Rahul couldn't sleep that night. Just then, he received a message from Megha on his phone. She had shared a notice about a workshop being held at the college for BCA students, where they would learn about robotics. Megha had sent another message, saying, "I'm joining this workshop. You should join too, it's just one extra hour after college every day."

But Rahul, lost in his own thoughts, was so upset that he just read the message and left it at that. He lay back on his bed, staring at the moon outside, lost in his thoughts.

The next morning, Rahul woke up early and went to check if the lock on Pallavi's house was still on. He needed to figure out whether Pallavi had returned home or not. When he saw that the lock was still in place, he understood that she wasn't back yet and wouldn't be attending college today.

Feeling a bit disheartened, Rahul decided to go to college anyway. He thought to himself, maybe if I stay busy at college, I won't keep thinking about Pallavi. Trying to distract himself, he hoped the day would pass quickly so he wouldn't miss her so much.

Rahul went to college, and as soon as he arrived, he saw Megha. It reminded him that he hadn't responded to her message the previous day. Megha noticed Rahul and quickly moved her bag from the seat beside her. Rahul sat down next to her, and Megha, who was filling out a form for the workshop, handed it to him.

"Here, I brought this for you," Megha said softly, offering the form.

Rahul took the form and replied, "I'm not going to join. You can give this to someone else."

Megha felt a bit hurt by Rahul's response, but she didn't say anything and remained silent. After the class ended, she turned to Rahul and asked, "Were you really that busy yesterday? Couldn’t even find time to reply to a message?"

Rahul knew this question was coming. He answered, "No, I had a bit of a headache yesterday, so I didn't use my phone much and ended up sleeping early."

"Okay, but why are you not joining the workshop? It's free of cost, many people are doing it," Megha asked.
"No, I’m not interested," Rahul replied.
"Look Rahul, I know this is your personal matter, and I shouldn’t interfere, but why are you ruining your career because of Pallavi? You come to college to study, you should focus on your studies," Megha said, trying to explain to Rahul.

Rahul was understanding Megha’s point, and taking the workshop form from her, he said, "Okay, I will join the workshop too."
Megha was very happy to hear this, as Rahul had agreed to her suggestion.

Rahul started coming to college every day, focusing on his studies as well as the workshop. Pallavi neither came to class nor was at home. Every day, Rahul would check the lock on her house, hoping that one day it might be open and Pallavi might have returned. But every time, he would leave feeling disappointed and return home.

One week later, one day Raj suddenly came looking for Rahul in his class. Since the professor was present, Raj stood outside, waiting for him to come out. As soon as the professor left, Raj approached Rahul and asked him to step out of the class, saying he had something important to share. Rahul went out with him, and they both headed to the canteen. Once there, Rahul said, "Quickly tell me, what were you about to say?"

Raj replied, "Brother, it’s such a piece of news that when you hear it..." and then fell silent.

"What happened? Tell me quickly," Rahul asked eagerly.

Raj explained, "Brother, there's a guy in my class who lives near Nikhil's house, and he found out something about Pallavi." Hearing this, Rahul became very excited and urged Raj to continue.

Raj revealed, "Pallavi left with Nikhil that day because her father had consumed poison. Actually, her father suffered significant losses in his business and fell into heavy debt. Troubled by the creditors, he took such a drastic step. That's why Nikhil hurriedly took her from the college that day. Her father was admitted to the hospital."

Rahul, stunned by the revelation, asked, "Oh... How is her father now?"

Raj replied, "He's okay for now, but there's more I found out."

Rahul pressed, "What is it? Tell me!"

Raj hesitated before saying, "Actually, Pallavi's father is still in the hospital, and it seems he might not survive. Since Pallavi's mother is no longer alive, her father wants to see her married before he passes away. So, they've fixed Pallavi and Nikhil's wedding... and it's happening in just five days."