Hopeless Love Finds Hope

Chapter 5

I knew what I had to do now. If I wanted to learn more about Jia, I needed to get close to Ishani. It was strange how intrigued I had become by Jia, and I couldn't pinpoint when exactly my curiosity had turned into fascination. But one thing was clear: the path to understanding Jia's enigmatic world would lead through her sister, Ishani..

Vihaan P.O.V 

I was casually driving in the evening when something caught my eye. "Is it Jia?" I thought. I peered more carefully, and indeed, it was her. But what was she doing here? Oh, she's smoking. I didn't know that she smoked.

I parked my car and walked up to the same stall. "Uncle, one water bottle," I ordered. From the corner of my eye, I noticed that Jia had seen me. "Again, he's here," I overheard her murmuring. I couldn't resist the urge to ask.

"Excuse me... did you say anything?" I inquired.

"No," she replied coldly. I continued to observe her, and she returned my gaze with a blank expression. As I moved forward to take my order, she broke the silence. "What do you want?" she asked, her tone still icy.

I looked at her, almost in disbelief that she had initiated the conversation.

"What do you mean?" I asked cautiously.

"Why do you keep bothering Ishani about me?" she said coldly, her eyes fixed on mine.

"Oh, it's just..." I started, but she interrupted me.

"Listen... I am no one, okay? I don't exist. I'm not anyone's friend, and I'm not interested in making one. I just want to warn you... stop bothering Ishani... and stop bothering me as well," she declared firmly and walked over to the stall to ask for another cigarette. She returned to me, her demeanor unchanged.

"Don't try to ask anyone about anything related to me... it will be of no use," she said, her voice laced with an air of finality, before lighting up her cigarette

I sighed, acknowledging her warnings. She didn't even spare me a glance, fully engrossed in her smoking. I couldn't help but notice that she always wore teal colors. Today, she had on a loose teal-colored T-shirt paired with black pants and Crocs.

"What are you looking at?" she asked, giving me a disgusted look that made me feel like she might beat me any second.

"Nothing, just... wondering about your warnings," I replied. She nodded and returned to her cigarette.

"I just want to say one thing," I said, and she nodded again without looking at me.

"Smoking is injurious to health," I added with a smirk. She looked at me in shock. I gave her a smirk in return and headed back to my car. As I glanced in her direction, I noticed that she was still looking at me, her face void of any expression.

I went to my room and lay down. Flashbacks of my conversation with Jia were replaying in my mind. Why was she like this? What was the mystery that shrouded her? And why didn't anyone seem as interested in knowing her as I did? Perhaps, no one had the time or patience to delve into her enigmatic world. It hit me that I hadn't even realized when my curiosity had transformed into a deep fascination for her.

I went to my balcony and saw her standing by the window. I waved at her, but she responded with a peculiar expression and quickly retreated inside. "Strange she is," I thought to myself.

"Oh, so here you are," a voice startled me. I turned to see Rohan standing there. I smiled at him.

"Hey, bhai, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Nothing," I replied, my gaze returning to her window.

"Don't tell me you're in love with her," he teased.

I looked at him with a smirk. "What? No," I responded. But the truth was, I didn't have a clear answer to that question. I turned to him and shrugged. "Leave it," I said, not wanting to delve into the complexity of my feelings at that moment.

After one week

I spotted her in class, but she didn't even glance in my direction. I had made efforts to learn more about her, but now, even I was losing interest. I had done my best, but Ishani wasn't willing to share anything, and I had exhausted my options.

No matter how much I tried, Jia remained as enigmatic and elusive as ever. It turned out she was even more aggressive than I had initially thought. In just one week, she had kicked two guys and received a warning of suspension. Her behavior only added to the mystery surrounding her.

I entered the class and happened to make eye contact with her for a brief moment. Then, she turned away, and I walked over to Akshay.

"Hey, bro," he greeted me.

"What's up, bro?" I replied, and we started chatting.

"Vihaan, can I ask you something?" Akshay inquired, nodding toward Jia.

I sighed and nodded. "Sure."

"Why are you so interested in knowing about her?" he asked, pointing at Jia. "I mean, you were pretty curious until last week."

I felt a twinge of irritation. "Well, I was, but I think it was just a passing thing. I have a lot on my plate now, auditions for advertisements and all that," I explained.

Akshay raised an eyebrow, his gaze flickering towards Jia. "And yet, you're still looking at her," he observed, a sly smirk forming on his face.

I suddenly realized that I had been continuously glancing in her direction. I turned back to Akshay, who was now smirking even wider. "Don't you da—"

"Oh, here she is!" we heard a loud voice. I turned my attention towards the class door and saw a group of about four or five boys entering the room. They headed straight for Jia, who glanced at them briefly.

"Seriously, guys, she kicked them," one of the boys announced.

"Yeah, I did. So what?" Jia responded, standing her ground. The boy smiled.

"I like your confidence," he said, and he seemed about to touch her. I didn't like where this was going.

"You touch me, and in the next two minutes, you won't be able to raise your hand," Jia warned, locking eyes with him.

"Impressive," he admitted. That's when I decided to intervene. I walked up and positioned myself behind Jia.

"Listen, girl, you've made a big mistake by beating up our boys. There will be consequences. So either apologize or face the consequences," one of the boys threatened.

"I have nothing to lose," Jia declared, her confidence unwavering. The main guy among them continued to look at Jia with a sinister smile.

"Shut up, Ronny. I like her confidence. She doesn't need to apologize," he stated firmly.

"Stay away," I shouted, stepping forward. He was about to touch Jia again but backed off, glaring at me.

"I'll enjoy playing this game with you," he taunted, winking at Jia as they left the classroom. Jia looked at me, and I met her gaze. She made a face, and I returned to my seat.

At evening

"Rohan, how was your day?" I asked.

"It was as usual, bhai. Nothing much. You say," he replied.

"Nothing much. Today, a bunch of boys came to our class, and they all gathered around Jia," I told him.

"What?!" Rohan exclaimed, clearly shocked. I proceeded to recount the whole incident to him.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'd like to let you know that the next chapter is in the works. However, due to my work commitments, I might not be able to update daily. Nevertheless, I'll do my best to provide regular updates.

Thank you for your continued support and happy reading!

Warm regards,

Erica <3