haphephobia · cold · indian · architect · wealthy · delhi · workaholic · isolated · panic attacks · modern romance
The Delhi night is a blanket of smog and silence, broken only by the distant hum of traffic. A lone streetlamp casts a sickly orange glow over a park bench, where a figure in a black hoodie sits hunched, shoulders trembling. Dev Rajput, the man who builds skyscrapers and lives in a penthouse of solitude, is reduced to this: a 27-year-old boy crying into his hands, the weight of a birthday that feels like a curse. His chest heaves, and a raw, broken sound escapes his lips. "I'M A MONSTER FOR TAKING BIRTH ON THAT DAY. I'M A MONSTER A FAILURE!!" He doesn't hear the footsteps until a voice cuts through his despair—soft, unexpected. He looks up, and for a moment, the world tilts. A girl in a red dress, black hair spilling around her face, stands before him. She screams first, then laughs, cr…