Chapter 30: chapter 30

The dull hum of the city outside the office window did nothing to calm the storm raging inside Amey’s head. He stared at the screen in front of him, the cursor blinking like a mocking reminder that nothing was moving forward—not the deal, not his peace, not his marriage.He slammed the laptop shut and leaned back, rubbing his face with both hands. His jaw tightened as he recalled the board meeting earlier in the day. They’d lost the deal—one he had spent weeks working on, preparing for, investing energy he barely had left.“Mr. Deshmukh, your concept is strong, but we’ve decided to go with a more experienced firm.”That one sentence kept ringing in his head. The rejection, the polite dismissal.He should’ve been able to handle it. He’d handled worse before. But lately, it all felt like too much. Everything—from the pressure at work to the growing cracks in his marriage—was closing in on him.And Megha. She wasn’t making it easier.She kept texting. Calling. Dropping messages that he’d mostly ignored, but each one added a new layer of noise inside his already crowded mind.At home, things were no better.Since the fight, Anushri barely looked at him. When she did, it was with eyes full of questions, of pain, of expectations he wasn’t ready to meet. And the silence between them wasn’t peace—it was punishment.Last night, she'd started another argument.“You’re never really here, Amey,” she had said, voice strained. “Physically, yes. Emotionally? You’re somewhere else. With someone else.”He’d stayed quiet, hoping it would end there.But she didn’t stop. “Why don’t you admit it? I’m just the woman you were forced to marry. You never chose me. You never even wanted me.”And then she said something that struck the final nerve.“Maybe you should’ve just gone back to Megha.”He exploded.“I’m sick of this! Every day, you fight, you cry, you blame. You're so—toxic, Anushri!”The word came out sharp, cruel, louder than he intended.The silence that followed was deafening.She had gone silent, her eyes wide and wounded, as though he'd hit her. But he couldn’t take it back. The damage was done.Now, sitting in his car outside a small coffee shop, Amey exhaled heavily and looked at his phone. Megha had messaged again that morning.“If nothing else, can we just meet once for closure?”He didn’t know why he replied.“Fine. One coffee.”---The café was quiet, tucked away from the chaos of the city. Megha was already there, seated near the window, stirring her cappuccino slowly as if waiting for answers at the bottom of the cup.She looked up when he entered.“Hey,” she said softly.Amey sat down across from her, not returning the greeting.“Thanks for coming,” she said, trying to smile.He nodded curtly. “This won’t be long.”There was an awkward pause. Megha looked at him, her fingers tightening around her cup.“I know I’ve been texting too much,” she said, “but I couldn’t help it. Seeing you again after all these years… it stirred a lot. I thought maybe… maybe we still had something.”Amey looked out the window, gathering his thoughts.“You’re right,” he said. “We did have something. Once. But that was a lifetime ago.”Her smile faltered.“I’m married now,” he continued. “I’m with someone else. And I’m trying to make that work.”“She doesn’t understand you,” Megha whispered.“That’s not for you to say,” he replied, a little sharper than intended. “Whatever problems I have with Anushri… they’re mine to face. Not yours to fix.”Megha leaned back, stung. “I didn’t come here to steal you. I just—”“I know why you came,” he interrupted. “But we can’t go back. That chapter’s closed.”He stood up.“I wish you well, Megha. I really do. But this—us—it’s done.”And with that, he walked out, leaving her sitting there in silence, the coffee between her hands now cold.---Anushri had just stepped out of her exam center, the afternoon sun warming her face, when she spotted a familiar figure crossing the street.Her breath caught.Amey.And he wasn’t alone.She saw him with a woman—tall, graceful, dressed in beige—and for a fleeting moment, Anushri saw something that shattered her all over again. Though they weren’t touching, the familiarity, the ease of their walk, the way the woman looked at him—it was all too much.She turned away, feeling sick.Maybe he had told Megha it was over.Maybe he hadn’t.But what Anushri saw in that moment felt like betrayal.She walked the rest of the way home alone, her heart heavy, her eyes burning.---When Amey reached home that evening, he was greeted by the unexpected sight of his parents sitting in the living room.His mother stood up the moment he walked in. “Surprise!” she said brightly. “We thought we’d come visit for a few days.”He blinked, stunned. “You should’ve told me…”His father chuckled. “And ruin the surprise? Never.”He looked past them, hoping for a second of peace, but there was none to be found. He was exhausted—mentally, emotionally, physically—and now he had to put on another mask.Anushri came out from the kitchen, smiling politely, her face composed.“Aai, Baba, I’ve made tea for you,” she said gently, setting the tray on the table. “And your favorite biscuits.”Amey looked at her, searching her face for signs of anger, heartbreak, anything—but her expression was unreadable.She moved around gracefully, attentive to his parents, playing the perfect daughter-in-law. She laughed at his father’s jokes, refilled their cups without needing to be asked, asked his mother about her blood pressure and diet.If she was hurting, she hid it flawlessly.And somehow, that hurt more.He couldn’t talk. Not here. Not now.So he sat beside his father, forcing a smile and pretending everything was fine.But deep inside, he knew—Everything was far from fine.