Advocate Mithlesh Thakur was known in Shimla’s legal circles as one of the sharpest minds in criminal law. His reputation echoed through the courthouse corridors, where his cunning defenses had turned many verdicts in his clients' favor. Despite his unyielding demeanor in court, he held a certain soft spot within—a part of him that longed for companionship, something that his rigorous work had kept elusive.
One evening, as he was scrolling through a social networking site, a vibrant profile caught his eye. The profile belonged to a young woman named Advocate Vidisha Mehra. According to her bio, she was a practicing lawyer in New Delhi's High Court and its subordinate courts. Her profile photo showed a warm, confident smile, framed by a cascade of hair. Something about her gaze felt both approachable and intriguing.
Compelled by curiosity, Mithlesh sent her a brief, polite message: "Hello, Advocate Vidisha. Pleasure to connect with another in the legal fraternity."
To his surprise, her response came almost instantly. "Hello, Advocate Mithlesh! The pleasure is all mine. I’ve heard of your work in Shimla. It’s an honor to connect."
And so, with those few words, a connection was sparked. They began to exchange messages daily, sharing anecdotes from court cases and bits of their personal lives. Vidisha’s texts were always warm, often infused with humor, and Mithlesh found himself looking forward to their conversations each evening. Over the weeks, he felt as if he had found a kindred spirit.
In time, fate intervened when Mithlesh was handed a case that required his presence in New Delhi. He couldn’t help but feel a rush of excitement at the thought of meeting Vidisha in person. They planned to meet for coffee at a canteen near the High Court on a crisp Thursday morning.
When he arrived, he saw her waiting at a corner table, her face radiant as she looked up and waved. She wore a simple black suit, but her charisma outshone her attire. For the first time in years, Mithlesh felt his usually calm heart race.
Their meeting flowed effortlessly. Over cups of coffee, they spoke of their journeys, their struggles, and their ambitions. Vidisha was everything he had imagined—intelligent, driven, and with a hint of mischief in her smile. After spending hours together, Mithlesh felt as though he had known her for a lifetime.
As he returned to Shimla, he carried with him a flood of memories, vivid and comforting. They began talking even more frequently, their calls lasting late into the night, with laughter and shared stories filling the silence of his otherwise solitary life. It wasn’t long before Mithlesh realized he was in love. After months of keeping his feelings private, he finally mustered the courage to confess.
During his next trip to New Delhi, he found himself standing outside Vidisha’s office, nervous but determined. As he walked in, Vidisha greeted him with her usual warmth. After a brief silence, he took her hand and confessed, “Vidisha, I think I’ve fallen for you. I want us to be more than friends.”
Her face fell slightly, and she gently withdrew her hand. “Mithlesh, you are an incredible friend, and I cherish what we have. But I am already committed to someone. I respect our bond deeply, but I can only see you as a brother.”
The rejection stung, yet there was an earnestness in her eyes that softened the blow. Resigned, he nodded and accepted her offer to embrace a sibling-like bond. Despite the disappointment, Mithlesh was content with keeping Vidisha in his life, even if only as a cherished sister.
Over the next year, their friendship deepened. They shared many more moments together—court visits, lunch breaks, and even occasional outings beyond the courthouse. Vidisha became an irreplaceable part of Mithlesh’s routine, her laughter and warmth filling a void in his life he hadn’t known existed.
As their relationship grew, so did Mithlesh's trust in her. During one of his trips, he casually mentioned his online banking password to her, trusting that she might need it to cover a few routine expenses while he was away. Vidisha acknowledged it with a grateful smile and a reassuring pat on the shoulder, leaving him confident in her loyalty.
Months passed uneventfully until one winter morning, Mithlesh awoke to a shocking sight. His phone was flooded with notifications of bank withdrawals. He blinked in disbelief, checking his balance over and over—it was all gone. Over 37 lakh rupees, his life savings, had vanished overnight.
Panic seized him, and he frantically dialed Vidisha’s number, hoping for some comfort or guidance. But her phone was switched off. Heart pounding, he rushed to their shared chamber in New Delhi, desperate for answers.
When he arrived, the sight of Vidisha’s familiar black dress hung carelessly over a chair sent a wave of confusion through him. He searched the room for any sign of her but found nothing—until he noticed a folded note placed neatly on the desk.
With trembling hands, he opened it and began to read:
"Dear Rakhi Bro,"
“I am sorry, truly. I know you trusted me, and that’s why this will come as a greater shock. I’m not actually a lawyer, nor was I ever a law student. I only wore this black dress to create the illusion you believed. You’re a brilliant lawyer, but you were so blinded by your emotions that you couldn’t see through my disguise.”
“By the time you read this, I’ll be on a flight out of the country with my boyfriend. I have never been ‘Advocate Vidisha,’ and I have no ties to the High Court. But you’ll always be a good friend in my memories, even though I could never be the sister you wished for."
“Goodbye, and thank you for everything. I will always cherish the moments we shared.”
The room spun as Mithlesh read the words, each line a dagger slicing through his heart. Betrayal and heartbreak mingled with a crushing sense of loss, and he fell into the chair, the letter slipping from his fingers. He had opened himself completely to Vidisha, letting her into the most vulnerable corners of his life, only to find that she had been a stranger all along.
The days that followed were a blur of police reports, futile attempts to trace her, and sleepless nights haunted by memories of the woman he had trusted. But each effort led him only deeper into the truth that she was gone, slipping away with both his savings and his faith in people.
Months passed, and Mithlesh gradually returned to his work in Shimla, though he was never quite the same. His colleagues noted a change—a harder edge in his demeanor, a colder distance in his interactions. The once-charismatic lawyer had become a man bound by bitterness and suspicion, a shadow of his former self.
Yet, deep within, there lingered a fragment of the warmth he had once shared with a woman he had called his sister. It was an ache that dulled with time but never fully disappeared. His life continued, his reputation in court remained untarnished, but the betrayal left a permanent scar—a reminder that even the sharpest minds could be vulnerable to deception when it’s masked by a familiar smile.
In a quiet moment, when the courthouse emptied and his day’s work was done, Mithlesh would sometimes glance at his phone, half expecting a message that would never come.
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