"This is pretty neat, especially for a village."

Madhu eyed the way Roshan was looking around the seldom used living room, scanning the old-fashioned frames that displayed her family laughing at the camera in colourless photographs. He picked up a picture of hers as a toddler, studying it with a small smile on his face.

"Why're you here?"

He sighed, gingerly placing the picture back on the side table. "You've been asking that lot lately have you noticed?"

"You've been imposing your unwanted presence on me a lot lately have you noticed?"

Had he been anyone else, Madhu would have missed the way his body stiffened at her tone. But she caught it, and it made her feel strange. One part of her revelled in seeing him hurt, the other wanted to hug him close to her, apologise over and over again.

She didn't know which part she hated more.

"Don't worry, I'll be out of your hair soon." He sat down on the single seater sofa next to her dadu's old rocking chair. Opening his faux leather briefcase, he pulled out a plastic folder and handed it to Madhu. "Your father likes this proposal, he wanted you to see it too, said it's your decision."

Sinking down on the larger sofa next to his, Madhulika flipped through the file, skimming through its contents. It was an offer to collaborate in making Jasm Inn at Bhabra, something about her brand still being too new to stand on its own in a remote location. It would be renamed and everything. She didn't bother reading the entire thing.

"You know," she started, slamming the file on the centre table. "When I asked you to get out of my life, I meant both personally and professionally. So, no thanks, I don't want to dilute my brand."

He snorted humourlessly, running his hand through his neatly gelled hair. Roshan had always been handsome in a classy way, like a perfectly groomed model, completely different from the carelessly rough appearance of Nakul. Maybe it was this perfection which had made him irresistible to her, before and even after he married Shikha.

But that wasn't the case anymore.

"I should've expected that," he said finally. "It's because of your new man isn't it?"

"Excuse me?"

"I saw you guys holding hands and shit." Staring unfocused at his knees, he said the next words almost accusingly, "Before coming here, I still had some hope of convincing you to give us another shot, but you've moved on quickly."

Madhulika reeled, blood rushing to her head at what he was implying. She had to take deep breaths to calm herself before replying, "That's really none of your business, but just to be clear, no we're not together."

Roshan shook his head in disbelief and ignored her silent message to quit pursuing the topic. "What's his name?"

"Nakul."

"His full name?"

"Nakul Kumar."

"Kumar, right, of course."

Madhu didn't know it would be possible to feel more furious than she already was, but right at that moment, she wanted to smack him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You tell me."

"No." Biting down the corner of her mouth to stop herself from screaming profanities at him, Madhu gritted out, "Why don't you spell it out for me."

He leaned forwards, resting his elbows on his knees and rubbing his forehead. "I'm not a bigot Madhulika I just...can't let you jump headfirst into disaster. You two might not be together right now but I saw the look on your face, that's how you used to look at me. But whatever you're hoping to have with him, it's not going to work."

"You have no right to say that to me." Madhu didn't quite understand why she wanted to deny what Roshan was saying. It wasn't as though she saw Nakul like that. Sure, she admired him, but that wasn't anywhere close to romantic affection, they were just friends, childhood best friends for Gods' sake.

"Don't I? After everything we've been through together? I care about you which is why I'm warning you."

"You see I'd appreciate if you don't. You might think I'm a slut but even then, I think I'm better off without relationship advice from a serial cheater."

"Don't call yourself that." He was quiet for a moment, as if figuring out how to deliver his next words. "I told Shikha."

Her stomach which was boiling with anger just a second ago started churning in the opposite direction. Sweat collected in her palms. She didn't want to hear it, didn't want to know that her friend finally knew the truth, that she finally saw Madhu for what she really was.

"What..." Madhu swallowed. "What did she say?"

"She already suspected it." When her eyes widened, he clarified. "She already suspected I was cheating, though she assumed it was a nameless stranger or something."

"There is a 'but' here right?"

Sighing, he leaned back again, sounding truly tired. "I didn't tell her it was you. I figured I'd leave that to you. If you ever agree to marry me, she'll get to know of course, but if you don't, then I won't be the one to ruin your friendship."

Madhu was ashamed to feel relief coursing through her veins. Of course, she would have to tell Shikha soon, even though she would never marry the man before her, but Madhu was glad that she could leave the band aid on just for a little while longer.

She would tell Shikha the truth. In due time.

She would.

Roshan's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "I did it for you. Regardless of whether or not you believe me, I do love you."

There was a time when her heart would've started singing at that. Right now, however, Madhu could only feel cold and detached from him. "Do you want me to thank you?"

"I didn't expect you to." He paused, looking for the right words. "Just...don't get too involved with Nakul. You have this tendency to seek relationships that would never work. You both are from very different worlds, very different...backgrounds."

