I wasted away my whole day in the office, thinking about the offer to Singapore; a part of me did not want to let the opportunity slip off my hands, but I didn't know if I was prepared to move out, all of a sudden. The truth is, it wasn't the thought of settling in a foreign land, and starting from scratch, that bothered me; I loved shifting cities, meeting new people and changing routines! But it was the thought of sidelining our relationship that troubled me; I couldn't simply leave on such a short-notice, because that'd be beyond selfish of me. Even if Darshan was traveling to Goa for a day, he would inform me twelve days before his trip, and I'd be moving out to Singapore – God knows for how long – and I had a little over twelve days at hand. The situation look unrealistic, but despite the confusions, I was certain that I ought to be practical with my choices. Karan was right; even if I prayed to all the Gods that existed, I wouldn't find a way to bag an offer as beneficial as what APEX had in store for me. Realistically, I couldn't afford to throw the job-offer away only because I wanted to water a relationship to keep it alive; if we were meant to be, we'd find a way to survive, but I still couldn't wholly convince myself into trusting my beliefs, blindly.

An incoming call from Karan disturbed my disturbing thoughts, and I answered the call, instantaneously. "Yes, Karan? Do you want me to come to your cabin?", I questioned, right away. "No, no. Just wanted to know if you've decided something", Karan said, and I breathed out, loudly, slumping down on my chair. "That reaction explains everything", Karan casually said. "If you don't want to go, let me know. I'll look for an eligible replacement", Karan informed. "Hey, wait!", I exclaimed, springing up, alertly. "Wait, okay? I haven't said I don't want to go, yet. In fact, I want to go. But I cannot decide alone. Be patient, yaar. Why do you want to snatch the offer from my hand? Tomorrow won't be the end of the world. I'll get back to you in two days", I said. "Alright, alright. Take your time...can I tell you something, though?", Karan cued. "Please!", I encouraged. "Love is one chapter, and career is another chapter; don't mix the two of them together. I understand that love makes life beautiful, but remember that love isn't life. I've heard people talk about how love is all you need, and when you have love, you have everything in the world. No. That's not true. Let's face it – you need a degree, you need a job, you need an income to survive in this world. When you're broke, when you don't have a house, when you don't have food – it's not love that feeds you, it's the money that you earn. When you're jobless – love won't lend you a helping hand, but your qualifications will. When you're doing well in the real-world, and when your career is on the right path is when you'll find a way to hold onto your relationship, and many other things in life. There's a life beyond love, and that life needs to be sorted for you to have a beautiful love life. Nowhere did I say that you shouldn't be in a relationship while building your career – do not get me wrong. But all I want to say is – find balance and clarity between the two. There is a fine line that separates love from career. Love shouldn't force you to compromise on your career", Karan lectured. "But, your career shouldn't force you to compromise on love, either, right?", I sounded confused and Karan was silent, as he probably thought about it. "Do I make sense?", I asked, slowly. "No, you don't. That's illogical, to be honest. Think about it – how can your career make you compromise on love? I'll put it this way – our careers and dreams are rigid, but love is flexible only because two people keep it alive, so you can adjust. Now, do not ask me why dreams are rigid – certain things in life cannot be changed; it's the way it is", Karan sighed. "I made a mistake, calling you up. I have a headache now, you, question-bank!", Karan scolded, playfully, and I smiled, powerlessly. "Two days from today. That's the amount of time you have to decide. Make it quick", Karan reminded, and I felt a lump in my throat. If I wasn't so madly in love with Darshan Raval, I would have accepted the offer, then and there! Nothing – simply nothing at all – convinced me enough to take a firm stand.

'Hey? You there?', I texted Darshan, and stared at the screen, until I noticed the double-ticks against the message I sent.

Darshan: ?

Clearly, he still clung onto the happenings that abruptly unfolded in the morning, at the breakfast table.

'I need to talk', I messaged a reply.

Darshan: ?

'Can I call?', I texted, absolutely annoyed with his responses.

Darshan: On my way to a meeting.

'Okay, cool. So, are you trying to say that I cannot call you?', I messaged, hastily.

Darshan: Yes.

Why did he have to twist a simply answer?, my inner voice questioned.

'When can I call, then?', I interrogated.

Darshan: @ night.

'I'll call at night, then', I replied back in frustration and kept my iPhone aside.

Darshan: K

'LMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ :)', I messaged back, because I hated people who stuck to 'K's and 'Hmm's!

'Are you still mad at me?', I asked him, because I couldn't control my curiosity. I wanted to apologize and mend the situation, because I hated the cold-treatment I received him his side.

Darshan: No. I'm on my way to a meeting.

In bewilderedness, I stared at his message with my mouth kept half-open; was he high on something? My question and his answer were worlds apart. It looked as though, I asked him who the President of India was, and he answered me saying that Karachi is a city in Pakistan!

'You don't even know how to show anger, properly. Such a fail! Pro-tip – next time you want to 'show' me that you're angry, leave me on seen when I send you a message; don't send such stupid replies and make a joke out of yourself, baby. It does not give me tension, it makes me laugh ;)', I texted him, with a playful smile.

He left me on seen and I couldn't believe he did that.

'HELLO?! LEAVE ME ON SEEN NEXT TIME. COME BACK HERE!', I typed.

Darshan: See, this is the problem. I would rather send a stupid reply than leave you on-seen, because when I leave you on seen, you eat my head!

'Oh, okay, I didn't know that it annoyed you. I'm so sorry, happy?!', I sent.

'What else about me annoys you? Just list it out. Because now, almost everything about me gets on your nerves!', I was on a roll.

Darshan: You're having another outburst.

'Yes, I am, and why shouldn't I? Don't you see that I'm trying to fix things between us, but you do not want to make an effort, Darshan! I'm sorry, but I'm not okay with this attitude', I messaged back.

Darshan: Same goes for you, too.

'Sorry, what? What did I do? I was about to apologize!', I informed.

Darshan: But you're creating a scene.

'Being honest does not mean I'm creating a scene. I was just clarifying, that's all', I typed.

Darshan: There's no point talking to you when you have uncountable things to say in your defense.

'You know what? You should go. Good luck for your meeting', I changed the topic and went offline.

I buried my face on my palms, as I took deep breaths in, and felt tears wet the corners of my eyes. It wasn't surprising that my straightforwardness was misinterpreted because it had been that way ever since I was a kid; but what ached, deeply and unbearably, was the fact that he misread me. Straightforward people are the most misunderstood people on Earth, and the world makes it look like we're the hardest to be with. He made me question myself, and I felt worse when I bumped into his post on Facebook. It was a picture of his car and the road ahead of him he uploaded, and captioned it 'Long drives and soothing music are my thing!'. He uploaded the picture an hour ago, when he claimed that he was on his way to a 'meeting'.

He was avoiding me, and that made me feel miserable!

'If you don't want to talk to me, say it to me on my face; I'll take it. But don't lie. I'll tolerate your honesty, no matter how brutal it is, but I cannot deal with the pain when you lie. I'm sorry I ruined your morning, and I'm guessing I ruined your mood right now, too – I am sorry for everything. I hope you have a good day ahead, at least, and I'm sure you'll do because I'm not in it. Drive safe and take care. Bye :)', I left him a message, with tears in my eyes.

No matter how heartbroken he made me feel, I had the habit of going back to him...and that wasn't a good sign.