I take a look at my new unicorn table clock with an attached pen stand and panic.

5. 20 p.m.

I still have so many graphs to make and Arjun's driver will be here any minute now.

I start working at double the speed.

A couple of minutes later I realise that the deal between Arjun and me is now over which means no going to his apartment to cook for him any longer. No more seeing him.

My office hours will get over at my usual time now.

A wave of disappointment washes over me and I try to cheer myself up.

I quickly open my phone and browse through websites selling quirky stationery. Fifteen minutes later I forced myself to stop because : 1. My working hours are still on and if I don't stop now I'll have to work overtime and 2. I'd spend my entire savings this month on stationery.

"You have to stop now, Shravya. Look, you have a lot of cute looking stuff already. Yes, you don't need any more of it." I tell myself and lock my phone after which I keep it aside.

"Well, well, well what's going on here?"

My head immediately shoots up at Sneha's voice.

"Hiii!!!" I say with a wide smile on my face.

"You owe me a treat. Chaat shop today, yes?" She asks me.

"Coming straight away to the treat I see. No greeting from my best friend or anything." I tell her with a sad pout.

"Aww, Hi bestie! Happy now?" She ask me, passing me a wide smile.

"Very. Be ready at 6.30 sharp okay, we'll go to the snack corner near the bus stop." I tell her.

"Done. I'm going to eat a raj kachori [Raj Kachori- crispy deep fried kachori filled with potatoes, moong dal, yogurt, spices and chutneys Topped with cilantro, sev, pomegranate this is the ultimate indulgence!] and then we're both going to have a 'who can eat more pani puris [Pani puri is a popular street food of India, where crisp fried dough balls (puri) are stuffed with potatoes, sprouts, spicy tangy water or sweet chutney.] competition'." She says.

"Which I'm going to win of course." I tell her proudly.

"No, I will. That was only one time you won, Shravya." She tells me.

"Oh really, let's see who wins today." I tell her.

"Is it a challenge? If yes, then bring it on." She tells me.

"Alright now let me finish making these bar graphs." I tell her.

"Workaholic Shravya is back." She says with a teasing smile.

"By the way, what about Arjun?" She asks me.

"What about him? There's nothing about him to discuss now." I tell her.

"How did the dinner go?" She asks me.

"It was good, better than I expected. Ma and Papa were impressed." I tell her.

"Of course they should be, he's the most eligible bachelor in Mumbai." She says.

"That's too much exaggeration and in case you have forgotten Miss, you are already engaged to Mayank, your one and only."

She raises her hand and shows me her engagement ring.

"Nope, not at all. I've got the best partner there can be out there, but Arjun Mehrotra as much as I have heard about him can give him a tough competition and that's why I wanted the two of you to actually give yourselves a try." She tells me.

"I don't really think we could become an actual couple." I tell her.

"Sure, keep telling yourself that. But remember, if it's meant to be, it will be." She tells me and leaves.

Her words ring in my ears and for a minute I do give it a thought before shrugging the thought away.

•

"No more, Bhaiya. Stop!" Sneha mumbles with a mouthful of panipuri.

I smirk at her.

"So, giving up already huh?" I ask her.

"Yes, how can you even eat any more of those? I tried my best but twenty is the limit for me. You always win!" She grumbles as I put another one into my mouth.

"And yet you insist on having these competitions." I tell her.

"This time I was really prepared. Last time I gave up on the sixteenth one but see this time I ate twenty." She says, sticking out her lips and looking at me with a puppy face.

"That puppy face will work on Mayank, not me. I ate twenty-one and that makes me the winner. Now you owe me a treat so the next time that we come here you're going to pay. " I tell her.

"Fine, okay." She says faking anger and I laugh.

I pay the pani puri vendor his money and then Sneha and I part ways as we have to go separate directions.

•

I ring the doorbell and a few seconds later Ma opens the door.

"Shravu, welcome home." She says with a bright smile on his face.

I pass her a smile back and enter inside.

I keep my bag on the sofa and walk to the kitchen. After drinking a glass of water and then peeking at what's cooking I leave.

It's Sarson ka saag [Sarson ka Saag is a vegetarian dish which is made using seasonal mustard leaves along with other leafy veggies like spinach and radish leaves. A mix of spices is stirred in to build up the flavour] for dinner.

I make my way to my room and freshen up after which I decide on taking a nap since I don't feel like eating dinner just now. I lay down on my bed and stare at the ceiling above.

Yesterday Arjun was on this bed with me.

