The next Saturday evening, Vishal waited at the Café Coffee Day but Shreya didn't turn up for their usual date. So, because of Darling, Shreya had decided to call it quits...?

Over the course of the next week, Vishal pondered over the conversations he had shared with Shreya during their dates but he still couldn't get any details about her. She had been quite reserved. Though we had spoken about our lives, she had not given me any details about her whereabouts. How would I contact her now?

***

During his lunch break that Saturday, Vishal was sorting through the files on his desk while his mind wandered to thoughts of Shreya. It's been two weeks and I'm still at a loss. I have no idea how to contact her. I think I should call and tell Granz what happened. Granz might be able to help me....

As Vishal was lost in his thoughts, Rhea burst in through the door to his room in the office.

"Heya! How long do you plan to stay here? Until evening?" she demanded.

"Hey Rhea. Shush... you can talk to me like this outside office. Not during office hours."

"Oh my! Please open your eyes and look outside, Vish!" Rhea gestured to the window between his room and the common room in his office.

"Oh, everyone's gone already?" Vishal checked his watch; it was almost 2pm. Of course everyone would have left an hour ago. And I'm still sorting through these files? I really need to stop thinking about Shreya and scan through these files quicker.

Rhea snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Not everyone, most of them. The rest are chatting away outside."

"Okay, how come you haven't left yet? I thought you're usually one of the first few to leave."

"I've been waiting for you, Vish! But you don't seem to have any plans of leaving today."

"Oh, what's up? Why're you waiting for me?"

"I'll tell you later. First, you tell me why're you taking so long to sort through these files?"

"Nothing, I was just a little preoccupied."

"You're always so preoccupied these days! Come on, lemme help you get this done with faster." Rhea picked up a file from Vishal's desk before saying, "Oh, these were the files we submitted to you this morning."

"Yeah. Since when have you become so eager to help in doing more work than you have to?"

"I'm waiting to tell you a good news and a bad news."

"You don't have to help me with this. Tell me, what are the news you've come to say?"

Rhea dropped the file in her hand onto his desk gleefully before saying, "The bad news is... I told you that Nivin and I are planning a trip to Goa next weekend, right? We're not going."

"Aww, that's sad. What's the good news?"

"We're going to Hyderabad next weekend! Nivin wants to meet my family!"

"Wow, that's great news! So, you guys are planning along the lines of marriage already?"

"Nop, he just wants to meet my family and get to know them. We're not ready for marriage yet so we plan to take things slowly."

"That's nice."

"Yup, but the sad part is that we're not going to Goa. I really wanted to go there. I love the beaches and everything there! But I've been waiting to introduce Nivin to my family. So, next weekend is definitely the best time for them to meet since Nivin is also free that weekend."

"Oh, I haven't been to Goa before."

"You should! You'll love the place!"

"Okay, I'll think about going there when I wanna go on a holiday next time."

"I guess I should go now. Nivin and I are going out for dinner tonight. I chose the place: the Olive Beach restaurant. Nice choice, right?"

"Oh, where is that? I haven't heard of it." Vishal turned to the files on his desk and opened the first one.

Rhea narrowed her eyes at Vishal. "I thought you would know. I've heard about that restaurant from so many people but I haven't been there yet. Even I don't know where it is. But my friend told me it's just a few lanes from the Zeyra Boutique. I don't think you might know the Zeyra Boutique so I'll tell you exactly where the restaurant is after Nivin takes me there tonight."

Vishal's gaze switched up to Rhea's face as the file in his hand fell to the table. Zeyra Boutique? "Do you know where the Zeyra Boutique is, Rhea?"

"Of course. But why are you interested in a boutique?"

"Oh, I wanna go to a place near that boutique. Can you tell me the directions to the boutique?"

"Sure." Rhea instantly gave Vishal the directions to the Zeyra Boutique and Vishal mentally memorized the route to the boutique.

"Thanks, Rhea." Fortunately you mentioned about the Zeyra Boutique, else I wouldn't have recalled the only hint Shreya had accidentally revealed to me once.

"No worries, Vish! Okay, I should leave now or I'll be late for dinner later."

"Sure, but there's still more than a few hours, right?"

"Yeah, but I need around three hours to get ready."

"Three hours? Are you kidding me?"

"Nope, I take only around three hours. Why?"

"Only three hours?"

"Yeap."

"Then, you must be waking up really early in the morning to get ready for office every day."

"Nah, I don't take so much time to get ready for office. Who does? I usually leave home for office an hour after I wake up."

"Then, why do you need three hours to get ready for tonight? Can't you just go like this?"

