Chapter 3 The Cafe Where The Fate Waits
803 Words
The rain had stopped by evening, leaving the city smelling like wet earth and fresh beginnings.
Meera sat in her favorite café, Chai & Chapters, editing photos on her laptop. The place was warm, filled with soft lights, quiet music, and the comforting aroma of ginger tea.
Tara Singh plopped into the chair opposite her, dramatically tossing her bag onto the table.
“Meera Rao,” Tara announced, “you look like a woman hiding a secret.”
Meera didn’t look up. “I’m editing.”
“Editing? No.” Tara leaned forward. “You have that smile. The I saw a hot guy smile.”
Meera choked on her chai. “W-what? No!”
“Show me.” Tara reached for the laptop.
Meera quickly shut it. Too late.
Tara had already seen the paused image on the screen—the photograph of Arjun from the rain.
Tara’s eyebrows shot up. “Ohhh. Ohhhh. Okay, wow. This man is… wow.”
“He’s just someone I met,” Meera muttered, trying to hide a blush.
“In the rain?” Tara gasped. “Meera. RAIN is cinema. RAIN is destiny. RAIN is—”
“Enough,” Meera said, laughing helplessly.
Tara sat back, smirking. “Does he have a name?”
“…Arjun.”
“Arjun what?”
“I didn’t ask.”
Tara stared at her like she’d committed a crime. “Girl! Step one of crush rulebook: get the surname.”
“There is no crush,” Meera insisted.
“Sure,” Tara said. “And I’m the princess of Hyderabad.”
---
Across the city…
Arjun pushed open the glass door of a modern office building, hair still damp from earlier. Kabir Malhotra leaned against the reception desk, arms crossed.
“You’re late,” Kabir said.
“Traffic,” Arjun lied.
Kabir raised an eyebrow. “Rain again?”
Arjun didn’t answer. His mind flashed back to the library.
To Meera.
To her quiet voice.
Her camera.
The way she looked at him like she could see something inside him he’d forgotten how to face.
Kabir followed him into the lift. “Something happened. I can tell.”
“No.” Arjun pressed the lift button.
Kabir smirked. “If it’s work stress, I’ll tolerate your mood. If it’s girl stress, I want details.”
“Neither.”
“Both.”
Arjun didn’t respond.
But his silence was enough to make Kabir’s grin widen.
---
Back at the café…
Meera opened the laptop again, staring at the photograph of Arjun.
Why did this stranger’s expression affect her so much?
Why did it feel like he was standing on the edge of something—loss, fear, longing—yet refusing to step back?
Tara snapped her fingers. “Earth to Meera!”
“Huh?”
“You’re staring at his face like it’s a movie trailer.”
Meera sighed, closing the laptop. “Fine. Maybe… he intrigued me.”
Tara squealed. “THAT is the word of romance! Intrigue! Chemistry! Vibe!”
Meera rolled her eyes but smiled.
Just then, the doorbell of the café jingled.
Both girls turned.
Meera’s heart stopped.
Standing at the entrance—clean, calm, but still carrying that same storm in his eyes—was Arjun.
He didn’t see her at first. He walked to the counter, placing an order.
Tara whispered, “Is that HIM?”
Meera whispered back, “Don’t stare!”
“I will stare respectfully,” Tara corrected.
Arjun turned slightly, scanning the café… and his gaze landed on Meera.
His eyes widened in recognition.
For a heartbeat, the world shrank.
Raindrops.
Library.
A photograph.
He walked toward her.
Tara kicked Meera under the table.
“Good luck,” she whispered, then immediately pretended to be busy on her phone.
Arjun reached their table.
“Meera,” he said softly.
Her breath caught again at the sound of her name.
“Arjun,” she replied.
He glanced at the empty chair. “May I?”
Tara shot a thumbs-up under the table.
Meera inhaled, steadying herself. “Sure.”
Arjun sat, holding his cup with both hands. “I didn’t expect to see you again.”
Meera smiled gently. “Sometimes the city is smaller than we think.”
He looked at her camera on the table. “Did you edit the picture?”
“I did.”
“May I see it?”
Meera hesitated.
Then she slid the laptop toward him.
Arjun leaned in, the glow of the screen lighting his features.
A long silence.
A deep breath.
Finally, he said—
“This… is the most honest photograph of me anyone has ever taken.”
Meera’s heart flipped.
Arjun lifted his eyes to hers.
“And I don’t know why… but it doesn’t scare me.”
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- Writer
