The Day He Realized

The entire room was filled with applause.

Myra stood in the middle of a glass-walled conference room, barely able to believe what she had just heard.

“Congratulations, Ms. Myra Arora.”

Her manager smiled at her.

“Your hard work, dedication, and consistency have earned you this promotion. Starting next month, you’ll be taking on the role of Team Lead.”

For a moment, Myra simply stood there.

Team Lead.

The words felt almost unreal.

She looked around the room as everyone continued clapping for her.

This wasn’t just another promotion.

This was something she had dreamed about for years.

Something she had secretly wondered if she was even capable of achieving.

And now, it was actually happening.

She smiled, feeling a strange mix of happiness, pride, and disbelief.

She had finally become the person she had always wanted to be.

The girl who once stayed quiet because she was afraid of being wrong was now standing in front of everyone, being recognized for her work.

Myra slowly walked out of the conference room.

As she passed the glass wall, she caught her reflection.

She stopped.

For a few seconds, she simply looked at herself.

Confident.

Successful.

Happy.

She had worked so hard for this moment.

All the doubts.

All the hesitation.

All those moments when she had wondered if she was good enough.

Somehow, she had made it.

Myra smiled at her reflection.

“I actually did it.”

She looked down at the promotion letter in her hand.

Myra Arora — Team Lead.

Her smile grew wider.

It felt too good to be true.

Then she heard her manager’s voice behind her.

“Myra…”

She turned around with a smile.

“Myra…”

Her eyes slowly opened.

She stared at the ceiling for a second, still half inside the dream.

Then she turned toward the sound.

Her mother was standing beside her bed.

“Myra, wake up!”

Myra blinked.

She looked at the clock.

8:45 AM.

“Shit! It’s too late on my first day!”

She threw the blanket aside and jumped out of bed.

Her room was a complete mess.

One shoe was near the door, while the other was nowhere to be seen.

Her bag was lying on the chair, half-open, with papers sticking out of it.

“Myra!” her mother called from outside. “You’re going to be late!”

“I know!”

She rushed into the bathroom.

A quick shower, a messy attempt at fixing her hair, and a few minutes later, she was back in her room.

She opened her cupboard and stared at her clothes.

“Okay… what do I wear?”

She pulled out one outfit.

“No.”

Another.

“Too much.”

She grabbed a third one.

“Fine. This.”

She quickly changed, slipped on her shoes, grabbed her phone, and checked herself in the mirror.

For a second, she remembered the girl from her dream.

Confident.

Successful.

Team Lead.

Myra smiled faintly.

“Someday.”

Then she grabbed her bag and rushed toward the door.

“Mom, I’m leaving! I’m already late!”

“Take your breakfast with you!” her mother called from the kitchen.

“I’ll eat something on the way!”

Myra grabbed the toast her mother had packed for her, shoved it into her bag, and hurried out.

The moment she stepped outside, she checked the time again.

“Uff. Great start, Myra.”

She hurried toward the lift, pressing the button again.

When the doors finally opened, she stepped inside and took a deep breath.

New company.

New people.

New work.

New everything.

She looked at her reflection in the elevator mirror.

“Okay. Just act normal.”

The doors opened.

She stepped out and walked into the office, trying to look confident even though her mind was already filled with questions.

What if I don’t understand the work?

What if everyone is better than me?

What if I mess up?

She shook her head.

“Okay, stop.”

She had done this before.

She could do it again.

At least, she hoped so.

The first few days went by quickly.

New faces.

New systems.

New work.

New names she kept forgetting.

Everyone seemed to know what they were doing, while Myra was still figuring out where everything was.

She missed her old colleagues more than she expected.

At her previous company, she had people to talk to during tea breaks, people she could randomly message, complain about work with, or laugh with for no reason.

Here, even tea breaks had become a solo activity.

Myra picked up her cup and walked toward the pantry.

She looked around.

A few employees were laughing together. Someone was talking about a weekend plan. Two colleagues were discussing a project.

She stood quietly near the counter.

Should I go and talk to someone?

Before she could decide, she noticed her manager sitting nearby.

Nope.

She took a sip of tea and returned to her desk.

Sometimes, the easiest way to survive an office day was to pretend you were perfectly fine with being alone.

And Myra had become quite good at pretending.

But work wasn’t the only thing on her mind.

She wanted to grow.

She wanted to become more confident and take on better opportunities.

Yet sometimes, even when she knew the answer in a meeting, she would hesitate to speak.

One day, someone confidently explained a technical issue during a meeting.

Myra knew exactly what they were talking about.

She even had another solution in mind.

She almost raised her hand.

Almost.

Then she stopped.

What if I’m wrong?

By the time she convinced herself to speak, the discussion had already moved on.

She looked down at her notebook.

“Seriously?”

She knew she needed to stop doubting herself.

But knowing that was easier than actually doing it.

A few weeks later, the new office had started feeling slightly more familiar.

And then she noticed him.

The first time, she barely paid attention.

He was standing near her manager’s desk, talking about something.

Myra walked past without giving it much thought.

The second time, she noticed him again.

He was walking through the corridor.

This time, she looked for a second longer.

Oh.

He was good-looking.

Very good-looking.

Myra immediately looked away and continued walking.

