𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑.27

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D h r i t i

Yesterday, someone had spent the night with me, but who could it have been? Aarush insisted that no one had slept over, so why do I have this lingering sensation that someone was in bed with me? I guess it must be my imagination playing tricks.

"Hey Riti, where are you lost in thought?" Aju asked as he drove us home.

"Oh, nothing. Just reflecting on yesterday..."

"I'm thinking about the same thing. Have you got any idea who was responsible?" Aju inquired.

"No need to guess; it's pretty clear that Sidharth is involved," Ruhi chimed in.

"Why are you so certain it's Sidharth?" I asked her, noticing she was preoccupied with her phone from the back seat.

"Because he seemed really eager to take you with him, but you didn't go," Ruhi replied, still focused on her screen.

"How dare he? Riti, you need to be cautious," Aju said, concern evident in his voice.

"You're right," I agreed.

"But Riti, when did you start trusting Mr. Malhotra so much?" Ruhi asked, a smirk on her face.

"What do you mean?" I replied, puzzled.

"I mean, yesterday you were saying things like 'I only stay with Aarush... don't leave me alone, Aarush...' while hugging him tightly," Ruhi said, and I felt a jolt of shock.

I hugged him? What? I couldn’t recall any of that. The only thing I remembered was Aarush catching me when I stumbled. Everything else was a blur. Did I really trust him? I was unsure why I would say something like that.

“Oyye.” Ruhi waved her fingers in front of my face.

“Yeah...” I replied.

“What’s going through your mind? Come on, Riti, answer me,” Ruhi asked playfully.

“I can’t decide if I trust him or not... honestly, I can’t recall anything from yesterday,” I confessed to Ruhi.

“Oh... you don’t remember anything,” both Ruhi and Aju chimed in teasingly.

“Please cut it out, guys... I genuinely don’t remember anything. I swear, believe me,” I urged.

“Alright, fine. We won’t say anything. You can do whatever you want,” Aju responded.

“What do you mean by that?” I questioned.

“Nothing,” Ruhi shrugged.

“Forget that for now… Riti, are you feeling okay? If you’re not, we could go to the hospital because of that—”

“Aju, I’m fine. Really. I had a headache when I woke up, but after drinking Aarush’s special hangover remedy, it disappeared,” I explained to Aju.

“Oh... Aarush’s special hangover drink,” they teased again, but I kept silent, choosing not to react.

Once we got home, Ruhi made lunch while they insisted on doing everything for me. My friends are so caring, especially Aju. Ishaan called me three times in two hours. I feel lucky to have friends like this. I didn’t let my brother know what happened; if he found out, he would rush over on the next flight, and I really don’t want that. Sure, I want to see him, but I can’t let him disrupt his business.

"Riti, please be honest with us. We keep asking because we know you dislike going to the hospital. If you’re not really okay, we can call Anamika. She can come over and check on you, and since she’s your best friend, you’ll feel more at ease," Aju said to me.