Tuesday. 9:27 am. monsoon humidity making AC struggle. that sticky delhi morning air that promises rain but delivers sweat.
Shubham stared at code. same five lines. twenty minutes. brain refusing to cooperate.
kept seeing her face. blood on tissue. scared eyes pretending not to be scared.
I'm fine.
biggest lie ever told.
"earth to Shubham." Rohan waved hand in his face. "you alive bro."
"debugging."
"bullshit. you're staring at variable declaration. for twenty minutes. what's wrong."
"nothing."
"okay." Rohan rolled back. "but boss is watching. just saying. careful."
looked up. boss visible through glass cabin. eyes on development floor. on him specifically.
one month. prove yourself or get fired.
right. coding. focus. survive.
deleted five lines. started over.
lunch break. cafeteria.
he sat alone. usual spot. headphones. trying to eat trying to code trying to exist.
then overheard.
marketing girls. two tables over. loud enough.
"i heard she's sick. like actually sick. cancer."
"no way. that's why wedding got cancelled."
"yeah. ex found out. dumped her publicly. smart move honestly. who wants damaged goods."
his fork stopped. blood turned cold.
"so Shubham from development is what. charity case."
"obviously. she needed someone. he's desperate. match made in pity."
laughter. casual. cruel.
his hands shook. wanted to walk over. say something. yell something. defend her.
but froze. brain crashing. words gone.
then.
cafeteria felt warmer suddenly.
priya walked in. like sunlight.
stopped near gossip table. sweet smile.
"arre..."
soft tone. pleasant.
"tum log jiske baare mein baat kar rahi ho na..."
she tilted head. innocent.
"wo meri bhabhi hai."
blink. smile still there.
"toh bas ek chhoti si request."
clasped hands behind back. schoolgirl sweet.
"gossip thoda dheere kiya karo."
pause.
"kyunki pata hai..."
leaned closer. whisper-soft.
"kab pair phisal jaaye."
giggle. almost innocent.
"phir log bolte rehte hain—"
beat.
"par uth nahi paate."
she straightened. cheerful again.
"anyway! enjoy your food."
turned to leave.
"oh haan—"
looked back.
"meri family pe baat karna cute lag sakta hai."
smile faded. eyes cold.
"par results bilkul cute nahi hote."
someone dropped their spoon.
gossip girl tried. angry. "excuse me—?"
priya stopped. turned. looked at them once. calm.
"oh? tum logon ko laga main tumhari baat kar rahi hoon?"
silence.
faint smile.
"bakri ho ya suar—"
beat.
"jo khud bol de, wahi hota hai."
turned away. started walking.
then—without looking back—softly:
"main na... is office mein kaam nahi karti."
one step.
"par tum log karti ho."
another step.
"isliye dhyaan rakhna. code of conduct."
stopped for half second.
"kyunki HR ko reason nahi chahiye hota."
voice low.
"bas ek bahana."
final line. almost careless—
"salary kaatne ke liye. jo waise bhi tum deserve nahi karti."
she left.
no one laughed. no one talked.
gossip girls sat frozen. faces white. food forgotten.
shubham stared. what just happened.
priya appeared next to him. sat down. stole his sandwich. bit into it.
"so. that was fun."
"priya what—"
"you FORGOT me by the way." punishing tone. "6 am. bus stand. freezing. waited forty minutes. had to uber here myself. you're paying me back."
memory crashed. text last night. priya coming. he was supposed to—
"shit. priya i'm so sorry. last night was—"
"bhabhi told me. blood. you fell asleep on floor. she found you this morning." eyes softened. just for second. "it's okay bhai. i figured."
"you just—those girls—"
"deserved worse." casual. "but i'm sixteen. assault charges look bad on college applications."
he stared. "when did you become this."
"i've always been this. you just don't pay attention." she grinned. "now. where's my actual lunch. this sandwich is sad."
"ma sent you."
"yeah. also brings this." handed him envelope.
opened it. cash. lot of cash. his chest tightened.
"ma sold her gold chain," priya said quiet. "for bhabhi's treatment. said use it wisely. don't tell bhabhi. she'll feel guilty. just. use it."
throat closed. couldn't speak.
ma. always ma. sacrificing. giving. holding family together when he couldn't.
"priya—"
"don't cry at work bhai. people already think you're weird." she stood. "i'm staying three days. couch is fine. already told bhabhi. she's making lunch. said come home early if possible."
she left. bouncing. fearless.
he sat there. envelope heavy. heart heavier.
family.
even from village. even struggling. still protecting him.
how do you repay that.
3:47 pm.
production meeting. boss. team leads. developers. everyone.
"kumar." boss looked at him. "status update on client module."
shubham swallowed. "sixty percent complete sir. testing phase starts tomorrow."
