Chapter-1:-The coffee that ruined everything
If there was one thing Aarav Mehta believed in. It was routine. He woke up at exactly 6:30 am., brused his teeth for precisely two minutes, and drank his coffee black- no sugar , no milk, no nonsense, life according
On the morning his life fell apart, his coffee machine exploded.
Not literally exploded- there was no fire on dramatic smoke - but it did make a sound like a dying robot and sprayed hot coffee all over his white shirt. Aarav started at the brown stains spreding like modern art and sighed the deep sigh of a man personally betrayed by technology.
"Of course, he muttered, "of course this happens today"
Today was important today he had and interview for a senior analyst position a job that come with a bigger , salary a bigger desk . And mast important predictability
He pushed out of his apartment. Late for first time in there years grabbed the nearest clean shirt (which turned out to be his College fest t-shirt that said YOLO) and ran toward the metro
That was when he collided with Anaya Sharma
The impact was sudden coffee - her coffee flew through the air in slow motion and landed squraly on aarav's chest
Thet started at each other.
"Your" ananya said.
"Me" aarav replied
"You ruined my coffee "
"You ran into me "
"You were walking like a confused penguin.
"You were texting while walking"
They glared.
Ananya was wearing bright yellow sneakers mismatched socks and a smile that looked permanently amused by the universe Aarav noticed all this unwillingly.
"I have an interview " Aarav said stiffly'.
"I have a presentation,"ananya replied"
And now my coffee is gone.
She looked down at. His shirt and burst out laughing
"Wow" she said , "you look like a failed cappuccino"
He hated the she was right .
And that she was funny.
Chapter -2:- Destiny has a terrible sense of humor
Fate , it turned out, was not done with Aarav -
When he reached the office building stills melling faintly of coffee and humiliation. He was informed that the interviewer was running late .Aarav sat down. Straightened his YOLO shirts and prepared his answers.
"Aarav Mehta?"
He looked up.
It was Ananya
She was now wearing glasses and holding a file
"You" they said in unison.
She smiled brightly," I,m the project manager I'II be sitting in on you interview"
Aarav considered faking his own death the interview was a disaster.
Not because aarav wasn't qualified -he was- but because every time he tried to sound professional ananya raised an eyebrow like she was remembering the coffee incident.
"Tell us about a time you handled conflict the HR manager asked.
Aarav eleared his throat," this morning - ananya snorted
Somehow, against all logic, Aarav still get the job .
"Congratulations," Ananya said later,"looks like I"II be seeing you a lot.
He forced a smile,"lucky me,"
Chapter-3:- Office wars and accidental friendship
Working with Ananya was like working inside a siteom
She labelled his perfectly organized desk drawers with sticky notes like too neat. And "serial killer energy" He replaced her neon pens with identical black ones.
She brought plants into the office. He measured how much space they took
She hummed while working.he bought noise - concelling headphones
And yet- somehow - they started having lunch together
It began accidentally when the rest of the team went out and left them behind.
"So ,Ananya said , biting into a sandwich.
"Why are you so serious all the time?"
"Efficiency" aarav replied
"You know smiling doesn't reduce productivity,
"Neither does , silence"
She laughed anyway
They started talking - about movies, childhoods , embarrassing moments Ananya told him she once got stuck in a Ferris wheel. Aarav admitted he alphabetised his spice rack
"You're weird,"she said fondly,
"You're chaotic" he replied.
Somewhere between office pranks and late night ,dealines Aarav began to look forward to her laughter
This alarmed him.
Chapter-4:-Feelings are highly inconvenient
Aarav realised he was in trouble the day , Ananya didn't come to work
He checked his .no message,
He checked the team chat ," Ananya one leave today ,"
The office felt wrong too quiet
When she returned the next day . Aarav said"she smiled softly
That smile stayed with him all day
Aarav began noticed things how she tucked her hair behind her ear when thinking how she everyone's birthdays
How she made even boring meetings tolerable
This was unacceptable love mad people do stupid things love was.....ananya.
Chapter-5:- misunderstanding and mango ice cream
Things went wrong at the office party aarav arrived early ananya arrived late -with another guy tall. Charming confident.
Aarav felt something twist painfully in this chest "that"s rohan "someone said . Her college friends
Rohan laughed at her jokes Ananya laughed back
Aarav drank too much punch
Later on the terrace ananya found him staring at the city
"You okay?"
"Perfectly fine" he said ," congratulations "
"For what"
"Your..... friend."
She frowned ,"you're jealous "
"I don't get jealous "
"You're terrible at lying "
They argued.
Then ananya said quietly," I like you, aarav but you never say anything,"
He froze
"I don't know how," he admitted"
She sighed,"you overthink everything
"You under think 'everthing."
She smiled sadly and walked away ,
Chapter -6:- Love explained very badly
Aarav spent the next week miserable
He Googled: How to tell someone you like them without panicking,
The results were unhelpful
He asked his mother
"Just tell her" she said .
"What if she laughs.?"
"Then marry her" his mother replied.
Inspired and terrified aarav planned a confession
He chose mango ice cream because ananya loved it .
He rehearsed his speech
He still messed it up
Chapter-7:- The worst best confession
"I don't like suprise,"Aarav said nervously,
Ananya blinked"okay..."
"I like schedule and silence and black coffee"
"Aarav____"
"And I like you " he rushed, " which is inconvenient
She started
Then she laughed hard
"That's the most romantic insult I've ever received,"
" I mean it positively "
"I know, she said softly " I like you too"
He exhaled for the first time in days they are mango ice cream on the office stairs. Laughing like teenagers,
Chapter-8:- Happily ever after (with adjustment)
Love didn't turn Aarav into a different person He still loved routine but now. , He made space forchaos
Ananya still broke rules
But now she kept one promise - to always brings him coffee
Their life wasn't perfect it was better
Because it was shared
And occasionally it involved exploding coffee machines
Epilogue:- still inconvenient still in love
Years later, aarav would still complain about surprises
Ananya would still surprise him
And ever morning as they shared coffee he would think,
Some inconveniences are worth everything
The end