Chapter 11: Rooftops and Resets
Narrated by Aanya Kapoor
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We agreed to meet on the rooftop.
It was always our place.
The unspoken one. The unplanned one.
Every time the pressure of pitch decks or coding marathons overwhelmed us, we found our way here — to the roof of the co-working space that smelled like damp bricks, tasted like fresh air, and somehow made the chaos below feel far away.
So when I messaged Rohan — "Can we talk?" — and he wrote back "Rooftop?", it felt right.
Like breathing again.
---
I arrived first.
The sun was just setting — streaks of amber and crimson bleeding across the sky like it was confessing something too. The city buzzed below, a dull white noise that made my thoughts feel less loud.
I clutched the railing, eyes scanning for him.
And then he was there.
Wearing that navy hoodie I liked on him — the one with a tiny tear at the collar he never fixed. His hair a little messy, like he'd run his hand through it a thousand times today.
He didn't smile.
Neither did I.
We stood facing each other, just a few feet of concrete between us, but it felt like miles.
"I thought I lost you," he said quietly.
I swallowed. "You almost did."
He nodded. "Fair."
I let the silence settle.
Then broke it.
"I went to see Professor Rao."
That got a reaction. He raised his eyebrows. "Seriously?"
"Seriously."
"I haven't spoken to him in years."
"He said you and Isha were close."
"We were."
"And that she thought people were trying to steal her work."
He exhaled. "She was paranoid."
"She wasn't wrong."
That stopped him.
I held up my phone, pulled up the PDF again. "Rohan, her prototype — it's basically Nudge."
He didn't look away. "Because she and I built the foundation together."
"And you launched it without her."
"She disappeared, Aanya," he said sharply. "She blocked my number. Deleted everything. I tried to reach her. I waited. For six months."
"She warned you in that email."
"She threatened me," he corrected, voice bitter. "And not because I stole anything — but because I moved on. Because I didn't collapse when she vanished."
I stepped closer. "So you're saying you did nothing wrong?"
He looked away.
"No," he admitted. "I should've credited her. Even if she wasn't part of the launch. Even if she ghosted. I didn't want the drama. I wanted a clean slate. I wanted… peace."
My heart cracked again.
Because I got it.
Because I would've done the same.
Because ambition makes cowards out of all of us, sometimes.
But that didn't make it right.
"I'm not asking for perfect, Rohan," I said softly. "I'm asking for truth."
His eyes flicked up to mine.
"I love how you see the world," he said. "You make it brighter. Smarter. You make it feel like it's ours. Not just mine. Not just hers."
He took a shaky breath.
"If I could go back, I'd do it differently. I'd fight harder for her. And I'd be honest with you. From the start."
He stepped closer.
"I don't know if that's enough."
I let the wind wrap around us. Let the moment breathe.
Then I reached out.
Took his hand.
And whispered, "It's a start."
---
We sat down on the roof edge, legs dangling like two kids after detention, watching the city shift to night.
He told me about the early Nudge days. How Isha's algorithm could predict behavior patterns in a scary-accurate way. How he helped streamline the UI to make it less… intrusive.
"She wanted to use it for justice," he said. "To monitor corruption. Predict crime rings."
I blinked. "That's not creepy at all."
He laughed. "She called it ethical surveillance."
I laughed too, even though goosebumps tickled my arms.
"But I wanted it to help people understand themselves," he said. "Like… not everyone's out to scam or lie. Some people just don't know why they do what they do."
"Behavior as a mirror."
He smiled. "Exactly."
We talked for hours.
About code.
About trust.
About everything in between.
And then, without meaning to, we were quiet again.
Comfortably, this time.
He looked at me, face silhouetted against the skyline. The wind tugged at my hair, and he brushed a strand away with a gentleness that made my throat tighten.
"Aanya," he said.
My name sounded like a question and a vow in one breath.
"Yeah?"
"If I lose you now… it'll be the worst mistake I've ever made."
I didn't answer.
I leaned in.
And kissed him.
Soft. Tentative.
But real.
And when he kissed me back, everything clicked.
---
The rooftop wasn't magic.
It didn't erase the mess.
It didn't solve the mystery of where Isha went, or why she vanished, or if she'd ever come back.
But it gave us this moment.
And that mattered.
---
The next morning, we had a new plan.
We'd release a public update — a full disclosure on the origins of Nudge, including Isha's prototype and early collaboration.
We wouldn't pretend to be perfect.
We'd just be transparent.
And hope the world responded with the same grace we were learning to give each other.
But before we could post it…
Something unexpected happened.
---
An anonymous message hit my inbox.
From a burner email.
Subject line: "Don't trust him. Check the last backup."
There was no body text.
Just one attachment.
Backup-0219.Isha
I stared at it for a full minute.
Heart pounding.
Breath shallow.
Rohan noticed. "What's that?"
I showed him.
He turned pale.
"I've never seen that backup," he said. "She told me there were only three."
"There's a fourth."
I clicked it open.
Inside, a hidden log.
Audio files. One video. One document.
My fingers shook.
The video played.
---
Isha appeared.
Messy hair. Tired eyes. Sitting in a small apartment, walls covered in code printouts.
She spoke into the camera.
"If you're seeing this… I'm probably gone. Or close to it."
She looked scared.
"This is my last record. Rohan, if you're watching — I didn't disappear because I was scared of you. I disappeared because someone else was watching us. Someone powerful. I thought it was a fluke. But they knew about the prototype. About us."
She looked down.
"I love you. But I couldn't risk it. I had to run."
The screen glitched.
Then went black.
---
I stared at Rohan.
He was frozen.
"I swear I didn't know," he whispered.
I believed him.
But the game had changed.
We weren't just chasing love anymore.
We were chasing truth.
And something — someone — was watching.
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End of Chapter 11
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Teaser for Chapter 12:
A digital trail buried in code
A mysterious investor with secrets
And a date that turns into a trap