Invisible String

Chapter 7: Confession

Word count: 2109
Aditya's POV:

I stopped by for a cup of coffee in this café and spotted the girl from the wedding again which I didn’t really expect but here I was standing a few feet away from her. I approached her and this time and throughout our entire conversation I could feel it in my bones that she did feel at least a fraction of what I felt for her. ‘Naina Ahuja’. Somehow, it fit her perfectly- beautiful, elegant but also fierce.

Her car broke down and so was the state of my heart, she thought I was a player? I mean, I knew there were rumours about me every now and then yet I kinda hoped she wouldn’t pay much mind to it. Yeah idiotic, I know.

I held her hand, determined to not let her go so easily and clear out the tense air between us. "Naina, I am not a playboy," I insisted, my tone firm yet with a hint of desperation. "Please, just hear me out once."

As I stood there, watching Naina's conflicted expression, I couldn't help but feel a pang of frustration mixed with a tinge of sadness. Why did she have to view me through the lens of hearsay and rumours? I wanted nothing more than to show her just how wrong she was about me.

I searched her eyes, hoping to convey the truth of my words. In that moment, all I wanted was for her to see past the facade, to understand the depth of my feelings for her. But whether she would open her heart to me remained uncertain, hanging in the air like a delicate thread waiting to be either severed or woven into something beautiful.

Naina's reaction hung in the balance, her silence echoing louder than any words could. And then, like a gentle breeze cutting through the tension, her voice broke the stillness. "Okay," she said softly, her tone laced with empathy and understanding. "It would, anyways be a bit too rude if I judge you on the basis of mere rumours."

Relief washed over me in waves, shoulders sagging as if releasing a burden that I had carried for far too long. l

"My dad is a very influential person," I confessed, "always on the news 24/7. I couldn’t help but always get sad thinking about how it’s so difficult for him to have privacy.” I continued, feeling weirdly relaxed as I never really talked about my personal or family life to anyone other than Kabir. Memories of being constantly in the public eye, my every move scrutinised and analysed, flooded back with startling clarity.

"Now that I’ve been selected for the Indian Football team," my voice, growing hoarse and deeper, "it has made it more difficult for me to hide from the camera. I feel like I am watched all the time, even my smallest interaction with someone is labelled as a dating allegation to bring my name down." Every single thing those buffoons wrote about me were lies and Naina was the last person I wanted to believe those lies.

"I genuinely do feel for you, Naina," I confessed with sincerity, "and maybe this may seem too early for you, after all we’ve only ever known each other for a day but I assure you, I’m not a player. Trust me, I’m not the type of person to break someone’s heart, especially yours."

With each word, I laid bare my heart, desperate for Naina to see the depth of my emotions. She was someone special to me, a beacon of light in the darkness of my fame, and I wouldn’t let the rumours tear them apart. As I fell silent, the weight of my confession hung heavy in the air, the tension palpable between us. And then, like a balm to my wounded soul, Naina spoke, her words a soothing salve to my battered heart. "I’m sorry. I guess I was too quick to judge you," she said, her voice filled with remorse.

In that moment, amidst the tangled web of fame and scrutiny, I found solace in Naina's understanding, a glimmer of hope amidst the chaos of my life. She then continued in a lighter tone, “But in my defence, your pick- up lines were horrible.”