"Woh waqt sahi nahi tha jab hum pehle mile thay,
Aaj phir woh mauka aaya hai aur waqt bhi sahi hai"

~ Author ~

Mumbai, India

Meher was sitting by her study desk, in her room, writing something in her diary. Writing her thoughts helped her somehow cope with her emotions and bring stability to her life without going insane.

It had been three days since she came across Kabir.

She hadn't expected to meet him like that. Her brain was jumbled, he always brought out the worst in her. But on the other hand, she showed him his place and let him know nothing had changed. She would always have the upper hand.

Ever since that night, Kabir Raizada hadn't left her mind. He might have changed physically, but the feelings remained the same.

Meher checked the time on her phone. It was eight in the morning. Pushing herself off the chair, she got up to get dressed for her first day at the office. She was supposed to get a tour around their news broadcast office and then come over to the main office to meet the shareholders and other dignitaries.

Her phone pinged and she picked it up to check who had messaged her.

Have a great first day at the office, trust fund baby.

A warm smile crept on her cheeks when she saw William's message on her phone. She had not thought that she would make any friends while she was in Boston but well, friendship can happen anywhere.

She got dressed in the sleekest pant suit and hung her blazer over her arm. She meticulously did her make-up, let her hair loose, and wore her shiniest formal heels. She was ready for the action.

Her heels clicked with the marble floor as she walked downstairs, her chin held high, perfect for a new start. She radiated confidence on her first day and she looked more determined than she ever was.

"Meher!" Akash Raizada watched her come to the dining area, "come, join us for breakfast." Meher let out a bright smile as she took a seat in between her best friends.

"Excited to visit the office?" Vikas asked his daughter, who was more excited than her. It was finally that his daughter was stepping into the business that he and his best friend had built up.

"Very," she took a bite of her toast as she answered. She was lowkey anxious about going to the office but there was nothing that she couldn't overcome.

She waved goodbye to the ladies and hugged her friends. Since it was her first day at the office, it was decided that the elders would take the liberty to show her around. Meher sat in the car along with her father and Akash and soon they were on their way to the office.

Meher looked outside the window like always, reminiscing her old days and remembering her forgotten love.

Well, not forgotten at least.

Abhimanyu came like a spring in her life, making a bloom of happiness in her life and went away like a monsoon, leaving the rains of pain and heartbreak in her life.

Abhimanyu would have been a budding journalist by now, she wondered. Abhimanyu's memories knocked her brain like a non-seasonal rain, beautiful yet full of pain. No matter how much she made herself think that it wasn't meant for her, the more she wished to have it.

Abhimanyu went away and took a piece of her with him.

Meher came back to her senses as the car honked while entering the office premises. She had seen the office quite a few times and the only place got bigger and better.

She stepped out of the car and fell in step with her father and Akash. It was good to see a healthy working environment. The trio entered the boardroom which was already filled with a few of the stakeholders of the company. She found Arya and Aryan too, who gave her a thumbs up.

And last but not the least, there was Kabir with his secretary tailed behind him. Meher rolled her eyes when she saw him looking everywhere but her, looking disinterested.

Soon everyone took their seats and Vikas finally got up to speak. "Good morning ladies and gentlemen. As you all know, we have gathered here to welcome my daughter, Meher to the AV Group," A big round of applause went around the table and Meher politely got up, bowing her head lightly.

"She will be working in the AV News as she's a journalist by profession. Soon after three months of interim training with one of our senior directors from the media group, she will be taking over the AV Media Corporation as the managing director and the CEO," a round of applause rang again throughout the table and Meher lightly smiled looking at the cheers and support that was lent to her.

She knew that a similar kind of stuff happened when Arya and Aryan took over the fashion and the law firm last year.

"Will she be contesting with Kabir for the position of CEO of the AV Group?" One of the board members asked. The room fell silent, not because of surprise but due to the curiosity that brought everyone out of their zone. Akash and Vikas looked at Meher in question.

Meher smiled at the hidden meaning in their expressions. She loved their friendship for one sole reason— money and power were never over their friendship. If Vikas wanted, he could have answered for her, but he didn't. Akash respected whatever the father-daughter did.

And then she looked at the man who hadn't paid any attention throughout the meeting. Kabir looked at her curiously, waiting for her answer. And their eyes clashed.

Onyx against Hazel.

Curiosity against triumph.

