It's Friday, June 25th. Jaimi wraps up a meeting with Naushad late in the evening and makes her way to her office. After a few minutes, Naushad enters the office after knocking.

Jaimi: Yes Bhai?

Naushad: Kal evening mein ready ho jaana! We'll come to pick you up.

Jaimi: Ok.

Naushad: Tumhe kal office aane ki zaroorat nahi hain.

Jaimi nods. Naushad bids her goodbye before he leaves with Mehjabeen. Ayesha enters the office.

Ayesha: Jay, let's go!

Jaimi: Tum chali jao. Mein yeh kaam khatam kar ke phir ghar chali jaaungi.

Ayesha: Office se sab log jaane lage hain.

Jaimi: I know par yeh kuch documents ko system mein upload kar deti hoon baadme chali jaaungi. Naushad Bhai ne kaha ki mujhe kal office aane ki zaroorat nahi hain so abhi khatam kar deti hoon.

Ayesha: Thik hain, but don't overwork yourself. And, yaha se nikalte hi mujhe video call karne jab tak tum ghar nahi pahoch jaati.

Jaimi nods. Ayesh gives her a quick hug.

Ayesha: Have a safe trip and fun in Goa!

Jaimi forces a smile and nods. Ayesha grabs her things and leaves. Jaimi gets back to work.

After half an hour, she hears shouting coming from a far-end conference room. She walks out of the room and looks around to see the office deserted as it's past eight. She moves towards the conference room but decides against the idea.

After a few minutes, the door of her office flies open. Darshan walks in with anger written all over his face. Jaimi gets up and moves towards him, but before she could say something, his hand sweeps the edge of her desk and the paperweight on the edge shatters into hundreds of pieces as it hits the ground. Her heels clicks against the floor as she backs up against the wall and shuts her eyes out of fear.

Darshan turns around as he hears the sound of heels hitting the floor. He sees Jaimi backed up against the wall in a corner. Her eyes are shut with fear and her hands are balled in a tiny fist.

Darshan: Shit! Meine phir se isko darra diya. Ek paperweight hi toota hain. Ismein itna kyu darr gae hain? Iss ladki ka pata nahi kya hain? Bahot ajeeb!

He takes cautious steps towards her. Her chest is heaving up and down. From the corner of his eye, he sees a female move towards the stairs. She is rubbing her hand against her face like she's wiping away tears. He rolls his eyes and shakes his head.

He looks in front of him to see Jaimi trembling a bit in fear. She looks like a porcelain doll that will break if you touch her once.

Darshan: Jaimi.

He says it softly it comes out like a whisper.

Darshan: Jaimi, aankhe kholo!

He gets no response. He cups her cheeks.

Darshan: Jay? Aankhe kholo. Kuch nahi hua!

Her eyes slowly flutter open. He sees glossiness in her eyes like she's holding back tears.

Darshan: Tum thik ho?

Jaimi looks around and takes in her surrounding. She nods her head and pushes him a bit to create some space between them. She saves her work and grabs her belonging. She puts on her mask as she runs out of the cabin leaving a confused Darshan.

He turns off the lights of the cabin and runs after her. He catches her at the gate, but she gets in the taxi and leaves without sparing him a glance. His mind starts to play a thousand questions.

He shrugs them off and goes home to be besieged with questions by Jyugal, Hardik, and Siddharth.

Siddharth: Itna kya soch raha hain?

Jyugal: Karishma ke baare mein?

Darshan: No!

Hardik: Toh?

Darshan: Bhai ki nae assistant, Jaimi!

Jyugal: Tu uss bechari ladki ka picha kab chodega?

Hardik: Mein mila toh nahi hoon par jitna suna hain usse woh bahot sweet ladki hain aisa lagta hain.

Siddharth: Kyuki woh sweet hain! Pata nahi tujhko usse kya problem hain?

Darshan: Mujhe koi problem nahi hain par woh kuch ajeeb hain!

Jyugal: Kuch?

Darshan: Kuch nahi bahot hi ajeeb hain!

Siddharth: Kaise?

Darshan: Number one: woh humesha office aate waqt aur jaate waqt mask pehanti hain. Number two: woh kabhi apne aap ko apne middle name se introduce nahi karti. Uss din jab Krish ne uske naam ke familiarity ke baare mein pucha tab woh baat taalne ki koshish kar rahi thi. Number three: woh kisi ke saath bhi kaam ke alawa baat nahi karti except Ayesha. Number four: meine ek do baar usko medicine lete hua dekha hain, in office. Number five: woh kabhi apni family ka zikr nahi karti. Bhai ko bhi uski family ke baare mein pata nahi hain.

He sucks in a large quantity of air as his monologue left him, breathless.

Hardik: Tujhe uski family ke baare mein kya karne hain?

Jyugal: Rishta leke jaana hain, kya?

Darshan rolls his eyes as the other three chuckle.

Darshan: Nahi, seriously, woh ladki sab se kuch chupa rahi hain!

Siddharth: Tu itna kyu hyper ho raha hain uske baare mein?

Jyugal: Chalo tumhare saare points one by one clear karte hain!

Hardik: Number one: mask pehanana!

Siddharth: Koi gunah toh nahi hain aur woh probably logo ke beech uncomfortable hogi iss liye mask ki help se khud ko sab se separate karti hain!

Hardik: Number two: middle name!

Jyugal: Tujhe puri duniya Darshan Raval se hi pehchanti hain aur tu kisi ko khud ka introduction deta hain toh first aur last name hi use karta hain.

Siddharth: Maybe, uski uske parents ke saath zyada banti nahi hogi ya phir parents ne divorce le liya ho. Ya koi family issues bhi ho sakhte hain!

Hardik: Number three: baat na karna!

