"Yeh waqt guzarta rehta hai,
Insaan bhi badalta rehta hai
Sambhal lo khud ko tum janab,
Waqt khud cheekh kar kehta hai"

~ Author ~

Present Day, 3 Years Later

Boston, USA

As the alarm rang on the bedside table, Meher groaned as the annoying alarm rang even after being snoozed for almost six— or maybe seven times. Shutting the alarm for real, she gazed at the time flashing on the home screen.

7:15 AM

She was fifteen minutes late. Sighing, she flipped the sheets off her body and sat up, stretching her arms and yawned in the process. She got up and made her bed, evened out all the creases she had made the previous night by the continuous tossing over her comfy bed.

After cleaning her bed she headed to the washroom to get ready for the office. Within fifteen minutes, she hurried out of the washroom and collected her belongings and dashed out of her house.

Millenium and Co was only a twenty-minute walk from her apartment and if she walked fast, she would reach there in ten minutes. Her heels had already started pricking her feet and she mentally cursed herself and also her boss whose ardent desire was to see her strutting in the office wearing heels.

At least one good thing came out of the whole situation— she mastered the art of walking in heels without falling. Heck! She can even run in these heels. Arya must be so proud of her today.

Waving to the security guards, she entered the office and moved to the elevator that was reserved for only the top floor executives. The elevator opened and she entered, pressed the 55th floor and stood back as the elevator took her to the destination.

As each floor passed, from the glass doors of the elevator, she saw people coming in, some hugging their colleagues, some pinned to their desks and starting with their work already and some newly fallen in love couples coming in together, passing each other shy smiles.

Meher smiled at that scene, something that had become normal for her. The elevator now stopped at the highest floor, and she walked out and headed to the reception. Mrs. Nicolson, the receptionist, greeted and smiled at her, returning the gesture. After punching her attendance, she headed straight to the CEO's cabin and entered, without knocking on the door.

"You're thirty seconds late," the voice stated. Meher looked up at the owner of the voice and rolled her eyes at him. William Carter, the CEO of Millenium and Co looked at her, his eyes full of mischief.

"Shut up," was all she said and dropped her bag on her desk and went to sit on her seat.

"Is this how you talk to your boss?" William retorted, riling her up. Meher dropped her shoulders and looked at him, bored at his comments.

"Sorry boss," she shrugged, making him cringe.

"How many times have I told you that you aren't supposed to address me, boss?" She closed her eyes mentally cursing that blabbermouth.

"Quite a few times, but I can't count. I am busy at the moment," She said, typing heavily on her laptop, making today's schedule for her boss, aka, the CEO.

William groaned and scrunched his nose at his sarcastic Secretary. The printer vibrated, catching his attention. A series of papers came out and Meher collected them one by one, arranging them in sequence and then stapling it together.

She walked up to him and placed the newly printed papers on his desk. "Here's your schedule. You have to sign the land deal with Mr. Wallace—"

"Oh the land deal has been signed already," William flashed a smile, showing his teeth on display. Meher bit her bottom lip, controlling the irritation that was bubbling inside of her.

"And when did you sign it?" She gritted out, trying to keep the smile on her face.

"Last night!" He flashed another bright smile and Meher closed her eyes and looked away, for his smile was too bright for her in the morning.

She drew out a breath and calmed herself. Putting on the best smile she had, she continued, "Since you have already done with the land deal, the next on your list is a brunch with—"

"Miss Rosi, ah what a fine lady she is," he said complimenting her. "She's totally in for the shelter home idea," William fondly smiled and heaved a sigh of happiness. Meher gaped at him in shock.

"William. Benjamin. Carter," Meher spelt his entire name, bringing his attention back to her. "What are you doing?"

William Benjamin Carter stopped acting cheeky when she used the full name trick. He visibly cringed and made a face. "Stop with that full name thing, geez," he shuddered, thinking over it. Meher smirked, knowing that the trick worked.

William Benjamin Carter wasn't fond of his middle name. While it was his grandfather's last wish for his grandson to be named after him and even if years have passed since his death, William was stuck with it ever since. No offence to all the Benjamins out there, but it simply didn't sit well with him.

"Spill," she ordered him.

And with that William let out an exasperated sigh and said, "Okay fine. I cleared all my schedule for today," He confessed to her.

"And if I may ask, why did you do that?" Meher folded her arms and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Because," he drew the words a little longer, maintaining the suspense, "We're having a day out," he announced, clapping his hands together in excitement.

"A day out? What in the world are you doing, Will?" She was ridiculed by the term 'day out'. What was he even thinking?

