Tulsi got married.

This news shocked Pallavi and Adhvik just as much as it shocked you guys. It occurred out of nowhere. Pallavi got to know from a suspicious photo that she posted on Facebook, showing a mehandi designed palm that held hands of a man. She thought it couldn't be true until Ankur called her. It had been months since she talked to him.

By the way, Ankur was married as well. Yup, too many marriages in a row.

He informed how Tulsi hadn't been in office since the last couple of days. Apparently, Tulsi was still working in Mansur and she was there to stay. So was Latika. Except for them, almost everyone else had left Mansur including Sai, Ankur and Deepak. Of course Tiwari and Hyoung would stay until the day they died.

And now it seemed like Tulsi had gotten married and told no one about it. Odd, very odd. Ankur called Pallavi to check if she knew something but she didn't know a thing. The last time she talked to Tulsi was during Pallavi's birthday in December. She informed how her parents were searching for a groom and were hoping to get married next year. She even insisted Pallavi to come to her wedding whenever that happened.

Pallavi felt betrayed. How could she do this without informing anyone? Without informing her? They were close friends once upon a time but that diminished as soon as Pallavi was out of Mansur. They hadn't even met once since May. Pallavi tried to invite her a few times but gave up when Tulsi postponed it multiple times. It would have been sweet if the three of them could be together just like in the office. Sadly, this was reality.

Henceforth, Pallavi messaged Tulsi laying down her frustrations at her. She didn't care she was mean.

Surprisingly Tulsi replied. She explained that the marriage happened way too fast. Her husband insisted it. He couldn't wait and took her away in front of everyone. She protested that time but no one listened. Everything from roka to marriage was done in a matter of days. Their marriage was a private ceremony done in haste. It was why she couldn't invite anyone.

Pallavi was more perplexed than ever. Jabariya shaadi? Who did that these days? She could never understand Tulsi's gangster like family and it's ways. She expressed her surprise and asked if Tulsi was atleast happy in her marriage. In the end, she congratulated her and let her be.

Pallavi's chest tightened with dread. Aradhana got married in December while Tulsi married in February. Saumya's parents were already on a groom lookout. Her friends were slowly getting hitched, systematically moving on to the next step in their lives. While her? She was pursuing a course, jobless. While her friends had long jumped away from the dating pool to marriage, Pallavi was still experiencing her first relationship that was barely love. All Adhvik and her talked about was his health and other trivial things. Gone were the days of flirting, meeting in cafes and sex.

Pallavi hated to admit but she missed sex. The feeling of divine completion, the mingling of warm bodies, his touch, his masculine woody smell... Oh, God, she missed them all! And she felt like a hypocrite for it.

Worst part, she couldn't even tell Adhvik. There was a time when he was somewhat romantic to her during Valentine's Day. Apart from that, he never said anything dirty or romantic to her since January. It was perfectly understandable, given his difficult health condition. If only there was a button to switch off sexual cravings for a while, she would have done just that. Instead her relationship had become non- existent.

Healing took as much time as a tortoise to win the race but win nonetheless. Slowly but eventually, Adhvik's bilirubin level became normal. It had been a consistent effort of eating constricted healthy food, gulping water like alcohol and resting.

Adhvik was able to resume work in Sunwa at the beginning of March. Surprisingly the company didn't fire him as everyone thought. Though he wouldn't be paid for the last two months. He decided to postpone his stone removal operation to avoid taking more leaves from the office. It was his triumphant return to his normal life after two whole months.

Wish we could say the same about the rest of the world.

Just as Pallavi and Adhvik were planning to meet outside, Covid-19 virus decided to make its grand entrance. A country wide lockdown was announced on March 21st, pausing every school, college, shops and jobs altogether. Pallavi was unable to attend classes while Adhvik was unable to work. Work from home wasn't possible in Adhvik's case either due to the nature of his job. Something like this had never occurred even in their grandparents lives.

Covid-19 had made its mark worldwide, spreading sickness, loss and fear into the desperate souls of people. Everyone was jailed in their homes. It was as if the world had come to an abrupt standstill.

Days passed.

Weeks passed.

Months passed.

But the pandemic remained as it was. No, it only became worse.

“Maut ka tandav aa gya hai behanchod,” Adhvik commented during their conversations once. “I just survived a disease and the world throws another. 2020 has been the worst.”