Jyugal: Introvert ho sakhti hain aur usse office join liye kuch hi din hue hain.

Hardik: Number four: medicine!

Siddharth: Koi medical condition ho sakhti hain jiski wajah se continuous medication le sakhti hain ya phir medicine ka time work hours ke saath clash karta ho.

Hardik: Number five: family!

Jyugal: Jaise Siddharth me kaha, family issue ho sakhte hain jiski wajah se woh kabhi unka zikr na karti ho!

Darshan: Tum teeno kuch bhi kaho par woh sab se kuch toh chupa rahi hain! Aur, mein pata laga ke rahunga.

Jyugal: Kaise?

Darshan: Woh toh pata nahi par pata laga ke rahunga!

Siddharth: Ok. You have all the time in this world kyuki woh bhi Goa aa rahi hain aur tujhe pick karne ke baad hum usko pick karne jaaenge.

They chat for some time then, call it a day.

Jaimi wakes up around 1 in the afternoon the next day. She freshens up and has pizza for lunch. She does any last-minute packing left to do.

She changes into a blue romper. She pairs it with black heels. She fixes her hair in a messy bun on top of her head with few strands hanging around. She wears her mask, migraine glasses, Apple Watch, and her crossbody bag. She locks her apartment and waits by the gate of her building with her luggage bag.

Her phone rings and a smile forms on her face reading the name.

Jaimi: Hey!

Summer/Caysen: We missed you!

Jaimi: I missed you guys too.

Summer: When are you coming back?

Jaimi: A few days after I turn 25.

Caysen: Kevin is coming to India.

Jaimi: Kevin?

Summer: Uh... yeah.

Jaimi: I did not know that. I talked to him a few days back, but he didn't tell me.

Naushad pulls up beside her. She loads her bag in the back and slips into the passenger seat beside Darshan.

Jaimi: I'll call you later.

Caysen/Summer: We love you!

Jaimi: Love you too! Bye!

Jaimi hangs up and greets everyone.

Aishwarya: Jaimi, tumhara boyfriend hain aur tumne bataya bhi nahi!

Jaimi: Excuse me?

Aishwarya: Nahi matalab I love you and all!

Jaimi: Mere college friends the.

Aishwarya: I mean... tum toh bahot saalon se India ke bahar thi toh woh westernize ho gae hogi.

Khushi: Jaimi, sach batao!

Jaimi: Mera koi boyfriend nahi hain!

Khushi: Ek bhi nahi?

Jaimi: I don't believe in relationships!

The two girls tease Jaimi a bit who keeps a poker face and answers their questions in one or two words. They quit as they know they won't be able to get anything out of Jaimi.

They reach the airport after beating the traffic. Siddharth, Naushad, and Darshan help unload the luggage from the back. They go into the airport. They go through the security check and boarding.

Jaimi is sitting beside the window with Darshan beside her and Aishwarya beside him. They reach Goa after an hour. They go through the security check and take a cab to the hotel. They meet up with the rest of the team and check into their room.

Jaimi stays in her room and avoids going out that eve. Darshan, Naushad, and Siddharth are sitting in their room.

Darshan: Bhai, Jaimi kaha hain? I mean dinner ke liye nahi aae.

Naushad: Usko thoda headache hain toh iss liye woh apne room mein aaraam kar rahi hain.

Darshan looks at Siddharth and they talk through their facial expressions.

Naushad: Yeh kya chal raha hain?

Darshan: Kuch nahi!

Naushad: Thik hain.

Siddharth: Bhai, hum Goa mein do week ke liye kyu ruk rahe hain?

Naushad: First week, shoot aur doosra week humara fun week hain.

Darshan: Fun week?

Naushad: Haan! Hum 6 Goa ghumenge.

The two nod their head.

Naushad: Darshan, tera Jaimi ke saath koi connection ya kuch hain?

Darshan: What? Kya connection hoga?

Naushad: Nahi aise hi pucha!

Darshan: Thik hain.

They chat till midnight.

Darshan: Mujhe neend nahi aa rahi hain so beach pe walk kar ke aata hoon.

Naushad: Derr tak mat rookna kal shoot hain.

Darshan hums in response. He grabs his jacket and cap before he walks out of the room. He strolls to the nearby beach. He sees a feminine figure walk along the shore. He walks closer to her and stands behind a tree admiring her as he recognizes her. He takes out his phone and starts recording.

The loose strands of hair around her face flow freely in the air. She sweeps her feet on the water, splashing the water around, as a wave crashes near her feet. She play around in the water for a bit. She looks free of stress that she usually carries with her. Her mask is still on. He turns off the camera and slides his phone back into his pocket.

After a few minutes, she sits down on the sand a few feet away from where the waves crash. She stares at the sea. He advances towards her, but stops as her phone rings. She answers the call.

Jaimi: No... mein kisi se bhi milna nahi chahti... woh documents sign kar ke yaha se chali jaaungi... 5 din mein legal process khatam ho jaana chahiye... nahi... kisi ko nahi pata ke mein kaha hoon... kabhi nahi...

She hangs up the call and her relaxed state is completely gone. She hugs her knees and pulls them to her chest.

Darshan: Iss ladki ke dimaag mein chal kya raha hain? Kisse nahi milna chahti? Kaunsa legal process aur documents? Kisi ko pata nahi yeh kaha hain matalab kya? Jail se bhaag ke aae hain? Pata lagana padega! Uske phone se woh number mil jaae toh saari information nikal sakhta hoon. Iska asli maksad kya hain woh jaanana padega.

He looks in her direction and she is staring at something on her phone. He tries to look over her shoulder, but she turns it off. She gets up and turns to see him.

Jaimi: What are you doing here?

Darshan: Public property!

She rolls her eyes and walks past him. He strolls behind her as well. They return to their room and retire to bed.

**********