Wait, that sounds so wrong. I quickly rephrase my thoughts. Arjun fell on this bed with me.

Not much better.

Why am I even thinking about him? He's gone out of my life and now thinking about him is of no use.

Should I send him a thank you text for behaving so well with Ma and Papa? His acting, though overdramatic at times, impressed them both and now they believe that I have a boyfriend who I intend to marry at some point of time. Now Ma's not going to bug me anymore with suitable matches. I'm free. I should be happy and relaxed but then that's not what I am feeling at all. On the contrary I feel quite disturbed.

I kind of miss Arjun, maybe?

No, why would I? I immediately ask myself.

Well maybe because I was so used to thinking about him, seeing him and talking to him the last couple of weeks that I cannot accept the fact that it's all over between us. What exactly was it between us though?

What can it be called? It was definitely not a relationship, far from it. A fake relationship? Yes, I could call it that. Or wait, a deal. Two individuals involved, both having their own terms and conditions, both benefiting from it.

What had Sneha called this agreement back at our office?

The Dating Pact. Yes right, that fits it best.

A smile forms on my face. Trust Sneha to be filmy and dreamy about everything.

I'm broken out of my trance by the ringing of the door bell which is followed by Ma yelling.

"Shravu, I think your father is at the door, go and open it.

I immediately get off my bed and leave my room.

I open the main door and it's Papa.

"Welcome back home." I tell him with a smile.

He smiles at me and gives me a pat on my head after which he enters inside.

I go to the kitchen and fill a glass of water after which I bring it to him.

I'm about to go back to my room after handing him the glass when he stops me.

"Shravya can I talk to you for a minute?" He asks me.

Whenever he asks me that it is about something serious and so I freeze for a moment but then give him a nod. I take a seat on the sofa adjacent to him.

"What is it Papa?" I ask him.

"Shravya, your Ma and I, we really liked Arjun." He says and I pass him a nervous smile.

"We would like to meet his family sometime soon if it's okay with the two of you, yes?" He asks me.

I go silent at this, not knowing how to answer his question.

"Papa, if you don't mind, can we wait? I mean I don't want to rush things with Arjun. I myself haven't met his family yet, so I'm not sure if we're ready for you guys to meet them." I tell him.

"I understand Shravya but I think you should meet his family too. It's high time you do." Papa says.

"Yes, we're thinking about it." I answer.

I feel guilty for lying to Papa about this whole thing. I look down at my lap unable to meet his eyes.

"Is something wrong Shravya?" He asked me.

Should I tell him the truth?

"Nothing, everything's fine Papa, just work pressure." I say.

"Oh. Don't overwork yourself okay? If you need any help you know I'm always there for you right?" He asked me.

"Yes, I do." I say.

Papa then goes to Ma and his room while I tidy up the living room.

A few moments later Ma comes out of the kitchen and takes a seat on the sofa.

"Shravu I'm thinking of inviting Arjun for another dinner, what do you think? Is next weekend okay with you?" She asks me.

"What!? No, Ma." I immediately blurt out and a frown forms on her face at my sudden reaction.

"Why not?" She asks me.

"Ma, we're taking things slow. You wanted to meet him once and you did right? You'll meet him again soon but not now, please." I tell her.

"Okay." She says, sounding disappointed.

•

When I'm back in my room after dinner I work on a few spreadsheets on my laptop.

It's 1.05 a.m. when I finally shut my laptop and put it on charge.

I then walk back to my bed and switch my phone on. I open my unread messages and reply to each of them one by one.

While scrolling through the chats my eyes land on Arjun's contact. I do not know why but I tap on it, opening his chat. Coincidentally he is online at the moment.

His profile picture has changed from what it was last time and so out of curiosity I tap on it.

It's a selfie of him in his car with a half smile on his face. He's wearing the same suit he wore when he came to my house for dinner yesterday and I guess it's from yesterday itself.

I zoom on the picture and look at him.

What do you think you're doing, Shravya? I question myself.

This is wrong. I immediately try to press the back button but instead I tap on the video call icon.

It takes me a few seconds to process what I have done and then I vigorously tap on the hang up button after which I go offline.

"Oh no! What the hell did I just do?" I yell to myself as I start panicking.

Dear God, I just hope the call did not get connected or else I don't even know what I will tell Arjun.

I'm sure he'll get a notification saying he has a missed video call from me.

I sit back up on the bed and hold my head with my hands.

A few seconds later my phone starts ringing. Hesitantly I pick it up from beside me.

Arjun's name flashes on the screen.

Shit, shit, shit!