TARA
There were certain things in life that Tara Raichand knew with absolute certainty.
She knew that Monday mornings were Ranveer Singh Raizada's least favourite part of the week.
She knew he preferred black coffee without sugar when he had an important meeting.
She knew that if he loosened his tie twice within ten minutes, something was bothering him.
She knew he hated people touching his things without permission.
She knew he became unusually quiet when he was angry.
She knew he never ate properly when he was working.
She knew he would forget lunch if nobody reminded him.
She knew that when he was exhausted, he preferred silence over conversation.
She knew which cologne he wore when he attended business meetings and which one he wore when he wanted to stay home.
She knew the exact expression that appeared on his face whenever someone said something particularly stupid in a meeting.
She knew almost everything about him.
And Tara had written it all down.
Seven diaries.
Seven years of memories.
Well...
Five years of them.
The first diary had begun with only three words.
Ranveer likes coffee.
The second page had said:
Black. No sugar. Very hot.
By the time she had reached her seventh diary, the pages had become filled with little details that nobody else seemed to notice.
His favourite songs.
His preferred restaurants.
The shirts he wore when he was nervous.
The books he bought but never finished.
The way he rubbed his forehead when he had a headache.
The way he looked at the city through his office window when something was weighing heavily on his mind.
To Tara, these weren't meaningless details.
They were pieces of Ranveer.
Pieces she had collected carefully.
Pieces she had loved.
And perhaps, someday, pieces she would tell her children about.
She smiled at that thought as she stood outside the enormous glass doors of Raizada Industries.
It was 8:42 in the morning.
Ranveer's office was on the thirty-second floor.
Tara checked her watch.
Eight minutes.
He would be there in eight minutes.
She knew because Ranveer hated being late.
She adjusted the files against her chest and glanced at her reflection in the glass.
Cream-coloured formal trousers.
A pale blue shirt.
Her hair tied neatly.
Minimal makeup.
Nothing too noticeable.
Nothing that would distract from work.
Although everyone in the company already knew that the CEO's personal secretary wasn't simply his secretary.
Tara had stopped caring about gossip years ago.
People talked.
They always would.
She stepped inside.
“Good morning, ma'am.”
Tara smiled politely at the receptionist.
“Good morning.”
She crossed the lobby and entered the private elevator.
As soon as the doors closed, her expression softened.
Thirty-two.
She pressed the button.
Her heart did the stupid little flutter it always did.
Five years.
Five years and she still felt nervous whenever she knew she was about to see him.
Maybe that was love.
Or maybe she was simply hopeless.
The elevator doors opened.
Tara walked directly toward Ranveer's office.
His door was closed.
She glanced at the clock.
8:49.
Perfect.
She placed the files on the table outside his office and turned toward the coffee machine.
Black coffee.
No sugar.
Extra hot.
Exactly how he liked it.
She had barely finished preparing it when she heard footsteps behind her.
She didn't need to turn around.
She knew those footsteps too.
Slow.
Measured.
Confident.
Ranveer.
Her lips curved automatically
“Good morning.”
“Morning.”
His voice was deep, slightly rough.
Tara turned.
And there he was.
Ranveer Singh Raizada.
Black suit.
White shirt.
Black watch.
Dark hair pushed back carelessly.
His expression unreadable as usual.
He looked exactly like the man half the business world feared.
And exactly like the man Tara had spent five years loving.
She held out the coffee.
“Tumhari coffee.”
“Tumhari coffee.”
Your coffee.
His eyes moved from the cup to her face.
“You remembered.”
Tara almost laughed.
“Main tumhari coffee kaise bhool sakti hoon?”
How could I forget your coffee?
For half a second, something softened in his eyes.
Then it disappeared.
He took the cup.
“Thanks.”
That was it.
He walked into his office.
Tara watched him disappear behind the glass door.
Her smile remained.
Because to her, even a simple thanks mattered.
It always had.
She picked up the files and followed him.
“Tumhari nine-thirty wali meeting board members ke saath hai.”
Your nine-thirty meeting is with the board members.
“I know.”
