"Sometimes our faith is different from the one we had imagined for ourselves." 

- JEAN KWOK 

^^^

"What are you doing over here, Harshad?" Kiara glared at him, as she stood in front of him.

"Can't I visit a friend of mine?" He winked, offering a mischievous smirk.

"Who even offered you my address?"

"You can always count on Avni for such a blessing," he winked again, making Kiara groan.

"Why is she so fan-stricken by you?" Kiara grumbled while Harshad chuckled.

"None can't resist my charm." He grinned like an idiot as he wrapped his arms around her shoulder. "Not even you," he mumbled making Kiara scowl at him. "Didn't you miss me?" He made an innocent face making Kiara melt. Definitely, she couldn't resist his charm as well but she wasn't ever going to admit it.

"Not at all!" She responded pushing back the small emerging smile on her face on seeing his fake dramatic pout.

"But I did, a lot..." he confessed pressing a kiss on her forehead. "How is your health?" He inquired, changing the topic.

"It's all good..." Kiara muttered avoiding eye contact.

"What happened to your health?" Maya inquired who hadn't mentioned a word after Harshad's arrival.

"Oh!" Harshad noticed her presence, "another beautiful girl." Harshad was back to his flirtatious nature while Maya grew uncomfortable with his over-friendliness.

"Harshad," Kiara nudged his shoulder, glaring at him. "Don't mind him, Maya," Kiara muttered for which Maya smiled not being convinced.

"Let's get into the house, seems like it's going to rain," Maya muttered and she walked away not waiting for them to follow. She wasn't comfortable around strangers.

"You should stop doing that," Kiara commented following Maya but Harshad's words stopped her.

"Stop with what?"

"Your flirting," Kiara glanced at Harshad.

"Why? Are you getting jealous," he was going to pinch her cheeks but she shoved him away. Harshad rolled his eyes, engulfing his arms around her shoulder. "My flirting does no harm." He attempted to reason out, seeing her sulky mood.

"But people misinterpret it. They start giving you character certification." She voiced out sounding serious but Harshad was staring at her with a smile.

"I don't give a damn! They can keep barking about me." Kiara gave him an annoyed look while rushing away from him but he maintained the phase. "Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Kiara scowled.

"It doesn't matter if someone talks rubbish. Their words aren't going to change our personalities. When they judge us they display their mentality. As simple as that!" He winked making Kiara have a small smile.

"How can you be so... weird?" Kiara shook her head, "you can bring a smile in any tense situation."

"I love spreading a smile."

"Why?"

Harshad glanced at Kiara, and the smile disappeared from his lip. "Because we never know how many days we are offered. Why not cherish each moment?" He raised his brow, "come... show me your cousin's place." He dragged her inside, shutting the topic.

___

"You never mentioned this guy?" Maya inquired as she was busy decorating the desert.

"Harshad?" Kiara inquired and Maya gave a slight nod. "He was my ex-colleague, joined a few months before my departure."

"He seems a very close friend of yours."

Kiara giggled, "it's in his nature, Maya. He can get comfortable with anyone."

"Exactly, he might get comfortable with anyone but you hardly do. The way you're so free-spirited, I hadn't seen you so comfortable around even our bunch of cousins."

"Credit goes to him even Avni is very much impressed by him."

"So, you mean you're impressed as well?"

Kiara gave Maya a look, she could sense where the conversation was shaping. Why was everyone after connecting Harshad with her? Why couldn't she share just a friendly bond with Harshad? Why there should be something more?

"He has a girlfriend and I don't have any interest in him," Kiara muttered sternly.

"I didn't..."

"I don't want to talk about it. Can we just carry on with the deserts?" And with those words, Maya didn't bring the topic back.

____

Kiara was scrolling through her social media account when she came across Aditi posting a picture with Dhruv in a café. Kiara had a small smile playing on seeing them, smiling at the picture. "They were getting together," she smiled at her thought. 

Soon, she came across Avni's post. "When pranks backfire!" Was mentioned along with a small video.

Harshad was playing a prank with a stranger in the mall. A senior citizen who looked rather gloomy, he was staring at Harshad with a murderous gaze. As Harshad was busy finding some default in the stranger's phone. And he mentioned something making the angry-senior citizen fumes in rage. He started shouting, gathering a crowd and Kiara wasn't able to hold her laughter back after watching the video.

"Deserves it!" Kiara commented adding some laughing emojis in the comment session. And got engrossed checking her feed.

"Don't get jealous of my pranking skills." A message popped on her screen after a few minutes. A smile popped on Kiara's face on seeing the username.

"Why would I be jealous of your prank backfiring?" Responded back to his reply.

"Because you don't process those skills."

"I have no interest in processing those skills."

"Aww... don't be so jealous. We enjoyed a lot without you."

Kiara rolled her eyes not wanting to answer his teasing.

"What are you people doing in my comment session? Allow me to concentrate on my studies." Avni jumped into the ongoing conversation.

"You should go offline while studying." Harshad was fast to provide a response.

"Kiara had already gone, enjoy commenting alone," Avni commented back.

There was silence for a few minutes and Kiara anticipated that both had gone offline but a minute later a message popped in a direct message. It was from Harshad. She clicked on the message icon.

"Hey,"

"Are you there?"

"No, I am not..."

"How are you doing?"

"Till now, I am was going fine."

"Haww, don't be this cruel."

"You deserve all the cruelty."

"Am I that Bad?"

"Yes, very much bad..."

"Okay, if that's the case I won't ever trouble you."

"Finally, God listened to my prayers."

Harshad simply liked the message and Kiara walked away, understanding the conversation was done.

