That evening, Vishal was rummaging through his shirts trying to find something suitable to wear for his first date in an hour. After giving it a lot of thought, he finally chose a black suit coat to wear for his date later. He had only worn it for a conference and some important meetings before. Would it be good if I wore this for my first date?

As he was deep in thought, his mobile vibrated. A message from Darling.

"Hey! How was the party?"

Oh right, I had told her about the lunch treat from boss when I had spoken to her on the phone earlier.

Vishal was starting to reply to her message when he decided to call her over the phone instead. He immediately dialled her number. She answered his call instantly.

"Hey," said Darling. Vishal smiled hearing her voice, which was almost as chirpy as it had used to be before. I wonder how just hearing her voice makes me smile.

"Hey, Darling! Lunch was great earlier!" exclaimed Vishal.

"Okay. Did you call just to say this?" asked Darling, sounding amused.

"Of course not! Why, are you busy now?"

"Today's a Saturday. Why would I be busy on a Saturday evening?"

"Oh, right. I forgot that."

"So, what are you up to? You sound excited. Are you going somewhere?"

"Yes. My first date."

"Oh wow. So, you actually agreed to go for a date?"

"Yeah. I'm feeling nervous actually. Wish me luck, Darling! I really hope it goes well."

"No worries, it will. Best of luck!"

"Thanks, Darling. I was going bonkers all this while just trying to decide what to wear for this date."

Darling laughed before asking, "So, did you finally decide what you're gonna wear later?"

"Yep, a black suit coat."

"A black suit coat? Are you kidding me?"

"No. Why're you asking like that?"

"Don't be so formal, yeah? People only wear these formal suit coats to conferences or those kinds of meetings these days. Not even for interviews." Darling paused. "Wear a white shirt with dark pants or jeans. I think you will surely look good in it."

"No way! It's my first date, Darling! I want to look my best."

"Fine. But I still think a shirt with jeans or pants would be great."

Nah, I'll wear this black suit coat. But would a shirt with jeans be better? Darling was a fashion designer; she would have a better sense of style actually.

***

That evening, Vishal walked into the Café Coffee Day opposite his apartment at 5pm, wearing a white shirt with blue jeans. As he entered the café, he scanned the interior of it. Among all the couples and groups of friends seated in the café, Vishal spotted a lady wearing a red salwar suit, seated at a table alone, with her back facing the entrance of the café. She had long wavy brunette hair; she was the only lady wearing red, and seated alone in the café. She must be the one; Granz's choice.

Vishal approached her and stopped by her table as he said, "Hey."

The lady glanced up at him and smiled warmly, replying, "Hi."

She was beautiful. Vishal quickly regained his composure as he realized that he had been staring at her. Wait, she was familiar. Very familiar. And suddenly, it dawned on him. She was her, the first girl I couldn't forget.

Vishal stepped back as he recognized her. Shreya?!

"Sorry, I think I got the wrong person," stuttered Vishal, as he stepped back again and turned to look around the café again.

"I am the one you're looking for." Vishal spun back to face Shreya, stunned for a moment by her words. "You've come to meet the girl of your Grandma's choice, right? I am the one."

Vishal just stared at her in disbelief.

"Have a seat please." Shreya gestured to the chair across the table.

In a daze, Vishal seated himself across the table from her. He glanced down at the table for a moment before switching his gaze back up to her face. "You're not married?"

"Of course not. Else, why would I be here to meet you?"

Vishal frowned a bit but remained silent.

"Dev was just my friend, not my boyfriend."

"Oh." Guilt started to take over his face, before he asked, "Then, why did you run away from the wedding?"

As a waiter approached their table, they ordered cappuccinos for the two of them. After the waiter had left, Shreya narrated to Vishal how she had been unsure about marrying him without knowing if she could trust him and how her friends had suggested a plan to her and they had carried it out.

