It had been a week since the impromptu meeting, yet Ajay remembered it as if it was yesterday.

"I must say you look good tonight. Blue suits you," her words repeated in an infinite loop, at the back of his mind. He wanted to meet her again. It was far from love-at-first sight. He was neither a green boy from his youth to feel ardent desire nor a hardened criminal to forgo all kinds of feelings.

Love was a distant feeling he never wanted to feel. There was a time when all he thought about was to settle in life with an understanding life partner, whom he would love dearly. Have a kid or two, preferably, a son and a daughter, and then work towards the betterment of their lives.

Or even better, have a kid of their own and adopt another, if his wife would agree to the arrangement. But he saw the best of the lot fall for something similar.

His best friend and the person he always confided in fell for the same trap. Yes, it was a trap. Ramesh was engaged to someone he thought he loved. Ramesh's parents were bride hunting in the typical South Indian style. They stumbled across Padma's profile but gave it a miss for something better. Ramesh, however, liked her profile and argued that she would suit their lifestyle against all the odds.

"But how? You are an MBA, and she has not even completed graduation, Ramesh. How would she suit? and what about the age-gap?" Ajay had asked.

"I'm earning enough to take care of the family. I don't have big ambitions, Ajay. If she stays home and looks after my parents and then kids, that's enough for me. She can do whatever she wants in her spare time, be it graduation or PG. I'll bear the costs. Can't you see from the picture that she is a good choice? She looks demure, and she's from a very basic middle-income-family," Ramesh had replied.

Ramesh's parents enlisted Ajay to persuade Ramesh against Padma's alliance, but he couldn't convince him at all. Ramesh's resolve to marry her only strengthened with further discussions.

Ajay requested Ramesh's folks to humour him with a meeting involving the bride's party and then to decline the match based on astrological reasons.

Ramesh came back jubilant than ever after the meeting.

"I think I'm in love," he declared.

Ajay kept mum and waited for Ramesh to explain further, "I have a good feeling about this match, Ajay. She is so calm and modest. She's so perfect."

"There is no such thing as perfect, Ramesh. You are just in a bubble. But I hate to break it to you. Your parents hinted that you are astrologically incompatible. I think you need to leave it."

"Bullshit! It's a love match Ajay, and astrological compatibility is not required. I think I'm going to give her folks a call and let them know of my consent."

"Don't call them Ramesh. Just confirm with your parents, just once. Why hurry when you've waited for so long?"

Though he could stall Ramesh for the time being, he couldn't persuade him against the match.

Three weeks later, Ajay attended their simple marriage ceremony, where every little arrangement was taken-care by Ramesh's family.

"They are a lower-middle-income family, Ajay. What do you expect? Besides, I'm bringing the bride home. She is worth it," Ramesh had said during the wedding.

Ajay met Padma a few times. Her poise looks and soft words deceived all of them involved. Within a year, they had a kid.

Things changed after they shifted to a multi-cultural locality, close to Ramesh's office. Ramesh didn't curtail Padma's eagerness to belong. She let other people influence her and turned into a high maintenance wife —making appearances in kitty parties, pool parties and others. She slowly turned to drink. Padma had no time for his friend, and Ramesh preferred office because she was rarely home. They went through nannies like diapers. In the midst of all, the kid suffered.

One thing led to another and finally, she walked away with half of his assets in divorce settlements. He, however, was happy to get the custody of his child. Her drinking problem proved to be a blessing in disguise. Her family disowned her, but she never cared. His in-laws chose to stay with him to look after the child.

Now Ajay wondered in how many cases would there be understanding in-laws? Ramesh was lucky that way. Luck, his ass, he thought. Ramesh was back to square one, his folks were bride hunting again, but now for a divorcee with a kid and with only half the assets intact.

Ajay was disillusioned and lost appetite for that kind of life. He was happy the way he was. He liked his independence and picked women whenever he wanted. He had a huge pool to choose from.

His high levels of self-control and his discipline helped him thwart all kinds of distractions. He must admit, he wanted to meet Anya again and that surprised him.

It was a fruitful week. He did mild social media stalking about her. She did not have an active Facebook account, but her LinkedIn saw regular activity. As she claimed, she was a data analyst, mostly worked on analysis and profiling of data. He thought it was a challenging job since his work was similar— where he had to profile potential clients and fraud control. He understood her job completely.

