Nandini snickered for a few moments, bewildering Aditya before she launched into a full-blown bout of maniacal laughter, followed by the raucous guffaws of Shruti and Abhi.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Aditya rolled his eyes. "All laugh at Aditya because he had an emotional outburst. Ha ha ha!"

Biting her lips, shaking her head, Nandini chortled a few more times before falling silent. "That was so dramatic. Such a weirdo you are!"

"Oh, well." He shrugged. "That was the final nail in the coffin. She was infuriated. She broke it off, informing everyone—her family and mine—that she was done with my shit that time around. Rishi was ready to rip me into pieces while Raunak was moments away from throwing me off the tallest mountain in the world. Her brother was as irked as Rishi and Raunak, and both our families lost their patience. Loud confrontations and utter drama later, she announced her decision to everyone. She didn't want to see my face ever again. And she stuck to her words. The few things that she had left in the loft were later picked up by Rishi, and the stink eye that he gave me," he breathed, "was enough to coerce me into backing off."

Silence fell on the table again.

"And then uncle had another outburst," Abhi whispered.

"Yeah." Aditya pursed his lips. "Dad was angry because Piyali's family threw some nasty accusations at us and me. News spread on social media, and because the Roys are a big name in the publishing industry, my Dad had to hear jibes from random people, insinuating how sending his son to the States," he huffed, "ruined his reputation within his circle. Somehow, I am an utter disgrace for my very public confession." He blew air out of his mouth. "Dad and I had a massive argument two days later because he was not appreciative of what happened to Piyali. Both of us were frustrated, and we fought like never before. Until he ordered me never to go back home and kinda threw me out."

Nandini's eyes widened, and she muffled a whimper behind her palms.

Aditya shrugged. "He is still angry, and we are not on talking terms anymore."

Anguish flashed across her features. "I am sorry, Aditya. All because of my stupidity to imagine how our life would've been, so many people got hurt. That was the very thing we didn't want."

"That was the very thing stopping me from jumping into the chasm and claiming what's mine."

Her breath hitched in her throat, and she looked away, for the intensity with which he was gazing at her sent tingles down her spine. Familiar yet so new.

"Well," he took another swig of the cold soup, "what's your story? What happened with you?"

***

A year ago.

If Nandini assumed separating from Aditya was the end of her miseries, she was grossly mistaken. Shubham refused to glance at her let alone exchange a single word with the girl. In fact, he told her not to show up at his place for at least the next two weeks since he needed some space from her and time to process everything. Perhaps he also required time to think his decisions through, given he was quite adamant on his stance of getting cheated on by the only woman he had ever loved. Irrespective of how many times Nandini tried to convince him, apologize to him, and clear the misunderstanding that had crept up after watching Aditya and her at the former's balcony the other evening, Shubham was resolute in his thoughts and actions.

If that weren't enough, Shubham had shared his woes with his best friend, who coincidentally was one of Nandini's best friends too, and Jiya didn't waste a single moment before calling the girl up and blasting her over the phone for breaking Shubham's heart in such a brutal manner. Before Nandini could react or process any of the words the screeching woman was able to muster over the call, Jiya had spoken her piece of mind, warned Nandini of hurting Shubham again, and hung up without giving her the chance to explain.

Thankfully, there was some solace that she found with Shanya, for she was able to understand the precarious situation Nandini and Aditya had landed in and tried her level best to support the girl despite the circumstances. Not that Nandini had any other option than to share her grief with Shanya living halfway across the world. All her friends from the city didn't wish to meet her, and except for Abhi wishing her luck and bidding her goodbye, no one else bothered to communicate with her or respond to the string of messages she sent to them. Not even Rishi. And probably that hurt her more than anyone else's indifference.

With only a month left before the day when Shubham and she were supposed to travel to India for the wedding, she was getting jittery. She hadn't heard anything from him while both their families were super excited about the upcoming celebrations, for they had no inkling of what transpired overseas between the couple. But Shubham's silence was getting more and more disconcerting, and she wasn't certain if she should reach out to him or not, considering he had sternly asked her to give him some space.

However, as she was on a time crunch and her anxiety levels were through the roof, she found herself driving down to Shubham's apartment almost a month after the horrible evening when she parted ways with Aditya. Ringing the bell of the once-familiar apartment, toying with the ends of her shirt, she waited for her boyfriend to open up while her mind went back to the countless hours of endless weeping and sobbing that had become a routine for her. Thankfully, the work pressure she was faced with ensured her parents weren't video-calling her, and she was able to fake cheerfulness in her voice to avoid apprehension. Her perceptible dark circles would've given her facade away.

