rabani,this is us.

ok so. yash and uttami's wedding. night one you called me the personality hire, i called you the looks hire, and then you sat there helping me rehearse my best man speech before you knew literally anything about me except that i was nervous. we did a couple of tequila shots and i remember thinking ok she's cool. night two we drank a bunch and danced together and i thought ok she's very cool. then the last day. i met you after the baraat at 12 in the afternoon, already wasted, with a plate of chole bhature in my hand. i offered you my plate because im a gentleman, got my own, sat down with all the boys, and halfway through eating realised there was a LOT of green chilli in it and tears just started rolling down my face. in front of everyone. and for some reason THAT is when you decided i was cute.

we spent that whole afternoon downstairs having drinks, sometimes alone, sometimes with random groups of people, and at around 6 i asked if you wanted to step out for a drink and you said yes. piscos, by the beach in anjuna. i was SO nervous walking in that i asked if i could hold your hand. at the door. like a schoolboy. we sat at a normal table first, ordered picantes, and then they gave us the hammock later in the evening. we were lying there for maybe 5 minutes before i asked if i could kiss you. and you laughed so much mid kiss that you had to stop kissing me to finish laughing.

you kept stepping on your dress the whole night. it finally tore in my room and when i asked if you were ok you just picked it up, ripped the edge clean off and said "dont worry, im a designer." i think about that line all the time honestly.

and then in my room, at the end of that third night, you said i love you first. by mistake. mid laugh. you then went home and argued with yourself about it in your diary for a full page, whether it counted. it counted btw. and honestly? i think i started falling for you somewhere between the chilli tears and that hammock. maybe earlier. probably earlier. also that night, after the last function, when you came to my room and tripped on your dress for the 100th time, ujwal showed up because hes a dumbass, so we walked to reception, got the key to krish's room, and went and cuddled and slept there instead. i remember every single detail of that night like it was yesterday. every one.

[10/2/2026, 10:40:16 PM] Rabani Sehgal: Hi pretty boy
[11/2/2026, 12:15:24 PM] Sumer Malhotra: Stay in touch fatass
[11/2/2026, 12:32:54 PM] Rabani Sehgal: Yeah you’re cute for a personality hire
[11/2/2026, 6:14:12 PM] Sumer Malhotra: I feel like im hallucinating lmao

that same evening you were so dazed at the airport you started boarding the wrong flight. and i was texting people that i felt like i was hallucinating. two fully functional adults btw.

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on the last day of the wedding we were together for more than 15 hours straight. you texted me after that it was crazy. then we went back to different countries and somehow the calls never once felt long. you appointed yourself the brains behind my success. i got daily dilbur updates. we hit a valentines day exchange 6 days after meeting, which in hindsight was insane behaviour from both of us. and then, 18 days after we met, you sent me a page of your diary. you called me a joker. you confessed the accidental i love you. and at the end you listed your fears.

What if I get hurt? What if I get bored or don’t like him and he gets hurt ( let’s be real )? 
What if it’s like great for 6 months and then goes to complete hell and then I have to learn to stay without someone I really like which would be soo annoying cause I’m just getting better. 
Oh and his name is Sumer Malhotra and he’s like totally so hot btw. 

hold that thought about the fears. answers at the end.

[26/2/2026, 1:40:33 AM] Sumer Malhotra: Good night cute angel
[26/2/2026, 1:40:41 AM] Sumer Malhotra: You're the cutest
[26/2/2026, 1:40:53 AM] Sumer Malhotra: So lucky i got to meet you ❤️

and heres a thing you do that literally nobody else can. one random wednesday in march i was having the worst work day of the quarter and being extremely dramatic about it. you didnt lecture me even once.

[11/3/2026, 1:34:07 PM] Sumer Malhotra: im feeling kinda overwhelmed
[11/3/2026, 1:34:31 PM] Rabani Sehgal: take a few deep breaths, try doing 1 thing at a time baby
[11/3/2026, 1:34:51 PM] Rabani Sehgal: lemme know when you want a kiss
[11/3/2026, 1:38:09 PM] Sumer Malhotra: my chest is fucking hurting
[11/3/2026, 2:33:07 PM] Rabani Sehgal: Wanna call me and vent for 5 mins?
[11/3/2026, 2:33:13 PM] Sumer Malhotra: hahahaha
[11/3/2026, 2:25:07 PM] Rabani Sehgal: I get what you mean baby. I’m sure it’s super frustrating. 