Nothing special.

Except she started noticing him after that.

Sometimes she would see him walking past her desk.

Sometimes she would spot him near the pantry.

Sometimes she would notice him talking to someone across the office.

And without realizing it, her eyes would follow him for a second.

Then she would quickly look back at her screen.

Okay, Myra. Focus.

One afternoon, she was walking back to her desk when she looked up.

He was standing at the other end of the corridor.

Their eyes met.

For a second, neither of them looked away.

Then Myra immediately looked down at her phone.

“Oh God.”

She walked faster.

She had no idea why she suddenly felt so awkward.

Did he notice me looking at him?

She sat at her desk and opened her laptop.

“Forget it.”

She started working.

That weekend, Myra met her best friend, Rhea, at their usual café.

They had barely ordered their food when Rhea looked at her.

“So, how’s the new company?”

“Good.”

“Just good?”

“Yeah.”

Rhea narrowed her eyes.

“I don’t believe you.”

Myra laughed.

“Why?”

“You have that face.”

“What face?”

“The face you make when something interesting happened and you’re waiting for me to ask.”

Myra rolled her eyes.

“Nothing happened.”

“Fine. Then tell me something interesting.”

Myra hesitated.

“There is... a guy.”

Rhea’s eyes immediately widened.

“A guy?”

“Don’t make that face.”

“What guy?”

“He works in my office.”

“And?”

“He’s cute.”

Rhea smiled.

“How cute?”

Myra thought for a second.

“Very.”

“Hmm.”

“Don’t.”

“I haven’t even said anything.”

“I know that look.”

Rhea laughed.

“So you like him?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you look for him?”

Myra went quiet.

Rhea raised an eyebrow.

“You do, don’t you?”

“Maybe.”

“Do you notice when he walks past?”

Myra looked away.

“Maybe.”

Rhea suddenly smiled.

“Myra... you have a crush.”

Myra stared at her.

“What? No!”

“You absolutely do.”

“I don’t even know his name!”

“That doesn’t stop a crush.”

Myra laughed and covered her face.

“Uff. Stop.”

“Okay, fine. What’s his name?”

“I don’t know.”

Rhea stared at her.

“You don’t even know his name?”

“No.”

“Then what exactly do you know about him?”

Myra thought about it.

“He’s handsome.”

“That is not useful information.”

“He’s confident.”

“Anything else?”

Myra smiled.

“I like his eyes.”

Rhea burst out laughing.

“Oh, you’re gone.”

“Shut up!”

They both laughed.

“His name. His role. Everything you don’t know.”

Rhea was already pulling up her laptop.

“Are you seriously going to stalk someone on LinkedIn?”

“Research, Myra. Professional research.”

Myra couldn’t stop laughing.

But she didn’t stop Rhea either.

By the time they reached home, they had found him.

Myra sat on her bed, staring at the information on her phone.

Aarav Malhotra.

She read the name again.

Aarav.

It suited him.

She scrolled a little further.

Then stopped.

“Oh.”

Rhea, still on the call, asked, “What?”

“His position.”

“What about it?”

Myra read the details again.

He held a significantly higher position than she had expected.

She had assumed he was simply another employee she occasionally saw around the office.

But he wasn’t.

He was someone with responsibilities, experience, and a professional standing that made Myra suddenly aware of the distance between them.

Rhea laughed softly.

“Okay, so your crush has a name now.”

Myra smiled.

“Aarav.”

She said it quietly, as if she were trying out the name for the first time.

And perhaps she was.

The following days went by.

Now that Myra knew his name, she started noticing him even more.

Without really meaning to, she began checking if Aarav had arrived at the office.

Every morning, she’d glance toward the entrance or corridor.

If she saw him, she’d quietly return to her work.

If she didn’t, she’d find herself looking again a little later.

One morning, there was still no sign of him.

Myra glanced toward the entrance.

Nothing.

She turned back to her screen, trying to focus.

The morning felt unusually dull.

Then, sometime later, she heard footsteps in the corridor.

She looked up.

Aarav.

And just like that, her mood lifted.

A small smile appeared on her face before she quickly looked back at her screen.

Why am I even this happy?

She shook her head.

It’s just a crush.

She still didn’t know him.

They had never actually spoken.

To Aarav, Myra was simply a familiar face around the office.

He had seen her a few times.

Sometimes he noticed her looking at him.

Sometimes their eyes met.

But he never thought much about it.

Maybe she recognized him from somewhere.

Maybe she was simply looking in his direction.

He didn’t know.

And Myra certainly wasn’t going to ask.

It was another ordinary afternoon.

Myra was sitting at her desk, discussing a task with her work buddy.

“Wait, so if we change this part here, the issue should be fixed, right?” she asked, pointing at the screen.

“Yeah, exactly. But we need to check one more thing before we push it.”

Myra nodded.

“Okay, let’s check that first.”

Her work buddy turned toward the screen again.

And then someone walked over to his desk.

Myra looked up.

Aarav.

He had come over and was standing beside her work buddy.

Myra’s eyes widened for just a second.

Then she quickly looked back at the screen.

She tried to continue the conversation as if nothing had happened.

But suddenly, she was very aware of who was standing right there.

And she had absolutely no idea what was about to happen.