Her nails cut semi-circles in her palms as she fisted her hands. "And you said you aren't a bigot, asshole."

"Seriously Madhu just think about it." He was still infuriatingly calm. "What would your father say?"

"My father," she said through clenched teeth, "Might be a lot of things Mr. Mitra but a casteist prick is not one of them." She got up, picking the rejected file and shoving it in his hands. "You need to leave."

He pushed the file back in her hands, mumbling, "In case you change your mind." Thankfully though, he did listen to her and left, leaving Madhu standing rooted to her spot in the empty living room until she heard the soft purr of his BMW driving away on the uneven road.

Her mind was still reeling with everything Roshan had told her as she made her way back to her bedroom. The house was empty, and Madhu assumed Nakul was in his workshop. She quickly stashed Roshan's folder in the drawer of her bedside table, not wanting to keep it in her sight any longer.

Her thoughts were racing at a pace faster than she could keep up with. Ten days in the peace and quiet of Bhabra had almost made her forget about the grand mess her life was back in Delhi. The arrival of Roshan had broken down the wall which was keeping her oblivious, it was a painful reminder of what she had to return to once the festivities were over.

It was a painful reminder of the fact that in a month's time, this house that she was sitting in, this house that had belonged to her family for generations, would either be razed down or sold to someone else.

She needed air.

Out on the porch, the weather was so good it was almost like even nature was mocking Madhu. She made her way to the cow shed, wanting to seek comfort in Chikki, the only person's love she thought she deserved, even though he wasn't technically a person.

When he came bounding and yelping towards her as soon as she entered the smelly room, the weight in her stomach lessened. All the drama took a back seat in her mind when he excitedly tugged at her shirt, wanting to lead her towards the direction of the cows.

The time spent in Bhabra had made Madhu immune to a lot of things, including cattle smell. So this time when she went nearer to the two small stalls, she was actually able to pet the gentle bovine animals.

One was completely white with huge black eyes, while the other two had brown skins and eyes. The adult ones trusted her almost instantly, accepting the pieces of jaggery she had snatched from the bowl placed at the entrance. They nuzzled her hand and licked her cheek, eliciting a small giggle from her. There was something calming about their presence.

But the tiny brown calf, who was slightly bigger than Chikki, cowered in a corner. She allowed her dog to lie down next to her but would move away when Madhu tried to approach her.

"Newborns are a bit more skittish than the older ones. Don't take it personally, she's only two months old." Madhu whipped around to see Nakul at the entrance of the shed, carrying buckets of fresh water. His navy-blue shirt had again gotten covered in grease stains but drops of water were dripping from his face, like he had just washed it. He had removed the hearing device. "Is your friend not staying for dinner?"

"No." She shook her head when he straightened up to look at her after replacing the water, choosing not to elaborate. "What are their names?"

"That one's Ganga," he said, pointing to the white one before moving his finger to the brown one, "Gauri and that little girl is Gayatri."

He began untying and leading them out of their stalls, Madhu followed behind, noting with a twinge of jealousy that little Gayatri had no problem with Nakul caressing her and scratching her behind her ears.

The six of them walked around the house in the direction of the uncultivated grassy field. The sun had begun to set and there was a slight chill in the air. Nakul sat down on the grass and wordlessly invited Madhu to do the same.

"Why did we take them out?" She said, once she had settled across from him. The cows weren't grazing, they were just sitting down and chewing on the fodder which was already in their stomach. Except Gayatri, she was trying to keep up with Chikki who was running around in circles.

"They're living beings not boxes, you can't expect them to be happy staying in a dark old shed the whole time."

That made sense. Madhu continued watching them as the sky turned orange then pink. Maybe Nakul noticed the wistful way she was eyeing Chikki and Gayatri, for the next second he got up and walked towards them.

She stared in shock when he easily lifted the calf, who, surprisingly enough, let him. He started walking back to her, looking way too casual for a person carrying a baby cow who weighed at least twenty kilos. He knelt in front of Madhu and she too shifted to her knees.

"Easy girl, the lady won't hurt you," he cooed softly in Gayatri's ears, reaching out for Madhu's hand and slowly leading it to the spot between the calf's big, brown doe-eyes.

The young creature flinched a little when Madhu's fingers came in contact with her, but soon relaxed. Madhu felt the warmth of Nakul's hand leaving hers when the calf accepted the new human touch, allowing Madhu to pet her freely.

She was able to gain Gayatri's trust before the sky darkened completely, and Madhulika realised that no matter how messy certain bits of her life may be, there were plenty of moments worth living for.

If you've never petted a cow or a dog or a goat, have you ever really lived?

PS: We reached 1k reads guys! Thank you so much!!!!