“I think the one good thing that sets me apart from everyone else… is clarity. I’ve always known exactly what I wanted. Even when the world screamed ‘No,’ I stayed true to my heart.”
I was rehearsing my TEDx talk, pacing across the room while buttoning up my shirt as the morning sunlight filtered in. In a few hours, I’d be standing in front of a packed hall at Delhi Technical University crown jewel. A whole crowd of ambitious students waiting to hear me talk about dreams, decisions, and building empires from scratch. And honestly? it’s the youth that drives me. The fire in these young minds—that can set whole worlds ablaze.. they don’t just listen; they feel. They are wild, hungry, unshaped. Talking to them always reminds me why I started in the first place. Old souls inspire me, sure… but it’s the young ones that make me want to do something.
As I scrolled through my final speech draft, my phone pinged.
Aanya: Stop ignoring me, Jace. You’re seriously pushing it now.
I didn’t even want to talk to her. Not since she mentioned her chat with Ananya. I already knew what that talk was about. I didn’t want the questions. Didn’t want to explain. Didn’t want to relive it.
I ignored the message and went back to prepping. But then my phone rang—Aanya again.
Aanya: Pick up. Or I swear I’ll become your worst nightmare…
Big sister mode activated.
I answered. Before I could say anything, she burst into laughter.
“Finally, my little shy brother decides to grow a spine!” she teased. “About time, Mr. Ghost!” Thank God she wasn’t yelling. I’d been ghosting her calls for weeks.
“What happened?” I asked.
“You don’t tell me what happened and now you ask me?” Her tone flipped—she was definitely getting started.
“I really need to—”
“Who’s Reva?”
Boom. There it was. I rubbed my temple and sat on the edge of my bed. There was no way out now.
“uh-..She’s a girl I like” I mumbled.
Aanya didn’t let me breathe. “A girl you like? That’s… new.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Usually you say, ‘a girl I’m dating.’ But this one— is a girl you like.”
“Well, she rejected me.”
“WHAT? That’s impossible. Who rejects the most adorable, sorted guy on Earth?”
That scream could’ve cracked glass. I pulled the phone away from my ear.
“Apparently, I’m not so adorable or sorted when I’m with her,” I muttered.
“Not buying it,” she huffed. “She’s definitely into you. Maybe she’s just playing hard to get.”
“She was interested,” I admitted. “Then we fought.” I finally opened up, like I always did with Aanya. My big sister—my second mom—my one safe place in the world.
“You know what? Don’t worry. She’ll come crawling back. You’re such a chick magnet.”
“Did you just call me a chick magnet?” I laughed. For a moment, her confidence felt contagious.
“How is she supposed to come back if I don’t even know how she feels anymore?”
“Oh my God. Haven’t you watched literally any movie ever made?”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t start.”
“No, listen. Two people fall in love. Sparks fly. Then comes the conflict—usually something stupid. Then comes the twist. The girl starts dating someone else. Or some new guy shows up who gives her a little extra attention. The guy—aka you—gets jealous. Boom. Realisation. You chase her, dramatic confession, happily ever after.”
I stood up, annoyed. “That’s ridiculous. Real life isn’t Bollywood.” Just thinking about Reva with someone else—made me want to punch a wall.
“But Bollywood is real life,” she smirked. “They only make movies like that because real people do it first. Mark my words—she’ll make her move.”
“So if she does start dating someone,” I said, “you think it’s her way of getting me to chase her?” Ridiculous.
“Jealousy is a clue- That’s how you know she still matters to you,” Aanya said, suddenly soft. “And honestly, if she does try to make you jealous, that just proves she still wants your attention. But listen to me carefully, Jace. Don’t fall for cheap tricks. You deserve someone who chooses you, not someone who plays games.”
That hit deep.
“Yeah, well, I’m pretty sure that’s not gonna happen.” I checked my watch. “Look, I’ve got a TED Talk to deliver. I’ll call you after.”
“Go be amazing,” she said.
And I cut the call.
Aanya wasn’t wrong, but no matter how tangled life felt, I had to look like I had it all figured out. “That’s what people liked about me, right?” I muttered to myself as I stepped out of the car.
