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The sky was cloudy today, greyish-white clouds littered all over the horizon covering every inch of the blue sky. The sun had been up since morning but Sona hadn't even caught a glimpse of it. And as she sat across an angry Tarni she wondered if she would ever see the sun anyway.

"She expects me to meet him today!"

.

"I have to marry him?!"

.

"His moustache is so ugly!"

.

"He doesn't look like a doctor!"

.

"Ew! See in this picture he is eating nachos! I hate nachos!"

.

"He looks like he is 40!"

.

"Tarni, dear, you haven't even met him yet," Aksith's voice was a rescue call answered for Sona. She smiled at him as he took a seat in between them, waving at him with a large smile. The man smiled back, holding her waving hand but she just moved it more furiously.

"It's not the time for both of you to flirt!" Tarni shrieked as she watched the exchange in between them.

"We aren't flirting!" Sona blushed, not meeting his eyes because everyone knew that was a lie.

Tarni, Sona and Aksith were a trio but like every friend group with three friends one would always get left out. Tarni complained she was the one getting left out, though her words were much ambiguous, she spoke of something being the third wheel all the time.

No one was blind here to not see the chemistry in between Sona and Aksith, of course there was always something more in between them. During the last year of college she had a crush on him, a very small one but she never told it out loud. Her heartbreak from Abhay had not healed fully. And neither did his rejection from Tarni.

But even now, after another 5 years had passed, the something in between them was still alive. But not free. They never spoke of it but they always flirted, just like they were doing now. Aksith held her fingers and listlessly played with them, it wasn't something new anymore and Sona had gotten so used to it.

"What if he has a side chick?" Tarni continued her rant. "What if he cheats on me after we get married? What if the sex in not good?!"

"I would worry about the last one more," Aksith jested, his amber eyes sparkling. Sona hit his shoulder but he just laughed.

She wondered if Aksith liked her, too, as she looked at him.

"Sona! Stop giving him the bedroom eyes now!" Tarni was going berserk as she aggressively sipped on her coffee. "I am meeting him in an hour!"

"Like this?" Sona asked, completely ignoring her first sentence as she gave her best friend a once over. She looked like she had just woken up in her large sweatshirt and grey joggers.

"No, of course not!" she shook her head as if she was fed up of her. "I will dress sexy! So sexy that he will know he is out of my league!"

Sona sighed. Tarni was really going crazy.

"Is it really that bad?" Sona asked with a serious face. "Just meet him like a normal blind date and see where it goes. You have this prejudice that it's an arranged marriage and you are taking too much stress for it."

"Wise," Aksith clicked his tongue as he put his arm over her shoulder.

"You shut up!" Tarni pointed her finger at Aksith threateningly. "You just agree with whatever Sona says like a husband slave! You have no right to interfere."

"You are the one who called me." He looked very offended.

Tarni ignored his words and turned towards her best friend again. She took her hand in hers and spoke in a very serious manner. "Sona, just because you have a nice love life and you don't have to worry—"

"—what?—"

"—about it doesn't mean—"

"—Tarni—"

"—you wouldn't care about my love life anymore—"

"—stop being dramatic—"

"—the horrors of arranged marriage—"

"—oh my god—"

"—no good sex—"

"—Tarni!—"

"I don't want to get married!" she suddenly started wailing loudly.

Sona almost jumped out of her skin, touching her heart as moved towards her and patted her back, her face filled with worry. People where looking their way and it made her feel self conscious.

"Everyone will think you snatched her boyfriend," Aksith still had the audacity to make a joke as he pointed at himself, posing as the 'boyfriend'.

Sona rolled her eyes though she couldn't stop the small smile forming on her lips, she turned all her focus to her crying best friend who had snot all over her arm as fat tears rolled down her cheek.

"Tarni," she beseeched, "Don't cry, huh? We will figure this out! Why are you getting so worked up? You are just going to meet him not marry him now."

"Tarni," Aksith exhaled a loud breathe. "Go on that blasted date when you come back tell your parents he lied about being a doctor, he wasn't even wearing a white coat."

Sona shot him a look but Tarni slowly pulled herself together and looked at Aksith like he was a saviour from above.

"Damn right!"

