Ruhana believes that you need to chase both money and love. She also believes that if you don’t fight for your rights, people will go to any extent to break them and take the power from your hands—even if it means hurting you. Vineet holds a different view. He feels that the things meant for you will come to you at the right time. The two have a trifle over this, and he tries to convince her that she’s walking down the wrong path. He sighs deeply and meets her gaze. 

“It’s not the same every time, Ruu,” he says, addressing her by her nickname.

“It is the same, Vineet. Out of ten, seven people are still the same. And who’ll know it better than me? Also, stop calling me by that name. My name is Ruhana! Do you get it?” she shouts at him, and he’s baffled at the moment. 

He glances at her, bewildered by her changed behavior. She has always loved it whenever he calls her by her nickname, but at the moment, she is irritated. He has noticed a lot of change in her, she has become short-tempered and gets easily irked by small things. She has lost her patience too, and has developed trust issues. He sighs deeply, knowing he can’t interrupt, so he lets her continue.

“Things have been easy for you, Vineet, but it’s not the same for me. I’ve lost everything to people who claimed to be family. His juniors ditched him, claiming that he made them work for long hours, meanwhile, Papa always listened to their problems and was the first one to extend his help toward them. His younger brother ditched him, Vineet—just for some money,” she exclaims, her features etched with hurt.

She continues to speak, her gaze filled with hurt, “Then why be honest? The people who cheat get good marks, and those who bribe get good jobs. So what’s the use of staying honest and speaking the truth? And even if you do, importance is given to those who bribe or cheat. People like us who work hard get nothing in return. And when you can’t do it, please don’t judge me either,” she argues and Vineet is stunned by the sudden outburst.

Vineet stays quiet for a moment, but then breaks the silence prevailing between them,“But not everyone is the same. Why are you punishing every other person when you don’t even know them? You’re punishing them for something they didn’t do and you’re punishing yourself too,” he exclaims, his tone soft, trying convince her. 

Ruhana shakes her head in disbelief, “You never know how people change drastically. They change in the blink of an eye, and you don’t even realize it until they hurt you with their changed demeanor.” She says, her tone firm. 

“Vineet, I have built this company, TechCouture Innovations, with my hard work. I don’t want any loss. It’s inevitable, I know—sometimes there are gains, and sometimes losses. But I don’t want to take any chances. I don’t want losses. So let me do my business my way,” she affirms in a loud voice.

Vineet looks pained in the moment, unable to digest her rough and tough demeanor. He wants to shake her and make her realise that she can’t always expect profits in business. She has to bear the losses too. Moreover, her ethics are wrong, not everyone deserves punishment for something that someone has done years ago. He sighs deeply and opens her mouth to speak. 

“Ruhana, you’re doing it the wrong way. You’re making a mistake,” he says softly.

“Vineet, please. I know what I’m doing and what’s best for my business. I don’t want your advice,” Ruhana says, annoyed at the moment. 

Vineet stands still in disbelief, watching as Ruhana walks away to her room. He sighs, he hadn’t thought that his best friend has changed so much. Ruhana has grown into a passionate and ambitious soul—completely opposite of her babyish essence. She’s become money-minded, harsh, and outspoken. Today, she has asked him not to interfere in her matters. His heart aches at her words, but it’s the reality. He trails down memory lane, recalling when she was a sweet, loving soul who always wanted his opinion on everything she did.

Ruhana and Vineet were playing together in the girl’s room. At that time, Vineet was eight years old while Ruhana was six. After finishing their homework, they found time to play, and today, Vineet had come over to her home. In the meantime, Ruhana chuckled and handed him the drawing she had made.

Ruhana bore the soul of an artist. She loved to sketch and colour. The most beautiful part was that she had learned to draw, sketch, and paint all by herself. Earlier, her mother used to help her, but now she had begun to do it on her own. Today, Ruhana had made a sketch and wanted him to see it, but he ignored it.

“Ruu, I’ll look at it later. Let’s play Ludo,” he chuckled.

“Vinu, please. You know I want you to look at my art first. Mom and Dad always praise me, but you tell me where I go wrong. Please see!” she insisted, looking at him.

“I know you’ve done it right. Just submit it,” Vineet said. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to look at it—he did. But he wanted her to learn that he wouldn’t always be around, and so she must learn to make her own decisions.

She looked at him. “Hey, why are you denying it? Please tell me what’s wrong?” she insisted again.

“And if I say that it’s not good, will you make another picture?” he asked, amused by her innocence.

She chuckled. “Yes, Vinu! I’ll make another picture. I want it to be the best,” she said, showing him the drawing pad.

Vineet was awestruck by the drawing. Ruhana had sketched two friends—a girl and a boy—approximately their age. They were holding hands and laughing. She had also written their names below the figures; she had actually sketched them. He smiled warmly.

“Beautiful! But why have you written our names? Ma’am will scold us,” he asked, amused by her choice and a little worried that their teacher might scold them.

Ruhana chuckled. “Soniya Ma’am asked us to give names. And everyone knows you’re my best friend, so it’s fine. But if you don’t like it, I’ll change the names,” she said innocently.

“It’s okay, you can write the names. But will you discuss everything with me like this?” he asked, curiosity piqued.

“Yes, Vineet. You’ve promised me that we’ll be together, so I’ll show everything to you. You’ll need to help me, always,” she said, her tone laced with excitement.

“Are you sure it will happen?” he asked, looking at her.

“Yes. Mumma says that whatever we think, it happens at some time or the other,” Ruhana said innocently.

“I wish for the same,” he said, pulling her into a side hug.

Vineet comes out of the trance. His face lights up with a bittersweet smile. Yeah, her words had come true. They’re working together, but Ruhana has started hiding things from him. They only talk about the projects they’re working on together; apart from that, Ruhana doesn’t discuss anything with him. She hasn’t kept her promise.

He’s thinking about her, orchestrating the ways to bring Ruhana back on track. She needs to stop chasing fame and money and focus on doing her best. He’s lost in his thoughts when Ruhana rushes out of her room, holding her bag. She tells him she has to leave for a meeting and walks off without waiting for his reply. He watches her leave helplessly.