Flashback:

Dhruv, then 17, had just returned home from school, his face unusually dull. As he walked into the house, his sister Muskan looked up from her homework.

“Bhaiya(elder brother), isn’t today your best friend’s birthday? Where’s the party?” Muskan asked excitedly.

Dhruv, putting on a brave face, replied, “They’re going to that new restaurant on the city's outskirts. I’m not going, Mom didn't allow me to go that far.”

Muskan’s face fell. “But why? Did you tell them Mom wouldn’t allow you to go that far?”

Dhruv nodded, dropping his school bag by the door. “Yeah, I told them. They’ve wanted to go there for a long time. It’s fine.”

Muskan murmured, “They could have chosen a place where you could join.”

Dhruv shrugged, trying to hide his disappointment. “It’s okay. They’ll have fun. And it's his birthday, not mine, he should go wherever he wants” He walked past her, heading to his room, leaving Muskan frowning at his retreating figure.

Flashback Ends:

Back to the present, the office was abuzz with laughter. Karan and Aryan were cracking weird jokes, causing Ananya and Dhruv to laugh hard. The camaraderie was palpable as Karan imitated their boss’s stern expression.

“So, Aryan, when’s your next stand-up gig?” Ananya teased, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.

Manvi comes to their cubicle and sees them laughing, "What's going on guys, having fun? Good that you do the team bonding exercise here only, because anyway Dhruv doesn't come to the team bonding sessions arranged by HR. No wonder why she doesn't like him", she says with a smile.

Suddenly the peon arrives at the scene and informs Manvi that the head of the building, Manav Sir is calling her into his cabin.

“We have an important foreign client project,” Manav began. “And after careful consideration, I believe the 3rd Floor can have this opportunity to prove themselves but mind you, it's a very important project. Do you think any team from your floor would be able to get this done efficiently in time”

Manvi after a lot of thought, replies, "I think Dhruv and the team would be good to go for this"

Manav gets up from his chair and replies, "Good then, I hope they stand up to your expectations and don't let the client down"

Manvi walked in briskly, calling out, “Dhruv, Karan, Aryan, Ananya. Conference room. Now.”

Manvi begins with full attention and seriousness, “We have an important foreign client project. And after careful consideration, I believe your team, led by Dhruv, would be best suited for this task.”

Karan and Aryan exchanged excited glances, while Ananya smiled broadly. Dhruv, however, felt a wave of intensity wash over him but kept his composure.

“Congratulations, team,” Manvi added. “Don’t let me down.”

Back at their cubicle, the three of them congratulated Dhruv. “First time as team lead, Dhruv! You’re gonna rock it,” Aryan said, clapping him on the back.

They divided their tasks and got down to work, the initial excitement slowly giving way to the daunting reality of the project.

The next morning, as Dhruv got out of his auto-rickshaw, he noticed Ananya and her boyfriend Aviraj arguing at the building entrance. He could see the frustration on Ananya’s face but chose not to intervene. Instead, he walked past them, lost in thought.

“No, Aviraj, you don’t understand!” Ananya’s voice was raised, her hands gesticulating wildly.

Aviraj sighed, exasperated. “Ananya, we’ve talked about this. Why do you always make a big deal out of nothing?”

“It’s not nothing! You asked me out for a movie this weekend and because of it I cancelled my other weekend plans with my friends and now you say you have some other work,” Ananya retorted, her eyes flashing with anger.

“I have work, Ananya. Important work. Why can’t you just understand that?” Aviraj shot back, frustration was evident in his tone.

Ananya shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes. “It’s always your same excuse. Do you have any sense about how disastrous and ignorant you have become ?”

Dhruv could hear the tension in their voices as he walked past, feeling a pang of sympathy for Ananya but knowing it wasn’t his place to intervene.

In the office, Karan and Aryan weren’t speaking to each other, their desks now further apart. Dhruv, puzzled, asked Aryan, “What’s going on between you two?”

Aryan sighed and explained the situation. “Karan asked me to bring a gift for his three days old girlfriend’s birthday. I forgot, and now he thinks I don’t care about his relationship.”

Dhruv listened patiently, sensing the depth of Aryan’s regret. “Did you apologize?” he asked.

“I did, but he’s too caught up with her to listen,” Aryan replied, frustration evident in his voice.

Days passed, and the project wasn’t progressing as planned. Ananya’s relationship issues distracted her, Karan and Aryan’s rift affected their focus, and Dhruv found himself carrying the weight of the project. Despite his efforts, they were running behind the deadline.

One evening, Dhruv stayed back late, trying to catch up on work. He noticed Ananya sitting alone in the break room, staring blankly at her phone. He approached her, offering a cup of coffee.

“Everything okay?” he asked gently.

Ananya looked up, her eyes tired. “Yeah, just relationship stuff. Aviraj and I aren’t seeing eye to eye lately.”