The moment I touched the pavement, the breeze wrapped around me like an old friend. I closed my eyes, inhaled deeply, and let that cold clean air fill my lungs. This was going to be a good day. I could feel it.
The TED Talk flew by in flashbulbs and mic static. My turn came at 3 PM sharp. I walked up to the stage, introduced myself with a steady voice, and shared my story—not of success, but of stubborn clarity.
“
I think the one good thing that sets me apart from everyone else… is clarity. I’ve always known exactly what I wanted. Even when the world screamed ‘No,’ I stayed true to my heart.
During college, everyone around me started food businesses: home-cooked meals, delivery models, quick-prepare kits. It was thriving. Many of my friends asked me to join them.
But I didn’t. I knew my path was tech.
So, I built a homework app—one that allowed students from different colleges to ask and answer assignment questions. And suddenly, everyone around me was completing their work faster. The app worked beautifully. I earned solid profit.
But not every decision turns out well.
I later invested in a nursing service platform—to help elders easily locate home care. I wasn’t from a tech background, yet I spent heavily: designing an app, developing the site, marketing it earnestly.
It didn’t work.
Around that time, everyone suggested I make a dating app. Honestly, I had no choice—my funds were draining. From market research, I realized that even my homework app was organically being used like one. So, I rebranded and built a dating platform—and it became wildly popular.
Same audience, same crowd—everyone shifted easily.
I stopped investing in the nursing idea, and so I felt the sting of abandoning this idea—a venture I genuinely cared about. Later, when I saw people launch medicine delivery services, I was hit with regret.
That could’ve been me—had I held on.
So, I turned to my father—my lifelong counselor—for guidance. He said:
“No matter the outcome—be it triumph or failure—if your heart is truly in it, keep doing your karma. Life will give you another chance.”
So I did.
I started promoting my work again. And life rewarded me with another shot. I collaborated with B Pharma students, doctors, and even hospitals.
Within a year, people started subscribing to my nursing platform. My efforts bore fruit.
“
The Q&A lit up with curious voices. One student asked, “So lucky you are… to get second chances.”
“Exactly. Once you work hard in silence, people call it luck. But it isn’t. It’s effort. It’s commitment.”
Another one spoke up “So, you’re saying there’s no credit to luck that your abandoned idea finally worked?”
“The only reason that idea succeeded was because I refused to let it go. I kept working. It wasn’t luck—it was resilience.”
I wanted that student to leave with hope, so I added:
“Like I said, life gave me a second chance. But what’s the point of any chance if I wasn’t prepared to grab it?
I worked hard enough to earn—or even steal—that chance. I didn’t wait for it. I made it happen.”
Then there was another one “Have you ever gotten a second chance… without trying?”
“I’ve never even gotten a first chance without trying—let alone a second.”
The audience burst into laughter and applause.
And then pointing playfully, i said “Now that would be luck. Actually, to get a chance without trying at all—that’s not just luck. That’s destiny. That’s fate.”
Somebody shouted from the audience “I hope that happens to me!”
I grinned, “Good luck, girl!”
The crowd laughed again.
“But remember—work hard, so you’re ready when the chance finally arrives.”
This session was electric. The younger crowd… they felt it. I could see it in their eyes—they believed in what I believed. I wasn’t just giving answers. I was part of their fire.
When the event ended, I stepped out of the building and the evening was unreal.
The sky had exploded in oranges and golds, like the sun was bleeding warmth into every inch of the city. October air wrapped around me like a soft whisper. The kind of evening you want to breathe in and keep inside your lungs forever.
I could see my car waiting at the gate, but I didn’t feel like rushing. Driver could wait. I walked
Trees on both sides, breeze curling around my sleeves, leaves skipping at my feet. The world felt unusually perfect.
I walked about three hundred meters and came across a crossroad. To the left, a lane led toward a college garden—flooded with flowers, bursting with colors that defied the setting sun.
But there was a guard by the adjacent building’s gate. His eyes followed me suspiciously. Maybe he didn’t know I was an invited guest. Maybe he didn’t care.
I did. Not in the mood to explain my existence, I decided not to push my luck. Still, I took a detour—just near the corner—to admire the flowers.
