Whenever Ria found a sliver of free time, she would escape to the nearby lake. It was her only getaway, her tiny world where she didn't have to be the breadwinner for a moment. She didn't get many leaves, and to be honest, sometimes she wondered—why is all of this even necessary? What was she even doing?
Life after college had just... changed. To be honest, the thing is, she didn't know when exactly it happened, but life had become so suffocatingly busy.
One day, Ria was just going about her routine, ordering food as usual. That's when she saw him. Ram.
He was her new neighbor, standing nearly 6 feet tall. For the first time in forever, Ria felt something she hadn't felt in years—butterflies. He was in the middle of shifting his luggage into the apartment. To be honest, the thing is, Ria had just stepped out to pick up the milk packets, and there he was.
He was leaning against a pillar, legs crossed, with the morning sunshine hitting him just right. They were living in the same apartment complex, but he looked like he belonged to a different world.
For five long seconds, Ria stood there, her eyes wide, just taking him in. And then, it happened. Their eyes met.
For a second, Ria forgot how to breathe. She actually panicked. To be honest, his eyes were just so beautiful. He was wearing a grey t-shirt, and you could clearly see the definition of his six-pack abs through the fabric. The moment the eye contact happened, Ria snapped. Within two seconds, she broke the gaze and rushed back into her room, her heart racing.
But Ram had seen her too.
To him, she looked incredibly cute in that fleeting moment. His eyes, which were relaxed a second ago, widened in genuine surprise. It was just a second, but for both of them, the routine was officially broken.