Maahi informed the office manager, "Kristen, I'm going out for lunch today since I don't have the Tyler's coming in today."

Kristen nodded, "Sure thing. Enjoy your lunch."

Maahi smiled and wished her the same before leaving. The people she worked with knew she was getting divorced. If anything, they were supportive and Kristen was glad that instead of staying in for lunch like she often would, she was starting to go out and was taking the divorce in a positive manner rather than drowning under the stigmas related to it.

Walking into the small shop, she found Parth already there. She walked up to the table and sat across from him. He looked up from the file he was reading and smiled at her, "Hey." He greeted closing the file so he could give her his undivided attention.

"Hi," She answered, feeling giddy for the first time in a long time while also noticing the small gesture. When was the last time Sonu might have given her all of his attention? Almost never. She cleared his throat, reminding herself it was in the past and not something she needed to mull over. "Did you order anything?"

He shook his head, "No, I was waiting for you." He glanced back at the counter, and a server walked over. As she had been here before, she didn't have to look at the menu. They each ordered their choice of sandwich and coffee. "Arjun is coming back. He did say he found something, but that we should look at it when he gets here. He didn't want to email it."

Maahi asked apprehensively, "That's a good thing, right?"

He nodded, "I think so. But you know what, never mind that." He reached forward to take her hand in his. "We're here to talk about us."

"Right," She pressed a smile on her lips to appear confident when the truth was, she was a nervous mess at the pit of her stomach. Her heart was beating on an overdrive. "So... what about us?"

He cleared his throat after a quick deep breath. He wasn't sure if he wanted the answer to his question but it was still one he needed to ask, "First, I want to understand why you kissed me. At the wedding, you said it didn't mean anything, but when I said the same in court, you asked me if it really didn't mean anything."

She looked away at their hands instead of into his eyes, feeling guilty. "I didn't mean that. I said what I had to at the time because I had to leave." She finally glanced up so he would know she meant it this time, "I know, it was wrong, but it's not like I could have asked you to wait for me to get back. We barely knew each other for a day."

He did understand that, but it felt nice to hear her indirectly admit that it did mean something to her as well. That it wasn't just him.

She asked one question of her own, "Why did you keep giving me reasons to back out yesterday?"

"I would have understood if you wanted to."

"Yes, but why did you think I would want to? I told you before I kissed you that it wasn't going to be a mistake or accident."

"You're still not divorced, Maahi." He explained what he thought could be obvious, "If you don't want to go straight into another relationship, I'm not going to hold it against you."

The waitress returned with their order. After she left, Maahi asked, "It has to be a relationship?"

He smiled as he understood she did not want to rush into anything, "Anything you want; we don't have to label anything, but I do want to get to know you. Yes... eventually, I'd like for that. I knew that before, and now. You're the kind of girl that I would definitely want more with, Maahi. Back then, I didn't get that chance. I'm definitely asking for that this time."

"I want that too, I think. I know I'm definitely attracted to you."

He understood the unsaid words, "You want to wait until after."

"If you don't mind. Right now, you are my lawyer and I'm just trying to make this as less of a complication as possible." Then she reminded him, "It also depends on whether you are staying in town or going back home."

He had mentioned a few cases he was offered, but after that, he hadn't told her of the decision he had made. "Right," He answered honestly, "They needed an answer and I already said no since none of this had happened. I was trying to stay away, but hey, you're only two hours away. If we want to give this a chance, we can."

It wasn't said, but it did mean one thing. Eventually, one of them would have to relocate if it turned out that it was working out.

He could see her thinking, being far off from present. "Hey, don't think about all that. For now, it's only a yes or no. You don't want complications, right? So let's just stay in the present?"

She nodded at his suggestion, thinking it to be easy enough to do. She wanted to get this right. Both her relationships in the past had been a mess, but she wanted to avoid that with him. She already cherished him more than a lot of people in her life for the way he cared for her and made her feel nothing she had ever felt with others.

He wasn't holding her past against her. He wasn't like others. He supported her and gave her the free will to make her own choices. He didn't bind her by any promises or obligations. She wanted to be with him not because she had to. In more ways than one, he was showing her a glimpse of how a guy should behave with their significant other, cherish, love, and protect them.

"So we take this a step at a time?"

"Yeah. No rushing." He answered, and then chuckled more to himself. When she gave him a questioning look, he explained, "Never taken it slow before. This should be fun."

"I'm an experiment to you." She joked, "That's nice to know."

"My best one yet." He added with a wink.

She pulled her hand back, pretending to be offended, while in reality, she was trying not to blush. "You know what? This is my lunch break and I'm wasting it talking to you." She picked up a half of her sandwich and took a bite.