Lost in her musings, she didn't notice when the door swung open and an exhausted Shubham was standing at the doorway with his arms crossed and a small frown adorned between his brows. When she finally took note of his presence, her eyes lit up, and she beamed, but her smile faltered when she took his appearance in. His frame looked leaner while his overgrown beard was testimony to the fact that he hadn't shaved in a long time. His tousled hair spoke tales of how he must be spending his days and nights confined to his bed. "Shubham!"

He licked his lips and looked her once over before sighing. "You look terrible, Basu."

"So do you." She smiled in a feeble manner. Shrugging, she said, "Can I come in?"

He rolled his eyes and stepped back to give her space to enter. "You don't have to ask."

"You told me to stay away," she muttered before crossing the threshold and shutting the door behind her.

He huffed. "Since when do you listen to every word I say?" Sauntering up to the open kitchen, he poured water into the coffee maker. "Could've come sooner, no?"

She peered at his profile, detecting the lines of worry on his forehead along with the drooping shoulders. Tears stung her eyes when she realized that she was the reason behind his terrible condition. "You wanted me to come sooner?"

He gulped as his fingers went to the cabinets above his head to grab a couple of mugs. "I wanted you to... to..."

"To?"

He groaned and raked his palms over his face. Swerving to take a good look at her and shaking his head in despair, he mumbled, "Why the fuck do I still love you?"

Her lips trembled, and she had to bite them to prevent the sob threatening to escape her mouth. As tears cascaded down her cheeks, she sniffled and walked up to him. Carefully cupping his cheeks, stroking her fingers over the unkempt beard, she smiled a little. "I am an idiot for hurting you. You are the most special person in the world, and you deserve the best. If you don't wish to go ahead with the wedding, that's fine too—"

"It's not that." He suspired and looked away. "I don't want to call the wedding off when... when you promised..."

"I did." She blew air out of her mouth. "That chapter is closed. For good. I promise."

He hummed. "Just one question, and you answer me truthfully, okay?"

She bobbed her head.

"Why?"

Her brows furrowed in puzzlement when she discerned the skepticism pooling in his eyes along with despair and oodles of pain. "What do you mean?"

"Why him? W-why... why not me?"

***

She had no answer to his question. She never did, and probably she never would. She had no clue when she started feeling so intensely for that annoying man that she disregarded the affection she had for Shubham. She had harbored feelings for her college friend for so long. Then why did she not fall deeply in love with him? Why was it Aditya Roy of all the people in the world? What was so special about him that Shubham and his emotions took a back seat?

As she had no answers for her restive heart, she had none to offer to her would-be husband as well. Though she requested him to misremember the chaos that had ensued and rather focus on the wedding, she craved to discover those much-needed explanations for herself than anyone else. And that kept her mind occupied despite trying so hard to pay attention to the wedding prep going on in full swing.

Though still a bit distant, Shubham was better than earlier. He was able to smile more with her, laugh more with her, and even take her out on dates like they did when things were normal between them. She wanted nothing more than his happiness, and his emotions came above everything else for her. At least when she had finally decided her priorities and set them straight.

Hence, she was not miffed with the idea of pushing Aditya's memories out of her heart despite the numerous occurrences of a mental breakdown when she wished for nothing more than the warmth of his embrace and the fragrance of his cologne. She was attempting, one day at a time, sometimes failing, sometimes succeeding, in forgetting him once and for all, but the black leather jacket she never returned to him was going to haunt her till the end of her days. She was well aware of the fact that the presence of the jacket in her wardrobe was steadily becoming the bane of her existence, but she didn't have enough courage in her to throw it out. In fact, much to her displeasure, the irksome man's bothersome leather jacket found its way inside the luggage she packed for her trip to India.

***

Jiya was slightly irked with her while Shanya met her whole-heartedly once the two girls reached her home in Delhi for the wedding. Though Nandini tried her level best to normalize things between herself and Jiya, it seemed like the latter had taken Shubham's heartbreak a bit too personally. Her cold responses, the lack of a smile on her face, and the distance she maintained from Nandini spoke volumes about how she found Shubham on the correct side of the balance.

But Nandini had made it her life's mission to go back to being the best of friends with Jiya, and there were no stones unturned in her attempts to make the girl smile. Her efforts bore fruit too as Jiya finally managed to smile a bit when Nandini didn't stop talking about the fond reminiscences from their college days in front of all the guests during the Sangeet function.

