Khushi POV
Lodhi Garden
New Delhi
4:43 p.m.
The late afternoon sun filtered softly through the tangled canopy of trees, painting everything in hues of golden green. The breeze was light, but warm — the kind that lifts your hair gently just to remind you it's there. I sat cross-legged on the grass, half-listening to my friends chat, half-focused on the book in my hands.
"Khushi, hold this for me," Aayushi had said earlier, passing her novel before digging into her tote for her sketch pencils.
I glanced at the cover: Destined to Meet.
I smiled faintly. Typical Aayushi. Always carrying romantic novels with titles that sounded like fate itself had written them.
"Khushi? Hello? Earth to Miss Dreamer?"
I looked up. My friend Tanya was waving her hand dramatically in front of my face.
"Lost in the book already?" she teased.
"I haven't even opened it," I laughed.
That was when I felt it.
Like someone's eyes were fixed on me — not just a passing glance, but a stare that lingered. Not creepy. Not invasive. Just...intentional.
I looked up, scanning the park.
Nothing.
Just the usual crowd: joggers looping the pathway, aunties in salwar suits gossiping under shaded benches, kids chasing pigeons.
But someone had been watching. I could feel it like static on my skin.
Before I could search further, Tanya interrupted me again. "Okay, okay, I have to tell you what happened yesterday," she said, already giggling. "You remember Neeraj? That guy from animation?"
"The one who thinks he invented Photoshop?" I asked.
Tanya snorted. "Exactly. So he tried flirting with Priya yesterday in the cafeteria, and guess what he said?"
I raised an eyebrow. "I'm scared to know."
"He said — and I quote — 'If I were a layer in your life, I'd set myself to multiply so our love could intensify.'"
We all burst out laughing. Even I couldn't hold it in. That was horrendous. Brilliantly horrendous.
The laughter echoed, the sunlight shifted, and whatever invisible gaze I'd felt... disappeared.
I didn't know that behind a line of trees, someone had seen it all — the fake smile I gave before that laugh, the hesitation in my fingers when I held the book, the way I looked like I didn't really belong to the moment.
But I would learn, soon.
That laugh died down, and I opened the book just for the sake of it, though my mind was far from the words. It drifted, as it often did, to pieces of the past.
If I had to describe myself in one word, it would be: unsteady.
Not because I wasn't determined or strong — I had been both, in my own quiet way — but because life had a way of pulling the ground from beneath my feet every time I thought I'd found balance.
My name is Khushi Agrahari. I'm a Master of Design student at Indus School of Art and Design in Delhi. It's a beautiful campus — all red bricks, creeper-covered corridors, and big windows that let sunlight in like hope. My friends — the ones around me right now — are classmates. Some closer than others. None close enough to know the full truth.
They don't know that in my previous college, things were... different. They don't know that I used to sing, used to believe that music could heal things. They don't know that I used to think friendship meant forever — until I learned it rarely does.
I grew up in Dehradun. My parents are strict,especially Papa, but they love me. Fiercely. Sometimes a bit too fiercely.They've always wanted the best for me, even if their version of "best" came wrapped in rules and expectations. I have a younger brother — the apple of their eye. He teases me endlessly, but I'd fight the world for him. And maybe because of all that love — all that expectation — I learned early how to smile even when my heart was crumbling inside.
You see, if you asked anyone about me, they'd say, "She's cheerful. A little dramatic. Loves colors and music."
But if you really looked...
You'd see the cracks.
I won't explain everything now. That part of my story needs time. Needs trust.
But okay — just a hint, since we're here.
Why do I feel cursed?
Maybe because everyone who ever mattered to me... eventually left.
Not always by choice. Not always by betrayal. But somehow, always, I end up alone. Like I'm a station and everyone else is a train. They stop for a while. Some stay longer. But none stay forever.
I looked down at the book again. Destined to Meet.
I didn't believe in destiny. Not really.
But I believed in love. In a way most people don't anymore.
Tanya nudged me. "Hey Khushi?"
"Hmm?"
She was squinting at me with one eyebrow raised. "Do you believe in love?"
I blinked. That came out of nowhere.
I nodded slowly. "Yeah. I do."
"You do?" Aayushi piped in, surprised. "Even after what you told me about that guy?"
I smiled, but it didn't reach my eyes. "Yeah. Even after all that."
"Damn," Tanya whispered. "You're intense."
"Not intense," I corrected gently. "I just... I believe in real love. The kind that doesn't fade just because people change. The kind that's not afraid of pain."
"Like Bollywood?" Aayushi asked, twirling a blade of grass between her fingers.
I shook my head. "Like Radha and Krishna. Like Ram and Sita. That kind of love. Eternal. Divine."
They both went quiet, probably thinking I was just being poetic.
But I wasn't.
I wasn't the kind of girl who believed in 3-month talking stages or soft-launching relationships on Instagram. If I loved someone, it was all or nothing.
And maybe that was the curse too.
Giving too much in a world where everyone's afraid to give at all.
The breeze picked up. I closed my eyes for a moment, and a strange sensation crawled over my skin again.
That feeling.
Someone's watching.
But when I opened my eyes, the park looked just the same.
Still, for the rest of the afternoon, I felt like I was part of a story I didn't know I was in yet.
Like something — or someone — had noticed me in a way that would change everything.
And maybe that was destiny after all.
Aayushi pulled out her phone. "Guys, I found the cutest café just off campus. They do cookie shakes—YES, cookie shakes!" She held up her phone with a video of a girl taking a dramatic sip and promptly choking in delight. The others hooted with laughter.
"I swear, I'll only drag khushi there if she actually ever comes out with us," Meher teased, nudging me playfully. "You're too busy with your books, Khushi."
I shook my head, but smiled. "You know I'm not a big hangout person. Drafting my thesis, remember?"
"A thesis is just code for 'I don't want to date anyone,'" Tanya teased. "So I thought—maybe we should fix that. We've seen some guys in our classmates... like that new introvert from the typography course. Kumar? He's shy but sweet."
"Thanks, but not interested." I smiled softly.
Aayushi shrugged, but her eyes were warm. "Okay, we aren't pushing." Then she grinned mischievously. "But if you change your mind, we have options ready."
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Hey everyone, thank you for reading this part. In the next part Khushi is finally going to meet Luca and their love story is going to start. Stay tuned for the next part.
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