Meher smirked looking at him, the corner of her lips slightly moving up. She noticed him being in shock for a moment. But she also saw how he masked his face with stony expressions.

Meher took her own sweet time to think before she laid out her perfectly curated answer.

"Ah well," she tapped her neatly nail on the table. "I would like to remain as a member of the board as of now. I am still a rookie, I need proper guidance for everything. It's already a big deal for me to be appointed as the upcoming CEO for AV News, I think I will focus on that," She offered a clipped smile to the members but a nasty smirk when her eyes met with the not so familiar ones.

Kabir was enraged at her audacity. She played him well. Even if it was for a moment, it had gotten him triggered if she would take up the challenge to fight with him for the post.

And the fight would have sparked the ages-long dirty fight between them.

The meeting wrapped up but Kabir and Meher stayed in the room at last, along with a clueless Aanchal.

Kabir got up and adjusted his coat and walked around the table to come over to Meher's side. "You're a nasty little kitten, aren't you?" He spitted the words like venom. Meher let out a chuckle and got up to match up to his level.

"Got fooled for a moment, didn't you?" Kabir wanted to wipe that smirk off her face. Her face ticked him off really bad.

"Everyone knows who the winner would have been even if you contested with me," He scoffed. Aanchal, who was standing behind him, shook her head in a sigh. Meher who watched the little action bit back a smile.

"Too much self awareness is harmful to health, Raizada. Never challenge a rookie who has been watching you and your tricks for years. Who knows that she might use it against you?" She waved with her fingers and strutted out of the boardroom in style.

"That darn bitch!" Kabir mumbled under his breath and dashed out of the room.

Aanchal, who was left behind, had stars in her eyes. 

It looked like Meher Mathur had a new fan.

*   *   *

"Here is the entertainment news section," Rishi, the department head of international news, showed Meher around the office. Meher was fascinated by the overall ambience of the media house.

It was enchanting enough to follow her dream and then work ahead to make others' dreams come true. It was everything she wished for and all of it came to her like a beautiful dream.

"Here's your desk," he led her to one of the desks. "During the interim training period, you are provided with an open desk like any other employee so that you can get to know the people better. You will be working with different departments and then you can work in the department of your specialisation, which is business journalism."

Meher gave him a warm smile and softly ran her hand around the desk, in awe at everything that was given to her.

"Do you need something?" Rishi asked her. Meher looked up at him and blinked for a moment. A distant thought crossed her mind. "Uh, do you think I can get the applications from Bangalore Media University from five years ago?"

"F-Five years ago?" He tried to confirm.

"Yeah, please email them to me."

Rishi mutely nodded and walked away. Meher sat on her desk, and felt the wooden desk, closing her eyes in a sigh. She had been longing for this day and when the moment was finally here, it felt surreal.

It was going to be a great first day at the office.

*   *   *

But someone was not having a good day at all. Kabir nitpicked on everything that the employees did, and scolded at least a dozen of them over nonsensical stuff yet his heart wasn't at peace. Oh, he fired a few to which the poor Aanchal had to hop in to pacify those employees that it was just a heat of the moment thing, nothing to be bothered about.

Meher Mathur had picked a nerve with him. She had threatened him to take the position which he had worked so hard on for years. This wasn't the Meher he knew.

He clutched his hair and grumbled, as the thoughts of a certain someone started making a mess inside.

And now the worst thing was, he had to travel to Meher for the annual gala in Jaipur. But that was a relief to some extent because he wasn't travelling alone.

While his thoughts were haywire, there was a knock on the door. Aanchal entered before Kabir could allow her in.

"You're fired," he told her. Aanchal took a moment to breathe before she started to speak.

"Sahil Vashisth has come to meet you," she informed and left the room. Kabir straightened upon hearing the name. Sahil entered the room after Aanchal left and sat in front of him, even before he was told.

"What's the progress?" Kabir asked him.

"I have gathered a few sources, I am hoping to interview them sometime this week. Want to tag along?" Sahil casually looked around the cabin, trying to locate things that had changed from the time he had visited the office.

Kabir clicked his tongue, seemingly not interested in the offer. Sahil shrugged and got up, ready to leave the room.

"Ah, one more thing," he stopped midway and wished out a paper from his bag. "I have signed the contract after adding a few more clauses," Kabir nodded and took the paper from him, his eyes scanning the contract papers.

"You still haven't mentioned the payment," he pointed out. Sahil smirked, biting his lip. "I will mention it when the time comes."