“Eleven thirty pe Sharma Group ke saath call hai.”
You have a call with Sharma Group at eleven-thirty.
“I know, Tara.”
She paused.
He looked up from his laptop.
There was no irritation in his expression, but there was something else.
Distance.
A strange kind of distance that Tara had begun noticing recently.
She ignored it.
“Lunch twelve-thirty pe hai.”
Lunch is at twelve-thirty.
“I'll eat.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“Promise?”
“Promise?”
Ranveer stared at her for a moment.
Then a faint smirk appeared.
“You're my secretary, not my mother.”
Tara smiled.
“Secretary hoon. Lekin tumhari aadatein jaanti hoon.”
I'm your secretary, but I know your habits.
Something unreadable crossed his face.
“That's the problem.
She blinked.
“What?”
But Ranveer had already returned his attention to the laptop.
“Nothing.”
Tara stood there for another second.
Then she smiled faintly and left.
She didn't see the way Ranveer's fingers tightened around his coffee cup after she closed the door.
---
RANVEER
He hated Mondays.
He hated unnecessary meetings.
He hated people who talked too much.
He hated coffee that wasn't hot enough.
And recently...
He had started hating the way Tara looked at him.
Not because there was anything wrong with her eyes.
There wasn't.
Her eyes had always been beautiful.
Too trusting.
That was the problem.
Tara trusted him too much.
Five years ago, when she had first started working for him, she had been twenty-three and painfully obvious about her feelings.
He had known from the beginning.
Everyone had.
She followed him around like a shadow.
Remembered everything.
Brought him coffee.
Reminded him about meetings.
Argued with him when he skipped meals.
Smiled whenever he looked at her.
At first, he had found it amusing.
Then convenient.
Then comforting.
And eventually...
dangerous.
Because somewhere along the way, Tara had stopped being simply the young woman who admired him.
She had become part of his routine.
Part of his home.
Part of his bed.
Part of his life.
And perhaps that was where things had gone wrong.
Ranveer leaned back in his chair.
Through the glass wall, he could see Tara sitting at her desk.
She was typing something.
Her hair had fallen over one shoulder.
She tucked it behind her ear without thinking.
He looked away.
He shouldn't be watching her.
He had been trying not to.
For weeks.
But every time he tried to create distance, Tara somehow filled the space again.
Not deliberately.
That was what made it worse.
She didn't demand.
She didn't threaten.
She didn't manipulate.
She simply...
stayed.
And Ranveer had allowed her to stay.
For five years.
He closed his eyes briefly.
Five years.
It sounded longer when he thought about it.
Five years of late nights.
Five years of her waiting for him.
Five years of her believing there would eventually be a ring.
Five years of him never correcting that belief.
His jaw tightened.
He had never promised marriage.
Not once.
But promises weren't always spoken.
Sometimes they were created by silence.
And Ranveer knew he had been silent for far too long.
His phone vibrated.
He glanced at the screen.
A message.
He read it once.
Then again.
His expression hardened.
The family dinner is confirmed for Saturday. Everyone will be there.
Ranveer locked the phone.
Saturday.
He already knew what would happen.
Questions.
Comments.
Judgements.
And Tara...
Tara would smile through all of it.
She always did.
He hated that.
Not because he wanted her to fight.
But because she deserved better than constantly having to pretend she wasn't being hurt.
His eyes moved toward her again.
She was smiling at something on her phone.
Probably one of her friends.
He remembered once asking why she wrote everything down.
She had laughed.
“Tumhare baare mein?”
About you?
“Yes.”
She had looked almost embarrassed.
“Pata nahi. Bas achha lagta hai.”
“Pata nahi. Bas achha lagta hai.”
I don't know. It just feels good.
He had laughed then.
He hadn't understood.
Now he did.
She had built a version of him in her head.
A version that loved her.
A version that would eventually marry her.
A version that would choose her publicly.
And Ranveer wasn't sure how to tell her that reality didn't always match imagination.
His phone vibrated again.
He ignored it.
---
TARA
At eleven fifteen, Tara walked into Ranveer's office with a file.
He was on a call.
She quietly placed the file on his desk.