Then something surreal happened.
I closed my eyes, whispered a soft thank you to the universe. I have everything. I’m grateful.
And when I opened them… she was there.
Reva.
White Anarkali Suit. Hair moving gently in the breeze. Standing in the middle of the garden like she’d walked out of a dream I hadn’t allowed myself to dream for months.
I forgot everything—the guard, the driver, the dusk bleeding into the sky.
She hadn’t seen me. But I saw her. The curve of her cheek, the way her lips tilted into that quiet smile. I stood behind her, just off to the side. My voice tried to rise—Reva…
But nothing came out.
I couldn’t say anything. I couldn’t move either, my legs felt like they’d been rooted into the concrete. So I just stood there, still as the trees.
She was breathing in the fragrance of roses, and the breeze lifted her hair like a scene out of a movie I wasn’t cast in anymore.
That garden, that weather, those flowers—they were beautiful.
But she was heartbreakingly more.
And then it hit me—how flimsy my old reasons sounded.
Class, mindset, all that ‘she doesn’t deserve me’ rubbish—I clung to that story to save face, to avoid admitting how much I wanted her.
But right then, every excuse fell apart. My heart had never believed any of it. Not even for a second.
God, what a cosmic joke. I thought i asked for Chaos. But Reva… she even melted my chaos.
Beside her, all the noise in my mind faded, until the only thing left was peace—deep, surprising, terrifying peace.
And then…
She turned.
Her eyes met mine like a cannonball.
“Jace?!” Her voice cracked with pure shock.
My heartbeat? Yeah, that thing was somewhere between a jet engine and a full-blown explosion.
“I.. uh… I was invited,. Gave a speech…” I stammered like my IQ had taken the night off.
“You gave a speech… here!?” Her eyebrows were sky-high like I’d just confessed to murder.
“Well… not here exactly. In the auditorium. But you—uh—you…”
“My mom works here. I was just… picking her up.” she said, jaw tight.
“Oh… so you knew I’d be here?” I asked, half a challenge, half a prayer.
Reva looked like she wanted to vanish into the roses. “Please—I didn’t. I just came to pick up my mom. If I knew… I wouldn’t have come. God, I told her a dozen times not to drag me here and yet here I am!”
She turned away, walking past me, brushing so close my shoulder flinched from the static. And without thinking, the words slipped out “You had to come.”
She halted, twisted around like her body couldn’t believe what her ears had heard. “What?”
“You had to come.
This is destiny.”
Her expression? Somewhere between sarcasm and heartbreak. Like she wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.
“Can’t you see?” I stepped closer. “We don’t even have to try. We’re always just… there. Around each other.”
Her eyes locked onto mine. I couldn’t read them—but God, they were pulling me in like gravity itself whispered: you belong to her.
I reached my hand toward her, instinctively, just to gently brush the strand of hair dancing near her cheek. She stepped back.
“I tried. Okay?” Her voice trembled, razor-edged. “I tried. And it’s painfully clear—you didn’t.”
She took a breath.
“So no, you don’t get to claim this ‘destiny’ you didn’t work for.”
She turned.
And walked away.
I didn’t chase her. I wanted to but i didn’t.
The guard kept staring, another guy passed by, and I didn’t want drama. Reva didn’t deserve to be misunderstood in some random college lane.
So I left. Sat in the car. And broke quietly.
I called Aanya. I needed her like I needed air.
She picked up with a cheerful spark. “I know your speech must’ve been great! Tell me what the students asked—”
“Hey… hey.” I interrupted, my voice lower, fractured.
She picked up on it instantly. “Jace? What happened?”
I stared at the road. “What if she just… stands?”
“What do you mean ‘just stands’?”
“You said—if she tries something to make me chase her, I’d know I still have feelings for her. Right” I was spiraling, and Aanya could feel it.
“So what if she just… stands there?” I whispered. “Is that enough for me to realize I like her?”
The line went quiet. Dead quiet. Until I heard her breath shift, like something clicked deep inside her.
“No, man…” Aanya said softly.
Then after a pause, her voice lowered with gravity.
“I think you love her.”
Chai & Matcha Diaries 
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