At the end of the beautiful evening, she and Jiya hugged it out, the latter asked for a promise from the former, and Nandini swore that she would never ever hurt Shubham ever again no matter the circumstances.

Jiya let out a watery giggle and patted Nandini's back before giving a hug to a rather cheerful Shubham. "You two are the perfect, ideal couple. Only you two look good together, okay? No one else in this world is a match for you, Nandini."

Nandini's smile faltered a bit, but she managed to put up the facade of being the happiest bride by beaming ear to ear. But she couldn't manage to be so fake anymore once the guests started receding back to their rooms at the resort while only Shubham's family and her parents stayed behind to discuss imperative matters about the wedding rituals over dinner.

Plopped on a chair next to Shubham's brother, she was busy mindlessly toying with her food while snippets of conversation between the two mothers floated to her ears from across the table. They were busy discussing how to best fit the rituals from both cultures into the same wedding to avoid having two ceremonies for the sake of it. She sighed deeply when she heard her father praise Shubham for being a wonderful man who was bound to keep his daughter happy. That was when she heard Shivam clear his throat.

Alerted by her surroundings, she began stabbing a piece of cauliflower with her fork.

"All good, Nandini?" Shivam said.

She flashed him a brief smile. "Yeah."

He chuckled. "Does not look like."

She took a deep breath all over again. "Everything is fine. I am just... tired. Jetlagged. But I am very excited about the wedding. Can't wait to be a part of your family. Officially."

He hummed and cast a wary glance at his chuckling younger brother. "Not really sure why you are doing this, but I would much rather you don't ruin your life and my brother's."

Her head snapped in his direction, and her eyes widened at the seriousness in his expression. "What do you even..."

"I adore you, Nandini. You are a great girl. Shubham has always spoken highly about you, and I know you love him too. But the thought of this wedding has always made you uncomfortable. I noticed the unease you were in during the engagement ceremony, and I can see the discomfiture you are in now. I would love for you to be a part of my family, but I can tell you are not in love with my brother." When she attempted to interject, he shook his head and lowered his voice further to avoid being overheard. "If you are just getting cold feet, that's fine. But anything more than that, and your actions have the potential to ruin your life. And Shubham's. Choose wisely, Nandini. You still have two days."

***

Shivam's voice continued to resound in her ears throughout the time she ambled from the lawn to the bride's room. Though she was accompanied by her fiancé, who couldn't stop gloating over how much Nandini's father was fond of him, she was barely paying any attention to what he was yapping about. He sounded genuinely cheerful after a really long time, and she was glad about it, but she wasn't too sure if Shivam's words held enough logic or not. Hence, a strange dilemma reared its head inside her heart, and she was further confounded. On one side, she had been unable to push away Aditya's memories from the forefront of her mind, and on the other hand, she wished to be the perfect wife to the man walking alongside her. But the oxymoron sounded so childish in her mind that she was certain she would be labeled a lunatic by everyone. Including Shanya.

When the couple finally halted in front of her room, she opened the door with the keyfob in her hands and flashed a brief smile at him. "Good night."

He held her wrist in an attempt to prevent her from entering the room. His brows went up. "What is bothering you so much, Basu?"

A small smile crept up her lips. "I... I had a blast today. Jiya and I reconciled. You and I reconciled. Nothing can be better than this."

"Genuinely speaking?"

The doubt in his cadence made her heart bleed and her shoulders sag. "Genuinely speaking."

He clicked his tongue and pulled her closer, allowing her to wrap her arms around his waist while he kissed the top of her hair. "I love you so much."

"I do too." She wriggled out of his grasp. "If my cousins see us hugging here, in the middle of the hallway," she tittered, "they will tease the heck out of us. Come in."

He beamed and pushed the door wider, shutting it after slipping inside. She went to the dresser and began getting rid of the heavy jewelry she was coerced into adorning that evening while talking at length about how much Jiya's forgiveness meant to her and how she was looking forward to the wedding in two days.

"It's going to be the most special evening of my life." A pink tint painted her cheeks when she saw Shubham's reflection in the mirror. The affable smile on his face cleared her doubt, and she was certain she wished to spend the rest of her life with only her fiancé. "Are you excited, Agarwal?"

