26-05-2026, 01:50 AM
Chapter 38 — Empty Evenings
The next crack appeared quietly.
Not through betrayal.
Not through confrontation.
But through absence.
---
Monday morning began with tension already sitting inside Shruthi’s chest.
The moment she entered office, her manager called her into the conference room.
A major client issue.
Coimbatore branch.
System migration failure. Escalations. Financial pressure.
And unfortunately, Shruthi was one of the few people who fully understood the project structure.
---
“We need someone there for a week minimum,” her manager said seriously.
Shruthi immediately frowned.
“A week?”
“No choice.”
She leaned back slowly.
Hasini. Home. Lokesh. Everything flashed through her mind instantly.
“Can somebody else handle it?”
Her manager hesitated briefly.
“Karthik has to go too.”
That answer somehow made things more complicated immediately.
---
Because technically, it made perfect sense.
Karthik handled backend implementation. Shruthi handled client coordination.
Together they could solve it faster.
Professionally, it was logical.
Emotionally, it was a disaster.
---
For a few seconds, Shruthi remained silent.
Still processing the fact that after everything that happened—
she now had to spend an entire week outside the city with Karthik.
---
Across the room, Karthik himself looked stunned when he heard it.
But unlike Shruthi, another emotion quietly entered him too.
Hope.
Dangerous hope.
---
Ever since the kiss, Shruthi had pulled herself emotionally backward again.
Careful. Measured. Distant.
And now suddenly fate itself seemed to place them together again.
A week. Another city. Work pressure. Distance from home.
Part of him immediately misunderstood the situation emotionally, even if he tried not to.
Somewhere inside, he wondered:
If she truly regretted him completely… why did life keep bringing them together?
---
Shruthi noticed the expression flicker briefly across his face.
And immediately irritation rose inside her.
Because she understood exactly what he was beginning to think.
---
“This is office work,” she said sharply while looking directly at him.
The sentence came out more pointed than necessary.
Karthik blinked once.
Then quietly:
“I know.”
But even he wasn’t fully convincing himself anymore.
---
That evening, Shruthi broke the news to Lokesh while standing near the kitchen cutting vegetables mechanically.
“One week?”
“Hm.”
“Out of town?”
“Coimbatore.”
Lokesh leaned against the dining chair quietly.
“And Karthik?”
Shruthi stopped cutting for half a second before answering.
“He’s also coming.”
Silence.
Not explosive silence.
Heavy silence.
---
Lokesh looked down briefly.
Not suspicious.
Just emotionally tired suddenly.
Because lately every uncomfortable thing somehow circled back toward the same name.
Karthik.
---
“It’s mandatory?” he asked calmly.
“Yes.”
“You can’t avoid?”
“No.”
She finally looked at him properly.
“Lokesh… it’s genuinely office issue.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
That was true.
He hadn’t.
But something inside him still tightened quietly.
---
Shruthi walked closer slowly.
“I don’t want this trip either.”
That sentence softened him immediately because he could hear the honesty in it.
Still, the discomfort remained.
---
“When are you leaving?”
“Wednesday morning.”
“Hm.”
Another silence followed.
Not angry.
Just emotionally crowded.
---
Meanwhile, across the corridor, Laila was going through her own battle quietly.
Ever since that night — the rain, the accidental glance, the tea conversation — she had become more conscious around Lokesh.
And that consciousness frightened her.
Because somewhere deep down, she had started noticing something dangerous too:
Lokesh’s attention toward her had changed.
Subtly.
Not disrespectful.
But warmer. Longer. More aware.
---
And worst of all —
a part of her had begun waiting for that evening routine too.
The corridor conversations. Hasini dragging her outside. Tea. Small jokes. Easy comfort.
That realization disturbed her deeply.
---
So that evening, for the first time in weeks, Laila deliberately stayed inside her apartment.
No corridor sitting. No park. No casual tea.
Nothing.
---
Around six-thirty, Lokesh returned home expecting the usual sounds.
Hasini asking for park. Laila shouting something sarcastic from across the corridor. Doors open.
Instead, the corridor remained quiet.
Closed.
---
Hasini herself noticed first.
