I made sure I didn't go anywhere near Aryan all morning afterwards, as I busied myself in studying about Nanda and Associates, and checking out the business profile of Giridhar Nanda, its owner. I also held another meeting with Namrata and the HR team to discuss new training programs for interns. I loved my cabin, it was small but tastefully decorated and it gave me that much needed personal space, before I could fully mingle with all the employees of Synergy. Around 11.30 am, I heard a knock on the door and there was Aryan, dressed in impeccable formal clothes of crisp white shirt and black trousers, with the jacket hanging loosely on his arm. I scrunch my eyes and looked away. "What happened now? Am I still not dressed properly enough for you?" He asked me crossly.

"Erm.. I was actually going to apologise for my outburst earlier, before that guy knocked us off" I began awkwardly. "If we keep recalling every bad memory we had, we would probably spend the rest of my time here apologising to each other." Chandni's voice was full of irony. Just then her phone buzzed, and she scrunched up her face looking at it. "How come you have reached here so soon Chacha?" she asked as soon as she answered the call. I could hear loud giggles and a childish voice on the phone in the silence of our room, even at such a distance. I was feeling awkward listening to the one-sided phone conversation and tried to get up from the sofa, but she hurried towards the sofa and sat next to me, signalling to me to

Chandni didn't realise how long she was on the washroom floor, crying and sobbing, before all her tears dried out. She slowly gathered herself and crept into her bed. She cuddled the soft pillow, but it felt cold and lifeless. Till the day she met Aryan again, she felt nothing but peace with her situation. Her life was placid, well protected and she felt content in her own small world with Vikram, Atharv, Rashid Chacha and Nargis Chachi. Just like before, Aryan stormed into her life, turning it upside down and made her lose control over her life, her surroundings and now more importantly her career too. His words and deeds raked all the deep wounds that she safely kept hidden from everyone, for she knew there was no point in ruing over something that was gone, forever from her life. But his presence back in her life only reiterated the fear she always had, deep down, which she never wanted to acknowl

  A Stony silence ensued for a few moments before Chandni exclaimed with a gasp. "Oh my god, look at the time!! I should have been home a long time ago. Gosh!! Atharv.... he must be whinging!!" She hastily pulled out her mobile and called home. "Chachi, it's me. I am so sorry I just got held up here in the office. How is Atharv? Did he finish his dinner? I promised him I will read him a story tonight and forgot all about it. Has he gone to bed already?" Chandni asked a barrage of questions anxiously. Aryan watched in astonishment the change in her demeanour, from a feisty girl ready to give back the best retort to that of a concerned mother, her face full of love for her child. "Oh... Ok. He is already asleep. No, that's absolutely fine. Thanks, Chachi.

"Chandu, I hope you trust me enough, even after all these years, at least on one thing. I consider marriage a sacred bond. That is why, how much ever my heart longed to see you, I never tried to meet you again, not to disturb your blissful life, as you have finally found someone you could spend the rest of your life with. And I would never ever cross my line when I am with you since you are a married woman, no matter what happened between us, all those years ago." Aryan's words held so much pain and love that Chandni replied in a gush. "I trust you, on that for sure. I swear to god I am being honest with you Aryan! There was a time, when I was too bitter and wallowing in self-pity that I did hate everything that happened between us. But it was only for a short while. But I never thought like that again. My time with you