Hopeless Love Finds Hope

Chapter 7

Ishani POV

I was so nervous. Thank you so much, God, for sending Rohan as my blessing at the last moment. We didn't have enough time to practice, but I explained everything to him, and I have a feeling he will do great. "Let's go, Di," I said to Jia. She nodded, and we hopped into the car.

"Di, today is my event. I'm dancing," I said, excitement bubbling in my voice.

"Why were you hugging him?" she asked coldly, catching me off guard.

"What?" I said, confused.

"Nothing. Yes, what were you saying?" she changed the topic abruptly. What was she talking about? Hugging who? Oh, she must be referring to Vihaan. Seriously, my sister was asking about a guy. I smiled sheepishly.

"Ishani, why are you smiling?" she questioned.

"Nothing, Di. I was just saying that today is my event. Are you coming to see it?" I asked with a hopeful tone.

She looked at me, and I could sense her hesitation. "You know, Ishani," she began, "I know... you don't have to explain."

Her words hurt me. At least she could come and watch.

We reached college, and I headed to my practice. After an hour, the event started. "Ishani!" I heard someone call, and it was Rohan. "Hey, are you ready?" I replied, "Actually no." My heart sank. "What?" I asked. "I can't dance, Ishani... I'm sorry," he said. "And you're saying this now? The next performance is mine!" I shouted. "I'm sorry," he repeated.

"Get lost!" I snapped, and he walked away. I had to gather myself. Okay, Ishani, you can do it. I went up on stage. I could handle the first half because it was my part, but I was feeling less confident now. Suddenly, I spotted a familiar face in the audience - Jia di. She was smiling a little, and that gave me an immediate boost of confidence. It was the first time she had come to watch. I started with my part, and I could hear cheers and claps from the audience. As my part neared its end, I was about to signal to finish my performance when I heard a loud cheer. I looked beside me, and it was Vihaan. I was shocked to my core. He pulled me into a step, and I immediately caught up with him. I looked at him, and he was perfectly executing his steps. His presence boosted my confidence, and I continued dancing with renewed energy.

Finally, our performance was finished, and I heard a loud cheer from the audience. Everyone was shouting, "Once more, once more!" We even received a standing ovation from the judges. Backstage, I looked at Vihaan and said, "Thank you, thank you, thank you." He smiled and looked at me, and I continued, "You know, I thought after Rohan ditched me at the last moment, there was no hope."

"He didn't ditch you," I looked at Vihaan, now completely confused. "Yes, I didn't," Rohan confirmed, smiling. My puzzlement grew. "It was all Vihaan's plan," he explained.

I asked him to explain further, and he said, "Well, Ishani, you know, just like when you buy anything, the first thing you think about is uniqueness, right? Just like that, to make your performance extraordinary, I made it unique. You lost hope, the audience lost hope, and then I entered, making it seem like it was all planned. Trust me, you are going to win it." He playfully pulled my cheeks. Now I understood his clever strategy.

"Thank you so much, both of you, for making my heart break and then patching it up," I said, almost laughing. "Congratulations, you've got this," Rohan said, and they both left the backstage area.

All of us were waiting anxiously for the final result. The anchor's voice boomed, "So for this year... the best performance goes to..." We held our breath. "Ishani and Vihaan!" he announced, and I couldn't believe it. The crowd erupted in cheers, and I made my way to the stage. I was the happiest person in that moment. I called Vihaan up on stage with me, and the applause from the audience was thunderous.

As we stood there, one of the judges complimented our performance, saying, "Well, Ishani, that was a really smart move to make your performance extraordinary." I thanked them, my heart racing with joy. After the winner's announcement, I went up to Jia di. I hugged her tightly, and although I expected her not to hug me back, she surprised me. Di actually hugged me back.

"Congratulations, bub. You deserved it," she said, and tears welled up in my eyes. I pulled away from the hug and looked at her in shock. She was smiling, a sight I hadn't seen in two years. "Why are you crying?" she asked, looking confused.

"It's nothing, di. It's just that you hugged me after two years, and I missed you," I said. She took my hand and said, "Today is your day, and you won."

I then mentioned how Vihaan had helped me a lot with my performance, revealing that it was all his plan. Jia di listened carefully, and her expression changed. I couldn't help but ask, "What happened, di?" She turned around and replied, "Nothing. Let's go home."

I wanted her to come out to celebrate with Rohan, Vihaan, and me, so I asked her, but she declined. "You go and have fun, but be safe. If there's any problem, just call me," she said, and we parted ways.

She went away, leaving Rohan and me alone. "Ishani, let's go," Rohan suggested, and I agreed, saying, "Yes, let's go."

But just as we were about to leave, we heard a voice. It was Yash. "Oh, so this is what's going on behind my back?" he remarked. Rohan was quick to respond, saying, "Seriously, dude."

I wasn't in the mood to entertain his excuses. "Yash, you ditched me. You can go," I told him firmly. He tried to explain, "Oh, come on, baby, you know I was stuck."

I wasn't having it. "Yash, where were you busy? You attended a party," I pointed out, clearly upset. "Babe, you know that party was important," he tried to reason.

I wasn't having any of his excuses. "Shut up, and don't you dare try to say anything. You ditched me at the last moment, and I'm going to dump you, you loser!" I retorted angrily. I turned to Rohan, held his hand, and pleaded with my eyes. He understood and played along.

"You can go, Yash. I've found someone," I declared and looked at Rohan with a hint of gratitude in my eyes. He smiled slightly and took my hand, leading me away from Yash's drama.

"Thank you so much, Rohan," I said to him. He seemed surprised by my decision. "Seriously, you broke up with him?" he asked.

I nodded firmly. "Yes, of course. I don't want to be with a guy for whom I'm not that important. I don't have any problem, but at least if you're missing out on an important thing due to some reason, then that reason should be valid," I explained my decision.

"You're really strong," Rohan commented, and I smiled at the compliment. "Let's go, then," he said, and we walked away from the drama together.

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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