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"So tell me, my dear Sona," Aksith's rough fingers held onto hers casually as he leaned back in his seat. Tarni had gone back home to get dressed for her arranged date with a big smile on her face and Aksith had gratefully taken her seat. It was just 6 pm but both of them decided to have an earlier dinner.

Sona looked at the candles lit in the middle of the table, wondering if this was an arranged date too. She bit her lip as she looked into his amber eyes.

Even though he hadn't changed much in personality, Aksith still manged to carry his teenage charm in his 20's. He always shaved his beard though, regretfully, Sona liked it but he didn't. He told her that having a beard made him feel like he was older. Sona wanted to tell him being old didn't mean being unattractive.

"Abhay started his own company?" he raised his eyebrow.

Sona nodded, wiping the pasta sauce on her chin. "Yeah, it's been 6 months, I guess."

He smiled as he watched her wipe her face again, passing her a tissue instead, he opened his mouth to speak. "He didn't look for a job after MBA?"

"He worked for one and a half year in some company in US itself."

He didn't speak as he went back to his food. She looked up from her plate. "Why do you ask?"

"I just wanted to know if I should do the same," he put his finger on his chin in a thinking pose. "I don't really like my job."

"I don't really like my job, either," Sona whispered as if it was a big secret. Aksith bursted into laughter.

"Aren't your parents talking about your marriage if Tarni's had already set her up?" he cocked his head.

"They did momentarily," she shrugged. "They want Abhay to get married so they are getting the girl in the house get married first, it's in the culture, you know?"

"Abhay's marriage," he sounded a little surprised. "Well, he already has a girlfriend, then?"

"He said he didn't have one."

"Then what is the rush to get him married?"

"I don't know. Parents," Sona pouted a little, Aksith swept his thumb over her lower lip that was smudged in sauce.

"Still don't know how to eat."

"Aw! Shut up!" she blushed as she dabbed a tissue.

"Tsk, he already has a girlfriend, that's why he is in a rush to get married," he shook his head righteously. "Parents is just a fake excuse. He wants his love marriage to be arranged."

Sona didn't understand why was Aksith so interested in gossiping about Abhay's love life like everyone else in the house but she just shrugged in response. She was actually not that interested even if there was a speck of curiosity inside her.

"Oh!" she gasped. "I am actually going to his company today," she patted her laptop bag.

"For a job interview?" Aksith added with a frown.

"No!" she laughed, "I am getting my poem published! What best place then Abhay's publishing company? I wouldn't even have to pay that much."

"You really getting them published," his laughter was awkward just like his frame. "Why? Didn't you say they were silly?"

"Yeah, I know," she chuckled with red cheeks. "But I just wanted to publish a book in my life, you know? So, just want to get if off my bucket list."

He just hummed.

The rest of the dinner wasn't much fun. And that was the reason she never spoke of taking their friendship future.

Aksith kept pushing and pulling her all the time and she felt her arms would come off.

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Reaching Abhay's company was harder than she thought it would be, located in the big city where everything was hidden behind towers his small building barely stood out. But after much contemplations and twists and turns she arrived at the building.

Golden Publishing House.

That was the name and Sona found it quiet amusing that Abhay would name his company something like that.

When she went inside the whole place was bustling, everyone was working from here to there with diligence that she found herself staring at the workspace in awe. Even if the place was small it was very clean and aesthetic, with similar chairs and similar tables around, the floor was full on polished marble. She shouldn't have judged the book by its cover.

"Sona?" a deep voice pulled her from her surroundings to the man standing in front of her. He was wearing a crisp formal suit, looking a little haggard as sleep swum in his eyes. Sona frowned, wondering if it was a wrong time to visit him but then she told herself that she had come here as a client more than a family friend.

"Hey," she blinked, waving her folder. "Let's do business, Mr. Singh."

He cracked a small smile and gestured her to follow him to his office, which also wasn't that huge but it was pleasing to the eyes.

"A poetry book," he hummed as he flipped through the pages. Sona clenched her fingers, feeling a little weird that all the poetry she had written for the person was going to publish it for her now.

She just prayed that things didn't get awkward between them and that Abhay didn't think she still liked him.

His eyes just skimmed through the pages but stopped at a particular one, a frown set on his lips. "I will read them all, but that's formality. Of course, they will get published but expect this one."

"Which one?" she craned her neck to see but he shut the file.

"You didn't have to come all the way, you could have given it to me when I was home."

