Chapter 2: The Boy Who Never Left
The morning sun hit Meera's face with a vengeance. She groaned, pulling her pillow over her head to drown out the rhythmic thump-thump-thump coming from the driveway next door.
"It's 7:00 AM," she hissed into her mattress. "Who is exercising at 7:00 AM in this heat? Is it Ananya? Is she doing 'aesthetic' Pilates already?"
She dragged herself to the balcony, ready to launch a verbal assault on her neighbor's productivity. But when she looked down, the words died in her throat.
It wasn't Ananya.
It was a man. A tall, broad-shouldered man in a sweat-drenched grey hoodie, effortlessly shooting hoops at a portable basketball rim. He moved with a fluid grace that definitely didn't belong to the gangly kid who used to cry when he lost at Ludo.
He spun the ball on his finger, sensing eyes on him. He looked up, and Meera felt her heart do a weird, uncoordinated flip-flop.
"Meera? You're finally awake," Ishaan grinned, his teeth blindingly white against his tanned skin. "I was starting to think you'd hibernated for the summer."
The "Unchanged" Childhood Friend
Ishaan Malhotra. The third piece of their childhood puzzle. While Ananya was the "Gold Medalist" and Meera was the "Artist," Ishaan had always been the "Mediator."
He dropped the ball and walked toward her balcony, wiping his forehead with the hem of his shirt. Meera pointedly looked at the sky, the trees, a stray crow—anywhere but his abs.
"When did you get back from your residency?" Meera asked, trying to sound casual while her hair looked like a bird's nest.
"Last night. My mom said you've been working too hard," Ishaan said, leaning against the railing of his own porch. "She also mentioned Ananya is back. The trio is reunited. Just like old times, right?"
"Nothing is like old times, Ishaan," Meera muttered. "Ananya is a CEO-in-waiting, you're a hot-shot doctor, and I... I just got yelled at by a client because a bathroom door opened the wrong way."
Ishaan's expression softened. That was the thing about him—he had this "Doctor's Gaze" that made you feel like he was looking right through your skin to your soul. "The bathroom door was probably fine, Meera. The client just didn't deserve your design."
The Coffee Shop Confrontation
An hour later, Meera was at the local café, The Chai Corner, hoping a caffeine hit would fix her life. She was staring at her laptop when the chair across from her scraped back.
Ananya sat down, looking effortlessly chic in a linen suit. She slid a vanilla latte toward Meera.
"You look like you'm about to bite your laptop," Ananya said, her voice dropping the sharp edge from the day before.
"Why are you here, Ananya? Don't you have a corporate empire to run?"
Ananya's hand trembled slightly as she reached for her own cup. For a split second, the "Perfect Girl" mask slipped, and Meera saw a flicker of genuine fear.
"I quit, Meera," Ananya whispered. "I didn't take a sabbatical. I walked out. And if my mother finds out her 'Gold Medalist' is actually a 'Unemployed Failure,' she'll lose her mind."
Before Meera could process this bombshell, the café door swung open. Ishaan walked in, still in his scrubs, looking like a literal ray of sunshine. He spotted them and beamed, heading straight for their table.
"Look at this," Ishaan laughed, pulling up a chair between them. "My two favorite girls in one place. It's like I never left."
Ananya immediately straightened her posture, the mask sliding back into place. Meera felt a familiar pang of jealousy—the way Ishaan looked at Ananya had always been different. Or had it?
"We were just discussing Ananya's... career," Meera said, her eyes meeting Ananya's.
Ananya shot her a silent, pleading look. Don't tell him.
Ishaan looked between them, his eyebrows knitting together. "Actually, I'm glad you're both here. Because there's something I need to tell you. Something that happened before I left for Delhi five years ago."
The air in the café grew heavy. Meera held her breath. Was this the "Hidden Secret" trope?
[Author's Note: OMG! What is Ishaan hiding? Does he have feelings for Ananya, or has he been pinning for Meera all along? Comment below! ✨]