I didn't know why, but he was unusually silent that morning; he simply listened to whatever I said, answered me with brief nods and looked utterly uninterested. His conduct bothered, and annoyed, me to the core, but I brushed the feeling off. In moments of silence that existed between us, I studied his rather disturbed face; he looked dull and tired, frustrated and troubled. "Are you okay? You know that you can talk about anything, and everything, with me, right?", I reminded him for the third time that morning, and poked the back of his hand, slowly. "I'm fine!", the words left his mouth in an almost harsh manner and I stared at him, in silence, with a sudden look of surprise on my face. "I'm fine, I'm fine...just...", he repeated, in a calmer tone, and took a deep breath in, hanging his head low. I hated the close-book he was, and how sincerely he romanticized the idea of 'my problems belong to me'. Unlike me, he held his storm within him and fought his battle, single-handedly, without talking about it to another person. His storms damaged, and destroyed, him, and the world outside wouldn't even know that he's walking through a phase of hardship, because he'd smile so widely, fooling everyone into believing that he has a perfect life. It took me a while – a long while – to read him right; he was decisive, and his eyes lied. He was someone who'd walk through hell with a smile.

I was the one who had the habit of reacting on the spot. I was the one who blundered out my moments of happiness and times of pain, without giving it a second-thought. And, he was nowhere close; he was calm and composed, and I hated that about him. I hated how I couldn't understand him half as well as he understood me. My emotions controlled me, and he...he controlled his emotions. We stood on the extreme ends of the spectrum; if he was black, I had to be white. We were poles that'd never meet, and though it sounds good when they say that opposites attract, I stopped fancying that thought because the way he treasured his privacy began bothering me. I felt that I was throwing too much of myself into the relationship. I broke shackles, stood emotionally naked before him, and told him my worst tales, but he simply did not reciprocate; he wasn't as fierce as I was. It looked like a one-sided exchange. I couldn't understand his silence, and truth to be told – I didn't want to understand his silence. I wanted him to let things out to me, the way I did. He was never as revealing as I was, and I never spared a chance to take a dig at his past, but he'd simply say that his life was never happening. I never believed him, though, because I've always believed that the ones who keep themselves to themselves, are the ones with the most heartbreaking stories, dark days and sabotaging pain.

"Tell me one thing—", I disrupted the air of silence that circled us. "I'm okay, Dia", Darshan breathed. "Not that! I need to know something about you", I told him and he raised his brow, moments later. "With whom have you opened up the most?", I questioned. "Why are you asking this all of a sudden?", he looked muddled. "No reason. Just answer me", I insisted. "You", he answered, and I smiled, looking away from him. "You don't have to say anything to keep my heart. Be honest. I won't mind", I told him, right on his face. "I'm not making this up", Darshan said and sandwiched my hand between his warm palms. "No, Darshan. You haven't opened up to me, because if you did, I would have known you", I argued, dragging my hand out of his grip. "Why are we debating over this topic, in the middle of nowhere? When you have nothing to talk about, you'll fight over something absolutely irrelevant", Darshan shook his head to the sides. "Irrelevant?", I echoed, in disbelief. "Okay!", I whispered, throwing my hands in the air, and leaned against the chair with my arms crossed against my chest. "Fine", I mumbled, and turned my face away from him. "What's wrong with you? Your mood swings are unbelievable", Darshan sighed. "My mood swings are just fine. Around the right people. Who know how to keep my mood", I told him, without looking at him. "And you need to stop blaming my mood swings for everything. Sometimes it is your fault", I blamed him. "And what's my fault?", he questioned. "Nothing. You know what? You are perfect. I am the over-reactive idiot, who's simply so nosy and has no idea how to mind my own business. I'm getting late. I need to get going", I said, at once, and stood up from my chair, while he still sat down and stared at me, blankly, as though he couldn't absorb the happenings around him.