"A day out is a nicer term for a date. That means, you and I," he wagged his forefinger between them, "are going on a breakfast date, lunch date, some shopping with my credit card," he wiggled his eyebrows at the name of his credit card, "some random stroll around at the park and then—"

"You said we're shopping with your credit card?" Meher asked after hearing their itinerary for the day.

William glared at her for the rude interruption. "That's all you heard?" he gasped, placing his hand on his heart. Meher shrugged at his question. "Well as for your question, yes."

Meher fished out her phone from her blazer. She unlocked it and opened the voice recorder app and pressed it on. "In true journalist's spirits, kindly say it again so that I can record your statement," she chirped.

"And what if I don't?"

"We can sulk in this cabin and I can always prepare a new schedule," William gave her a stink eye. Recording the statement was a far better option. He repeated his words and when he was done, Meher saved the recording and slipped her phone back into her blazer.

"If I may ask," he started, "what are you going to do with that recording?"

"That," Meher took a pause, "I am going to play it aloud in the mall if you don't give me your credit card. People should know that the owner of Millenium and Co is such a miser," she gave him a sickly sweet smile and strutted over to her table, collecting her things.

"Bitch," he mumbled under his breath.

"I have a better choice of words for you," she said, slipping her laptop into her bag.

"And," she turned towards him, "no clubbing."

"What?" William rose from his seat to fight with her, "Why?"

"Because I wouldn't be able to drink past two shots since I would be carrying your drunk ass home," She stated. William's ears turned red in embarrassment.

He cleared his throat, avoiding what she had said earlier. "Let's go trust fund baby."

*   *   *

"Is this where you bring all your dates for dinner?" Meher asked him, amused by the grandeur of the posh restaurant they were seated in, waiting for their dinner to arrive.

The restaurant had a vibe, a mix of rich fragrances coated in easy and natural colors. It was classy and welcoming. Meher and William were seated in their own private corner, glass separating them from the beautiful Malibu beach.

"Yeah, kinda," he sheepishly confessed and Meher let out a chuckle, sipping onto her wine.

"At least I go on dates unlike you," he scoffed.

"Hey!" Meher called him. "I have been on a date—"

"With Mr. Beckham? It was a business lunch, my dear," he said aloud knowing what she was going to say next.

Meher dropped her shoulder and sighed, completely annoyed by him. "Yeah, so what? This is my first date. At least try to be happy that I gave you a chance."

"Wow I really feel privileged," William dramatically bowed in gratitude. "To be honest, only a few people can put up with you. You're a difficult person to date."

"So you mean to say that I am undateable," her voice was almost slow and kind of sad, the sudden change in her emotions scared William. Before he could open his mouth and apologise, Meher spoke, "If there is anything common between you and my mother, that would definitely be your interest in my love and professional life. My mom thinks I am some sort of a nun and you think I am undateable."

William laughed at her annoyance. Meher shook her head but laughed along with him. The series of laughter stopped and they stopped. William cleared his throat, "On a serious note, why don't you date?"

Meher paused. She looked at him seriously. "Maybe I am a really difficult person to be with. Also, I don't feel like it," she shrugged.

Their food arrived. An aroma of the food had filled the air. Her Roasted chicken with Harrisa and Schmaltz had arrived and her mouth watered at the sight. Besides that, a side of grilled vegetables only added beauty to what she had ordered.

Across her, William had ordered for a Risotto, the sight which made her nose scrunch, reminding her of khichdi. The risotto was great food and she herself had eaten it a lot of times. It's just that the sight wasn't that appealing. Even worse, it was ordered with a side of baked asparagus.

Baked Asparagus, the name itself made her sneer mentally at the food but she chose not to make a verbal comment over his poor food choices.

They had silently started eating. Meher savoured every bite she ate. She would definitely give her bonus points to the restaurant.

"Remember the first time we met?" William recalled, keeping the spoon on his plate, looking up at her.

Meher had a lopsided smile decorating her smile. "Papa had asked you to train me under you," she recollected, "and you wanted me to work for you without pay since I was a rich daddy's girl." She chuckled.

William mirrored her laugh. "You said you want your whole salary as what the secretary gets including the benefits," he particularly emphasised on that particular word, "You also said that you don't work for trust fund babies." He mimicked her.

Meher rolled her eyes at him. "And that's how I got that awful nickname. Seriously Will, once miser, always a miser," She shook her head and went back to eating her food.

William narrowed his eyes at her. "Sometimes I think you're so high maintenance," he snorted.

"Uh-huh," she tutted, "Can't do anything if people are low on their efforts,"

William's jaw dropped at her smooth response. "Anyways," Meher continued, "I have trained the new secretary and she will be joining the office tomorrow. Please don't be harsh on her."