"Wasting? I'd say we made a lot of important decisions." He assumed she wasn't seriously offended going off her tone instead of her actions.

"The most important one was what to have for lunch. Now hush and let me relish my lunch in peace."

He smirked to himself. He had teased her enough for the moment. Still, he enjoyed riling her up. His foot touched hers, but he passed it off as an accident. She ignored it the first time, and the second time. The third time, it trailed up from her ankle to an inch or two, and she knew it wasn't an accidental kick.

She put her sandwich back on the plate and glared at him irked, "What?!"

He laughed at how she still hadn't realized. He trailed it up further, and before she would blast at him some more, he explained, "This is called playing footsie. You're more than welcome to look up the legal definition."

She remembered the night before when Esha has mentioned it. "Why would people do that? Don't they realize? You could have got my pants dirty if your shoes were."

He shook his head in amusement, finding her rant over-the-logic. "Meaning, love. Focus on the meaning, not the logic."

The possibility that her clothes could get dirty still trumped the romantic innuendos of the gesture. "Meaning, my foot." She muttered, trying to ignore the flutter in her stomach when he called her love.

Amused, he shook his head and let her be to eat the rest of their lunch in peace.

After lunch, he had to leave for a work call back at the law firm he worked at. Since she still had half an hour before she would have to return, she remained at the booth. He got up, telling her he would see her in the evening. Just before he would slide out of the booth, she stopped him, "Could I borrow your pen, if you don't need it?"

She took a napkin from its holder as she asked. Assuming she wanted to write something down, he got one from the shirt pocket and handed it over. He waited, thinking it was for him, but a second later when she still felt his shadow, she glanced up. "Go on. I'll return your pen tonight if it's a special one or something."

He denied, "Keep it," and left.

She started sketching on the napkin once he left. It had been ages since she had done that. Whenever she went someplace out to eat, she liked to make a brief sketch of the place on the napkin from that place and date it to keep as a memory for the day. Call it a souvenir. With Sonu, she had drastically stopped going out, and the rare moments that they did, he wasn't a fan of waiting a little after they had dinner or lunch for her to make a quick sketch.

Making one after a long two years filled up her heart with warmth. She was starting to let light back into her heart. She was picking up on her old habits and creating a few new ones.

She grinned at the end result of the sketch. A booth with a guy on one end and a girl on the other, meant to represent Parth and herself. A bubble over Parth's head with the writing 'Important decisions'. A bubble over her hand with the writing 'Footsie...?'. There was a cup of coffee between them. In the cup, she wrote todays date.

Then carefully folding it, she tucked it into her purse along with the pen. She had ten minutes left, but she still left.

Instead of walking at a normal or rushed pace, she took her time walking back to work. It was only two blocks over. It was a nice walk in the cloudy weather. The streets were busy with all sorts of cars zipping by and noises, but it felt good to be out in the middle of the day with nowhere to rush to. Even though everything around her was busy, her heart felt at peace.

It wasn't the view of the beach or the soft breeze or anything as peaceful, but it still created that soothing feeling for her. There were building blocking the view of the sky. It didn't matter. It was humid. It didn't matter. She passed by shops, restaurants, dealerships, offices, hair salons. Everyone seemed to be in their own and no one seemed to notice her. It was the normal chaotic city life.

Yet, it didn't matter. Nothing mattered.

Her good days were returning.

She was noticing herself.

What more could she ask for?

She couldn't get the three years of her life back, but she could definitely try to live it up now and go back to enjoying the little things as well as the grand gestures.

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Maahi returned that day and opened the door to her room to be met with a trail of roses on the floor. The overwhelming smell hit her nose before her eyes fell on them. Instantly, a sneeze marked its way and she felt the need to scratch her arms. "Sonu, what the hell is this?" She exclaimed walking back out of the doorway and turning around to meet him standing there.

"Roses, babe. Supposed to be romantic, you know?"

She sneezed again, "Roman-sneeze-romantic?" She questioned in bewilderment. "You really don't fucking know me! I'm allergic to roses. If you'd bothered to talk to me instead of being too busy with other girls, you'd know that!"

His temper rose as well, "Who the hell is allergic to roses? And you're one to talk. Or was that me last night whoring around with that so-called lawyer of yours? Don't think I didn't see you two."

She didn't think twice before slapping him, "Pick your next words very carefully, Sonu." She warned him, "I'm not doing anything behind your back and either way, it is none of your god-damn business. I've told you this before too. As far as I am concerned, I am no longer married. Get rid of these before I am back, and honestly just flipping stop trying to appease me or whatever. Nothing you do is going to work. I am done with you. I have enough self-respect in me to not come back to you."