"This is your problem, Dityaa. You start a fight, argue one-sidedly, and wrap it up, yourself. I've never had the chance to speak", Darshan accused. "FYI, we're not in school. You don't to raise your hands, nor do you need anyone's permission to say something. And stop picking problems in me, as though you're a perfectionist. The arguments we have will obviously be one-sided if you don't say anything. You do not say anything, in general, anyways. And if I tell you that I have a problem with your silence on most matters in life, you say that it's how conserved you are—", he cut me short, as I talked. "Because I am conserved. That's how I am", Darshan stressed on his words. "I've had enough with it", I said. "You'll have to respect it", he said back. "I have. Darshan, all long, I have respected it. But you tell me one thing – have you respected me enough, considering the fact that I'm your partner? I'm not talking about the way you treat me. All I want to say is – have you told me what's wrong on a bad day, when I repeatedly ask you? Have you told me your stories? Have you told me about the projects you lost and how terrible you felt after that? Have you told me about you? Darshan, even after dating you for a year, I feel that I do not know the real you—", I paused. "No one does!", Darshan said. "But I'm not everyone! I am your partner, for God sake. Stop treating me like everyone. You don't talk about your problems to the world, because they do not deserve to know, but I do. Your problems are my business, they're mine, too. Why don't you understand that?", I had an outburst, and I could feel the pounds of my heart against my chest. While he visited silence, I ran my fingers through my hair and took a deep, yet shaky, breath in. Just that moment, I received an incoming call from Karan and I answered it on the second ring.

"Karan, hi", I exhaled, and licked my lips. "You know, you're late, right?", Karan asked, right away, and I looked down at my wristwatch; the needles almost stuck 08:00 a.m. "Oh, I'm sorry---I---I'm sorry. I'll be there in thirty minutes. I'm out for breakfast and I forgot—", I fumbled. "No, no, that's alright. We don't have a lot to do today, anyways. Just wanted to meet you. I have a life-changing offer for you; you're going to love me for this", Karan said, excitedly. "Really? What is it?", I forced cheerfulness in my voice. "Do you think I'll blabber everything out on call? Drop into my cabin and I'll tell you all about it", Karan said. "Oh, okay. I'll be there in thirty", I informed him and hung up. Darshan and I stood midst awkward and uninterrupted silence for a long, long while, until I cleared my throat and mustered the guts to look at his blank face. "I need to go. Now", I said, struggling to look at his face. "I'll drop you", he offered, and I shook my head in disagreement. I declined, not because I was furious; but only because, the Rickshaw drives would squeeze through the jam-packed roads of Mumbai and I'd reach my office in no time. "Okay", he shrugged his shoulders, without questioning further, as though he had given up on me, and I took one step behind, holding onto the strap of my handbag. "Talk to me when you're calmer. Sometimes, you don't even know what you're saying", he said. "But I wasn't wrong, right?", I asked him and he simply stormed inside his bedroom, leaving me alone in his living room. I could have argued, but I chose silence, because I didn't want to walk inside Karan's cabin with a terribly rotten mood, which would be disastrous and unamendable, both.

On the way to my office, I simply wondered how a normal conversation turned into a heated argument, and I wondered if it was my fault. I didn't know what the root to our fight was; was it my short-temperedness, or his reluctance to answer me? But I didn't spend too long pondering about it, once the Rickshaw halted in front of a tall building.

"Good morning. May I come in?", I politely asked, once I knocked twice on Karan's cabin door and peeped through the gap with a decent smile. "I've been waiting for you all day. Come in!", Karan sat up and broadly beamed at me. "All day? It's only 9", I rolled my eyes and walked inside. "So, how are you?", Karan asked me, and clasped his hands on the table, while I took my seat. "I had a bad start to the day, but whatever", I answered him, uninterestedly. "What about you?", I asked him, scratching the back of my ear. "Actually, you don't have to answer me. You're on cloud-nine today, and I can see it", I said, and he laughed. "Stop casting evil eyes on my happiness!", he exclaimed. "But once you find out, what I have in store for you – you'll be on cloud ninety-nine", I built suspense, evoking the curiosity in me. "I'm listening", I chipped, and looked on expectantly.

