, and when you walk into a room, you completely transform it.
You bring it to life…it feels like your presence is sunlight breaking through clouds.
I see you, I understand you, and I’m telling you, that someone is out there, and he’ll count himself lucky to hold the heart of a woman as amazing as you. ”
Manisha was taken aback. But at the same time, a glimmer of hope flickered in her chest. Maybe Rohit was right.
Maybe there was someone out there who would love her honestly and unconditionally.
Someone who would support her through thick and thin.
And maybe that someone would forgive her for starting their relationship with a fib.
But even if that was possible, it still wouldn’t undo the irreparable damage she’d done to her own future, her own dream…
The glimmer vanished. Manisha started to cry again, mumbling between sniffles. “Rohit. Your words, I don’t deserve them. It’s just that I really screwed things up this time.”
“Manisha, please tell me what this screw-up is.” His voice was filled with empathy.
She looked down, wringing her hands in her lap, and weighed whether she should tell him.
She wanted to. But with his trauma around materialism thanks to Lucky…
what if telling him changed how he saw her?
Except she’d come to know Rohit as fair and compassionate.
He’d proven that much over the past week.
Manisha took a deep, shaky breath. “It’s so embarrassing,” she finally said.
“I never anticipated being in this position, and now…well, I need to freeze my eggs, but I don’t have the money to pay for it.
Because, like a dummy, I buried my sorrows in Chanel and Gucci, and for what?
Now I can’t even have a family, which is what I want most.”
Rohit’s face fell as she spoke.
Was this it—the end of their short-lived friendship?
“Manisha, is that all?” he said softly. “Freezing your eggs is a great idea, and I’m here to support you. Don’t even worry about the money.”
Her relief brought on a new flood of tears. “Easy for you to say—you haven’t blown through all of yours.”
“I can lend you money. I have more than I need and would do anything to help a friend. We’re friends, right?”
Despite being touched at his offer, Manisha scoffed. “A friend yes, not a charity case.”
“Yes, and I want to help my friend because I care about her. She’s someone I have come to deeply respect and cherish.”
Rohit gently wiped away her tears. As he lowered his hand, he stopped it midair, then trailed it down her shoulder to her fallen strap.
The loose strap her mother had always warned her about.
The one that would eventually lead to fireworks.
He slipped his fingers beneath the fabric and righted it atop her collarbone.
The simple touch sent a rush of warmth through her, leaving her breathless. Everything else in the room seemed to disappear, as if time had paused just for them. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt something so tender, so quietly intimate in real life.
Her gaze shifted to his lips, and before she could stop herself, she found herself leaning in.
The kiss was tentative at first—soft, almost unsure—but it quickly deepened, as if the connection between them could no longer be denied. Manisha’s pulse raced, her mind clouded with the sensation of his lips, warm and familiar.
But then, just as quickly, Rohit pulled away. “I’m so sorry, Manisha,” he said, his voice thick with regret. “I care about you so much, but my heart…”
He took a step back and ran a hand through his hair. “It’s just that I have feelings for someone else. I didn’t mean to lead you on, and I’m sorry if you read this the wrong way. That’s on me.”
Manisha stared at him in horror.
What have I done?
That was supposed to be with Sunil.
His lips. His touch. Him.
“Please, don’t take this the wrong way,” Rohit continued. “I’m here for you, I really am, but my heart belongs to someone else.”
She quickly shifted her gaze away, trying to steady herself. “No need to explain, Rohit,” she murmured. “I’m sorry…it’s just…with everything going on, and then the buzz from the shots…”
“Don’t apologize,” he said gently. “Trust me, I’ve been thinking about you. About this…for a while now. The more I’ve gotten to know you, the more I’ve realized just how much I admire you. But the timing’s off, and I can’t ignore what I feel for someone else.”
Manisha stood there, her heart sinking. “I actually get it—”
“I don’t want things to get weird between us, but I needed to be honest with you,” he added quickly, reaching for her arm but hesitating just before touching her.
She swallowed hard, trying to steady her breath. “Yeah…of course. I understand.”
“Let me explain, please…”
“You don’t have to,” Manisha said, her voice even despite the storm of emotions inside her. Slowly, she backed away in the direction of the exit. “I know exactly how you’re feeling, Rohit.”
With one final look, she turned around and fled.
As she stepped out the door, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt for kissing someone else. The thought of Sunil lingered in her mind, and a wave of regret washed over her.
Unable to stop herself, Manisha peered back into Chai Time one last time, her heart tightening as she saw Rohit pull out his phone, likely to call that someone else—the one who had his heart.