Dhruv nodded understandingly. “Well, take care then, I'll take a leave"

A few mornings passed by, and Manvi called them into her office. Manav was also there, looking stern. “You were supposed to deliver the project yesterday. What happened?”

Dhruv stepped forward, ready to take the blame. “We’ve been facing some challenges, but we’ll deliver it by today.”

Manvi frowned, and spoke in anger, "Don't take that load, dear, we have transferred the client and the project to the second floor. And congratulations you are not getting a project for some time now so you guys can sought your problems easily. Good luck with it, now leave"

Back at their desks, an awkward silence hung in the air. Aryan stood up in distress and walked away. After an hour of silence in the cubicle, Dhruv finally spoke up, addressing Karan. “So, Karan how are things with your girlfriend?"

Karan replies looking down, "What do you think "

Dhruv replies smiling in himself without looking towards them lost in his thoughts, "You know life is very long, there will be times when you will feel that the burden of all the problems lie on your shoulders and you won't be able to breathe, that is the time when you will want someone to be there with you and share the load for some seconds so that you can go out and take a good breath. Most often that person will be a friend whom you can trust with all your problems, that he won't let you down irrespective of it doesn't bother him the way it does to you, but still, he will try to share the equal load with you and keep you running in the race of life"

The already-established silence in their cubicle was replaced by the heavy thoughts of Dhruv. Karan looked at Ananya and they both looked at Dhruv who wasn't in the present for sure, looking at his hands continuously.

Dhruv broke the silence and came back to his senses, "Karan, only a fool trades diamond with brass. Make your life decisions wisely because sometimes it gets a bit too late to understand how important that person was, people might still be there physically but they leave you mentally without you even knowing it. Don't fuck up your 6-7 years friendship for a girl whom you don't even know properly. I do understand that it was Aryan's fault but forgive him his intentions weren't what you think they were. So just let it go bro"

Ananya and Karan listened to every word with full attention and amazement, they both never heard Dhruv speak for so long in one go that too with so much weight.

Karan stood up, putting his hands on Dhruv's shoulder, said with a smile, "Thanks bro, I will go and talk to him"

"There you go champion, you got this" exclaimed Dhruv patting Karan's back.

Karan walked over to Aryan. “I’m sorry, man. I overreacted. You’re my best friend, and I shouldn’t have let this come between us.”

Aryan smiled, relieved. “I’m sorry too, bro. Let’s put this behind us.”

They hugged, and their friendship mended. Ananya, who had been watching the exchange, turned to Dhruv. "You all right?"

Dhruv replies, "Me? Yeah, why do you ask, what would happen to me", Ananya replies with a smile, "No, just asking "

Manvi then called Dhruv into her office, where Manav and Mr. Benedict were on a video call. Dhruv'sphone rang continuously on his table, and Ananya picked it up.

“Hello?”

“Hi, is Dhruv there?” Muskan’s voice came through.

“He’s in a meeting. Can I take a message?” Ananya replied.

“Just tell him Muskan called. By the way, who are you?” Muskan asked curiously.

“Ananya, his friend,” Ananya replied, smiling.

Muskan chuckled. “Since when did he start having friends?” She laughed and hung up, leaving Ananya amused and deep in thought.

At 6’o o'clock in the evening, Dhruv stood with a coffee near the railing, steady cold breezewashing his hair. Ananya walks near the railing as well, lost in her thoughts. She broke the silence after a few minutes, "Do you think I am over-stretching this?". Dhruv was about to say something sarcastic to lighten up her mood but Ananya interrupted, "Dare not crack a joke, give me your honest opinion Dhruv".

"Well, it's just my ideology, I don't wanna impose it on you, but what I think is that like things, some relationships also come with an expiry date. When the date comes, it gets harmful for the consumer to use it beyond the date. Rather than kicking yourself and making your relationship abusive, you should be proud of the fact that it was beautiful till it lasted. You know when you over-stretch a thing, the next time you see that thing, the thing looks normal from far away but as you go near you'll see the stretch marks. I don't know how much battery is still left in your relationship, you must know it better, but if you decide to end it then don't end it this way. It's your story write the ending well. But after all that I said, It would be better if you don't pay attention to my words, I mean I don't think it's ideal to take relationship advice from an office colleague who does not know how relationships work".

Ananya replies with a smile, "Maybe you are right, but after listening to you, I think I needed to hear what you said, I do feel better, so thank you". Dhruv didn't say anything but smiled. "Your sister called by the way when you were in the cabin, do call her back "

Dhruv replied, "Sure". He started to walk from there when Ananya called from behind, "Dhruv", he turned back,

"Why would you say that? ", Ananya. Dhruv with a confused expression replied with a confused head, "Why would I say what? ".

"That I should not take advice from an office colleague, aren't we friends? ". Dhruv stuttered a bit and said, "Of course you are, I must have said it in flow, I didn't mean that you aren't a friend. Anyways, take care, I'll take a leave and stop noticing every small detail", Dhruv faked a laugh and went.