He looked at her.
She pointed toward the document.
He nodded.
She smiled.
Their communication had become almost effortless over the years.
A look.
A gesture.
A raised eyebrow.
A tiny nod.
She knew him.
She knew him so well.
At least, she thought she did.
She turned to leave.
“Tara.”
She stopped.
“Yes?”
“Come here.”
She walked toward him.
Ranveer ended the call.
“Saturday evening free rakhna.”
Her heart immediately jumped.
“Why?”
“Family dinner.”
Her smile widened.
“Main aaungi.”
He looked at her.
“You don't have to.”
The smile disappeared slightly.
“Why?”
“It's a family dinner.”
She stared at him.
“Ranveer... main five saal se tumhari life ka part hoon.”
“Ranveer... main five saal se tumhari life ka part hoon.”
Ranveer... I've been a part of your life for five years.
His expression changed.
“I know.”
“Then why are you saying it like I'm some outsider?”
“Silence.
Ranveer looked away.
Tara swallowed.
She forced a smile.
“Main aa jaungi.”
She turned.
“Tara.”
She looked back.
“Don't expect anything from Saturday.”
Her brows furrowed.
“Anything?”
“I just don't want you misunderstanding anything.”
Her heart gave a strange little ache.
“Main kya misunderstand karungi?”
What would I misunderstand?
He didn't answer.
Tara stared at him.
Then she smiled.
“Tum kabhi kabhi bahut ajeeb ho.”
You're strange sometimes.
And she walked away before he could say anything else.
Outside, she returned to her desk.
She opened her drawer.
Inside was a small black diary.
The newest one.
She opened it.
Today's date.
She wrote:
28 August
Ranveer remembered Saturday's family dinner.
She paused.
Then added:
Maybe this time something will change.
She smiled at her own handwriting.
Maybe Saturday would be different.
Maybe this would finally be the night he would stop keeping her in the shadows.
Maybe he would finally say something.
Maybe...
She closed the diary.
Tara didn't know that Ranveer was sitting behind his office door with his eyes closed
And for the first time in five years...
he was wondering how to end something she had spent five years believing would last forever.
---
TARA
Lunch arrived.
Tara carried a food container into his office
Ranveer looked up.
“No."
She frowned.
“Yes.”
“I'm not hungry.”
“You said that yesterday.”
“I was busy yesterday.”
“You'll say the same thing tomorrow.”
His eyebrow lifted.
“You've become very bossy.”
She placed the food on his desk.
“Tumne mujhe hi sikhaya hai.
“Tumne mujhe hi sikhaya hai.”
You taught me to be this way.
He stared at her
For a moment, neither spoke
Then Tara opened the container.
“Eat."
“I have a meeting.”
“Meeting fifteen minutes baad hai.”
“Meeting fifteen minutes baad hai
The meeting is fifteen minutes from now
“You've memorized my schedule.”
“I've memorized your entire life."
The words came out playfully.
But the silence afterward wasn't playful.
Ranveer's eyes remained on her.
Tara suddenly felt self-conscious.
She laughed.
“Okay, that sounded creepy.
He didn't smile.
She closed the container.
“Sorry.
“Tara.”
“Hmm?
“Do you ever think about yourself?”
She stared at him.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
He reached for the food.
She smiled.
“Good boy.”
He rolled his eyes.
“Go.”
She laughed.
“Fine.”
She walked out.
The second the door closed, Ranveer stopped eating.
He looked at the food.
Then at the door.
Then down at his hands.
She didn't know.
She didn't know that he had been trying to prepare himself for this conversation.
She didn't know that the distance wasn't because he hated her
She didn't know that sometimes people stayed silent because they were cowards.
And Ranveer was beginning to understand that he had been one.
---
RANVEER
By six in the evening, most employees had left.
Tara was still at her desk.
Of course she was.
Ranveer stepped outside his office.
“You're still here?”
She looked up.
“Tum bhi.”
“Tum bhi.”
You are too.
“I'm the CEO.”
“And I'm your secretary.”
He shook his head.
“Go home.
“Five minutes.”
