This story is a big part of my life; probably, a big part of the three other lives involved in it too. I’d like to start by briefly acquainting you with the four characters before plunging into this complicated tale.

Sachin was my senior colleague; an extremely witty, funny and charming fellow. He was known to have very few friends, but all his friends were the coolest people. He wasn’t a popular guy, but a good one at heart.

Naman, Sachin’s best friend, was the kind of guy who would openly criticize most things. He didn't care about what people thought of him. He was reckless but was extremely good at whatever he did. No one ever thought that he'd ever end up with a girlfriend.

Anusha, Sachin’s other best friend, was a popular and talented girl with an amazing personality. She was a mature, understanding person; someone that everyone wished to be like, in some or the other way.

I was junior to them but all of us were good friends. We landed up working on various projects together and shared a fun and healthy friendship.

A year after I joined the office, Sachin confessed that he liked me. I had always looked up to him as a witty and always-pulling-my-leg kind of a guy. It was then that I realized that he would deliberately tease me so that he could befriend me sooner.

I did not feel any attraction to him, so I turned him down in a nice manner. He too brushed off the topic.

Over the course of the next five months, we continued to talk as best friends. We even worked together on various projects, and hence, the intimacy grew to a point where I confessed to him that I was starting to develop feelings for him. He then opened up saying that he hadn't gotten over me yet, and was waiting for the day when I would be on the same page.

We didn't start dating immediately because I wasn't sure of my feelings. I mean, it was just a crush!

Around the same week that I confessed my feelings to Sachin, we had an office farewell party where Naman got drunk. Before passing out, he told Sachin something that kept him disturbed through the week. When I inquired what was bothering him, he said that it was Naman's secret and he couldn’t tell anyone. So, we let it go.

Meanwhile, I spoke to Sachin about our relationship status and he revealed that Anusha also had feelings for him. When I had rejected him earlier, he thought that he'd never have a shot with me and so he wanted to give things a try with Anusha. But she got serious while he was still hung up on me. Being her best friend, he was afraid of hurting her feelings by breaking up with her. He didn't want to lose his best friend. At the same time, he was yearning for my companionship, and I for his.

I told him that I would back off, as I didn't want to be a meddler in their relationship. We stopped talking after that.

A few weeks later, he informed me that he had told Anusha everything honestly, and she wanted him to be happy, so they broke up. I could still sense the tension amongst all three of us, so I told him that we would get into a relationship only after things smoothen out. But instead of things getting better, Anusha distanced herself from me and frequently threw hissy fits at Sachin. It was exhausting for both of us to resolve the situation since she didn't want to address it like a mature adult.

Amongst all this tension, one day, out of the blue, Naman told me that he loves me and has been in love with me since almost 10 months. He said he wasn’t expecting anything in return but he couldn’t hold it in any longer. I was stunned. I couldn’t move. As Naman excused himself to attend a phone call, I regained my senses and immediately called up Sachin to ask if he knew about this. That's when he told me it was the big secret that Naman had told him after getting drunk. And Sachin didn’t have the courage to tell him that he liked the same girl.

Knowing Naman, he would have backed off immediately and distanced himself from everyone. I needed a timeout from both of them and called up my best friend. I cried the whole night.

I was torn, my heart ripped. I should have been happy and blissful that two amazing guys wanted to be with me.

Instead, I was sad that I would have to make either one or both of them miserable by rejecting them. And they were best friends! Naman knew nothing about Sachin and me. I couldn't do that to him. That man was responsible for shaping my career. He had always encouraged me to do my best. Though Sachin was a sweetheart, and before knowing about his relationship with Anusha, I had almost fallen for Naman. What followed was a month long mess of who loves whom, s****y fights and crazy misunderstandings.

I hated to be the girl who came in between two pairs of best friends. I’d never asked to be a part of this complicated love square.

But a decision had to be made and it all came down to me. During all this, Naman became quite possessive of me, even though I hadn’t said a yes to him. He'd tell me to not hang out with certain people; he also started calling me too often to ask where I was and what I was doing. He started tracking all my activities throughout the day! It made me feel trapped!

On the other hand, devastated by Naman's revelation, Sachin started giving me reasons to be with Naman and forget about him, since he thought that Naman would keep me happier. Even though I could see it in his eyes that he really wanted to be with me. He was there by my side throughout this storm and never once did he ask me to be something that he expected. He let me be me. The choice was getting clearer.

I had to break two hearts to wholeheartedly be with the one that belonged to me.

Sachin and I were happy together, and eventually the other two came around. It is not always a bed of roses for everyone; sometimes you have to deal with the thorns too.

Down the years, I now believe that choosing Sachin was the right decision.

Anusha had intentionally or unintentionally created many misunderstandings between us and it did create a giant knot in our relationship. We broke up a year and half later, one-third of the reason being Anusha.

I would never have been able to reciprocate the same love for Naman because I respected him way too much as a professional and a good friend. I was mesmerized by his mind but was not in love with him. A year later, he found a girl who is perfect for him and they are happy together. Anusha is excelling at her professional career but we have not been able to reconcile.

As for Sachin, we are done trying to be friends after the breakup.

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