Rehaan aimed the stress ball at his laptop, but it fell on the photo frame placed next to it. He looked at the smiling faces of AM, Rosh, Aarav, and himself in the picture. He sighed and tried not to think of Ahaana's photo in the desk drawer.

Pulling himself together, he texted Neha.

Rehan: Wanna grab a bite?

Neha😍: Sure jaan. But before that, how 'bout I grab a bite of you? 😋

Rehaan: Yuck! That was a horrible line!

"Rehaan Sir?"

He looked up at the peon who continued, "Sir, there is a visitor for you."

"Who is it?"

"She said she wants to surprise you and hence asked me not to tell you her name."

"You know Sharma ji, one day someone might say something like it and infiltrate this office to hijack this office. But if that happens, the day will be more exciting than it is usually around here," Rehaan laughed at his joke, and the peon scowled.

He walked to the visitor's lounge, wondering who it might be. It could be Vyoma. She had tried to get back with him after the whole letter fiasco, but then, it had been about three years ago, and he had changed cities. It could be Saloni and Arjun too. But he knew how rarely the Guptas traveled after Tarun had taken over the Gupta's business, thanks to Mrs. Gupta and Ms. Raichand, who had managed to get rid of him using one of Mr. Gupta's affairs with an office sub-ordinate. So it wasn't likely that Saloni and Arjun would visit him.

Hoping it's Saloni and Arjun, he opened the door of the visitor lounge, and his heart skipped a bit. The same mop of curly black was there, with a few streaks of brown. She stood up and turned, still beautiful as ever, still radiant as ever.

"Ahaana," His breath hitched, and he stared at her, drinking in her beauty. She smiled, but there were tears in her eyes, and he didn't realize that he was crying. He wanted to run and hug her, but instead, he just stayed in his place, rooted.

"Hi," She whispered, and he came out of his trance.

"Hi," He smiled and wiped his tears.

It was almost three years since he had seen her. After Anant had caught them in his room, Anant and she had argued, her venting out about him leaving her in her depressed state and him about her aborting and lying about their marriage. The two had decided to divorce, but Rehaan had left the house the same night and shifted with Saloni, having nowhere else to go. It had been awkward to share a roof with one of his ex-es, and Ahaana's sister. But it was much better than being stuck around Ahaana and watching her run away from feelings for her. He had hated himself for leaving her alone when she needed him the most but knew that she didn't need him around her while dealing with the divorce. Ahaana then shifted to London to pursue her career in Interior Designing, and Rehaan accepted the first job he got at his placements in Banglore and changed cities.

"So, how have you been?" she asked, casually, as if they were two old friends who were meeting after ages. Rehaan wanted to hold her and scream at her, ask her why she cut everyone off, kiss her, and tell her that he still loved her. Instead, he just shrugged.

"How did you know I was here?"

"Saloni told me. I am seeing a therapist, and he made me talk to her. She told me that you were here. I have a friend in Chennai who needs my help, so I thought I should stop here before going there. And before you assume anything, I am not lying about my friend and her house that needs designing." Despite himself, Rehaan flushed, thinking of the lie he had told her to get her to join him for the small get-away to Goa after her abortion and Laila's accident.

"How long are you in Banglore?"

"I'll be leaving for Chennai tomorrow,"

The two sat, and an awkward silence enveloped them.

"Are you in touch with anyone?" Rehaan asked. It was a stupid question, but he wanted to know if it was just him and her family that she had cut off or everyone else.

"No, I didn't speak to anyone since the divorce,"

"I speak to Aarav," He supplied. "To help him get the ladies," He added, with an obnoxious wink.

"Poor kid must be still single then," She laughed, and he rolled his eyes.

"Rehaan, I have been searching for you!" Neha barged into the room and then looked at Ahaana.

"Oh, I didn't know you had company. I thought you left me alone and went to hog. I am so sorry. I'll leave you two alone." She said and turned to leave, but Ahaana spoke.

"Oh no, that's fine. I came here to say Hi," Ahaana said, but Rehaan could tell that she was lying.

"Hey, why don't you join us for lunch?" He asked. He knew it was a stupid thing to do, but he had missed her so much that it hurt him to think that Ahaana was leaving again.

"I don't mind," Neha shrugged and smiled.

"Umm... Ok," Ahaana replied, checking her watching.

"I am Neha, by the way. This doofus doesn't have the manners of doing introductions," Neha said savagely.

"Oye!" He tried to shut her up.

"I am his,"

"Girlfriend," Rehaan said impulsively. Ahaana and Neha looked at him in shock.

"Girlfriend," She continued and forced a smile. Ahaana nodded, and the three left for the cafeteria. Neha hit her elbow in Rehaan's stomach and threw him a dirty look, and he signed her to play along.

The lunch was an awkward affair, with Ahaana observing them as they tried to look like a couple without being too much in her face.

"Say, Neha, how long have you been dating?" Ahaana asked as Rehaan signed for the bill.

"About four months," Neha said, and Rehaan let her take the lead because seeing Ahaana after so long seemed to have caused his brain to malfunction.

Rehaan smiled.

"So you must be knowing about his weird tastes in Pasta, don't you," Ahaana smiled, a smile too sweet to be true.

"Ya, ya... What's with that, even, Rehaan?" Neha struggled and gave out a forced laugh.

Rehaan looked at Ahaana in confusion, unsure at what she was hinting.

"Hey, I am not weird, all right. I think Maggi Pasta counts as Pasta too,"

"You think that's Pasta?" Neha asked, in surprise, almost forgetting the charade they had been putting for the last half hour.

"I knew that you two are lying" Ahaana smirked, and Rehaan threw his hands on his face. Neha bit on his tongue.

"Well, technically, I am his girl friend. Because I am a girl, and his friend," Neha tried and sighed.

"Sorry, Neha," Rehaan apologized, seeing that that game was up.

"I tried to get you involved in our f*cked up lives." He rubbed the back of his head, missing the victorious glint in Ahaana's eyes, but Neha didn't, so she said, "I should go," and picked her mobile and left.

"Why did you lie?" Ahaana asked, exasperated.

"I wasn't sure why you are here, so I didn't want you to think that I hadn't moved on from you,"

"Well, have you?" She asked.

"No, I tried so hard, but I couldn't," Rehaan looked at her.

"Neither could I. You are my reason to be alive, Rehaan," She said and held his hand. It would seem like a corny line to an outsider, but the two knew it had a deeper meaning. He had asked her to live for him and how she had attempted suicide in her room, in Goa, after Anant had seemed too distant and she had felt alone.

"I... you still don't think that our kiss in Goa was a mistake, do you?" He asked after a few seconds.

"After three years, no. The timing was wrong, and I will hate myself for being attracted to you when I was committed to Anant. But the time I spent in Goa with you is the reason why I didn't give up on life. Do you think all of it was a mistake?" She asked.

He looked at her and thought of his father-like figure whose trust he had broken. He thought of Roshni and Aarav, who were like his younger siblings, but now were like some distant memory. His one attempt to hold Ahaana and to get her to confess for love for him had broken his family.

"You think it was a mistake! I thought it was a mistake then, and I kept saying so to you and myself. But now, I cannot deny that mistake actually made me happy, even if it was for a split second, and I hate myself for feeling happy about it. But even after all these years, you think it is a mistake and nothing else, when you were the one who asked me not to call the kiss a mistake," Ahaana said as she watched him. Tears pooled in her eyes, and she left from there before Rehaan could say anything.

Rehaan ran after her, but she ignored him and left. He stood outside his office, broken again and conflicted about his love.