That evening, Priyanka and I returned home with half our clothes soaked, laughter still echoing between us despite the fatigue. It had been a great day—one of those carefree, memory-filled ones that you hold close. Only one thing was missing.
Him.
I didn't see Shresth that day. But I didn't dwell on it. Not too much, at least. I just thought to myself—if he really wanted to be there, he would have come. That's all. End of thought. Because sometimes, it's better not to expect anything from someone you barely even know… right?
When I got home, Mom was waiting near the door. She took one look at me—hair damp, cheeks flushed, flowers peeking from my bag—and asked, "Who gave you the flowers?"
"Raj did," I said with a casual shrug.
She nodded. Just like that. No follow-up, no teasing. My mom always knew the characters in the stories of my life. She knew Raj. She knew Shresth too. But what she didn't always believe… was that I was capable of deep, lasting love.
"You don't fall easily for anyone," she once told me. "And when you do, you lose interest fast."
Maybe she was right. But maybe not.
Because here I am—writing an entire book… about him.
About the one person I couldn't let go of. The one person I never fully had, yet somehow, never stopped hoping for. Was I really that wrong to fall? Especially when I didn't ask to?
It's easy for people to say—don't expect, don't hope. But the truth is, no girl starts expecting things unless she's given a reason to. And he did give me reasons. Subtle ones, soft ones. Words. Glances. The way he remembered little things. The way he made me feel… visible.
Some relationships don't need labels. They don't follow a formula. They just grow. Quietly, unexpectedly. Until one day, you wake up and realize you don't know how to step back anymore. You don't know how to un-feel.
And that's exactly what happened with us.
When you hear it from my perspective, you might relate. Maybe you've been there too—liking someone so suddenly that the rest of the world fades. Seeing signs everywhere. Reading meaning into every pause, every look, every message.
Maybe I was the red flag. Maybe it was foolish to keep loving someone who hadn't chosen me. But don't assume I wasn't using my brain. I was. And I did try to protect myself. People explained, warned, reminded me of the outcome. But still, one quote clung to my heart like a lifeline:
"The possibility of you is better than the reality of anyone else."
I knew I might get hurt. But I stayed. For the possibility.
There were moments I wanted to give it all up. Moments when I told myself to just be friends with him. But let's be real—can you ever really "just be friends" with someone you've loved in silence? Someone who made you feel something real, even if it was undefined?
That night, after a thousand thoughts and rewinds in my head, I considered telling Raj the truth—about Shresth. About how I felt. About what I was slowly sinking into. But what would I even say?
Shresth and I were just friends, weren't we?
I didn't even know what my feelings really were. So I decided to wait. Give it time. Let it unfold.
The next morning, I posted a close friends story on Instagram. It was a picture of me in my new dress, with the caption:
"Woman in love."
And of course—he replied.
"In love with whom, ma'am?"
The target himself had asked. I smiled at my screen and typed back, "Why do you want to know?"
He replied almost instantly: "If it's not for Raj then…?"
I answered truthfully, "No, it's not for him."
Shresth already knew about Raj. At least, what there was to know.
And then he said the words that flipped my stomach inside out:
"Then I'm considering it was for me."
That confidence. That infuriating, irresistible confidence.
I replied, "Who said that?"
He teased, "I know everything."
I found myself smiling like an idiot. Because that wasn't the only thing he was confident about. Shresth had always carried this quiet certainty when it came to me. As if he knew I'd be there, that I'd care, that I'd feel something more than I admitted.
A few days later, I had a family function in the locality. I dressed up—pretty kurti, braids, matching sandals. I didn't get time to change after tuition, so I just went like that.
Of course, I had math class that day—when did I not?
Math classes had become a secret stage for our little saga. So naturally, when Priyanka called and we left together, she glanced at me and smirked.
"Someone's making up for not flaunting their dress in the rain," she teased.
I brushed her off. "Nothing like that."
But okay… maybe I did hope Shresth would see me. Just a little.
When we arrived, Shresth and his uncle were at the shop. I had already texted him we were coming. He gave his uncle an excuse and walked up to us.
I stood under an umbrella, the sun glowing above. My hair was neatly braided, and the humid breeze made the day feel heavy. He looked at me—no compliments, of course. Shresth wasn't one to flatter. Not then. Not ever.
Still, he smiled. A small one, but I noticed.
He walked with us partway to the coaching center. On the way, he apologized to Priyanka too for not showing up the day it rained, To me he already apologized, the same day on text , confessing that— that day he was really tired and didn't knew that we urgently needed someone to drop us to the stop, otherwise he would have surely showed up, I did forgive him that time. He said to Priyanka, Vidya had scolded him for not coming, because our dresses got ruined. "If I'd known better," he added, "I would've been there."
And then just like that, his dad called him back. Duty first, as always.
I thought maybe he'd come again at departure, but he didn't. He got busy. His work was his priority. It always was.
As we left, Priyanka elbowed me with a grin. "Good thing you met him. Otherwise your outfit would've been wasted."
I just nodded. What else could I say?
The following days passed quietly. We texted, talked about our goals, our families, our small daily victories and defeats. We were opposites in many ways, but sometimes, our thoughts aligned so perfectly it was scary. There was comfort in the routine. Warmth in the familiarity.
But I didn't know a storm was coming.
A storm that would shake up more than just my bond with him. It would crack other relationships too. Things would scatter, and no matter how hard I tried, I wouldn't be able to piece them back the same way.
And when it came… it came fast.
But that… is another chapter.