Unfinished (Some love stories don’t end. They just wait to be written right) - Chapter 2

 

Chapter 2: Two Years Later

The office buzzed with low murmurs and clicking keyboards. The energy was tense, focused. The fashion merchandising firm, House of Anvika, was preparing for one of the biggest collaborations of the year—with Khanna Corporations.

Aditi sat in her corner cabin, reviewing logistics charts, mockups, shipment data. Her desk was clinically neat, her attire formal and precise—navy blue shirt, beige pencil skirt, hair in a tight bun, not a strand out of place.

Once known for her laughter and warmth, now she spoke only when necessary.

"Ma’am, here’s the new fabric quote," her junior whispered nervously.

Aditi looked up, her eyes sharp but not unkind.
“Send this to procurement. Add the vendor’s clause in the final draft. No more delays.”

"Y-Yes ma’am," the girl nodded and rushed out.

People admired her perfection… and feared her quiet authority.

At lunch, while others laughed over samosas and gossip, Aditi remained buried in files.

Her world had no room for memories. No room for pain. Only work. Only progress.

That day, a ripple ran through the office.

"He's here."
“Who?”
“Mr. Aditya Khanna. The CEO himself.”

The air stiffened.

Aditi didn’t even look up. She had a client meeting scheduled across town.

“I’ll be back by 5 PM,” she told her boss, gathering her notes and laptop. “If you need me—text. Only for emergencies.”

---

Later that evening…

She returned just as the collaboration meeting wrapped up. Her phone buzzed—urgent call from boss.
She hurried upstairs, flowers in hand for her boss’s birthday—an old habit.

As she entered the conference room, she paused at the door.

There he was.

Aditya.

Standing tall, impeccably dressed in a charcoal suit. Smiling lightly as he shook hands with board members.

For a moment, Aditi froze.

Memories hit her like waves—
His laughter in their first kitchen experiment.
Their silent drives in the rain.
The midnight coffees.
The wedding night when he had said, “Let’s build this friendship, even if not love.”

And then… that night.

The papers.
The silence.
The disappearance.

Aditi’s breath caught.

“Ah, there you are,” her boss said cheerfully, snapping her out of the fog.

Everyone turned.

Aditya turned.

Their eyes met.

And something cracked in both gazes.

Shock.
Recognition.
And a flicker of something unsaid.

“Aditi, meet Mr. Khanna,” the boss introduced. “She’s one of our most efficient merchandisers.”

Aditya extended his hand.

Slowly, she placed hers in his.

Their handshake was brief. Formal.

But the air around them… electric.

As if time itself held its breath.