After hearing her out, Vishal started to smile as he uttered, "Wow. It was I who misunderstood you without giving you a chance to speak that day, but you still forgave me and came to meet me today." Vishal paused. "Now, I realize how foolish I am. I wanted a wedding without meeting the girl I was going to marry until the day of the wedding. As a girl, what you did is indeed correct. How could I expect you or any girl to marry me without trust or the feeling of security? I can understand how difficult the idea of our marriage would've been to you. You would've actually married me if your friends hadn't suggested the plan to you. I'm glad they did. And I'm sorry, Shreya, for the troubles I put you through that day. You are great; I really respect you for the person you are."

Shreya froze, before stammering, "I'm not that great."

Vishal smiled. "And this statement of yours just shows your modesty."

Shreya turned away. She did not like the way this was going. She was here for a purpose and his words were attempting to break the walls inside her.

As they remained silent, feeling awkward, a waiter approached their table with the cappuccinos they had ordered earlier. As they sipped on their coffee, they started talking again about a cute child, they had just noticed, seated at another table with her parents. Soon, they were comfortably relating to each other about their respective jobs and lives.

Vishal was surprised to know that Shreya was a fashion designer just like Darling. As they spoke to each other and got to know more about the other, Vishal smiled. Shreya seemed to be a very nice person; Vishal already liked her. He didn't know why but he felt very comfortable talking to her. She appeared quite reserved to Vishal though she tried to give the impression that she was being frank with him.

As they were leaving the café, Vishal asked, "So, when shall we meet again?"

"Next week, same time, same place?" suggested Shreya.

"Sure, I'll see you then."

"Sure, take care."

As they turned and walked away in opposite directions, Vishal realized that he hadn't asked for Shreya's phone number or any other way to contact her. Vishal turned back but Shreya had already disappeared out of sight. We will meet again next week; I'll get her number then.

***

Over the next few weeks, as Shreya met Vishal in person and spoke to him over the phone as Shreya and Darling respectively, she started losing herself in thoughts of Vishal. Again.

Shreya was staring at her mobile, deep in thought, after talking to Vishal as Darling one night. Gratefully, he has not been able to ask me for my number yet though we have been meeting every week for a few weeks now. Each time he started to ask, I was able to bring up another topic without him realizing when and how I had changed the topic. He doesn't know that he already has my number saved in his mobile under the name 'Darling'. What will I do if he asks for my mobile number at a time when I won't have the chance to change the topic discreetly?

Suddenly, Shreya felt someone tapping her shoulder. Shreya looked up to see Swati standing next to her in the balcony. When had she come here? She had been watching tv.

"How long do you intend to stand here dreaming, my dear friend?"

"Dreaming? I wasn't dreaming."

"Yeah, right. I noticed you cutting the call a long time back and you're still standing here doing nothing."

Shreya remained silent.

"If you go at this rate, I have a feeling you'll definitely fall in love with Vishal again."

"No. I won't."

Swati raised her eyebrow. "Are you sure? I know you like him. And though you told his Grandma to choose you with the intention of hurting him, I know you won't have the heart to hurt him."

"You're right in a way. The last thing I wanna do is hurt his feelings... it's still on my list though."

Swati frowned.

"I don't love him now. I loved him. But, not anymore. I wanted a love marriage but a love beyond looks or materialistic things or any other biased reason. I found that in his love for his Darling when I realized that I was just a wrong number for him. If he had come back to me, I would've accepted him. But he didn't. I don't want his love now. Definitely not his love for me, the girl he meets in person."

Swati gulped but remained silent.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt him too much. I'll make him feel the pain of rejection before he gets too attached to me. And I'll leave him after that. I don't think I'll be able to let myself hurt him more than that."

Swati shrugged and turned away.

As Shreya stood in the balcony in silence that night, she realized that if she delayed it any further, her plan would not work as she still had a soft corner in her heart for Vishal whenever she thought about him. She had to speed up her plan.

To be continued...