you took me from the worst mood of the month to laughing in under an hour. you do it casually, like it's nothing. it is not nothing. and one more thing i've noticed and never said. whenever something between us gets hard, you show up with a “rabba version” and a “chatgpt version” of what you want to say. and the rabba version, the messy one with the typos, is ALWAYS the better one. i hope you know that. i will always take the rabba version. because its you. it has always been you. i hope you never get tired of hearing that, because i am never going to stop saying it. anyway. 18 days after that wednesday i sent the most honest text of my life:

[29/3/2026, 9:53:40 AM] Sumer Malhotra: Why everyday I wake up feeling so happy and shit

ok confession. early on, whenever we met after weeks apart, your palms would be sweaty for the first few minutes because you were nervous. you thought i didnt notice. i noticed everything. and it lowkey destroyed me every time. that after everything you were still nervous to see me. so was i. i just hide it better cos im the personality hire.

i met your mom. your mom met me with lassi. an INDUSTRIAL amount of lassi. and heres the thing, i couldn't say no, because a) she's your mom and b) i was trying to make a good impression and c) the lassi was genuinely elite. so glass after glass went down, time did what time does, and we missed our bukhara reservation entirely and ate italian instead. for the record: id miss bukhara a hundred more times. that lassi was a test and i passed.

theres no photo of the most important moment.

it happened in your bedroom. after. we were just lying there tangled up talking about nothing. and then we both went quiet at the same time and i felt something warm just settle in my chest.

thats the exact second i knew i loved you.
i could tell from your face you knew too.

nobody takes photos of the actual moments.
you just have to be there. i was there.

i love you so much it genuinely confuses me sometimes.

19th march. dinner on the sand, candles everywhere, you in black. i said i love you. out loud. on purpose. no laughing. and asked you to be my girlfriend at the same table. you technically beat me to it by a month but yours was an accident so mine counts as the first official one. yours counts as the funniest.

now look at your face in that photo. thats the smile. when i look at you a certain way…

left eye. right eye. lips.

…you press your lips together like youre trying to hold it in. and you CANNOT. and its the cutest thing i have ever seen a human do. that face is genuinely the reason this letter exists. i could look at it forever. thats the plan actually.

and thats not even your only tell. you have another face, for when youve just had a naughty thought: finger on your lips, eyes somewhere else, pretending to be innocent. you think its subtle. it is not subtle. i clock it every single time. photographic evidence has been requested and is pending.

also for the historical record: later that SAME night you tried to order room service, laughed on the phone for 10 STRAIGHT minutes, and hung up. no food was ordered. none. the man on the other end heard only joy. you became my girlfriend and forgot how to order fries within the same 4 hours. thats us. thats the whole relationship in one evening honestly.

i have never fallen off a jet ski in my life. never. you got me twice before lunch. no further comment.

we bought these at a little store in the anantara and we still wear them every day. i look at mine in meetings sometimes when someone is saying something stupid and it genuinely calms me down. thats it thats the caption.

[22/3/2026, 7:05:38 PM] Rabani Sehgal: I’m gonna irritate you a lot more now that you’re officially my boyfriend
[22/3/2026, 7:07:02 PM] Rabani Sehgal: Also you have to wear a “ I have a girlfriend t-shirt “ 
[22/3/2026, 7:40:37 PM] Rabani Sehgal: You’re my boyfriend now
[22/3/2026, 7:59:23 PM] Rabani Sehgal: I’m very happy with the boyfriend girlfriend status baby

and before you say she was joking about the t-shirt: she was not joking about the t-shirt. photographic proof coming in chapter five. keep scrolling.

your dad. your mom. your routines. me perfecting my favourite hobby of pissing you off beyond belief. this is the month i stopped feeling like a visitor in your life.

and about the annoying. you asked me on a call once what my love language is. its annoying you. it has always been annoying you. every entry in your punishment ledger is me saying i love you in my native tongue. i hope you know that. i will be fluent in this language forever. but just so its in writing once, properly: every joke, every wind-up, every irritation on that list — underneath all of it is just me being completely, stupidly in love with you and not knowing what to do with it. and yes, "maine pucha" counts. you, mid-story, telling me something that actually matters to you, and me going "did i ask?" — that is not me not listening. that is me listening so comfortably that i can afford to be a menace about it. only you get that version of me.