From what he could gather, she wasn't in a dime-a-dozen job. XYZ Technologies Company was a brand in the IT sector, and a data analyst's job should be getting her competent pay. That explained her self-assurance and her diction. His preference for smart, independent, contemporary women cemented his intention to meet her again.

However, her Facebook status said that she was in a committed relationship, and that confused him. Then why did she approach him?

It was yet another Friday. When Ajay made way to the customary haunt, he speculated if he would meet Anya there.

He went with his usual circle of friends to their designated table. Since the pub-owner knew them and their regular drink orders, he served them at their table without delay. They were high paying customers and never delayed in payments, of course, Ajay ensured that.

At that moment, he saw some of her friends dragging Anya to the dance floor. He found her dancing to her heart's content. She was surrounded by people, yet she seemed all alone. Her movements were mesmerizing and were in sync with the music. It was as if he was held by a robust string drawing him towards the invisible aura encompassing her.

"She looks hot," the clown of their group, Dilip uttered, interrupting Ajay's musings. Ajay closed his eyes for a second, to pull himself away from her thoughts and glanced at the juvenile banker. One look at him said it all, Dilip was practically undressing her and that somehow brought Ajay to an edge.

He clenched his jaw and a nerve ticked on his temple. Though he was used to Dilip's attitude towards anyone wearing a skirt, he did not like that happening to Anya. He had to play it casual yet, put him off her at least for now.

"All things considered, mammals are hot-blooded with high metabolic rate. So you are spot on there," he drawled sarcastically, quirking his brow and eliciting a few chuckles from their group. Dilip's face burned in embarrassment.

Dilip finished his drink and stood up, "Then I just have to find out if she is ok to increase her metabolic rate even more, with me."

He looked at Ajay challengingly and moved towards the dance floor. Ajay silently observed the proceedings, reining in his temper.

Dilip ambled his way towards the dance floor. Ajay knew that Dilip was a lightweight and with just two shots of whisky that bugger was tumbling over everything. Ajay was also aware of the office-gossip. People like Dilip, compared with him and felt lacking. They resorted to such mean tricks to assuage their embarrassments and wounded egos.

He was in no position to save Anya without risking his reputation. Other than sharing a few words that day, nothing was going on between them. But something nagged him at the back of his mind, to go ahead and help her. At the same time, he also felt someone bold enough to send him a drink could handle herself well. He decided to wait, watch the show and intervene if necessary. Now, he found a valid reason to watch her dance from far.

It had been some time since Anya danced freely without a care in the world. She noticed Ajay sitting with his usual group of friends, but for today she wanted to enjoy herself.

She then felt someone behind her and turned around to find a lightly inebriated, lanky man there. She recognized him from Ajay's group. He gave her a crooked smile which felt all wrong, and warning bells rang in her mind.

"Hi beautiful, care to shake a leg with me?" he pulled her close to him, and he crept his hands on her. She felt uneasy and tried to push him off.

"Hey, don't like my moves? Maybe you feel it is too crowded? Care to join me off the dance floor? Somewhere private?"

She was stunned at his words. He was certainly quick to get to the point. She glared at him trying to scare him, but he was too far gone in his drink to even look at her properly. He again tried to lay his hands on her, but she ducked and moved away from him. He was relentless in pursuing her. She tried to hide in the crowded dance floor, but somehow he got hold of her.

"Leave me alone! Asshole!" she hissed vehemently and slapped his face with all her might. She could see her hand's imprint on his cheek and backed away from the dancefloor to find her friends.

She thought this was a decent pub frequented by corporate people. Never in her life had she imagined people with respectable jobs act like scum. Liquor was always the reason behind such cruel behaviour. She was almost molested and barely saved her skin.

She felt the worst might not be over until she found the safety of her friends. The pub was unusually crowded, probably because it was the beginning of the month and everyone was plush in their pockets. She prayed he wouldn't come behind her.

She was mentally preparing to throw a punch if the slap did not suffice to hold his advances.

That was when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She whirled around and threw a punch with the adrenaline racing through her veins. She slightly missed and hit his jaw instead of the cheekbones.

"Ouch! Shit!" Ajay backed off, holding his jaw and stared at her with a grimace.

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