Rekindled | ✓

Chapter 19. It's Hurting

Yet, with the presence of Ayansh being eminent in her life once again, she couldn't help but doubt and question each step. He always does this. Arises doubt, makes her question, makes her feel sceptical and most importantly, frustrates her. She wondered how long will the line of professionalism be maintained between them, how long the facade of nonchalance would exist, how long can she go on with pretending that he doesn't matter to her and the manner in which the smallest of things find a way to slither towards him, she doubted if it would last long and the very thought of it terrified her.

Steffi knocked at the door. "Ina, you there?"

Inaaya moved away from the door and furiously wiped the tear streaks that trailed down her cheeks. Taking a couple of deep breaths, she steadied herself before answering, "two mins, Stef."

"Okay, I brought you takeout food. Come soon."

"Yeah, thanks." Inaaya replied in a clipped down and turned the tap on to splash water on her face.

—

Ayansh was irritated since the moment he had woken up. He hardly had two hours of sleep last night. The rest of the night hours, his mind wandered off to a diary and the unknown stranger to whom it belonged. These days the more he reads the diary, something that he has read so many times that its imprinted in his mind at this point, the more he thinks about it and the more he thinks about it, the more he wants to know about the person to whom it belongs, the more he craves to know about her, atleast something. A part of him felt guilty for letting someone whose face he never saw, whose name he never heard occupy so much of his thoughts. It felt wrong and he was helpless.

While making breakfast, he ended up burning the pancake because he couldn't stop thinking about Inaaya. He was worried about her, about them. It was all fun and jokes when she dropped those papers at his place but now he was anxious. She was trying everything to erase the slightest trace of hope that could exist between them. It has been quite sometime now since he had been in Cambridge and there has been no significant progress. She doesn't want to believe him, more like she doesn't want to do anything with him and she seems desperate to prove it to him. He would be lying if he said it didn't dishearten him a bit.

As if him being in a gloomy mood wasn't enough, he came to know when he arrived in office that the systems have been working slow since two hours and the loss incurred due to it. He was starting to have a headache. And then, he comes to know that the person who was going to give the presentation in the meeting which was scheduled later in the day was down with flu.

Ayansh called the entire team in his office.

"I've a proposal for y'all," he announced, attracting everyone's attention. "Three employees who bring the maximum profits in the next two weeks will receive a special reward and what that will be, will be revealed in due time. The details about the same will be forwarded in your group. I wish to see active participation from everyone and a healthy competition." He looked over at everyone who seemed excited and pumped up. "Divya," he looked at her, "is the system working properly?"

Divya nodded in affirmation. "We've fixed it, Sir."

"Better." He mumbled. "Coming to the most important thing," he started, addressing the major concern at the moment, "we've an important meeting in an hour and half and Grace who was supposed to present is absent." He added with an air of sarcasm. "So what do we do now?"