and in the interest of full fairness: your love language is violence. small, targeted, affectionate violence. you bite me constantly. arms, shoulders, whatever is closest. you call it cute aggression like thats a legal defence. bites get scheduled in advance now — its in the receipts, june 3rd, check the record. i have fully accepted that being loved by you comes with teeth marks, and honestly at this point i would miss them.

and before you play the victim here:

11th april. the night i met noor and angad for the first time. we partied HARD. and then you came home, picked up a water bottle, raised it to your mouth with the full aggression of someone who has never been hurt by a water bottle before, and broke your own tooth on it. your own tooth. on water. you looked like a pirate for a month and i could not handle how cute you were. still the cutest ive ever seen you. pirate month included. sometimes i cant even handle it, like my brain genuinely short circuits.

also. puddle. history was made. ill say no more.

[8/4/2026, 1:59:22 AM] Rabani Sehgal: You make me weak in the knees…you fool

[13/5/2026, 9:06:20 PM] Sumer Malhotra: rababear or rabashark
[13/5/2026, 9:07:47 PM] Rabani Sehgal: And you’re big bear
[13/5/2026, 9:07:53 PM] Sumer Malhotra: ur also a bear

remember this exchange. it becomes very relevant at the end.

you said THAT. and i replied "good morning." six hours later. look at it. i fix this at the end, i promise

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last day of that month. look at us trying to act normal. i hate this photo and i love this photo.

[27/5/2026, 8:44:03 PM] Sumer Malhotra: Safe flight my cute bear
[27/5/2026, 8:44:12 PM] Rabani Sehgal: See you sumu bear

my mom, my dad, tushar bhaiya, kritia. and you just fit. like youd always been there. my dad took this one at home btw. he doesnt take photos of just anyone.

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then fishermans cove, our little getaway. the cute beach walk. being high beyond absolute belief. a seafood dinner i still think about weekly. pragyans engagement where i got to show you off. and certain footage i have sworn on my life to protect (you know exactly which footage). those might be my favourite 48 hours of us so far. and somewhere in the middle of them i had a thought i couldnt shake:

im not lucky that you like me.
im lucky that you exist.
the liking me part is just bonus. and you being mine? i still cant believe both are true at once.

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🔒

we went back. scooter, car, way too many groceries, breakfast made for each other. and piscos again. same bar. same hammock. 4 months later. first time i was asking permission to hold your hand. second time nothing was uncertain at all.

and thats the whole point. every favourite memory i have is secretly this same memory. me next to you, doing nothing, thinking how is this my life. youre my favourite person. youre my favourite everything. thats the whole review.

Ronline◫ ✆3 Jun 2026

around this time. a normal tuesday for us

babe3 Jun, 3:04 PM

i love you most in the world3 Jun, 3:04 PM

u make me so happy3 Jun, 3:04 PM

Awww i you too sumuu3 Jun, 3:05 PM

you make me happy too my love3 Jun, 3:06 PM

I come bite you to show love?3 Jun, 3:06 PM

ok ill see you at home tonight?3 Jun, 3:07 PM

yes bite has been scheduled3 Jun, 3:19 PM

Message🎤

verify against the export

[3/6/2026, 3:04:42 PM] Sumer Malhotra: i love you most in the world
[3/6/2026, 3:04:51 PM] Sumer Malhotra: u make me so happy
[3/6/2026, 3:05:35 PM] Rabani Sehgal: Awww i you too sumuu
[3/6/2026, 3:06:19 PM] Rabani Sehgal: you make me happy too my love
[3/6/2026, 3:06:30 PM] Rabani Sehgal: I come bite you to show love?
[3/6/2026, 3:07:44 PM] Sumer Malhotra: ok ill see you at home tonight?
[3/6/2026, 3:19:39 PM] Rabani Sehgal: yes bite has been scheduled

_chat.txt · lines 13,765–13,774 of 21,280 · whatsapp export, verbatim

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quick note first. i came back to delhi this month and we mostly did nothing. ziya one night, your bed, my head between your legs while i played on my phone. and it was still the best part of my month. thats when i knew this letter had to say what it says next.

related: you have started calling me your bed. not like a bed. YOUR bed. i am officially a piece of furniture to you now — you climb on, get comfortable, and conduct the rest of your evening from there like i dont have places to be. and the thing is, i never have places to be. career trajectory so far: personality hire → boyfriend → bed. every promotion better than the last.