“I know right! Just when I was doing something for my career. Just when I was starting to have a social life...” Pallavi drew out a long sigh, not bothering to say the rest. It's been one and a half months now. “Instead I've been moulding flour, sweeping the floor, washing dishes and cooking dinner on alternate days. You know I and my sister bathe at 2pm because we are too busy completing the house chores. God knows when our society will open the gates for the servants.”

“Not now atleast. How many Covid positive cases you have in your society?”

“Around 7. One is in our own building three floors above us.”

“Same here. It's so scary. It's just me and my Ma staying here. What if something happens to one of us?” Adhvik's mother had accompanied to take care of him when he returned to Faridabad. She intended to stay for a few weeks initially but lockdown happened and the rest was history. It stopped all their means of transport.

“Don't say negative things. Think positive.”

“Aree what positive?” Adhvik scoffed. “We can't do anything. Can't work, can't go out, can't travel, can't have sex.”

She groaned in annoyance, “Don't even get me started otherwise I'll start craving for it. This seriously sucks.”

“It does. I've been jerking off every single day this week... when Ma is not around of course.”

“Me too. I've been fingering every alternate day,” She hesitated before extracting her thoughts that she kept in for so long. “I thought you had given up on sex altogether. That you lost interest in me.”

“No way! I fantasize our time together. Do you know how bad I want to push my dick inside you? Grab you, kiss you. To fuck your brains out until you're unable to walk on your two legs. Bitch!” His words penetrated her horny soul.

“Motherfucker.”

“Mkl...”

“Bkl...”

I guess I didn't need to delve into how they got into their respective bathrooms to switch onto video call for obvious desirable reasons. It was their first sexual video call. A human's got to do what they could.

Their days repeated in a constant loop to the point of mental exhaustion. Eventually a ray of hope ignited when the number of cases declined slightly, leading to the unlocking of the country. It was like they were breaking free from jail. However that also came with a lot of restrictions. Sanitizer and facial masks were never sold as much as they did now. It was truly an apocalypse.

Half a year passed.

Since manufacturing companies couldn't function with ‘work from home’, they were probably the first companies to physically allow workers post-lockdown. Adhvik resumed working in Sunwa.

In Pallavi's case, she was attending her graphic designing classes online although some classes required to be attended in person. Only a month's worth of classes were left, after which the students would be doing projects and assignments on their own.

* * *

“Whats up?” She messaged Adhvik one time but received no reply. At first she thought something happened to him again but then eventually received a reply a day later.

“I was bit busy
with office & stuff.
What's up?”

“Our maid finally
came, thank God!
Had never been so
happy to see her.😁
Resumed my online
classes as well.”

“Haha good for you.”

“Btw I, Deepali &
Ma went to buy grocery
as well. It felt like we
were escaping a jail.
Never felt so good to be
outside. How did you
feel?”

The message was left at seen. A few days later.

“Have you heard the
news of Sushant's death?
What is happening? Irfan
died, then Rishi Kapoor &
now Sushant. I don't think
it was suicide.”

“He was murdered 101%
He was playing an
online game right before
that & was in a party a
night before. How come
he's suicidal? There r
many more reasons.
Media is fooling us.”

He answered this almost two days later. How odd? Pallavi thought but assuming he was busy, she didn't pry on it.

Pallavi missed Adhvik and she missed him bad. She met him November last year. It was July, 2020 now-- around seven months since she seen him last. While she suggested him to meet her, he was still skeptical about it. The restaurants didn't allow to dine in, except for online orders. Not to forget his mother was still in his house. Most importantly, he wanted to avoid meeting anyone, lest if any one of them caught Covid-19. What if one of them were affected with asymptomatic Covid? He was just being cautious.

“But aren't you in the office, meeting your colleagues?” Pallavi questioned him in an accusatory tone.

“That's not my choice, Pallavi. Do you realize how scary it is to be in the same room as other people, knowing that one of them could be possibly infected? I keep a safe distance with all of them. It's taxing... Look, we'll meet, okay. Wait for some time.”

But Pallavi didn't want to wait. She was sick of it. Couldn't this pandemic come at a better time? Why it had to mingle right when she was involved with someone in her twenty-six years of her life? And why he had to be logical all the time? Didn't he possess a heart? Didn't he miss her the way she did? It wasn't fair!

“I promise we won't do anything... We'll just talk from a distance so please Adhvik,” She pleaded with tear-struck eyes. Sadly he didn't catch on that since her tone was normal.

