[Author's POV]
The scent of fresh jasmine and filter coffee lingers in the air as morning sunlight spills through the tall windows of the sprawling dining hall. Everything is immaculate just as Aarav's mother likes it. The table is already set by the time Aarav walks in, still tugging at the sleeve of his crisp white kurta.
Today is Tuesday morning and Aarav is not going to the office.
His mother, Madhavi, sits at the head of the table in her usual poised elegance. She looks up from her plate with a soft smile.
"You're late," she says, pouring coffee into his tumbler. "I'm not hungry," Aarav mutters, sliding into his chair anyway.
She raises an eyebrow. "That's the fourth time this week. Are you fasting or just determined to worry me into a heart attack?"
He exhales, half a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "It's just work, Maa. Product deadlines. Nothing dramatic."
She hums skeptically, then gestures to the server to bring dosas. "Work is always dramatic. But I have something else to add to your list today."
Aarav stiffens slightly. He already knows that tone.
Sure enough, she pulls out a photo envelope, sliding it across the table like she's delivering a classified file.
"She's beautiful, Intelligent. Family's known us since your grandfather's time. They live in Jayanagar now, but originally from Udaipur. Her name is Naina Mehra, MBA from London. She works in a consultancy firm. Polite girl, doesn't post reels."
Aarav blinks. "What?"
His mother smiles sweetly. "I checked her Instagram. All decent. She bakes, Aarav. Cupcakes."
He stares at the envelope like it's ticking.
"I'm not looking to get married," he says, voice flat. "You're thirty-two." "I was thirty-one last month." "Same thing."
Aarav picks up his coffee but doesn't drink. He doesn't even look at the photo.
"You promised Papa," she continues gently, "that this year you'd at least consider looking. And this family is solid, not one of those behind-the-curtain social climbers trying to marry into legacy."
He leans back, the tension in his jaw barely concealed. "Maa, I'm not saying no because of her. I'm saying no because... I'm not ready."
Madhavi, folding her hands on the table. "Not ready? Or not willing? There's a difference." He doesn't answer.
She pushes the envelope closer to him. "Just meet her once. Coffee. Nothing dramatic."
He finally looks at it. But the moment he does, another image flashes in his mind. It's Priya laughing, eyes glowing.
He grips the edge of the table. What the hell is happening to me?
Madhavi mistakes the pause for contemplation and smiles. "I've already spoken to her family. I said you'll get back in a week."
Aarav swallows hard. He can't keep dodging this conversation, not with her. But now, the room feels too bright. The coffee too bitter.
He stares down at the envelope, but it's Priya's face that burns in his mind. She's not perfect. She's not even from this world of silver spoons and lineage charts.
But she's real.
And that's the scariest part.
Because she doesn't even know who he really is. She just knows him as Aarav, the strict, mysterious senior manager who barely speaks.
"Aarav?" his mother asks again, gentle this time. "You'll think about it?" He nods vaguely, eyes still on the untouched coffee. "Yeah. I'll think."
But in his heart, he knows the truth already.
After breakfast, Aarav escapes to his study. It's one of the few places in the house that feels like his. Dark teak shelves lined with old books, brass lamps throwing soft light over his desk, a record player in the corner that rarely sees use anymore. He shrugs off his kurta and changes into his usual office clothes black slacks, a steel-grey shirt, sleeves rolled neatly at the elbows because he has a zoom meeting.
[Aarav's POV]
I joined the Zoom call scheduled with the Delhi product team. Faces fill the screen, voices overlap in status updates. Someone's talking about sprint planning, someone else drops a comment about QA timelines. I nod, I even unmute once or twice, just enough to sound present but I'm not.
My eyes are on the screen, but my thoughts aren't.
They drift back to that look in Priya's eyes during the presentation, I remember how she glanced at me like she was trying to decode who I really am.
And I didn't look away.
"Mr...Aarav, your thoughts on the proposed release order?" I blink. Realize they're waiting.
"Yeah, that works. Let's go with it," I say quickly.
They move on. No one questions me. I'm good at sounding confident even when my mind is miles away. But my fingers stall over the keyboard again.
Because the silence around me is too loud today. And inside that silence, all I hear is her name.
