I limped a little while on my way to the house and all I could think about was whether I was wrong about what I had just done.

I should have just left the matter. Initially, he reminded me of my dad, but then I saw a resemblance to Justin.

Maybe, I overreacted…

“Good morning, Reena!” Vicky greeted me.

“Good morning, Vicky…” I greeted him back, but tried to be away from him. 

“Are you okay?” He asked me while trying to touch me, but I glared at him not to do it. “I can help you, you know.”

“I can do it on my own,” I tell him. “And besides that, I came here alone, so far.”

“But, I can–”

“Vicky, let me tell you one thing,” I interrupted him. “I don’t like you, I don’t and please stop pursuing me, even after I said no to you, so please can you read between the lines and move on?”

He nodded his head, backed away, and left. He went back to his house, and Once I was sure he was gone, I pressed the doorbell of our house. My mom opened the door and gasped as she saw me.

“What happened, Reena?” She asked and helped me while she made me sit on the couch in the living room. “Wait, I will bring the first aid kit.”

She returned in a few seconds and started cleaning the small wound first. Then she applied the pain relief balm on the ankle. She was twisting it in the usual way she does whenever we have ankle pain, but the pain was unbearable at first. She stopped and then just let it sit for a few minutes.

“I am sorry for the pain, bachcha,” she says. “I tried to twist it to make sure the pain goes away, but it looks like you were in pain,”

“It’s okay, Mom,” I tell her. “I will manage.”

“But you have the job interview today,” she says.  “You should be able to at least walk properly.”

“I will manage till the interview,” I tell her. “It’s not like I haven’t been in a situation like this before.”

She glared at me for my silly joke but didn’t say anything.

“Good morning, Mumma!” Priya sings songs while coming downstairs. She looks at both of us and gasps. “Oh! You came back Di! But what’s with the bruises?”

“I had a small accident,” I tell them, which was a half-truth. “Mom is tending to my bruises and small cuts.”

She rushes towards me and inspects me.

“I think it won’t affect how you look for the interview, but if you need help, I will use makeup to cover it,” she suggested, and I laughed at my fate. Using makeup to cover the small scars. It was as if she was indirectly mocking me for covering up my back scar with makeup. 

“You don’t need to. It’s not as visible as you think of it to be.” I brush it off. “Anyway, I will freshen up and get ready for the interview.”

“Where’s Reena?” We all heard Rishabh say. “Is she home now?”

“I am here!” I yelled, and he followed the voice inside the house.

“Oh, thank god, you are awake now,” Rishabh says. “Do you have any idea how scared I was when I heard about the accident on the call?”

I glared at him, hinting him not to tell them everything, but he didn’t get the hint.

“You got a call?” Priya asks him. “Who called you, though?”

“I wanted to hear Reena’s view on what to wear for today’s meeting and when I called her a few minutes back, a man answered her call. He told me that she fainted in front of his car.”

“YOU FAINTED IN FRONT OF A CAR?” Mom asked me, a bit scared. She rushed up and then checked my body temperature. Once it showed that I didn’t have a fever, she took a sigh of relief.

“Since when did you become so careless, Reena di?” Priya asked as she stood up.

“It just happened, okay? It’s nothing serious.” I told them, but all three of them glared at me. 

“I am fine,” I add.

They just looked at me as I tried to get up from the sofa and when I didn’t show any sign of pain (though I was feeling a little bit of pain) they stopped glaring. 

“Can’t you push the interview for tomorrow?” Mom asks me. “I know you said you were ‘fine’ but I don’t want you to go there while you are still in pain.”

“Maa, it’s the interview. I will manage until then, and I think this pain will eventually go away.”

“Are you sure it will eventually go away?” Priya intervenes.

“Same question,” Rishabh asks.

“I am fine, I just need to have a warm water bath, otherwise I am fine.”

“I have a friend who works in the same office. I will call him and you can ask him for any help you need,” Rishabh says as he goes on to call the said friend.

I was making my way upstairs when Priya helped me. When we reached our room, she slumped on her bed.

“You know what Di,” she says. “I have a feeling that something good will happen to you today!”

“And why do you think that?” I ask her as I sit on my bed for a breather.

