CHAPTER 1: A Fleeting Glimpse of Love

Will she ever find her faith back in love? Will she ever be able to trust someone with her feelings,
with her care and most importantly with her love? Will she ever get someone who will feel grateful
for her love and not take it for granted? Will she ever find someone who will love her like his angel
and not just a friend who is waiting with all her patience to get promoted to the position of his
girlfriend. Well, this girl’s love life is complicated like hell! To the world, she was a girl who thought
love is a waste of time and so is romance and relationships but at heart she was romantic to the extent
that whenever she would be lonely, she would pretend talking to her husband on call and share her
stories which only she knew. She didn’t have much friends rather she preferred not to be tagged as a
group and wanted to have good bonds with everyone. Well yeah, we were talking about her love life,
right? So, this unromantic-romantic person goes to a hill station and suddenly feels like she is falling
for a guy who happened to be travelling with the same guide she was with. The interest was not one
sided. Some how she felt in her gut that “they” could be something. Every morning, they would wake
up earlier than the other people in their group and meet near a beautiful tree, sit on the lush green
grasses and witness the sunrise together and share what they thought about life. Amidst the misty
mornings and serene landscapes, their connection blossomed, drawing them closer with each shared
moment. He would hold her hands while playing team games, encourage her to be the best, and would
literally cross the river and go to the other side amidst turbulent waves just to give her some dry
clothes after their river bathing session. He was respectful, he was humble, he was matured, he was
liked by all, just like the one she imagined to be with. Little did she know that this bond started to
break the moment it was formed. Days passed and soon the trip was all over. He bought her a small
heart shaped key ring with her name written on it as a memory of his unconfessed love. She was
feeling elated, ecstatic, dizzy and sad at the thought of him leaving. She thought everything was over
and boarded the flight with her most sullen face. But as soon as she sat on her seat, her face lightened
up seeing that man sitting just beside her. O my god you could not even think how happy she was to
be with him, again. She had so many expectations from “this” conversation of theirs and she thought
so will he. The air between them crackled with unspoken words, the weight of unspoken truths
hanging heavy in the silence. They started talking, and she got to know that they worked for the same
company. She felt elated, but she observed a frown developing in his forehead. His demeanor, once
warm and inviting, now masked a turmoil she couldn't decipher. Despite her attempts to bridge the
gap, to recapture the magic they had shared on the hillside, he remained distant, his replies curt and
guarded. She was confused and guess what since then her entire love life was nothing less than a
confusion. But yeah, back to story, throughout the flight he didn’t speak much and just asked her to
say something and upon asking him why was he quiet, all he would reply is “I don’t have topic to talk
“. Yup this was the excuse but she could figure out it was not about the topic, there was something
else that was bothering him. She too was now quiet and just tried sleeping through the entire flight.
And though the road ahead remained uncertain, she clung to the hope that someday, somehow, she
would find her way back to the warmth of love's embrace. They reached their destination, she had to
now return to her home, she waved a bye at him and smiled and he smiled too making it the last time
they smiled seeing one another. Why?
CHAPTER 2: Shadows of Doubt

She went back home and had a peaceful sleep being optimistic about her next day. The next morning
their office was conducting a marathon and she was not quite excited but then it struck her what if she
could meet “him”. She hurriedly got up, changed into her sporty tracks, combed her hair into a high
pony, applied her lightly tinted lip balm, put on her favourite perfume and yeah with this she was all
set to face him yet again. She went to the stadium, sat on the very first row only to get a glimpse of
him and she did it. She spotted him and guess what he was one of the top runners competing for a spot
among the first three position holders. Her eyes never left his silhouette. As he crossed the finish line
in a triumphant blaze, her heart swelled with pride, a silent witness to his triumph. But her joy was
short-lived as their eyes met, and instead of the warmth she had come to expect, his gaze remained
cold and indifferent. He ignored… wait seriously?! He looked at her, their gaze did meet for a second
or two but he did not smile back at her the way he did last time. She left the place and came back
feeling hurt nevertheless she thought of not losing him and decided to approach him.
Two three days passed he was out of sight. All she wanted was to let him know that she cared for him.
Suddenly one fine day he shows up and starts talking to her, she forgot about all the ignorance and
decided to talk to him. He was looking quite rushed but was trying to be too nice to her. This nice was
a different type of nice, something she was not expecting this fast. He asked her to feed him food with
her hands. She was taken a back but she was too naïve to understand that there might be a reason
behind it. She followed what he told being in state of confusion. They did not have a discussion
following this. The day was over and she was returning to her home but how can things be so good?
All her happiness felt unrealistic.