and my favourite move in the entire arrangement: when we cuddle, i bury your head in my neck. you hug like an actual bear — full grip, total commitment, zero escape routes — and once your head is in there, i simply do not let you lift it back up. you complain from inside my neck. muffled. cannot hear you. sorry. thats the safest i ever feel, and im not even a little embarrassed about it.

what if long distance doesnt work? it already has. 20,587 messages. a few hundred calls. hong kong, then bangalore, and delhi every time i could manage it. and i have never ONCE hung up feeling like i was done talking to you. not once in 5 months. the distance was supposed to be the villain of this story and it turned out to be just the annoying part between visits.

what do i do when i wanna kiss him and hes not here? still no solution. sorry. i have the exact same problem.

what if its great for 6 months and then goes to hell? we're at 5 and a half. check back in 2 weeks. but im looking at the data and the trend line is going the wrong way for your theory.

what if i get hurt? ok this is the only actual promise in this letter. i will always tell you the truth. i will always take your low days without turning them into distance. and if anything ever rips im not going to panic. i learned that from a girl in a torn dress. we'll redesign it.

also, an update from the outside world: multiple people have now independently pointed out that i have started talking like you. same modulation, same tune in the voice, apparently i even do your intonation without realising. i didnt notice. thats the scary part. and meanwhile you have stolen basically every saying i have — my own words come back to me out of your mouth daily, uncredited, like you invented them. so heres where we are: im slowly turning into you, and youre slowly turning into me. i ran the numbers. i am extremely ok with where this trend line ends.

and about all the moving in jokes. you trying to move in with me. me trying to move in with you. the whole running bit we do. i need you to know im not joking anymore. i dont know which city yet and i dont know exactly when, because life and work and logistics and all the boring stuff. but the next step is obvious to me and has been for a while. i want to wake up confused about how happy i am in the same house as you. i want the groceries thing to be a tuesday, not a holiday. and i want it soon. this is the first time ive said it without laughing.

you have the kindest heart of anyone i have ever met. you spend it on everyone. your family, your friends, your menace of a dog, me. and it never runs out. and your name literally means divine. whoever picked it just knew. and your favourite tshirt literally says "made of fluff and kindness." at this point the evidence is just piling up. i love you so much its crazy. actually crazy. i sit on video calls sometimes just quietly losing my mind about it.

and before the kindness reputation gets completely out of hand: you also have the darkest sense of humour of anyone i know, and you are PROUD of it. you keep telling me you want to be more like obsession girl. my love. you wrote a dated, itemised ledger of my crimes at 2:24 in the morning with per-offence billing. you bite me for affection. you are already her. and i find all of it romantic, which says something equally concerning about me. we are perfect for each other and mildly worrying as a unit.

and now, some unfinished business from the archives. on april 8th at 1:59am, right after a two hour call, you texted me: "you make me weak in the knees…you fool." the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me. and my reply, six and a half hours later, was "good morning." good morning. i think about it constantly. so here, finally, is the reply that text deserved, in writing, where it can never be lost: right back at you, fool. you make me weak in the knees too. permanently.

15face-down.
tap only when the letter says now.

now. thats you, before any of this. i keep this photo because whoever that little girl is, she was already on her way to me. through every year and every city and one wedding in goa. and im so so glad she made it. i wouldve loved you at every age. im just glad i got you at this one.

happy birthday to her. and happy birthday to you, my banu bear.

everything that comes with this letter has a reason, because i dont do random gifts. the foot massager: because you complain about your feet aching approximately every second day, and i listen. i always listen, even when im annoying you. the crystal bear handing over its heart: because i keep telling you that you stole mine, and honestly at this point we should just formalise the transfer. and the bear necklace: obviously. it stays with you in delhi even when i cant.

and for the permanent record: you are the bear. i am the panda. this is settled law.

youre the best thing that has ever happened to me. its not close. its not even a competition.

i love you. on purpose. and also constantly by accident. in writing this time, so you cant say i sent a 👍

your personality hire,
sumer

🐼❤️🐻

the letter is still there. no jokes in that one. read it whenever you want →

p.s. jail promise still stands.

p.p.s. regarding the ledger you sent me on july 10th at 2:24am — yes, i noticed it was written at 2:24am — it has been reviewed by our finance department (me). findings below.