A tired sigh escaped from the other end. She already knew his answer. “No. I wouldn't want to risk any one of us. I don't want anything to happen to you. I'd regret that. Please try to understand.”

Pallavi broke down in the bathroom later on. It wasn't her first time. Her heart ached in agony, that's how badly she wanted to see him. They lived in the same goddamn city so why couldn't they? One wouldn't catch the virus so easily. Adhvik was overreacting.

If only she could have stayed with him for more time when Adhvik insisted her in November.

* * *

The world was changing gradually and so was the nature of their relationship. Perhaps Pallavi was imagining his ignorance, but then she simply checked through his lack of replies in their WhatsApp chats to believe it.

Come to think of it, he barely called her, too. She knew why because he didn't want to risk by calling her in front of her family. Still, it was always her who called him first. There were times when he didn't pick her call and didn't even bother to call her back later on. How one sided was that? Like he barely cared anymore. Like the previous year of their time together never existed. She was certain he didn't like her. He would have craved her if he did. Instead she was the only one pining for him.

‘You make me feel like a fool being the only one contacting you.’ She confronted him once and he apologized for it. Apparently he was too busy with his job while searching for a new apartment. Lucky him, his life was always hot and happening, unlike hers. Perhaps she wouldn't have missed him if she was this busy.

Please God let me meet him once. Just once would be enough for now. I wouldn't be anxious and desperate anymore. She prayed to God for the umpteenth time.

The cycle of her messages and his late, lazy replies, repeated a dozen more times until she got sick of it.

She stopped messaging him altogether.

It was partially a conscious move. She simply wanted to test how many days it took for Adhvik to message or call her. She tried before but failed miserably by texting him first. Though this time she fought the urge. One day... two days... three days... It went on until the ninth day. On the tenth day, she received a message.

“Hi... Where are
you, madam?”

Patience was indeed the best virtue.
She had won the game.

She recalled her own chats with desperate online guys. The way they were available for her all the time pissed her off. And when she didn't message them, they would write things such as ‘are you there?’, ‘Are you busy’ or ‘why you not replying?’ It repelled her to the point where she ditched them like the capsicum in her pizza. No one liked clingy people. And people always chased after the ones who were not, her own ass included. It was human nature.

She wasn't the one to play mind games but she had to for her own pride. She applied the same tactic again and again. Didn't message him until he did. It was excruciating but just as rewarding in the end. What surprised was when he called her on his own at one time. Ironic, how things came to you the moment you stopped chasing after it. That was the law of the universe.

She exited her apartment to take a walk in her society as an excuse to talk to him. She raised her head to the settling sun, surrounded by clouds like cotton candy and smiled.

“I'm surprised you called me this time,” Pallavi mentioned casually in the midst of their conversation.

“Yeah, I had to. Had a feeling you weren't talking to me as usual,” Adhvik exhaled a tired sigh. “You are mad at me, aren't you?”

“A bit mad, yeah.”

“I'm sorry.”

“Why?”

“For being an ass to you. I realize I haven't been paying attention to you lately and you don't deserve that,” There was a pause. “I know we aren't exactly boyfriend and girlfriend but still, we had long conversations, hung out and had sex. Whether we admit or not, we are in a relationship. We are pursuing something no matter its nature. I shouldn't have ignored you like that, I'm sorry. We'll talk regularly from now on...”

Silence followed.

“Pallavi? Come on, say something...”

“What do I say here? I agree with everything you just said. Yes, you ignored me for a long time and I was madly pissed,” She admitted with a lump on her throat. No, she wasn't crying. She was just grateful and sad at the same time. He finally acknowledged their issue as well as their relationship after a year. It was a plethora of emotions.

Her mood softened immensely as their conversation continued on. Like someone had carefully tended to her wounds. They even switched to video call afterwards-- something they should have been doing often. Her lips curled by the time their conversation ended. Ignoring him worked wonders indeed.

Adhvik stayed by his word. They started talking more frequently like before, calling on every third or fourth day. Pallavi went for a walk everytime they called so she could talk freely. Things were going smooth now.

Way too smoothly that is.

“You have such a
foul mouth, asshat!
Making fun of my
mother. Be lucky that
its me. If it would
have been someone
else other than me,
she would have been
offended.”

Pallavi complained after he joked about something.

“I'm aware of that and
I'm sorry. I was only
kidding.”

“Yeah...”

