More Than Friends ✔

23- "I hold no such feelings for you."

This is not about wishing
Valentine's Day or not. That
was just a joke. I'd wished you
anyway but then, Tulsi told
me something & I realized
things are getting serious.

And what insult yaar? It was
just me, you & Tulsi there.

What did Tulsi tell you?

Ask her yourself.

Pallavi Khuranna read the message, still finding it hard to believe the second time. Just what took place behind her back? She messaged to Tulsi in an instant, demanding answers. As for Adhvik, it seemed like he wasn't done yet.

Seriously, I'm not a womanizer.
I never got into the dating
shit. It's the reason why I
never got a gf in college either.

U are mature & understanding,
Pallavi. Somewhat different. I
felt like I could trust you. That's
why I said anything to you,
joked, shared my problems
with you.

Pallavi didn't even read the entire message as her watery eyes blurred her vision. Absentmindedly, her fingers tapped at the mobile screen to reply about something else first while Adhvik rambled on like never before.

I felt insulted because I
extended my hand to you,
wished you but you totally
ignored me.

& don't people flirt in colleges
and other places? They joke so
much and don't mean a thing.
Flirting doesn't always have to
mean something.

I only asked for you to wish.
It wasn't like I'm proposing
you for marriage. Atma nikal
ke bahar nahi aa jaayegi agar
wish kar diya.

Okay, yaar, sorry, happy
Valentine's Day. But don't
take this the wrong way.
Remember, I'm only
wishing you as a friend.

Cut and clear.

Nothing more. There was
nothing more.

Each word felt like a stab to her heart, hitting the same spot like a broken wall. Her eyes darted across his texts, desperately wishing for the words to change it's meaning but they didn't. Pallavi covered her mouth to suppress a sob while tears passed down her cheeks on a continuous stream.

I'm only wishing you as a friend? There was nothing more. Did Adhvik even realize the weight behind those words.

Flirting doesn't always have to mean something. Did he mean that all the moments they had for the past five months amounted to nothing? That all the times she felt elated, shy, anxious, excited were an illusion, a sham. That her feelings were one sided all along.

But how? Her mind couldn't comprehend. How could one pretend so well? The times he looked into her eyes. The times they touched. The time he made poha for her. The time when he bid her goodbye before she went to Vaishno devi. When he called her beautiful; when they claimed each other's favorite; when he said he attended the party because of her. Was that all a lie? How?

JUST HOW?!!

Was that why he never went to the movies with her? Then why ask to go to the metro train with him that evening? Her mind was spinning as it recalled several moments at once like a reel rolling one after the another.