She pushed past him on the tiny hallway and walked out of the apartment to get fresh air and put herself away from two toxic things in her life: Sonu and roses. 

༺༻ ༺༻༺༻

Originally, she was going on a walk but it ended up being a very long one and she found herself walking all the way to her apartment where her father was currently staying.

A conversation with him was long overdue.

She rode up the elevator and still having a set of keys, let herself in. He was in the kitchen cooking himself fried rice – simplest of the dishes. Hearing the door clicking, he'd walked out wiping his hands dry on a towel.

He was momentarily surprised seeing her as they had left off on a bad note last time. "Gudiyan, hi. What brings you here? Is everything okay?" He asked instantly concerned on seeing her flushed face.

She nodded, walking up and hugging him. "Yeah, daddy. Everything is fine." He patted her back to comfort her before pulling back. She smiled at him, "I'm sorry I came over unannounced. I just... went for a walk and didn't realize when I ended up here."

He tapped her head, "Maahi, don't be silly. This is your house. And you don't need to ask for permission ever before visiting your old man, you know that." He nudged her towards the kitchen, "I was just making some biryani for myself. Will you stay for dinner?"

"Sure," she was quick to accept. She didn't want to go back and have to face Sonu anyway.

He put everything in the cooker before they sat at the couch. "So... how are you doing?"

She breathed out, pulling a leg under her to sit sideways and face him. "I'm not miserable, I think... I'm sorry, dad. I shouldn't have gotten mad at you. I know you didn't do anything on purpose."

He shook his head, accepting his part in the life his daughter was forced into living the past few years, "No, Maahi, you had a right to be. I should have told you... I guess I was just more worried about your daadi. I really thought she was going to..." He couldn't bring himself to say it, but she understood the unsaid word: die. "I can't believe she'd do this to me. To us. Her own family. And why? Just because of some old traditions. Back then, if I had just gathered the courage to..." He took her hand expressing his guilt and apologies, "I'm so sorry, gudiyan. I should have taken a stand for you. I'm your father. I'm supposed to protect you from the world and I failed."

Maahi didn't know what she could say to make her father feel better for the truth was that it had hurt her too. She wasn't close to her grandmother, but at the end of the day, she was still her grandmother and getting such a treatment from her was unexpected. And growing up, she had always been closer to her father. She did rely on him to stop the marriage but when he had said nothing against it, she hadn't found the support or courage she needed to stand up for herself either and say no.

Despite that hurt, she knew she had to push past it. She did not want to keep her relationship with her father any more stranded than it had been. With all the negative things in her life that she was letting go off, she wanted to get back to being close to her father. She squeezed his hand in return to let him know - what was done was done. It was time to move past it. For it she was hurt by him unintentionally, she understood that he too had been hurt by his mother's intentional actions. "We believe the best from family, but..."

"Yeah," he agreed before inhaling through his mouth. "Anyway, I've asked your mom to come back here. My mom isn't sick and there is no reason why she should stay there and look after her after the way she's been conning us."

Maahi asked sadly, "She's still not talking to me, is she?"

He gave her a sympathetic look, "No... I tried to get her to call you but she won't. It's like she just wants my mom to approve of her so she's taking her side. You know how your daadi never liked it when I brought her here after our marriage. Even after all these years, your mom is trying to be a good daughter-in-law but she doesn't understand that it isn't worth it."

Maahi could somewhere understand her mother's twisted need to want to keep he family together. Her mother felt the burden of fulfilling her role as a daughter-in-law, but she was not ready to see the flaws and accept that some things can't be forgiven.

He placed a loving hand on her head, "Don't worry, once she's here and away from her, she'll come to her senses. My mother, I am not proud of admitting, is great at manipulating others. Living the past 5-6 years with her has just taken a hold over her thinking capabilities. She loves you and she will support you."

She nodded, praying his words would turn true in the near future. She's always had a good relationship with both her parents and she didn't like the feeling of disappointment she was feeling after her mother disapproved of the divorce. Maahi knew she was doing the right thing. Only, it would have meant more if she had her family's support instead of having to fight with them as well. She was upset that she had to explain to her mother the reasons for seeking divorce. As her mother and a fellow female, she felt as if her mother should have been the first one to support her.

He offered, "And hey, one more week and you'll have your final hearing for the case. You'll be free of him before you know it."

She smiled, knowing she did have that to look forward to. "Yeah." He noticed the distant look in her eyes.

"What is it, Maahi?"

