🎶tarasti hain nigahain meri

takti hain raahain teri

sun kabhi aahain meri

Yeh kese main bataon

tujhey soti nahi ankhain meri

kat-ti nahi raatain meri 🎶

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It had been six months since Mayera joined Singhania Corporations. True to his words, Arjun Singhania was absolutely not an easy person to work with. Everyday had been a new challenge and Mayera had loved every bit of it.

This was the reason why Mayera left home in the first place, to gain experience in the real world. And this company had abundantly provided her with it.

It was a Friday evening. Mayera wrapped up her work and walked towards Arjun's office.

After knocking, she entered, "I'm leaving. Do you need anything else?"

He looked up from his phone and shook his head in a no.

He had discarded his suit jacket, and was just in his black shirt and grey pants, with his sleeves folded till his elbow. His hair was messy.

Must have ran his hand through them like a million times.

He looked absolutely exhausted.

"Sir, I think you should go home now." Mayera suggested him.

"Yes, in a while." Arjun mutterred mindlessly and went back to his work.

Mayera sighed, defeatedly.

She slowly walked out of his office, only to run into Veer.

"Hey beautiful," Veer greeted Mayera with his dimpled smile.

Veer Malhotra was Arjun Singhania's best friend, and also a Michelin Star Chef. He had over 15 restaurants all over the globe.

Even though Veer and Arjun had been friends all their lives, they were still poles apart. On one hand, Arjun was never seen with a smile, on the other hand, Veer was never seen without one.

Mayera had met Veer a few days after she'd joined this company and they'd been friends since the moment they met.

"Hey! Thank God you're here." Mayera gave him a quick hug.

"Why? Did you miss me?" Veer winked.

Mayera rolled her eyes at his pathetic, harmless flirting.

"I want you to drag Arjun Sir to his home. He has barely gone home all week and he needs sleep badly." She informed him.

"And then you say you don't care about him." Veer wiggled his eyebrows at Mayera.

"Veer, of course I care about him. He needs to be fine to give me my salary slip." She chuckled.

"Don't you get sarcastic and try to change the topic. Why don't you just accept that you like him?" He asked, seriously.

"God, not again! I've told you so many times that I DON'T LIKE HIM."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." Veer walked past Mayera into Arjun's office, while Mayera kept staring at his back.

She did not like him. She cannot like him. He's her boss, for God's sake.

Okay, maybe she'd got a teeny tiny crush on him, but that's it. Nothing else.

Later that night, Mayera found a few slices of pizza in her fridge and put it in the microwave to heat it. While waiting for it, she was scrolling through her Instagram when suddenly her phone rang.

Maa!

"Hey, maa", Mayera said excitedly.

"How's my baby doing?"

Listening to her mother's voice just filled Mayera's heart with warmth.

"I am great. How are you and papa?"

"We're fine. Bas tumhari bahut yaad aa rahi hai." Her mother said sadly.

"Mom, I miss you guys too. Par aapko pata hai naa mere liye yeh job kitni zaruri hai." Mayera said in a soft tone.

"I know. Anyway, your dad wants to talk to you."

Mayera heard a little shuffling before her father's intimidating voice finally came through the speaker.

"Mayeru?"

"Ji, papa."

"Aap theek ho, beta? Do you need anything there?" He asked with worry.

"No. I've everything I need here."

We stayed silent for a few seconds before he spoke again.

"Is this really necessary, Mayera? Why can't you just look for work here, in Mumbai?"

"Dad, we've already talked about it. I need to become independent."

Mayera heard him sigh, "Okay. But take care, all right."

"You too. Bye."

"Goodbye."

Mayera pressed the red button and kept her phone aside.

Mayera was the princess of all the three members in her family; mom, dad and her elder brother. She'd always been pampered by each and every one of them, especially her father. She'd never lived alone. Even with college, her father made sure that Mayera studied in the same college as her brother so that she's not alone there. So that's why when Mayera broke the news that she wanted to pursue a job away from home, it broke them. They didn't want to let her go, but Mayera was adamant. Eventually, they had to give in.

But even after six months, her father called her everyday and tried to convince her to come back home.

Mayera understood that they were worried about her and just wanted her safe, but she also knew that she can't spend her entire life under their protection. She needed to learn to deal with the difficulties and challenges of her life on her own. She couldn't let her parents fight her battles for her forever.

Mayera finished off her dinner and curled up in her blanket, with a cup of hot chocolate to watch something on Netflix when her phone pinged up again.

This time it was Arjun.

'I've mailed you the changes that needed to be done in Mishra's contract. Make sure you go through it. See you on Monday.'

Mayera looked at the time. It was 11:32PM. That man was still in the office till 11:32 on a Friday night. How did he not get sick after working so much?

'Yes, Sir. Good night.'

Mayera replied to him and went back to browsing her Netflix to find a decent movie.

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The next morning, Mayera woke up to her phone ringing.

"Hello," She answered without checking the caller.

"Rise and shine, munchkin." A chirpy voice said and she instantly knew who it was.

"Giraffe, what the hell? Why are you calling me so early in the morning?" She questioned him.

Him as in Giraffe, aka, Mayera's elder brother. When they were five and seven , they gave each other nicknames; Munchkin and Giraffe. Because of their major height difference since childhood.

"Early? Mayeru, it's 10:30." He reasoned.

"It's early for a weekend." She yawned, cuddling more into the blanket.

"Delhi is teaching you unhealthy habits. That's why I didn't want you to go there." He whined like a child.

Mayera smiled at his words.

Their parents were never strict with them, they gave them freedom to do what their heart wanted, but one thing that their father had always made them follow was a healthy lifestyle. That included them to have the correct sleeping pattern, a balanced diet, and some workout at least thrice a week.

Giraffe and Mayera had always followed their dad's advice on living a healthy life. But after coming to Delhi, Mayera had started cheating on that lifestyle. She generally slept in till noon on weekends, and mostly ate junk.

"You're just finding reasons to bring me back home." Mayera replied to him.

"Anyway," He continued, "I called to tell you that I might come to Delhi."

"What?" She jerked off my bed, "Are you serious?"

"Calm down! It's for work, and it's not even confirmed yet. But I promise I'll try my best."

"Oh my, God! You just made my weekend."

Even though Mayera decided to live alone, that didn't change the fact that she missed her family a lot. And knowing that she might see her brother after six months was just making her ecstatic.

After talking to him some more about his work and stuff, they hung up and she went to the washroom to get ready for the day.

Instead of staying in, Mayera decided to visit the mall and shop for some clothes. She'd gotten her paycheck last week, and after paying for her rent and food, she'd saved enough to buy some clothes.

Before shifting to Delhi, she never had to worry about money and bills. It was all handled by her father. But after she started living alone, it all came on her shoulders.

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Getting dressed into a pair of blue jeans and black tees, Mayera held all her hair up into a messy ponytail. She took her purse, making sure she had her wallet in it. She left home, but not before grabbing a packet of chips.

Told you about eating junk all the time.

🔺🔺🔺🔺🔺🔺🔺

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