Priya's POV [At the same time]
I sit at my desk, eyes fixed on the code editor, fingers scrolling through lines of React components and UI bugs. My team had a short sync earlier, Rohit cracking jokes, Tanya throwing her usual side-eyes, Sudeep asking if anyone wants samosas from the pantry. Everything's normal exactly how it should be.
But my mind keeps wandering.
Not to bugs or deadlines.
To last night.
["Be careful in your company... If something feels wrong, don't stay silent. I'm a police officer, you can tell me anything."]
I hadn't even told him much. Just a few polite things about my new office, new role, new life. But the way he looked at me, that wasn't just general advice.
It felt like a warning.
I glance at Tanya sitting across from me, hunched over her laptop, AirPods in. She's always alert to company gossip, even the unspoken kind.
I wait for her to stretch, or maybe yawn anything to signal she's not mid-concentration. As soon as she reaches for her bottle, I lean in slightly.
"Hey... Tanya?"
She looks up. "Hmm?"
I keep my voice low. "Can I ask you something? It's kinda weird."
She pulls out one AirPod, brows raised with curiosity. "Okay, now I'm intrigued. Go on."
"So yesterday, Savitha akka's husband said something to me. He's a cop."
Tanya nods. "Okay."
I hesitate. "He said I should be careful in the company. That if anything feels wrong, I should speak up."
Her expression doesn't change right away but I see a flicker in her eyes.
"Careful? Like in general? Or like... about someone?"
"That's the thing. He didn't name anyone. But it didn't feel random. It was like... he knows something."
Tanya leans back in her chair slightly, frowning in thought. "Okay. So, nothing's happened with you, right? No one's said anything weird?"
"No. Nothing at all. Everyone's been... fine. Kind, even."
"Then maybe it was just a general warning. He's in the police and he probably sees the worst of the world. Maybe he's just overprotective."
"Maybe," I say, but the knot in my stomach stays.
She tilts her head. "But honestly... this place? People talk, but it's clean. At least on our floor. Just keep your guard up with people from higher departments. Especially leadership types. Some of them walk like they own the air."
I nod slowly. "Thanks, Tanya."
"Anytime." She smiles and puts her AirPod back in. "But if someone tries anything shady, come straight to me. I'll throw my laptop at them."
I laugh softly. She's trying to lighten the mood, but I can't help feeling there's something she didn't say.
Or maybe I'm just being paranoid.
I shake my head and try to focus on my screen again. But the silence inside me is louder now.
[Author's POV]
But a few kilometers away, a man is already lost inside that very storm she's unknowingly stirred.
The sun hangs lazily in the sky, its light bleeding through sheer curtains that sway in the warm breeze. Aarav sits alone on the balcony of his room, one hand resting on the iron armrest, the other holding a half-burnt cigarette. The smoke curls upward in lazy spirals, disappearing into the blue haze above, just like the thoughts unraveling in his mind.
His phone lies untouched beside him. But his mind is somewhere else. With her.
He exhales slowly, watching the smoke drift, and wonders for the tenth time in the last hour—
What might she be doing right now? Did she eat? Did someone annoy her during work? Did she find her desk alright? Did she even smile today?
His lips twitch bitterly. He's never done this before, sit like a damn idiot and think about someone this much.
And yet, here he is.
He drags the cigarette to his lips again, slower this time, the edge of tension in his shoulders visible even in stillness.
Does she think about me too? Even a little?
He hates that, that she pretends not to recognize him. That she doesn't see beyond the surface. But more than that... he hates that he can't stop thinking about her.
Aarav closes his eyes. He doesn't understand what the hell is happening to him.
All he knows is... it's noon. She's probably still at her desk. Maybe sipping tea. Maybe lost in thought.
And the fact that he wants to know every tiny detail about what she's doing, what she's thinking, what makes her smile...
That's the part that should terrify him but it doesn't, It excites him. It makes his fingers itch to text her, to call her, to walk into her floor and see her again.
Even if it's just from a distance.
His eyes flicker to his phone. Her number is there, saved under a name no one would suspect. He had pulled it from her CV the same day he checked her CV.
Just to know. Just in case.
But he hasn't used it.
Yet.
Let her settle first. Let her breathe. Let her think she's free.
Because he knows—
Sooner or later... she'll look back. And when she does, he'll be standing exactly where her dreams led her.
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To be continued........
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