AFTER YOU-EPISODE 2

If ou have not read the first episode yet.

From Shashank’s POV

She always took too long to get ready.

I’d finished answering my morning emails, called my assistant twice, reviewed an investor deck, and I still found myself leaning against the car, keys dangling, watching our window to see if she’d finally show up.

Ruchika Sharma had never been on time in her life.
And yet, I always waited.

The front door slammed a moment later, and there she was,half-buttoned shirt, coffee in one hand, kajal still smudged under one eye.

“Sorry sorry sorry,” she said, sliding into the passenger seat, adjusting her tote bag like it was carrying state secrets. “I couldn’t find my black flats.”

I started the engine. “You mean the ones under the sofa?”

She paused. “How do you always know?”

I shrugged. “I’m cursed with memory.”

She laughed, the kind that made her whole face light up. And just like that, the irritation melted into its usual place,beneath my ribs, quiet and loyal.

The drive was familiar. Same potholes, same red traffic light that never worked, same FM channel she insisted on keeping at too low a volume. I should’ve been used to all of it by now.

But some mornings, like this one, I could feel the weight of her presence just a little more. Or maybe the weight of her absence from me.

Because ten minutes into the drive, she was already talking about him.

“I was going through Alok’s old LinkedIn articles last night,” she said, sipping her coffee and staring straight ahead. “God, he was so brilliant. Remember that post he wrote about why coders need to think like writers? It had like what thousands of shares?”

I nodded once. “Yeah. I remember.”

I remembered everything. I remembered reading that damn post before Alok hit publish. I remembered being proud. I also remembered feeling that strange twinge like I was the side character in his story and I knew it.

“I don’t think I’ve met anyone who thought like him,” she continued, unaware of the way her words dug into me. “He just… made you want to be better. You know?”

I didn’t answer.

She didn’t notice.

Or maybe she chose not to.

The car felt smaller. Tighter. Like her voice had filled every inch of it with his shadow.

“I think he would’ve built something huge by now,” she added, almost to herself. “A startup, maybe. Or a product that changed the world.”

Probably.
He probably would’ve.

And I would’ve stood beside him, clapping the loudest.
Just like always.

We stopped at her office building. She reached for the door handle, then paused.

“Oh!” she said suddenly. “Shaam ko jaldi aana, haan? Ma se milne jaana hai.”

I blinked. “What?”

“MA,” she said, like it was obvious. “I told you yesterday, na? She said 6:30 sharp. And you know she hates when people are late.”

She smiled as she said it, her tone casual, like she was just dragging me to dinner.

But something in me tightened.

Her mom hadn’t asked to meet me since… well, not since he was around.

And Ruchika was too calm. Too soft. Too composed for someone who hadn't mentioned her mother in weeks. It felt off. And yet she’d said it with that same old trust, like she assumed I’d show up,like I always did.

She waved and shut the door before I could say anything.

I watched her walk inside, greeted by a colleague, laughing again. The light caught her hair in a way that made her glow. For a second, I saw her the way Alok used to see her like she was the center of every room.

And I hated that I saw it too.

I pulled away from the curb, fingers gripping the steering wheel harder than necessary.

I didn’t know what the evening held.
But something about her voice when she said, “Shaam ko jaldi aana,” lingered.

Like it meant more than dinner.
Like it meant something was finally about to unravel.

And I wasn’t sure I was ready.

The rest of my day passed in fragments.

Numbers. Clients. Memos. Noise.

But her voice kept coming back. Shaam ko jaldi aana. She wants to talk.

Something about her tone… it didn’t sit right. It was too calm. Too practiced.

By the time I returned home, my head hurt and my heart was louder than usual.

I tossed my keys on the table, loosened my tie, reached for the water bottle

and then I saw it.

A white envelope. No stamp. No sender.

Just my name.

In his handwriting.

I froze. For a moment, I thought I was hallucinating.
It’s been six months.

But this… this was real.

I sat down. The envelope trembled in my hands.

And then I opened it.

The first line read:
“I know you love her.”

Than you for reading………let me know your thoughts on comments.

Also, amy recommendation on what you want me to write????