“Well, if I have to be honest,” Priya says as she ponders. “Whenever you have something important coming up in your life, you always get injured. Hence, I think today will be one of your best days.”

“That’s not true,” I tell her while trying to remember if she is true. “I don’t know if something like this happened in my life.”

She stands up and sits beside me.

“When you were in the final year of your master’s degree, at the final exam, you fell down the parking lot of your college and had a scratch on your head while giving the paper. And you topped the class.”

“That’s coincidental—”

She raised her finger and continued.

“I am not done yet. During your 12th-grade mid-term exam final paper, while getting out of the metro you got your knee scraped as someone pushed you accidentally. Your knee was bleeding while you were giving your last paper and you scored more marks on that paper specifically.”

“Okay, but that is also coincidental,” I tell her. “Why are you looking at those things like that?”

She smiles at me and sighs. “It’s because my gut feeling says that your day will be good, and you will pass the interview with flying colors.”

“I hope whatever you said is true,” I tell her, but I sigh with the weight of doing something wrong or not. “Can I tell you something, but please promise that you won’t tell Mom about this ever?”

She looks at me sceptically while nodding her head.

“So, I smashed someone’s windshield just a few minutes ago before I came home,” I told her and waited for any reaction from her, but she just stared at me. “What happened, is that the owner of the car said that I was the one that came in front of his car and when I told him to show me the proof, he wasn’t able to find the dash-cam footage at the moment and he was blaming me for the incident.”

“And you smashed his car’s windshield for that reason?” She retorts. “No matter how much you let your impulsive thoughts win, you never do something like this, ever. It’s not how you behave.”

I gulped after hearing her reply.

“Is there something you are keeping from us, Di?” she asks me. “Because you acting like this means something was wrong and that is either embarrassing or something is bothering you.”

“Everything is fine,” I tell her. “Do you trust me on that?”

She gives me an exasperated look. 

“I do trust you, di,” she says. “Feel free to talk to me if something's bothering you. Okay?”

She gets up and stands near the door. 

“You don’t have to make lunch for me today. I will get something from outside the campus, just be ready and…” She sighs and says. “Remember, if anything bothers you, tell me.”

Does she know about Justin? There’s no way she would find my diary that I have hidden from everyone.

I may look shocked because she snaps her fingers at me to get my attention. 

“I am just being a sister,” Priya says. “You know how I show my rights as a sister, right?”

I nod my head while she laughs it off and leaves me all alone in our room.

I stood up on my own and did some foot stretches that Jennifer showed me once if I were to injure my foot like this accidentally. When I was sure that the pain was slightly gone, I got my suit from the cloth hanger and laid it on the bed while getting my bathrobe and my bathing kit ready. Before leaving for the bathroom, I closed our room door.

Once I hastily cleaned myself up and made sure that no one was in the room, got out of the bathroom and dried myself up with my towel. After wearing the suit and getting ready for the day, I heard a light knock on the door.

“Come in,” I said while gathering my stuff.

“Are you ready, Di?” Priya asks me. “Mom and Rahul are waiting for you downstairs.”

“Yeah, I am almost done,” I said to her. “Tell her I will be downstairs in the five minutes. I have to apply makeup quickly.”

“Di, have breakfast first and then apply makeup,” she insisted. “I will help you with the makeup too, but please have breakfast first.”

“Okay,” I sigh. “But I have to ask one thing?”

“What?”

“Is it okay if I still wear heels for today?”

“Do you want the genuine answer or the sugarcoated answer?” She asks.

“Whichever you think is right for the situation.”

“Well, wearing heels will look good with this outfit, but knowing how your ankle is sprained, I would suggest wearing shoes.”

“Hmm, what you said is right, but I don’t know if wearing shoes today will look good for the interview.”

We both pondered a little when something clicked in her brain.

“Do one thing, wear shoes until your time for the interview comes and then change to heels before the interview,” she suggests. “In that way, you won’t feel much pain.”

“Good idea, I will keep the heels in another bag.”

Once done with the decision, we both went downstairs and saw Rishabh eating breakfast with my mom.

“Are you feeling okay now?” My mom asks me once we settle down. “Do you want me to apply some balm to your ankle?”

