Canvas of Destiny

Chapter ten

Finally I got time to update. I am busy with my assignments & all. And my Annuals are starting in barely two weeks so updates are going to be even slower. Please forgive me for that. And in this chapter, I am revealing most of their past.

Happy reading!

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Ishika's POV

"He seems upset," Nitya says as we enter the apartment and lock the door behind us.

"Who? Jeet?" I ask. Well, deep down, I think the same. But why would he be upset?

Nitya hummed, and I settled beside her on the living room couch. "I mean, why would he be upset?" Before she could respond, I fired another question at her. "Why did you even invite him in the first place?"

She shot me a look that said, 'Are you serious right now?' "What do you mean, why did I invite him? He lives downstairs from us, Ishi. We can't just leave him alone while we party upstairs. Besides, he's our friend now, and we should be welcoming and inclusive."

"Since when did you start calling each other by nicknames?" I ask straightforwardly.

"Since today," she replies.

"But that's not the main issue," she adds. And I sense where this conversation is headed.

"What are you hiding, Ishi?" she asks gently.

Shaking my head, I mutter, "Nothing!" One day, I'll have to tell her. But is now the right time? He's only been here for a week, and I feel like I've lost my peace.

But who am I fooling? I've never felt at ease, not even before he showed up.

"Don't give me that 'nothing' nonsense, Ishika. I don't buy it," she says firmly, using my full name, indicating she's serious and won't let it go until I tell her. "Divya referred to him as your boyfriend. So either you tell me now, or I'm confronting Siddhant tomorrow."

"Okay, okay. I'll tell you. But it's a long story," I relent, finally giving in.

"It's Friday night, weekends, no work," she sings, making me chuckle.

We then transform the convertible couch into a bed. Yeah, we have a sofa bed. Nitya is wealthy, you know. I only pay two thousand rupees of the rent while she pays three thousand, even though I insisted we split it equally. She says, "I'm the elder here, so you'll listen to me," even though she's only two months older than me.

After settling comfortably, with pillows and a thin duvet to cover our legs, I contemplate where to start. Nitya looks at me with her undivided attention.

"So," I begin. "Have you seen my portrait? The one I have kept on my study table." I ask, and she mumbles a 'yeah' while nodding her head.

"He made it," I tell her. "It was a gift."

"And you cherish it so much," she says in a low, soft voice.

I nod my head. "I do."

"It all started when I won a giveaway on his Instagram handle," I pause, relishing the feelings I felt at that time. "I was out with my sister. It was New Year's Day. We were sitting together, watching a guy play guitar while I sipped my coffee, when my phone pinged."

"It was him. He followed me back and mentioned me in his story. I still remember how my hands were trembling. It had been nearly two years since I had a crush on him."

"Wow," she mumbles, chuckling.

"I know, right? I never imagined that one day I would be able to talk to him like that. But then again, it happened. We talked for months, about anything and everything. And my feelings grew, and I fell in love, completely unaware that he, too, was falling for me," I say. "We were never just friends, Nini. We were always lovers wrapped in our own insecurities and responsibilities." My eyes sting with tears, and Nitya scoots closer, pulling me into a side hug.