“Appa… Laila aunty not there?”
“Maybe busy.”
But even while answering casually, Lokesh glanced once toward the opposite door unconsciously.
Closed.
---
He changed clothes slowly.
Waited.
Still nothing.
No knock. No laughter. No voice calling Hasini.
The absence became strangely loud.
---
Finally Hasini herself rang Laila’s bell once.
Laila opened after a few seconds.
“Oh princess.”
“Park?”
Laila smiled softly but shook her head.
“Today aunty tired.”
Hasini immediately looked disappointed.
“Okay…”
Laila bent slightly and kissed her cheek gently.
“Tomorrow pakka.”
---
From inside his apartment, Lokesh watched that interaction quietly.
And unexpectedly, disappointment settled inside him too.
Far more than it should have.
---
That realization disturbed him immediately.
Why was he waiting for her presence this much?
Why did the evening suddenly feel incomplete?
---
Later, while eating dinner alone with Hasini because Shruthi was still finishing office work calls, Lokesh kept noticing the silence repeatedly.
No laughter from corridor. No interruption. No random tea invitation.
Nothing.
---
Half an hour passed.
Then forty minutes.
And absurdly enough, he missed it.
Not romance.
Not fantasy.
Presence.
Warmth.
Routine.
---
Meanwhile, inside her apartment, Laila sat near the balcony pretending to watch television while actually listening unconsciously for sounds outside.
She knew exactly what she was doing.
Avoidance.
Distance.
Necessary distance.
Because if she continued normally, something emotional might slowly grow without either of them intending it.
And marriages rarely collapse suddenly.
They drift first.
Quietly.
Exactly like this.
---
That night, when Shruthi finally came out after finishing office preparations for the trip, she noticed Lokesh unusually silent near the balcony.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“You look tired.”
“Just headache.”
She walked closer.
But emotionally, both already carried separate storms now.
Shruthi feared Coimbatore. Lokesh feared his own attachment toward comfort. Laila feared emotional closeness. And Karthik —
Karthik waited for a journey he had already begun romanticizing inside his head.
The next crack appeared quietly.
Not through betrayal.
Not through confrontation.
But through absence.
---
Monday morning began with tension already sitting inside Shruthi’s chest.
The moment she entered office, her manager called her into the conference room.
A major client issue.
Coimbatore branch.
System migration failure. Escalations. Financial pressure.
And unfortunately, Shruthi was one of the few people who fully understood the project structure.
---
“We need someone there for a week minimum,” her manager said seriously.
Shruthi immediately frowned.
“A week?”
“No choice.”
She leaned back slowly.
Hasini. Home. Lokesh. Everything flashed through her mind instantly.
“Can somebody else handle it?”
Her manager hesitated briefly.
“Karthik has to go too.”
That answer somehow made things more complicated immediately.
---
Because technically, it made perfect sense.
Karthik handled backend implementation. Shruthi handled client coordination.
Together they could solve it faster.
Professionally, it was logical.
Emotionally, it was a disaster.
---
For a few seconds, Shruthi remained silent.
Still processing the fact that after everything that happened—
she now had to spend an entire week outside the city with Karthik.
---
Across the room, Karthik himself looked stunned when he heard it.
But unlike Shruthi, another emotion quietly entered him too.
Hope.
Dangerous hope.
---
Ever since the kiss, Shruthi had pulled herself emotionally backward again.
Careful. Measured. Distant.
And now suddenly fate itself seemed to place them together again.
A week. Another city. Work pressure. Distance from home.
Part of him immediately misunderstood the situation emotionally, even if he tried not to.
Somewhere inside, he wondered:
If she truly regretted him completely… why did life keep bringing them together?
---
Shruthi noticed the expression flicker briefly across his face.
And immediately irritation rose inside her.
Because she understood exactly what he was beginning to think.
---
“This is office work,” she said sharply while looking directly at him.
The sentence came out more pointed than necessary.
Karthik blinked once.
Then quietly:
“I know.”
But even he wasn’t fully convincing himself anymore.
---
That evening, Shruthi broke the news to Lokesh while standing near the kitchen cutting vegetables mechanically.
“One week?”
