Chapter 4 — The Face in the Magazine
The days began to fall into a routine.
Every morning, Priya arrived at her mother's office.
Every afternoon, she cooked.
And every evening, she waited for her mother's reaction.
But nothing changed.
Her mother continued to eat quietly.
No praise.
No encouragement.
Not even a simple smile.
Priya tried not to let it bother her.
She focused on improving.
Every day, she experimented with new recipes. She adjusted spices, learned new techniques, and slowly became more confident in the kitchen.
The employees loved her food.
They began looking forward to lunchtime.
But there was another thing Priya hadn't stopped doing.
Searching for Jay.
Whenever she had free time, she searched online.
She tried different combinations of names and locations.
Still nothing.
Until one night, her phone suddenly rang.
It was Mina.
"Priya, come to my house. Now."
Priya frowned.
"Why? What happened?"
"Just come. It's urgent."
"Mina—"
"Please, Priya. You'll understand when you get here."
Twenty minutes later, Priya arrived at Mina's house.
Mina opened the door before Priya could even knock twice.
"Finally!"
"What happened?"
Mina grabbed her hand and pulled her inside.
"I think I found him."
Priya froze.
"Found who?"
Mina gave her a look.
"Jay."
Priya's heart skipped.
"What?"
Mina quickly picked up a magazine from the table.
It was a special edition featuring talented artists from across the country.
She opened it to a particular page.
There were photographs of several artists.
Then Mina pointed toward one of them.
"Look."
Priya looked.
And everything around her seemed to disappear.
The man in the photograph had the same face.
The same eyes.
The same quiet expression.
The same person who had sat beside her on that bench.
Priya slowly reached for the magazine.
"That's him."
Mina smiled.
"His name is Jay Verma."
Priya stared at the photograph.
"Jay Verma..."
"He's an artist," Mina said. "And apparently a pretty talented one."
Priya couldn't take her eyes away from the picture.
For days, she had searched for a stranger she knew almost nothing about.
Now she finally had a name.
A surname.
A profession.
A face on paper.
Jay Verma.
The man who had changed her life without even knowing it.
Priya smiled softly.
"I found you."
But neither of them knew that finding Jay was only the beginning.
Because now Priya had a choice.
She could simply leave the past where it belonged.
Or she could find the stranger who had once saved her from the darkest night of her life.