“Besides I know you
won't say anything.
You are too cute❤”

“My Pallu 😘😘”

“😳😳”

“Jyaada ho gya kya?”

“No, not at all....
my Adhi 😘❣️”

Another instance.

“When will this
pandemic end? I
wanna go out.”

“Cos' you can't wait
to meet me.”

“No! I meant
going to a mall or
restaurant.”

“With me, na.”

“Aree, no!”

“Ok, now I'm hurt.
You don't wanna
meet me? Atleast
jhoota dilasa dede.”

“What lie? Of course
I wanna meet you, jerk.
That's my first reason
of going out.”

“Aha, caught you!”

“😳😳😤”

“😘😘”

Pallavi checked their latest string of messages in awe. What's with the cheesy words and emojis all of a sudden? Where was this coming from? Even last time when they talked about how Tulsi got married, he mentioned something like “Adhvik weds Pallavi” which surprised the daylights out of her.

Then one day, this happened. Adhvik messaged her late at night.

“Can I ask you
something?”

“Sure.”

“Do you love me?”

Her heart thundered as she blinked at his question. Now that was something she didn't expect, yet expected. It was the second time he had asked her or was it the third? Damn, he sure was eager. If only he read this book, he wouldn't need to ask any such questions again.

And so, she replied the same reply she gave last time.

‘And I told you, things
like this are meant
to be discussed face-
to-face.

‘I know but I just
want to know
Do you?’

What insect had bit him all of a sudden? But then she thought about it and decided not to cower from it any longer. She had done that plenty before. So she asked him the one thing she had been aching to ask since time immemorial.

The one thing you readers have been dying to know.

‘Forget about me.
You tell first. Do
you love me?’

‘I don't.’

‘Then I also don't.’

‘But you said something
about your feelings that
time so I assumed...’

‘I said I had a Crush on
you. Not Love. There's a
gigantic difference
between love & crush,
you doofus!’

By the time she typed this, her eyes stung with tears. It didn't even take him a second to reply that. He didn't love her. Just seeing that tore her world apart. Pallavi was never the shy one to express her feelings. The reason she never did was because of this very reason. She didn't want to hear ‘no’ and get her heart crushed all over again. But she took a leap of faith anyway only to hear this shit. If he didn't love her now, there was no way he would love her ever.

How could one not love after spending so much time together? After seeing how much she supported him during his tiring times. Was his heart made of stone? Hell, even a stone melted but not him. He was that hopeless.

‘So you don't feel
anything for me?
Not even a crush
or a tiny spark.’

God, if Adhvik had been in front of her right now, she would have fucking wrung his neck. That's how furious she was. She bit her lip in agony while tears continued to stream down her cheeks. She sent him this message, not even bothering to check what he wrote. However when she did, her eyes widened.

‘No, that's not it. It's
not like I don't feel
anything for you.
I do.’

As if sensing her question about how he felt, he continued typing.

‘I don't know. I don't
know where to place
my feelings. You are such
a wonderful girl. I should
be falling head over heels
for you. But I don't know
where I stand. Do I feel
this way or that? I know,
weird. Why am I like this?’

‘You are making zero
sense to me right now.
Okay, tell me. Am I
just a friend to you?’

‘No.’

‘Am I just a fuck buddy?’

‘Nope.’

‘Do you like me?’

‘Yes.’

‘I like you, too.’

Someone please give her two minutes back. Was this fucking happening? Seemed like Pallavi wasted those tears for nothing. All his fault for puzzling her like this. Adhvik's feelings could be summed up in one sentence— He liked her but he didn't love her. Yet. Thank goodness! Atleast he felt something. About time he should. She wasn't sure how she was gonna take it if he said he never felt anything.

Her romantic girly self still couldn't take it as she asked him again. She knew they shouldn't have expressed these things on chat but fuck it.

“Yes, I like you.
I like spending time
with you. I love us
together. We make a
great team. 💞”

Say it again please. Say it a hundred more times. With all those emojis. She wished to say. Though a small part was still disappointed that he didn't love her yet, she could look forward for that day.

The day when Adhvik would admit his love for her.

* * *

So how did this chapter make you feel? I basically summarised 6  months of their time. How was this impromptu, half baked confession? Are you happy for Pallavi? Do you see a character progression in Adhvik? Will he come to love her too? Comment your thoughts.

Next chapter is special. Perhaps I'll post that on Valentine's. Look forward to it. ❤️❤️