Vikrant smiled.
"Just observe and learn. Bring your iPads in case you need to take notes."
We both nodded enthusiastically and immediately began gathering our things.
In all the excitement about work and meetings and projects, I completely forgot about everything else.
I forgot that I had gotten married yesterday.
I forgot that my life had completely changed.
For just a little while, I was simply Viya again.
And it felt wonderful.
Chapter 8
Armaan
I arrived at the office before sunrise, when the building was still mostly empty and the hallways echoed with my footsteps. The security guard at the entrance had looked surprised to see me so early, but he had simply nodded and let me through without comment.
I could not sleep. That was the truth of it.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her face. The way she had looked sleeping on the balcony, so peaceful and innocent. The way fear had flashed in her eyes when she woke to find me leaning over her. The tiny cut on her wrist that I had bandaged with hands that felt too rough, too unworthy to be touching something so delicate.
The guilt was eating me alive.
I was playing with an innocent girl's life. I had married her under false pretenses, tied her to me for a year like some kind of contract employee, all to satisfy an astrological prophecy I didnot even believe in. And for what? To make Dadi happy? To keep Avija safe?
What about Viya? What about her happiness? Her safety? Her future?
These questions had circled in my mind all night like vultures, refusing to let me rest.
So I had come to the office. At least here, I could lose myself in work. In spreadsheets and reports and business strategies that made logical sense. In problems that had concrete solutions.
I spent the morning reviewing contracts and responding to emails, trying to force my brain to focus on anything other than the fact that I had left my wife alone in my bed this morning without so much as a goodbye.
Around noon, Meera knocked on my office door.
"Mr. Khanna? The conference room is ready for your meeting with the development team. All the developers are present and waiting."
I glanced at my watch. The client presentation. I had completely forgotten about it in my sleep deprived haze.
"Thank you, Meera. I will be right there."
I gathered the files I needed and stood up, straightening my tie and buttoning my suit jacket. I took a moment to compose myself, to push everything else out of my mind and focus solely on the task at hand.
This was what I was good at. This was what I knew how to do.
I walked down the hallway toward the conference room, my footsteps steady and confident. When I reached the glass doors, I could see through them that the room was already full. Developers, project managers, and the client representatives all seated around the long table.
I pushed open the door and stepped inside.
Everyone immediately stood up, the sound of chairs scraping against the floor filling the room.
"Good afternoon, sir," they chorused.
I nodded in acknowledgment.