She took a second to decide whether to talk to him about it and settled on a positive. She had shared things with him before. There was no reason she could not do so again and seek his advice. "Dad... is it wrong to like someone else? I mean, I'm not even divorced yet, and..."

She didn't need to continue for him to understand her dilemma. "I don't think it's wrong, kiddo. The divorce isn't finalized yet, yes, but you have every intention of getting it. You aren't cheating on anyone, especially after how he's treated you and disrespected your marriage."

Parth and she had decided to take it slow, not label anything, but her intensity of emotions she felt for him were already strong – and she believed they shouldn't be. If she were to be honest, it even scared her a little - to feel so strongly for someone for the first time in her life when they had known each other a short amount of time. After meeting again after 3 years, they'd only known each other a month.

"But is it too soon? If I think about it as a psychologist, then we are taught that no future relationship will be successful unless you have healed from your past ones. We always advise others to take time after a bad relationship ends to self-explore, heal mentally and all that. Because if you rush into another, then you are carrying the burden into this new relationship and high chances are, that will turn toxic too."

"You may be right, Maahi. Just thinking logically, it does make sense to not carry the wrongs of past into the future. Giving yourself the time to figure out what you want from your life, which direction to give it, that I can understand. But I'm a father, not a psychologist. And I'll say, you have this tested knowledge about marriages and relationships. So whatever you decide, use it wisely but as someone who has experience and wants you to be happy, time is but a continuum." He advised, "No one but you can decide how fast or slow it is. I think you should explore whatever it is at your own pace. If you feel it is being rushed, take it slow and if the guy can't respect that, then you have your answer. He isn't worth it."

She interjected, "Yeah, no. He's being totally supportive and everything."

He smiled, definitely approving of it. "Then what's the problem? He's not rushing you, so why are you trying to do that to yourself?"

"I don't know," She answered honestly. "It's just... he's an amazing guy and I think he'll be patient with me, but I don't want to push it."

He stopped her there, "Gudiyaan, don't mind me asking this. You don't have to answer if you don't want to, but this guy... is it Parth?"

She answered with a simple nod.

"And from what I remember from the court, you two shared something before you came to India, right?"

She gave a sly smile, "It's called a kiss, you know, dad?"

He rolled his eyes, "Hun, please. I'm your dad. Can you not give me that image?"

Despite the serious conversation, she laughed. This was the relationship that had been missing from her life and she was ever so glad to be getting it back.

"As I was saying, you two had a connection. If everything with Sonu hadn't happened and you'd stayed here, do you think something would've happened between you two?"

"Probably," she admitted. She'd always felt that comfort with him, even in their first meeting.

He smiled at her, "Then there you have it. Pluck Sonu out of your head and everything that he took away from you because we both know it... you never truly had any feelings for him. You just tried to convince yourself you did to make the marriage work. And given your work, you should already know it's not how relationship survive. You're getting a clean slate here. A second chance to do things right. You have all the time in the world and Parth will stick around with you from what my gut says about him. If he cares for you the way I see it, trust me. He won't be going anywhere. Don't let doubts and uncertainties ruin what could be, yeah?"

"Okay," She took his advice and put her mind to rest. Why did she ever doubt her brewing feelings for Parth anyway? "Thanks, dad." She leaned in to hug him tightly.

He ruffled her hair, getting up from the couch. "Anytime, kiddo." He walked over to the kitchen to check on the rice, least it burned away.

She took her phone to inform Parth she was having dinner with her father so he wouldn't worry when he'd return to the apartment and not find her there.

It felt really peaceful to her talking to her father. It gave her a peace of mind and clarity on a lot of things. Her life had been dark but she was going to bring light into it instead of letting needless insecurities come in the way of her happiness. She wasn't going to let Sonu's words bother her. In her compromises the past years, parts of herself had been scrapped away. That, he did not deserve. She refused to let him hold her back anymore. She was determined to flourish in her own terms and achieve everything she had once hoped to.

༺༻ ༺༻༺༻

【 Author Note 】

There you go! Maahi is re-inventing herself... or, going back to things she once loved doing. I say that you should never let go of what make you, you, because of a guy. If he tries to change you, he is not the one for you. 

And, a much-needed reconciliation between Maahi and her father. After all, as we grow up, we do look up to our parents more than ever to help us deal with life.  And, for a daugther, her first role model is always her father! 

Do give your thoughts as always :D Next chapter, the divorce wraps up so let's see what is in store for our beloved Parth & Maahi! And maybe an appearance from another couple? ;)

Update schedule moving forward: Sundays + Wednesdays (which I am going to try my level best to stick to unless things happen in life)