___

Kiara was engrossed in her work and had typed a few chapters on her laptop. She was slightly stressed with the way the story was shaping. It wasn't going as she planned, the characters were choosing their own path further complicating the entire story. Kiara was messaging her head, glancing at the latest twist her character had come up with.

"Wasn't she supposed to choose the good boy over that bad boy?" Kiara grumbled to herself not liking the decision made by her character. Shaking her head in defeat, she walked out of the room. She needed some fresh air, away from those characters. She was finding it difficult to understand them. What were they even? Why they acted so illogical? Why did such a sane, innocent girl choose a corrupted officer over a dutiful guy?

"I had never seen you coming out after your writing session in such a mess," Maya commented softly making Kiara smile as she took a seat beside her.

"How do you read me so well? I hope, my parents could understand me in such a manner. They think creating stories is easy." Kiara shook her head, "only if they had ever created one." She mumbled to herself.

"Everyone thinks the other's work is simple until they are made to do it. Don't our father comment how easy cooking is?" Maya voiced the fact making Kiara giggle while shaking her head in approval.

"So, what is troubling you?" She inquired and Kiara made an annoying pout.

"Story isn't going as planned. The character wants to choose a different path." Kiara shook her head, leaning on the couch while shutting her eyes in need of some peace. She always believed that writing provided her with peace. Sharing her views on life and creating some amazing characters and living a completely different life along with them always fascinated her. Along with the advantage came the disadvantage.

"The lead is acting inappropriate, not in a manner that she should act. I just don't understand why would she ever take that direction?"

"You don't need to understand her moves, Kiara. Do we always understand why our best friend took that decision?" Maya paused for Kiara's reaction, who stared at her with an appalled look. "We never understand those people that we have known for years. How could you understand a character that you have started knowing for the past few weeks? We simply can't understand anyone as well as we understand ourselves. According to your lead, it's the best decision. Allow it to take and then see the magic. You will slowly realize that forcing her would have done more harm than allowing her."

"Won't the readers want to know logical reasoning? Won't they want me to explain why she did that?"

"If your readers will try to understand the character if they will see her as a human. Filled with flaws, who is allowed to make mistakes won't walk behind logic until the character is doing justice to herself. Do you think your character is doing justice to herself with the decision?"

"I think so... it feels right. Deep inside, I feel it's the best."

"Then it is the best..."

"You're great. Just a minute conversation with you and I feel lighter. I feel I can go back and complete it further." Kiara smiled at Maya, she blinked her eyes in return.

"Apart from writing is everything going, right? Your mental peace?" Maya inquired and Kiara offered a small nod.

"I am just allowing myself to engross in the books. Reading and writing, I had disconnected from social media for a few days."

"Any particular reason behind it."

Kiara shook her head, "I am just allowing myself some space. Maybe I need it before I am ready to face the world."

"The concept of Aditi and Dhruv together still hurts you?"

Kiara averted her gaze, hesitating to speak her heart out. "I don't know whether the concept of them together hurts me or he not attempting to contact me."

"You can always contact him," Maya suggested the most valid point. "If he hadn't contacted and it is hurting you then you take the first step forward."

"I can't, Maya. What if he is trying to ignore me? What if Aditi doesn't want me to be in contact with him? I can't be the reason behind their fight. I want them to have a beautiful relationship."

"But the way you described their relationship. I felt it was way- complicated to work. It will get toxic for them in future."

"It isn't toxic, they had survived the years of friendship. If they treat the relationship, the way they treated friendship things aren't going to worsen."

"You still want them to end up together, you don't want to drive them apart."

"That would be insane of me. I know, I don't belong to him. I had got that feeling..." Kiara muttered, glancing at the wall in the far corner.

"What feeling?" Maya grew curious as Kiara left the statement incomplete.

"I don't know, I didn't understand it at that moment. Dhruv was in such proximity, he was asking me to stay. Confessing that he felt good, better when I was in his arms but I didn't share the feeling. I felt something was wrong. The sense of peace, and satisfaction that I always imagined feeling when he would confess his feeling, I was devoid of it. I felt confused and even guilty seeing Dhruv's disappointed face. He was confessing that he shared the feeling but I wasn't happy, or glad but rather felt empty inside. Had the feeling I shared towards him faded away?" Kiara shook her head.

"No, if that was the case my heart wouldn't ache at the thought of Dhruv ending up with Aditi. I wouldn't force a smile seeing them enjoying time together. I can't logically define the feeling I am going through, Maya. I hold feeling for him but at the same time, I don't feel I belong to him. I didn't feel at home in his arms. Why would it be so?" Kiara grumbled sounding confused with her jumbled feelings.

"Maybe because unconsciously, you have accepted that Dhruv belongs to Aditi. So, how can you ever feel safe in his arms, at home? Because you know he will choose others over you, Kiara. I don't know if he shares feeling towards you but even if he does, he won't ever have the courage to fight for it. Your heart holds feeling for him but at the same time, your heart is convinced not to expect anything from him. Your heart is scared to trust him, to lend itself to his hands because unknowingly he had broken you enough. That doesn't mean you don't care for him, or he isn't your friend anymore. You won't feel hurt on seeing Dhruv and Aditi together but rather you won't ever feel safe enough to consider him as your home."

Kiara listened to her attentively, "does it mean... I will able to move from him? Does it mean in future I will be able to celebrate their happiness?"

"Yeah, you will be but for that, your heart would want to be convinced that it will be offered with a happily ever after as well. Your heart will want to be assured that someone can love you as well the way you loved Dhruv."

Kiara shook her head not commenting on the matter. She wasn't in a position to think about the concept of love. She wasn't sure if she could deal with it again in her life.