“Hm.”
“Out of town?”
“Coimbatore.”
Lokesh leaned against the dining chair quietly.
“And Karthik?”
Shruthi stopped cutting for half a second before answering.
“He’s also coming.”
Silence.
Not explosive silence.
Heavy silence.
---
Lokesh looked down briefly.
Not suspicious.
Just emotionally tired suddenly.
Because lately every uncomfortable thing somehow circled back toward the same name.
Karthik.
---
“It’s mandatory?” he asked calmly.
“Yes.”
“You can’t avoid?”
“No.”
She finally looked at him properly.
“Lokesh… it’s genuinely office issue.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
That was true.
He hadn’t.
But something inside him still tightened quietly.
---
Shruthi walked closer slowly.
“I don’t want this trip either.”
That sentence softened him immediately because he could hear the honesty in it.
Still, the discomfort remained.
---
“When are you leaving?”
“Wednesday morning.”
“Hm.”
Another silence followed.
Not angry.
Just emotionally crowded.
---
Meanwhile, across the corridor, Laila was going through her own battle quietly.
Ever since that night — the rain, the accidental glance, the tea conversation — she had become more conscious around Lokesh.
And that consciousness frightened her.
Because somewhere deep down, she had started noticing something dangerous too:
Lokesh’s attention toward her had changed.
Subtly.
Not disrespectful.
But warmer. Longer. More aware.
---
And worst of all —
a part of her had begun waiting for that evening routine too.
The corridor conversations. Hasini dragging her outside. Tea. Small jokes. Easy comfort.
That realization disturbed her deeply.
---
So that evening, for the first time in weeks, Laila deliberately stayed inside her apartment.
No corridor sitting. No park. No casual tea.
Nothing.
---
Around six-thirty, Lokesh returned home expecting the usual sounds.
Hasini asking for park. Laila shouting something sarcastic from across the corridor. Doors open.
Instead, the corridor remained quiet.
Closed.
---
Hasini herself noticed first.
“Appa… Laila aunty not there?”
“Maybe busy.”
But even while answering casually, Lokesh glanced once toward the opposite door unconsciously.
Closed.
---
He changed clothes slowly.
Waited.
Still nothing.
No knock. No laughter. No voice calling Hasini.
The absence became strangely loud.
---
Finally Hasini herself rang Laila’s bell once.
Laila opened after a few seconds.
“Oh princess.”
“Park?”
Laila smiled softly but shook her head.
“Today aunty tired.”
Hasini immediately looked disappointed.
“Okay…”
Laila bent slightly and kissed her cheek gently.
“Tomorrow pakka.”
---
From inside his apartment, Lokesh watched that interaction quietly.
And unexpectedly, disappointment settled inside him too.
Far more than it should have.
---
That realization disturbed him immediately.
Why was he waiting for her presence this much?
Why did the evening suddenly feel incomplete?
---
Later, while eating dinner alone with Hasini because Shruthi was still finishing office work calls, Lokesh kept noticing the silence repeatedly.
No laughter from corridor. No interruption. No random tea invitation.
Nothing.
---
Half an hour passed.
Then forty minutes.
And absurdly enough, he missed it.
Not romance.
Not fantasy.
Presence.
Warmth.
Routine.
---
Meanwhile, inside her apartment, Laila sat near the balcony pretending to watch television while actually listening unconsciously for sounds outside.
She knew exactly what she was doing.
Avoidance.
Distance.
Necessary distance.
Because if she continued normally, something emotional might slowly grow without either of them intending it.
And marriages rarely collapse suddenly.
They drift first.
Quietly.
Exactly like this.
---
That night, when Shruthi finally came out after finishing office preparations for the trip, she noticed Lokesh unusually silent near the balcony.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“You look tired.”
“Just headache.”
She walked closer.
But emotionally, both already carried separate storms now.
Shruthi feared Coimbatore. Lokesh feared his own attachment toward comfort. Laila feared emotional closeness. And Karthik —
Karthik waited for a journey he had already begun romanticizing inside his head.
-Pickup, drop, escape.
![[+]](https://xossipy.com/themes/sharepoint/collapse_collapsed.png)