Nevertheless, she checked her inbox obsessively, unable to reason with her edginess. She made her morning tea and toast. Sitting on her new red beanbag, she tried to distract herself by reading the newspaper but all her attention was on her phone.

She finally picked it up and with a piece of toast between her teeth, dialled Madhav’s number. He disconnected the call. She tried again and again, but he didn’t answer. Radhika gave up and decided to focus on work instead, berating herself for behaving like a teenager.

Later that morning, Madhav went to Meera’s place, Skyhigh Estates, a luxurious apartment situated on the outskirts of Delhi. As soon as he entered her apartment, she jumped off the bed and leapt into his arms. Before he could tell her about the job, she began kissing his neck. Madhav tried to pull away but she started unbuttoning his shirt. He pushed her away gently as she took off her top.

‘Please, Meera. Not now,’ he said, firmly. She was taken aback as he was usually the one who would initiate sex. She put her top back on and drew open the curtains.

‘Meera, I got the job!’ he said. She turned to him with a big fake smile plastered on her face and ran into his arms.

‘I knew it! I knew it! You’re my rock star!’ she screamed. ‘Finally! You have to take me shopping now!’

Asking himself why he was even with her, Madhav had to admit that the only reason they were together was purely because of the physical satisfaction they derived from each other.

She would call him over on days when her flatmate wasn’t around. But that morning, he didn’t even want to touch her. All his thoughts were preoccupied with Radhika. He was caught between lust and love that morning and he instinctively chose love. He had been experiencing a sense of relief ever since he met her. He finally felt as if he was one person, instead of two.

‘My baby wants wild sex tonight?’ Meera asked, as she ran a finger down his inner thigh.

‘Stop it, Meera!’ he said, irritated. Meera was annoyed and sat down at her study table, sulking.

‘Can’t we just sit and talk instead, Meera?’ he asked.

‘Oh really, Madhav? You want to talk? I thought you only wanted sex all the time,’ she said, as she opened a book and pretended to read. ‘You know, I need to think about my future, too, but that’s never occurred to you. I always support you and you’ve never even been thankful,’ she said.

He laughed scornfully. He knew she just wanted to eat and shop on his dime. He also knew that she had lost all interest in pursuing management studies or any career, for that matter. He was only grateful to her for one thing, for taking him to the art therapy workshop.

‘Good, I’m glad you’ve come to your senses. You should focus on your studies. See you later!’ Madhav buttoned up his shirt and picked up his keys from the table, but Meera clutched his hand in desperation.