“I think it’s better to do that after I come back from the interview,” I tell her. “I don’t want to smell like tiger balm while they interview me. Not that I am against the idea, but I don’t want them to know I have sprained my ankle.”

“That is also true,” Mom says. “And if you passed the interview, then what? We should have a celebration, I think.”

“Well, if we did have a party afterwards, then I will buy ingredients with Rishabh while on our way here,” I said. “And as he will be with us tonight for dinner as well, I think we should make vegetarian for tonight, right Rishabh?”

“So we are gonna have a feast tonight?” He asks excitedly.

“Of course we will,” Mom replies. “I have a gut feeling that Reena will pass the interview.”

“Let’s wait till the end,” I add. “I don’t want to have high hopes for no reason.”

“Well, trust me on this, beta. You will pass the interview.”

After breakfast, I wore my shoes, while Rishabh talked to someone on his phone. Once he was done talking, he looked at me and then cut the call.

“Let’s go now, shall we?” He asks.

I got my bags and everything else that I needed for the day and was almost inside Rishabh’s car when Mom rushed towards us and had a bowl with Dahi and Shakkar.

“Eat this before you go,” she says to me. “For good luck.”

She fed me a spoonful of the mixture and I touched her feet for the blessing.

Before getting inside the car, I looked at the house and then at my family, who was always supporting me, but a small part of me kept yelling at me about how drastically they would change once they got to know the truth about my past, the past that they still don’t know about.

“Why did you frown, Reena?” Rishabh asks.

“Nothing, just missing my dad,” I replied.

“Uncle is with us, Reena,” He says. “I know he will always look at us from above.”

I just nodded my head, and then we left.

To ease the mood, and maybe to distract me, Rishabh connects my phone to his car’s music system.

“You shouldn’t get tensed before the interview,” He tells me. “I am sure that the interview will be good.”

“I am okay, Rishabh, just thinking about how much our life would have changed if Dad were here with us.”

“As in?”

“What if we weren’t as close as we are now?”

“Well, if Uncle was alive now, maybe the life would have been a bit different, but we would have still been friends even then.”

“Really?” I ask him.

“Of course, Reena!” He exclaims. “You were like this before as well, during your finals for masters. So I know you always get thoughts like this.”

“I am sorry for thinking things like that,” I add. “It’s just my intrusive thoughts always keep me on edge for some reason.”

“I know Reena, you are like that, but please never think that we wouldn’t have been friends to begin with,” Rishabh says. “Yes, I know that we are like family friends and I am more like a brother figure to you as well, but I am also your friend for a long time.”

But you will also leave me once you know the truth about me?

I wanted to say that to him but kept my mouth shut. I don’t want to say anything that will ruin the mood before the interview. I sighed and changed the direction of the conversation.

“So, how’s your business going on so far?” I ask him.

He understood that I wanted to change the conversation but didn’t say anything about the sudden change of question.

“It’s doing good,” he says. “We did get the business deal. I was talking to you about a few days back and so far everything is going well.”

“Hmm, and what were you talking about a few minutes ago before we left?” I ask.

“Oh, that! I was talking to Liam, my friend who is in the Finance department in the Romano Industry,” Rishabh says. “I have asked him to help you today as you aren’t familiar with the building, right?”

“And you know him how?”

“We are gym friends,” he says. “And Liam is trustworthy. He would help you with anything that you need help with.”

“Let’s see if he is trustworthy or not,” I mumbled, not loud enough for Rishabh to hear. “Anyway, I wanted to know if you could pick me up after the interview?”

“I will be in the cafe nearby till your interview is done,” Rishabh says. “Message me once you are coming out of the building.”

I nodded my head at his suggestion and looked outside the window for the rest of the journey. The sky had scattered clouds, with little to no sunshine available. There was a weather forecast that it would rain today, but it’s unpredictable nowadays. And the closer we got to the company area, the less the skyline.

“Rishabh, I will ace this interview, right?” I ask him.

“Of course you will,” He assures me. “You will ace this interview.”

“I am so scared about this interview,” I tell him truthfully. “What if I blabbered some gibberish when they have asked me something important?”

“You will be fine, Reena,” He assures me again. “Just take a deep breath and interview without overthinking.”

