"Stop smiling," Rudra murmured to himself as he walked in.
Maitree chuckled, shaking her head upon hearing him. She slowly laced her fingers with his free hand. Rudra attempted to grab onto her hand, but she quickly let go, prompting a chuckle from him.
This playful exchange continued for a few seconds until Rudra eventually managed to grab onto her hand and placed it on his heart, murmuring, "Now it's perfect."
"Yes, it is," Maitree murmured, leaning on his shoulder.
Standing outside the guest room, Maitree murmured while looking at him, "You have to go."
"Do I have to?" Rudra responded, her hand still on his chest.
"Yes," Maitree murmured, lightly pushing on his chest with her free hand, accompanied by a small smile.
"Okay," Rudra murmured, kissing Maitree's hand on his chest.
He then let go, and as Maitree waved and turned to open the door, Rudra suddenly said, "Maitree."
Maitree turned around, noting the urgency in his voice. "What?"
"I love you," Rudra said after a moment, offering a small smile.
"I love you too," Maitree replied, chuckling a little and playfully hitting his shoulder.
"Go," Rudra murmured. Maitree shook her head and walked into the room.
_________
Next morning, Rudra was packing and getting ready to leave when Anjali knocked at the door.
"Hey Di," Rudra greeted as she walked in with ironed shirts.
"Thanks," Rudra murmured, taking the ironed shirts.
"Do you have to leave today?" Anjali asked, sitting on his bed.
"You know I have to," Rudra said, walking to his dressing table.
"Yeah," Anjali said, rolling her eyes.
"I will be back for your delivery," Rudra assured, leaning on the dressing table and looking at Anjali.
"Yeah, yeah," Anjali said, waving her hand. "I am glad you moved back. I missed you when you were in New York."
"You made that very clear," Rudra said, turning towards the mirror and murmuring, "every time you called."
"I heard that," Anjali said in an offended tone.
"I love you," Rudra said with the sweetest smile, to which Anjali rolled her eyes.
Rudra walked towards the bed, sat beside Anjali, and held her hand, saying, "Thank you so much for giving Maitree bangles; she loves them."
"I like her," Anjali said, placing her palm on his cheek. "Out of all the girls I have met, I think she is my favorite," Anjali added, nodding with a teasing smile.
She continued, "You really like her."
"I love her, Di," Rudra whispered with a smile.
"Good," Anjali said, nodding. She continued, "Me too. I was just kidding with the like," earning a chuckle from Rudra.
After a moment, Anjali asked, "Is something bothering you?"
"No," Rudra said, shaking his head and chuckling. "I love her so much; I don't want to hurt her."
"Why would you hurt her?" Anjali asked in a hushed tone.
"I know something that may or may not be true. I don't know how she will take it," Rudra confessed, conflicted with Shourya's advice and his own feelings.
YOU ARE READING
Threads of Destiny
Romansa"I'm not interested in you, so I don't want to know anything about you," Maitree stated firmly. