Arriving in Mumbai, I moved in with Kavya for a month before finding my own apartment. I spent my days moving between various tourist spots, trying to fit in as much time as I could for my boyfriend and friends. Every Sunday, I called my parents to tell them I was all right.

The bus slowed down, snapping me back to the present. I looked out of the window, and saw that it had begun to rain heavily. I knew I would be drenched before I reached my front door. A familiar pain pressed against my chest. Swallowing hard, I stood up and slid between people, trying to push my way to the door. At the next stop, I got off into the torrential rain. While running through the downpour to get home, my pain became unbearable. I stopped to breathe. Lifting my head upwards, I let the pain go. Tears rolled down my face, disguised by the rain, and I let them fall. I walked the remaining distance to my apartment building slowly, allowing myself to release the pain inside me. Today I would mourn; tomorrow, Puneet would be nothing but a memory.

A few minutes later, I entered my apartment. It was silent; it always was. Walking into my living room, I removed my wet clothing. I walked into the kitchen and heated some water. I spooned loose tea into the teapot and poured the hot water in before going through to the bedroom. I pulled out a tracksuit from my closet and slipped it on. I switched on the bathroom light and opened the tap until the water was hot, too hot, and washed the grime of the bus off my face. Opening the bathroom cabinet, I removed a pack of makeup wipes, pulled one from the packet, and wiped the makeup from my face. Dark brown eyes stared back at me; they looked sad and not at all determined, which is not what I wanted. Blinking hard, I wiped my mascara off and then took a deep breath. I had to keep moving forward. ‘You can do this, Jhanvi. You don’t need him.’

Making my way back to the kitchen, I poured the tea through a strainer, sat on my couch and unlocked my phone. A message was waiting for me from Kavya. I didn’t read it. Instead, I opened my account and went to the most popular person I followed. Pen and paper in hand, I scrolled through the feed, making notes on what pictures and captions had generated the most likes.

‘Tomorrow,’ I thought.

6

ASHRAY

I opened my eyes, and I began to read the email out loud.

Good evening, Ashray,

I have received feedback from our BusinessForward director regarding your application and interview for the position of sales and marketing consultant. I am pleased to tell you that the company found you well suited for the role and believes you will fit in with BusinessForward’s culture. Please get in touch with me to discuss the details of the offer further.