"Have you heard of the company called APEX?", he asked. "Kind of...yes...", I thoughtfully answered him, as I thrived to recall something about the company. "It's a company in Singapore, right? If I'm not wrong. The third best company in Singapore, something like that", I guessed. "Right. So, you have an idea about how big a company it is, don't you?", he paused and I nodded, uncertainly, as I fidgeted with my nail. "What are your future plans, Dityaa?", suddenly, he shot a random question. "Future plans?", I echoed, wondering where the conversation was heading towards. "You're obviously not going to settle down this 9 to 5 job for the rest of your life, right?", he said. "No. I have ideas of pursuing an MBA in Amsterdam's Business School", I told him. "That's fabulous", he commented. "But what if I tell you that I have a better offer for you? What if I tell you that APEX has something life-changing in store for you?", Karan almost jumped in excitement, as if APEX had something for him. "I don't understand, Karan", I said in blankness and tucked strands of my hair behind my ear, nervously. "Our company has merged with APEX and we have decided to transfer a bunch of our employees to Singapore because we're almost one company now, so it does not matter who works where. I was the one who suggested names of employees from our company, and you were my top preference. Turns out that they selected you, along with Haritha and Mayank, to start with", he said and I didn't know why, but I felt a sudden drop in my stomach. "You don't look too happy about it", Karan's voice lowered, as the wide beam on his face slowly faded. "No, nothing...I mean—I am happy about it. Actually, I—I'm surprised. I didn't see this coming my way", I said, scratching my temple, slowly, and sounded out-and-out confused, because I didn't know how to react. When Karan revealed the supposed-to-be good news to me, before my family, it was the thought of Darshan that struck my mind; I wasn't quite sure if I was prepared to strand him in India. "W—what do you think I should do?", I looked up to Karan for advice. "The obvious – accept the offer and take the flight to Singapore!", he banged his hands on the table. "See, I totally understand the value of an MBA, but you can fetch a degree anytime, don't you think? What APEX has for you is a one-time thing. I'm not asking you to burn down the idea of your MBA. All I'm saying is, save it for later. Because look, Dityaa, degrees alone do not help; you need experience in the field. Even if you fetch your degree from a top-notch University, when you look for work, you'll have to start right from the bottom. But in your CV if you have the experience of working in a world-class company, you'll be guaranteed a perfect job, months after graduation...", Karan explained and talked about various other things to convince me to accept the offer that knocked on my doorstep, which, as he said, was 'life-changing' in its truest sense. He managed to convince me, but I was still uncertain, and my heart trembled to settle for a decision. While we existed in silence, I chewed my nail in seriousness and absently stared at a pen-stand, without blinking. "Why are you thinking so much? Your perfect job is waiting for you, and once you accept it, the tickets will be sent. You'll have a beautiful accommodation, and uncountable benefits; Dityaa, you won't find something as good as this anywhere in India. You are going to leave the country, anyways; what's the difference if it's Amsterdam, or Singapore?", Karan said. "The difference is, I had plans of moving out to Amsterdam, but they weren't legitimate plans. I had a sketch in my mind, and I thought I wouldn't turn it into a reality until...a year later. But Singapore is different – I'll be moving out in two to three weeks; at such a short-notice", I sighed. "Short-notice, but for a better life!", Karan said, and I slumped down on the chair, throwing my head back. "I'll think about it, Karan", I said, staring at the ceiling. "I thought you'd accept this within seconds. What's stopping you?", Karan interrogated, moments later. "The thought of my mom and...", I paused to think if it was okay to let him know about my partner. "Hmm, let me guess – your boyfriend", Karan lightly pointed out. "Spot on, Karan, spot on", I smiled, shutting my eyes, as I rolled on the chair, and he laughed. "Honestly, I thought it would be easy to move away from him, but now that I'm faced with the situation, I don't think I can do it at once. Maybe, I thought I'd find a way to do it because I didn't really plan anything, other than wanting to study in Amsterdam. I don't know how I'll decide, but I know I'll have to and I'll do it. Just lend me enough time to talk to him. We need to figure this out. Our relationship", I said and stood up. "So, I'll get back to you", I told Karan, pressing my palms against his table. "I thought you were the girl who wouldn't let anything, or anyone, come in the way to block your dreams", Karan smiled. "All long, I thought I was that girl, too. But love makes you do weird things", I shrugged. "I hope you won't miss the offer", Karan said. "I won't", I smiled, and walked out of his cabin.

The sudden twist in the tale was well beyond my understanding. I didn't know how we'd tackle the situation.

[A/N: Cliff-hanger, much? Where will Dityaa go from here? Where will the differences between Darshan and Dityaa take them to? Stay posted and you'll know. I hope you have added Attachments 2 to your reading lists, and if you liked the chapters so far, do not forget to vote for it. Thank you for spending your time on the story. It means EVERYTHING to me. Sending lots and lots of love to you, angels! SpreadLove. Also, HAPPY WEEKEND!]