William's facial expressions now changed into a serious one. "You're really leaving, are you?"

"I had to, one day," she lightly shrugged, taking a small bite of her chicken.

"Journalism, eh?"

A fond smile lifted her lips, old memories flashing in her mind. "It's my everything."

"You didn't let me inform your Dad that you're going back home," he raised another question.

Meher took a deep breath and then let it go. Her fingers ran around the stem of the wine glass, rotating the glass in circles, the liquid within the glass swirling in motion. "Three years ago, I left my home in the shadows and came here, without telling anyone. I thought my Mom could at least bear one other surprise. This time a good one."

Meher slipped her hand in his, surprising him, and squeezed it under her hold. "Thank you. For everything," her eyes glistened with tears to which William smiled, nodding in acknowledgement.

*   *   *

Mumbai, India

The sixteen-hour flight had exhausted Meher, if not more. As she stepped down from the flight, a familiar wave of air hit her, making her smile at the nostalgia.

Even after so many years, the air felt the same and she knew that she was finally home.

The sun was about to set, the day was slowly going dim as evening was approaching. She fished out her phone and switched off the aeroplane mode and then, looked at the time.

It was just half-past five.

Her tote bag loosely hung around her shoulder and therefore she adjusted it. Switching back her attention to her phone, she sent a quick text to William, letting him know that she had landed safely.

She walked to the baggage counter to collect her suitcases. If anything, this was the biggest task for her to do after landing. She already had two trolleys alongside hers and then one by one, she dropped each suitcase one after the other.

It almost consumed twenty of her time and she was exhausted already. Six large suitcases were comfortably sitting on two baggage trolleys.

Pushing the trolleys with all her might, he made her way outside of the airport. The weather was windy and airy as she stepped out of the arrivals gate.

Looking at the orange-pink hue of the sky, she sighed. Her absence only made her heart grow fonder of the city. Even though she had spent roughly three consecutive years in Mumbai, there was nothing that could shake the fact that it felt home, more than any other place.

"I think you had told me that you had just two suitcases," an amused voice called behind her which made her involuntary smile.

"Sahil!" She turned around to face him and leapt forward to engulf him in a hug. Sahil laughed and returned the hug as he held her tighter.

The familiar scent of Sahil made her feel welcome, making her realise that she was actually back after three long years.

Breaking the hug, she still held onto him, her eyes taking into his appearance. A change of style was what she first noticed. Trimmed beard, hair was shorter and neatly put and last but not the least, formal clothes, which was so unlike him. Though she had seen him via video calls, looking at him in person was different.

Sahil smacked her on the head, breaking her thoughts. "What's the meaning of this?" He asked, jutting his chin towards the six large oversized suitcases.

Meher cleared her throat. "Just some last-minute shopping." Or rather looting the mall with William's credit card.

"Some?" He sounded as if she had ridiculed him.

If one thing that hadn't changed within him was to bicker with Meher, any time, any day.

"Where's your car? I wanna get home," she diverted his question and started moving to the right.

"The parking is this way," he grumbled behind her. Meher turned around and strutted towards the correct way.

A while later, after stuffing the suitcase in Sahil's SUV, they hit off the road, now heading towards the AV Villa.

"Waise," Sahil drawled, "How was your date with William Carter?"

Meher turned to look at him. "I didn't know you were interested in gossip."

"Well you can't keep your eyes off the phone when your best friend is plastered all over the media telling the world about her romantic rendezvous with the CEO," Meher rolled her eyes at his choice of words.

"It was indeed a date," Sahil quirked a brow, "But not the kind everyone is imagining. The date was a half thank you gesture and half pity over my non-existent experience on dating."

"Pretty much a friendly date," he deduced.

"Exactly,"

"It seems like a lot of people are interested in your dating life," he paused, "If I may add— non-existent."

"Including you," she pointed out.

"Including me," he raised his hand in surrender. "Honestly, tell me, why don't you start dating again?"

"Why don't you date?" She retorted.

"Hey!" Sahil protested, "Don't point your finger at me. At least unlike you, I have been to three dates already."

Meher's face sulked at his answer. "I just don't feel like it," she answered, looking away, facing the window.

"You know he would want you to move on," he said with utter tenderness, making her heart warm.

"I know," she sighed, "I just haven't found the one I want."

"And what is the type?" He asked her.

"Someone like him," she told him.

"Like a rebound?"

"No," she paused, thinking over her next words. "Someone who looks at me with the same intensity and passion the same way he did."

Sahil did not say anything. He understood what he was saying. For he was satisfied that at least, Meher had given a thought to move on.

"You've changed, Mehru," A light smile decorated her lips as she heard her nickname. "I am loving this, headstrong, confident and talkative Meher."