“Just be calm, and do not overthink it,” I told myself and as we approached the company, I started getting cold feet. “I am Reena Kaur, and I am not a quitter!”

“Do you need something to cheer you up?” Rishabh asks.  “We can buy your favourite ice cream from the nearby ice cream place?”

“I think I will need one,” I tell him truthfully. “If it’s okay with you, that is?”

He chuckles at that comment. “I was the one who suggested, Reena!”

I tried to chuckle with him, but it died down instantly. He stopped the car in the nearby ice cream parlour, and then, as I was also getting out of the car, he shook his head.

“No, you stay here,” He exclaims. “I will bring it in the car.”

“I want to clear my mind, Rishabh. Who knows, if I go there in the ice cream parlour myself, maybe I will be calmer and not overthink?” I suggest to him to which he nods his head.

Once we were in the parlour, I saw the owner of the parlour putting the freshly churned ice cream on the display for the customers and he greeted us instantly. We greeted him back and looked at the display if the flavours that we needed were there and thankfully, it was. So I got the cookies and cream, and Rishabh got the black current for himself.

As we sat with our ice cream in the ice cream parlour and ate it, Rishabh looked at me a bit puzzled.

“I always feel like you are on the edge,” He says as he takes a small bite of his ice cream. “I don’t want to sound a bit rude, but you have somewhat changed in the last few years.”

“No, I have not,” I shake my head in negation but make sure that I show actual emotion. “I have always been like that, remember?”

“No, If I am correct, you were avoiding me three years ago. And I guess you were like that for few weeks and then acted like everything was okay.”

I stopped and faked a smile.

“Oh, I was just not feeling well that time, I was under stress and thought that maybe if I avoided you, it would be good for both of us. You know how much I overthink, right?”

Rishabh just smiled back but didn’t say anything in return, It was after a while when he said.

“I know, you overthink a lot, but if you have something going on in your mind, I am always there to listen. You know I don’t judge, right?”

I know that, but I also know that anyone with a sane mind would judge me.

So smiling at him, but also cursing at myself for lying to him. I said.

“If there is anything that is going on in my mind, I will tell you everything.”

We both finished our ice cream, and we went back to his car. While sitting, the pain that I had in my ankle was still there. I may have made a face while sitting cause, Rishabh chuckles at me.

“Sometimes I feel bad for you,” He says as he straps the seat belt. “You are clumsy and you get injured almost every time.”

I wanted to get back at him for laughing at my situation, but I knew he was right.

“Stop laughing, or else I will stop making you your favourite dishes as a punishment for an entire month.” I threatened him as I closed the door of his car.

“You wouldn’t!” He exclaims as he still laughs. “I know you are cruel but not this cruel, right?”

I turned to look at him and gave him the death glare, at which point he stopped laughing and turned serious.

“I am sorry,” he says. “I won’t tease you again.”

“Good,” I say to him. “Now that we are done teasing each other, can we go?”

He looked at me as if I had two horns above my head. “Do you think I was serious all along?” I asked him. 

“You weren’t?”

I shake my head and laugh at his confused look.

“Did you thought that you are the only one who can joke?”

“You were pulling my leg,” Rishabh sighed. “You scared me there for a minute.”

We both laughed out loud and then went to the office that could be my office in the future. Once he parked the car, while I was collecting my stuff, I heard a knock on the door from my side.

I saw a guy who wore a blue suit while smiling ear-to-ear.

“He is Liam,” Rishabh says to me as he unlocks the door of my side. “The one I talked about who will help you today.”

I nodded my head, and before I could open the door, Liam opened it and then bowed down while introducing himself.

“I am Liam Greene,” He says to me as he tries to take my hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Pleasure is all mine,” I smile while trying to make sure I stand up on my own and take my hand back. “My name is Reena Kaur.”

By the look of his face, I can see that he is disappointed.

“No one rejected me like that,” The guy says. “Am I that unpleasant in looking?”

Rishabh who was snickering when he saw our interaction, replied to Liam.

“Like I said, she is a tough girl who doesn’t get pleased by anyone that easily.”

Liam nodded his head and smiled at me.

“That’s okay, I know how to wait,” He says and then diverts the topic. “By the way, I am Rishabh’s gym friend.”