Sona made a confused face. "This is business."

Her actions seemed to amuse him because he laughed at her, tugging down his tie. "No business with you, Miss. Sharma."

"Why did you decide to get them published, may I ask?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow, his dark eyes bearing deep into hers. "Shall I take it that you will also want to sign a contract with my company as an author, now?"

Sona laughed. "No, no," she shook her hands rapidly, feeling flattered. "Just this one book, that's it."

"What did you decide for the name?"

"Umm. . . ." she bit on her lower lip. "Shooting Star."

"Why?"

"It will take a lot of time to explain," she laughed it off, feeling the sweat layering her forehead. How could she tell him that? Wouldn't it be embarrassing? The reason she wanted to name it Shooting Star was simple. She had told the stars about him but he didn't reciprocate her love, thus the Shooting before the Star, they all fell just like her. It didn't mean something happy or hopeful, in fact shooting star was used as a sad metaphor.

"You can come over in a week to see the cover designs," he nodded, writing something down. "I will show you the font format and everything that day too — Oh, any specifications for them?"

"Shouldn't you be the one deciding everything?" she asked with a smile.

Abhay smiled back, which was still rare. "When it comes to you, I have to ask you Sona. You are our special author, after all."

Sona laughed but then turned a little serious. "Is the business not going good?"

A line of amusement fell on his forehead as he looked at her quizzically. "Why do you ask that? Because I am willing to publish your poems without a second thought?"

"Woah. No! No!" her eyes enlarged, she didn't mean that at all. That would sound insulting to both of them. "My poems have great potential, thank you very much! They deserve to be published, okay?"

Abhay smiled at her again and she felt a little weird. It was weird seeing him smile so much suddenly. Maybe after years he had changed, he wasn't that brooding boy anymore. "Of course, they do. They were written by Sona Sharma, after all."

"Yes, yes!" she nodded solemnly which made him burst into laughter. Sona's brown eyes widened, what was funny? Why couldn't she understand the F in funny?

"You are still cute as before," he spoke softly as he gazed into her eyes.

Sona blushed and looked away. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

"It's just work," he spoke on a serious tone. "Publishing business isn't really as easy I thought it would be."

A brief moment of silence passed between them when Sona suddenly jerked her neck up. "Oh! These poems are actually published on this app I used to use!"

Abhay blinked, his dark eyes sobering up from the playfulness as he pursed his lips. "Oh, that was a very important detail you almost missed, Sona."

"Sorry!" she flushed.

"Hmm," he bit on his lip. "You will have to delete them, of course. If you have a following, you can attract the readers there and ask them to purchase your book."

Sona nodded.

They got up to leave the office, they had just stepped out the door when Sona almost slipped and fell. She managed to get herself together before Abhay could help her though, clutching her empty laptop bag as she walked out the doors.

"I will go on my own, you are probably busy."

Suddenly the tiredness seemed back in his eyes and with his hands inside his trousers he nodded at her. Just as he turned away Sona caught his arm, making him stop. He raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Abhay, what if you attract writers online who are quiet famous and publish their books! I know there is a lot of competition from self publishers but if you stop the authors from choosing that path by giving them a good deal, don't you think the business would work? And—"

She stumbled into his arms with the force he pulled her in. Sona felt baffled as he hugged her tightly, not knowing where her hands should be.

"Sona," he mumbled into her hair so softly, his voice was a little hoarse as it vibrated by her ear. She had left her hair open today as she felt his nose skimming her skin slightly. "Sona, Sona. You are a miracle."

She laughed awkwardly as she slid out of his hold. But what she saw next only surprised her more. Abhay was smiling at her, a full blown smile that she had never seen on his face.

"Thank you," he said with utmost sincerity that her heart moved. "Thank you," he glide his hand through the curve of her face as he continued smiling.

"You take my worries away, Sona."

How are you feeling after reading this chp?

a) wtf is happening???

b) is Abhay on drugs??

c) is Aksith dumb???

d) why is Tarni still the same?

e) all of the above

f) others :-

i wrote this whole chp todayyy! i just couldn't start it so i went to the terrace, lit a candle and played dark academia music and damnnn. i wrote more than a 1000 words there itself!! (ps. i used a book to keep the wind away from the candle if not it would have extinguished!)