"Well, the business school has its perks," she shrugged.

Sahil turned the car to the right, as they were about to enter the AV Estate. Meher fondly looked at the familiar lawns as the nostalgia settled within her.

They stopped near the gate. The security guard knocked on Sahil's side of the window. Sahil rolled down the window.

"Who do you want?" the guard inquired.

Meher leaned towards Sahil's side. "Guard uncle," she called out, "Teen saal ghar nahi aayi toh bhool jaoge kya?" the corner of her lips tilted up in a sly smile as she spoke. The guard's eyes widened in recognition as he bowed looking at her.

"I should relay the information of your arrival," he quickly got into motion as he pulled out his phone.

"Don't do that!" Meher interrupted. "It's a surprise." She added.

The guard understood and stepped back and gave them a green signal. Soon the gates opened and they entered, driving towards the villa.

The white AV Villa came closer and closer in vision as they neared. Sahil drove around the large fountain that was in front of the house and parked his car exactly in front of the villa.

Meher, wasting no other time, jumped out of the car. Taking the look of the villa, it was just the same, though it looked freshly painted. She helped Sahil get out her luggage and helped him carry and climb the steps that led to the main door.

Soon she was standing in front of the door with all her six suitcases, three on either side of her. She waved Sahil a goodbye and he drove off. Looking at the empty place where his car was previously, she remembered that it was the same way she had left her home, with two suitcases in hand.

Meher's eyes travelled over to the nameplate under the doorbell. The design had changed, this time it was a dark marble, the name of the villa engraved over it.

It looked beautiful.

She opened and closed her fists before her hand went up to the doorbell. Pressing it for a moment, she released the bell and stood back, tapping her foot impatiently on the floor.

She fiddled with the metal ring on her thumb, the nervousness etching within her. Her breaths had quickened as she waited for the door to open and with every moment, her anxiousness.

Then the door opened. Meher saw that it was neither of the family members, instead, it was their head maid, Gulmina.

"Gulmina!" She leaned forward to hug the elderly lady, who returned the gesture, almost shocked by the sudden appearance of the hidden heiress.

Meher broke the hug. "How are you?" She asked her.

"I am good bachchay. Come inside," she ushered her inside the house. Gulmina signalled the other maids to get her suitcases behind them. Meher was escorted to the main living hall, where she was made to sit.

A series of refreshments arrived in a short while, as Gulmina went upstairs to call the ladies downstairs.

Meher, who was thirsty after a long journey, drank a whole jug of water in a row, waiting for them.

"Who is it, Gulmina?" Shikha said as she came downstairs along with Divya.

Meher got up from the seat as she saw the ladies approaching. "Me!" She shouted loud enough for them to hear.

Both Shikha and Divya looked in the direction of the voice and were almost shocked at the sight. They took brisk steps to reach where she was.

"Pinch me Divya," Shikha said while staring at her daughter. Divya pinched her and she winced and noticed that her daughter was still there.

The smile on Meher's face widened and she opened her arms wide and walked towards them.

Meher pushed her mother aside and engulfed Divya in her bear hug. "Aunt D!" Divya hugged her back with equal enthusiasm and laughed at Shikha who was frowning at the two.

"Now go hug your mother. She and your father are already tense and pissed over you not picking up their calls for a day and a half," Divya whispered to which Meher giggled, nodding.

Breaking the hug, she went to the side and hugged her mother, who at first tried to wiggle but Meher's grip was tighter.

"Oh Maa! I missed you so much!" She said, pressing her mother to herself.

Shikha laughed at her daughter's dramatics as she hugged her daughter, running her hand through her hair.

They broke the hug. Shikha's eyes glistened with tears as she looked at her daughter. "I missed you too, mera bachcha," she dropped a long kiss on her forehead.

As the emotional reunion was going on, Shikha's eyes went towards the six large suitcases that were standing in order.

"What is that?!" She exclaimed looking at the luggage.

Meher let out a nervous chuckle. Everyone knew that she was a very minimal person. The luggage surely got some attention.

"Can I have some lick lollies first?"

Finally and finally we jump to the present lives of Meher and Kabir. This was a little glimpse to her life and the following chapter will follow Kabir's. I am so sorry for making you all cry but that's the story was supposed to be. Heartbreaks are inevitable and I genuinely wanted to move my readers with emotions so I think I succeeded in doing that.

What do you guys think of this chapter? Let me know in the comments below. Also Vote and support this story.

A little update: I have finished with roughly 1200 words on the first bonus chapter of HIB. I got stuck right in the middle so currently trying overcome the mini writer's block.

Don't forget to follow me for updates.

With Love,

Akii.