It was dark and she was walking her way back home. Suddenly she felt a huge thud on her back and a
chill of pain ran down her spine. She turned back and found a girl standing and a steel bottle lying on
the ground. In the shadow of uncertainty, she found herself standing at the edge of a cliff, her trust in
love slipping away. Questions raced through her mind, each more urgent than the last. Who was this
girl? Why had she attacked her? And most importantly, did it have something to do with him?
CHAPTER 3:
She was in utter shock for what had just happened and her body had become completely numb.
Slowly she saw the girl approaching her. The girl’s face was now facing the street light and she could
recognize her! she was her office junior who then worked in his department.
She came and stood in front of her , in a very threatening way she told her “ Stay away from him for
things may be the worse next time!”.
“Why?” She replied back!
“Cause I like him and he along with his friends are playing with you to make me feel jealous.” She
was in shock again! What did the girl just say?! He used her!
She could not process everything. Tears rolled down her cheeks. Was it because she got physically
hurt by a junior or was it because she now had the truth in front of her.
She calmed herself down and walked back to her home, determined to confront and ask him about it
the next day. The clock was ticking beside her but she couldn’t fall asleep anticipating what awaits
tomorrow. Soon it was morning and she was all set to confront him. She spotted him hanging out with
his friends. She knew it was not the right time to approach him but she couldn’t wait to talk to him.
She walked up to him and narrated to him all that happened the previous night expecting him to be
concerned about her if not anything.
He heard her, nodding his head sometimes and replied with just one sentence “I can’t blame her if she
loves me and secondly, I can’t tell her anything about the incident because for me my colleagues
matter more than anyone else. I have to work with her.” She was devastated listening to him. She
regretted every time she spent with him. Mustering up some courage she asked him,
“Why did you use me? Why did you show that you cared for me even when you didn’t?”
He replied, “Oh c’mon it was just a dare my friends gave to me. I had to prove them that I was
capable of making a girl like you fall in love”
“A girl like me? What do you mean by a girl like me?” she asked flustered.
He replied, “yeah girls like you who don’t know what love and being romantic feels like!”
So, all these happened because she appeared to be unromantic and stone hearted but now what? She
already was in love with him and all he did was deny.
She ran back to her cabin and started crying as if there was no end to it.
She thought of going for a short vacation and never again think of that guy. But life had other plans,
didn’t it? Will she be able to forget him? Or will he come back to her life again ?
CHAPTER 4:
She reached her destination and was indeed enjoying her “me” time but one fine evening she receives
a call from an unknown number. Even though the number wasn’t saved, she knew who it could be. It
was him. He was calling her for the very first time. She was angry yet nervous to talk to him. Her
brain told her to not receive the call but her heart urged her to talk to him. Foolish girl, she listened to
her heart!
“Hello, what do you want from me? ”
Don’t worry she could only think about saying this but she couldn’t get the courage to talk to him like
that…
“Hello, how are you?”, she asked.
In an apologetic way, he replied, “I am extremely sorry for hurting you! I am just a bit concerned
about my reputation, my promotion is due and during this time I don’t want to look like a person who
just hangs around with girls. I don’t want to get associated with you at the moment.”
Dumb girl, believed him and told to herself, “See, I knew he wouldn’t be this bad!”
A new ray of hope developed in her heart and she decided to gift him something really beautiful for
his birthday. By that time, he will also be done with his promotion and there shouldn’t be any problem
for their relationship. They can finally be together, she wondered.
She returned back and started preparing for his birthday. Throughout her life she has never been a
materialistic girl. She always preferred letters over bought cards, handmade DIY gifts over expensive
bought items. For her it was all about emotions. So, she thought she would gift him a pen that her
father gave her which was very close to her heart along with a letter confessing whatever she felt
about him. Days after days passed, every night she would write something and then tear it and throw
it in the dustbin. Oh, by the way his birthday was in the Valentine’s week. So, she was pretty sure, she
didn’t want to give him something during that time because she thought he will not like that. She
tactfully decided to gift him the day before the week starts. She gave her gift to her trusted colleague
who knew what she felt about him. Every day she would get up and anticipate his reply but the entire
valentine’s week passed and so did the anti-valentine week. She couldn’t wait any more. One day her
colleague came up to her , her face lightened up to see her and just like that her face lost all its charm
as soon as she saw the reply in front of her eyes, her gift was in the hands of her colleague. What! He
returned her gift back?!
“He asked me to give this gift back to you…”, her colleague informed.
In one sudden motion, she snatched the gift from her hands, opened the gift wrap, tore the letter into
pieces and threw it in the dustbin.
“I want to be alone”, she replied her colleague. As soon as her colleague left she tucked her face in
her palm and started crying. She was flooding with emotions of all kinds; anger, sadness, betrayal,
guilt, helplessness and embarrassment. She decided to never fall for him again and most importantly
return his keyring . Will he take the keyring back? Or will he again fool her to believe him?