"No way! Look at my hair; isn't it such a mess? And I need to choose a good outfit; that takes time, you know. And just look at my face; I'm not wearing any makeup. Of course I need to touch up my face a bit before dinner!"

"Okay. You actually look absolutely fine just the way you are now. I'm sure Nivin wouldn't mind if you went just like this."

"Yeah, he certainly won't mind. He has even seen me in my messiest state when he surprised me at my apartment on my birthday. But I like dressing up and looking my best when we go for a date. You know, I ONLY take three hours to get ready before a date. That's not too long! Some of my friends take longer, even up to seven hours!"

"Woah. If you girls take so long to get ready just for a date, I wonder how long you'll take to get ready for your wedding! Maybe you'll need a whole 24 hours or more." Vishal smiled impishly.

"Maybe. You never know, we might take 24 hours or more to get ready before the D-Day."

Vishal laughed. "Alright. I hope you won't take that long or you might have dark circles under your eyes on the day of your wedding."

"Yeah, that's true." Rhea pursed her lips. "Okay, gotta go! See ya on Monday!"

"Okay, see you! Enjoy your weekend, Rhea!"

Vishal smiled as Rhea left. He was going to meet Shreya again. Her fashion designing studio is opposite the Zeyra Boutique. Vishal frowned a bit. Shreya is a fashion designer. Darling's a fashion designer too. Perhaps Darling had already known Shreya before me. That might be how she got Shreya's number before I could. I need to talk to Shreya and clear her misunderstanding.

***

"I can't believe this. You can't ditch me like this in the last minute, Swati. The fashion expo in Goa is next weekend." Shreya grumbled with a slight frown while cutting a dark synthetic material late that afternoon.

"Aww, I wasn't expecting this to happen, Shrey. If Dev hadn't had this accident or fractured his leg, I would've surely accompanied you to Goa. But I think I should be with him now," justified Swati.

"Yeah, I know. But I don't wanna go to Goa alone. It's my first time there. I'll be so lost and bored if I go there on my own. And we can't pull out of the expo now."

As a familiar car drove up to their fashion designing studio, Shreya froze. Her heart almost stopped. Her feet were rooted to the spot. Vishal? Has he come for me? For Shreya or his darling? Please, Vi, tell me that you're here for your darling....

"Shrey, why don't you wait in the store? I'll ask him who he wants to meet." Shreya was so stunned by Vishal's arrival that she followed Swati's suggestion without uttering a word, like a puppet.

The storeroom was where they stored their extra or undone materials. Only their completed designs and the designs, which they were currently working on, were presented in the gallery and workspace of their fashion designing studio, outside the storeroom.

Shreya waited behind the slightly ajar door of the storeroom; she could clearly see the gallery as she peeped from behind the door.

Vishal stepped into the gallery and stopped in his tracks for a moment as he looked around in awe at all the designs and chic outfits presented in their gallery.

"Hello. How may I help you?" Swati prompted Vishal impatiently.

"Hello. Umm... is Shreya here?" Vishal's voice made Shreya feel like her heart had just fallen to the floor.

Shreya? Are you here for her? Is she more important to you than your darling who loves you? Shreya felt like slamming the door and saying, 'Please leave! I don't want you! I don't love you! I never wanna see you again!'

Only your darling loves you! When will you realize that? You don't want to realize that. Fine! But, why can't you just leave Shreya? Shreya covered her face with her hands. No wonder there's a proverb 'Marry the one who loves you not the one you love.' I never realized the meaning of this proverb until I met you, Vi. I rejected so many guys who may have loved me. But I loved you and that was my biggest mistake. I even rejected Abhay, though he was almost perfect and his love for me had seemed the truest.

"I think she's busy." Swati's answer brought Shreya back out of her thoughts.

So, you won't leave Shreya, Vi? Fine, then Darling is not gonna leave you either. Shreya unlocked the screen of her mobile phone. She opened her contacts and scrolled to Vishal's name. She just had to press a single key to dial his number now. Let me see what he has to say to me. If necessary, he will get a phone call from his darling to interrupt our conversation.

Hiding her mobile in her left hand covered by her shawl, Shreya strode out of the storeroom to meet Vishal.

To be continued...

A/N: Please don't forget to vote and comment.. What do you think of this chapter? Vishal is back for Shreya, not his darling, and Shreya is gonna confront him. What do you think she might say or do now? 

Hope you like this chapter.. :)

Reminder: Updates will be on Thursday/Friday but a bonus chapter might be published on Saturday/Sunday.. :)