He opened his mouth to respond, to tell her how he was able to finally leave behind the fiasco that had transpired, but before he could get the words out of his mouth, his gaze went to the well-made bed where a black leather jacket was lying. His brows furrowed in confusion, for he had seen the very same brand on Aditya too many times to misremember. "This jacket," he picked it up from the bed, "is Aditya Roy's." Fury bubbled inside his heart, and his gaze went to Nandini. The cute smile had vanished from her features, and she was gulping and perspiring hard, thereby confirming his suspicion. "Right?"

She trembled when she discerned the suppressed rage in his tone and the anger pooling in his tearful eyes. "I was... I was about to... to get..." She suspired. "I was about to get rid of it."

He blinked a few times to make sense of everything. "But you didn't."

"Because—"

"Because you love him." He scoffed. "And you will always do."

***

Aditya, Abhi, and Shruti patiently heard Nandini's tale, and the three of them had their mouths hanging open by the end of it. Aditya was busy recollecting how he had noticed his black leather jacket being missing from his wardrobe, but he hadn't thought much about it. He had no clue that the single, not-so-expensive jacket meant so much to her, and it didn't take him a second to fall for her once again.

Nandini cleared her throat when she felt Aditya gazing at her without blinking an eye. "He was infuriated, and he called off the wedding that night itself. When my anxious parents asked what happened, I broke down and confessed. They were... so unhappy with me." She turned towards Shruti. "Oh well, you have all the answers now."

Aditya exhaled, finally taking his eyes off the girl. "Yeah, all of us do."

"But," Abhi chomped on a piece of crouton, "I still don't have an answer to one very important question."

Shruti cocked her brows. "What?"

"How is Piyali pregnant?"

***

Piyali took out a piece of chocolate from the box in the kitchen, squinting her eyes to read the number of calories printed on the wrapper, whined and whimpered as her diet plan had gone completely haywire, and unwrapped the gooey and rich block of chocolate. Stuffing it into her mouth, she moaned in ecstasy as the decadent flavor played on her tastebuds.

Giggling to herself, she discarded the wrapper into the trash can and swerved around, her face falling instantly, for her husband had his brows raised at her, peeping from behind the lenses of his glasses, leaning against the island.

"Piyali," he said, pursing his lips, "what did Mom say? Everything in moderate quantities."

She huffed, scowling. "I want chocolate. I will eat chocolate."

"You finished an entire tub of chocolate ice cream in the morning," he screamed in disbelief.

She gasped, placing her palms over her stomach. "Stop shouting in front of our baby."

He gaped at her for a few moments. Muttering incoherently under his breath, he reached out to hold her hands and pulled her towards the living room.

The moment his hand touched hers, she felt all her anger ebb away. The same thing happened when she returned home after the fateful meeting with Nandini a few weeks ago. After the horrible encounter, she didn't feel like going back home but rather went to his office. She had been hyperventilating, crying, flailing her arms and legs, screaming at the top of her voice, but as soon as he tugged her towards him, wrapping his arms around her, all her fury and rage melted.

As he helped her sit down on the couch, she was left to ponder over the massive changes that had come into her life in the past year. Breaking up with Aditya at the wedding altar had left an indelible mark in her mind, and when she returned to San Francisco, she could feel herself slipping into depression with each passing day. Her friends had tried to cheer her up but couldn't. Then he came along like the wind. Earlier, he was only a friend, but then in just eight months, he had begun to mean so much to her. Now, she could see the charm. Now, she could decipher why Nandini fell for this debonair and handsome man in the first place. Yes, Nandini was a fool to let him go, but Piyali wasn't. She would hold onto Shubham Agarwal for the rest of her life.

"Drink this," he said, forwarding a cup of coconut water to her.

She took it from him, beaming. "Thanks, Shubham."

He flashed her a genuine smile and picked up his phone, saying something about an appointment that needed to be scheduled with her OB/GYN.

She used the time to trace his features with her eyes. The stubble on his cheeks that was trimmed to perfection, the dimples that formed each time he smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling in due process, the gorgeous tattoo inked on his forearms, the beatific smile on his face that remained etched no matter which hardships he went through.

"Done," he said, tossing the phone aside. "Appointment is in the evening today."

"Oh!" Her brows shot up. "But you have a meeting in the evening. And it's an important one. I... can we reschedule the appointment?"

He frowned. "Not at all. You never take care of yourself, Piyali. We have already postponed seeing the doctor, and there will be no further delays."

She fiddled with her top, gaping at her belly. "I don't want to go alone. I like it when you hold my hand as we take a look at our baby."

He chortled, taking her hand in his. "And I am going to be there. I will reschedule my meeting."

"But—"

"No arguments allowed, Mrs. Agarwal."

***