"sixty percent." boss's voice flat. "deadline was yesterday."
silence. everyone staring.
"sir, there were complications. database migration—"
"complications are excuses. client doesn't pay for complications. they pay for completed work." boss leaned forward. "this is exactly what we discussed. performance. results. you're not delivering."
heat rising. ears burning. everyone watching.
"sir i'll complete by—"
"by when. friday. next monday. next month." boss shook head. "rohan. take over kumar's module. kumar. you're on documentation duty until further notice."
documentation. grunt work. entry level shit.
demotion. public. humiliating.
"sir please i can—"
"meeting dismissed."
everyone filed out. avoiding eye contact. embarrassed for him.
rohan paused. "bro i'm sorry. didn't mean—"
"just take the module." voice dead. flat.
sat there. alone. shattered.
later. rohan walked past his desk. dropped chai. still warm. didn't look at him. didn't say anything. just left it there.
small kindness. made it worse somehow. or maybe better. hard to tell.
six years. built career from nothing. first in family to get engineering degree. first to land IT job. sent money home every month. pride of family.
now demoted. publicly humiliated. one month from termination.
all because he saved a girl from bridge.
no.
because he chose to. chose her. chose love over safety.
would he take it back.
no.
did it still hurt.
yeah.
6:34 pm. their flat.
came home. dead inside. exhausted.
priya and reshma in kitchen. laughing. cooking something smelled amazing.
they looked up. saw his face.
"what happened," reshma asked quiet. already knowing. bad news written all over him.
"got demoted. documentation work. basically fired but slower."
silence.
priya put down knife. "those fuckers."
"priya language," reshma said automatic. but eyes on him. worried. guilty.
"it's fine," he said. wasn't fine. "just work. doesn't matter."
"it does matter." reshma stepped closer. "you love that job. worked so hard. and now because of me—"
"not because of you." firm. "because of me. my choices. my priorities. i'd do it again."
"that's stupid."
"and you love it."
she wanted to argue. couldn't.
priya cleared throat. "okay emotional moment. noted. but also. dinner almost ready. bhabhi made bihari style chicken. ma's recipe. you're eating whether you're sad or not."
despite everything. small smile.
"okay."
dinner. three of them. cramped table. plates full. conversation light.
priya told stories about patna. ma's gossip. neighbors asking when they're visiting again. small village news that felt big because it was home.
reshma laughed. actually laughed. first real light moment in days.
shubham watched them. his sister. his. wife.
weird. beautiful. temporary. real.
after dinner priya claimed couch. "you two get bedroom. i'm not sharing. i snore."
"you don't snore," shubham said.
"do now. puberty. very tragic. goodnight!"
they went to bedroom. small. quiet.
"your sister is something else," reshma said.
"yeah. she's." his voice thick. "ma sent her. sent money too. gold chain."
"what."
"for your treatment. sold her chain. the one papa gave her wedding day. only jewelry she kept. sold it. for you."
reshma sat down hard. "no. no we're sending it back. I can't—"
"she won't take it. you know that." he sat beside her. "she chose. like i chose. like priya chose to come defend you. we're family reshma. this is what family does."
she was crying now. quiet tears. "i don't deserve this."
"tough. you're stuck with us."
she laughed. wet. broken. "you're all crazy."
"and you love it."
"yeah." she looked at him. really looked. "i do."
moment stretched. fragile. precious.
then her phone rang.
she looked. face going white. "it's dr. mehta. oncologist."
him?"
"had appointment consultation last week. results must be ready."
she answered. speaker.
"hello reshma ji. reports are in. can you come tomorrow morning. we need to discuss next steps. urgently."
urgently.
word hung there. heavy. terrifying.
"yes doctor. tomorrow morning."
"good. bring your husband. he should hear this too."
call ended.
silence. crushing.
"urgently is bad word," she whispered.
"might be nothing."
"you don't believe that."
"no."
they sat there. holding hands. clock ticking. fear growing.
priya's voice from living room. "heard everything. thin walls. tomorrow i'm coming too. moral support."
reshma smiled despite tears. "okay."
shubham squeezed her hand.
tomorrow. hospital. results. truth they'd been avoiding.
tonight. just them. borrowed time. pretending morning wouldn't come.
(Speaker: boss demoted him. office humiliated him. family sacrificed for her. and tomorrow doctor says "urgently." pacing my friends. stakes rising. clock ticking. how much time left before everything crashes.)
Cliffhanger → Doctor wants to see them urgently. Priya defended her publicly. Ma sold her gold for treatment. And Shubham's career crumbling. Tomorrow they face medical truth. Tonight they pretend it's fine. Spoiler: it's not fine.