“Tara.”
“Bas five minutes.”
He watched her continue typing.
“You've been saying five minutes for twenty minutes.”
She smiled without looking up.
“Ab asli five minutes.”
Now the real five minutes.
He almost smiled.
Almost.
Instead, he walked back into his office.
Through the glass, he watched her.
Five years.
How had five years passed so quickly
He remembered the first time she had walked into his office after joining the company.
She had been nervous.
He remembered her first coffee.
Too sweet
He had told her he didn't drink sugar.
She had looked horrified.
Then she had spent the next week researching his coffee preferences.
He remembered the first time she had fallen asleep on his sofa.
The first time she'd held his hand.
The first time she had kissed him.
The first night she had stayed.
And he remembered the morning after.
She had smiled at him like she had won the world.
He had said nothing.
Perhaps that was the first mistake.
Because Tara had interpreted his silence as acceptance.
And maybe...
it had been.
Ranveer looked away.
He couldn't keep doing this.
He couldn't keep accepting her love simply because it was convenient.
He couldn't keep letting her wait.
He couldn't keep pretending that one day he would wake up and suddenly become the man she wanted.
He wasn't that man.
And she deserved to know.
His phone rang.
He answered.
“Yes?”
A familiar voice spoke from the other end.
“Are you still going through with it?”
Ranveer's expression hardened.
“Yes.”
“You're sure?”
“Yes.”
“And Tara?”
A long silence.
Ranveer looked through the glass.
She was packing her bag.
He watched her smile at someone on her phone.
His voice became quieter.
“She'll be fine.”
But even as he said it...
he didn't believe himself.
---
TARA
Tara entered Ranveer's bedroom later that night with two cups of tea.
She found him standing by the window.
His back was toward her.
She placed the tea on the side table.
“Tea.”
He didn't turn.
“Thanks.”
She walked closer.
“Sab theek hai?”
Is everything okay?
“Yeah.”
“Sure?”
“Yeah.”
She looked at him
Something felt wrong.
It had been feeling wrong for weeks.
Maybe months.
But she had refused to acknowledge it.
She reached for his hand.
He let her.
Her fingers intertwined with his.
“You're quiet.”
“I'm tired.”
She smiled.
“Then come sit.”
They sat together.
Tara leaned her head against his shoulder.
For a while, neither spoke.
She closed her eyes.
This was what she loved most
These quiet moments.
No family.
No office.
No gossip.
No questions.
Just him.
Just her.
She whispered,
“Ranveer?”
“Hmm?”
“Ek baat poochun?”
“Ek baat poochun?”
Can I ask you something?
“Ask.”
“Tum mujhse shaadi karoge?”
The question came softly.
Almost playfully.
But Ranveer's body became still.
Tara lifted her head.
She smiled.
“I'm serious.”
He looked at her.
She waited.
Five years.
She had asked him this question in a hundred different ways.
And every time, he had avoided it.
This time, she wanted an answer.
Not tomorrow.
Not someday.
Now.
Ranveer looked away.
“Tara...”
Her smile slowly disappeared.
“Hmm?”
“Not tonight.”
She stared at him.
“Tumne yehi baat paanch saal se boli hai.”
You've been saying the same thing for five years.
He didn't answer.
She laughed softly, trying to lighten the moment.
“Ek din toh bolna padega.”
One day, you're going to have to answer.
Ranveer looked at her.
There was guilt in his eyes.
She didn't understand it.
She only smiled.
Then she rested her head on his shoulder again.
“Main wait karungi.”
I'll wait.
Ranveer closed his eyes.
And for the first time..
he wished she wouldn't.
Because somewhere deep inside, he already knew—
Tara had been waiting for a future he was never going to give her.
And Saturday was going to change everything.
But Tara didn't know that yet.
She simply closed her eyes beside the man she had loved for five years.
And smiled.
Because she still believed that love was enough.
She still believed Ranveer would choose her.
She still believed that someday...
he would finally give her a place in his life.
She just didn't know that soon, she would be forced to ask herself the question that would break her heart:
If she had always been there for him...
why had he never truly stood beside her?
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