“Yeah, I know he told me that,” I kept the conversation small, but i could feel that he wasn’t going to stop anytime soon.

“Has she always been this straightforward before, as well?” Liam asks Rishabh, and in response, he nods his head.

“But wait until she feels comfortable with you, then you will see the Reena I have talked about,” Rishabh says with a smile on his face. “She may look like a tough person but she is the best person anyone would love to be friends with.”

“Tell me, how much do you know about me, Mr. Greene?” I ask Liam while side-eyeing Rishabh. “I am sure, Rishabh mustn’t have told you much about me.”

“Well, we can talk about that once we are free after your interview,” Liam says as he sheepishly smiles. “You must be getting late for the interview, if i am correct?”

Rishabh and I both looked at our watches and realized that Liam was right. Rishabh hastily reminded me to call him back after the interview ends so that he could pick me up. After that, he left.

Liam, who was standing beside me, gestured me towards the building and told me to follow him. While walking back to the building, Liam grunted in anger.

“What happened?” I ask him.

“The CEO of the company brought his black Mercedes today,” He answers. “He has a red Ferrari that he flaunts a lot of time, but he didn’t bought one, I wanted to see the Ferrari in person. Though I may not be the one who owns it, I love to see it every day.”

“Oh, so you like Ferrari’s?”

“You could say that,” He replies. “I like to look at my favourite car in person, even if I do not own one.”

“Say, Liam, can you tell me what is the attitude of the CEO?”

“Other than, being arrogant and rude, he is okay. After the last CEO retired a year ago, our new CEO is doing his job good, but there are some hurdles that he is facing as of now.”

“You mean the sudden change in the financial records?” I ask as we enter the building. He scans his ID while he tells the security guards that I am here for the interview.

“Looks like someone did their homework,” He says as we both enter the lobby of the building. “I just hope that whatever the hurdle our boss is facing, it stops as soon as possible. It’s not going to be a good look for the annual general meeting that will be held in four months.”

I nod my head and he gestures me towards the lift.

“Your interview will be on the ninth floor. There is a meeting room right in the left corner, " he says while he inches forward and smiles. “Do you want me to drop you there? I can do that.”

I step away a little and with a stern smile, replied.

“No, thanks. I will manage, but thanks for the generosity though.”

“You are indeed a tough nut to crack,” He says as he backs away. “I will be outside the meeting room in an hour, best of luck!”

And he left. I turned towards the elevator and saw people waiting in front of one of the three elevators. While waiting, I heard a middle-aged man say to another middle-aged man.

“I have heard that there will be a new sales manager interview held today. Isn’t that the same post you were looking for, correct?”

The man who was sighing in reply slightly nods his head.

“I heard, they are going to hire someone who is young, I just hope that whoever it is, will fail the interview today, it’s not like they will hire a young person for the post of Sales Manager.”

“I am sure that the person who is there for the interview will fail miserably,” the first man said. “It’s not like they will be able to find the right candidate this soon.”

Both men stopped talking when the elevator arrived, and slowly, they all started filling the elevator. I was going to get inside the elevator, but the file that was with me fell to the ground, and before I could gather the file, the elevator door closed right in front of me.

I looked around and saw that the other elevator was on the fifth floor. I hurriedly grabbed the file and then stood in front of the elevator. Once it reached the fifth floor, I went inside and waited a few seconds before pushing the close-the-door button and then the ninth-floor button.

As the door was closing, I saw a shoe stopping it and a guy who was a little bit higher than me entered. He was on his phone but from the look of it, I thought that I had seen his face before. Once the elevator’s door was close, I turned around and started messaging mom about me going to the interview soon and did the same to Priya.

I turned around and saw that I was on the seventh floor when I stood in front of the man who was on his phone and he asked.

“Are you here for the interview?”

I nod my head. My back still faced him.

“Wait, are you Reena Kaur?” He asked.

“Yes, but how do you know that?” I turned around to face him, but to my horror, he was the same guy I had met in the morning—the one whose windshield I had smashed.

“Who are you and what are you doing here?” I ask him to which he scoffs.

“Who am I? I am the CEO of this office! The one who will also interview you.”

Oh, my god! 

Reena, you are gonna fail this interview for sure.