*   *   *

Meher came back home early from the office as she had nothing to do on the first day. She dropped herself on the bed and looked straight up at the ceiling.

When she was at Millenium and Co, she enjoyed her work. Somehow today, even though the work was good, she wasn't really satisfied. She felt empty. Her heart ached for some reason.

She felt gloomy all of a sudden.

That gloominess within her was a constant feeling, something that had stayed with her for all this time. She could never really get rid of that feeling.

She scrolled through her phone randomly, trying to pass her time. It wasn't like she was interested to check what was happening to people around her. Having a verified account at a young age did make her conscious at times of what she did on social media, she did not want to bring her family's name to shame.

And then her phone pinged with an email. Reading the title from the notifications she opened the email and checked the file that was emailed to her by Rishi.

There were names in alphabetical order. And as it was arranged, Abhimanyu's name was right on the top. He was selected. And so was Tara. So was Sahil.

And so was she.

They had dreams to achieve together. They had plans to do something new. But all it took was just one week to destroy everything.

Tara and Abhimanyu had dreams to fulfil, and goals to achieve. But all of it turned into dust in one swift moment.

And Sahil?

He shattered his dream too.

He would work anywhere but the place where all of them had decided to be together.

Meher's eyes welled up at the thought. She was technically alone at home, the mothers were off to some gathering and the rest were yet to come back. Tired and hungry, Meher pushed herself off the bed and headed downstairs to the kitchen to get some food.

But she was unpleasantly surprised by the presence in the living area.

Kabir Raizada, of course.

Meher rolled her eyes and took her detour towards the kitchen.

She came back from the kitchen, holding a plate full of noodles, she silently on the couch that was farthest from where he sat, concentrating on her food.

Kabir rolled his eyes at her and focused his eyes on the TV, watching the news. He switched channels over channels in frustration after seeing the same news.

"You should order our media house to put different kinds of news," Meher sighed at his complaint and silently ate her food.

"Don't be a wacko, Kabir. I am still under training and today was my first day," they both knew that it was one of the lame attempts to pick a fight with her. No one was in the mood.

"Hope it doesn't turn out to be your last," he mumbled.

"You wish," she scoffed and went back to eating her noodles.

Both of them sat there silently in an uncomfortable silence, each aware of the tension yet not doing anything to break it off.

"Why didn't you stop for her funeral? I thought our animosity was not beyond someone's death and on top of that, Radhika was your friend," It was a while when Kabir asked the question, out of the blue. Meher stopped eating her food and suddenly she looked pale.

She looked up at him who was looking back at her in question, anger, disgust and— disbelief.

Her memories went back to the time when she lost her close friend and the love of her life in a span of a few days. The pain was still there and Kabir Raizada had managed to carve the old wounds.

"I had to attend my college," she gave a clipped answer, turning her eyes away from the onyx ones.

"Funny to know that the oh so over emotional Meher Mathur chose to be ambitious on such a day," the accusation in his tone made her look at him as if she got caught hiding something.

Kabir didn't know anything.

No one knew, except for a few.

"I am sorry," she apologised.

"Don't apologise to me, Mathur. Apologise to the one who is gone. Or don't even apologise," he said, "you don't know what it feels like to lose someone you love with all your heart."

Meher's jaw clenched as she controlled her anger and her tears. Kabir's words caused agonising pain to her and it was even worse because she couldn't vent all of it to him.

He doesn't know what she had gone through.

Her pain wasn't any less than his, if not more.

Five years and it was still difficult for her to come to terms with it.

"You went away like a coward," he added at the end.

"Let's not go there, Kabir," Meher was over the emotional torture the moment he blurted the words, "I went because I knew I was coming back to my home one day unlike you, I don't abandon families over petty things."

Kabir clenched his fists and made a beeline towards the staircase, vanishing from her sight.

Meher breathed a handful of air out. Placing a hand over her erratically beating heart, a lone tear slipped out of her eye.

Was she really a coward?

Long time no see people! I know, I know I am very late but I think I needed this break. I was partly slacking off, part doing college stuff and part trying to get my crush to talk to me(not joking).

I have been writing non stop for a while now and I think I needed a good long break to let the ideas flood in.

Update schedule is quite ruined at this moment, can't promise. But, I am not leaving this story lol. I have to systematically plan the chapters so I can write faster and better.

What do you think of today's chapter? Lemme know in the comments below.

Do vote, share and comment.

With Love,

Akii.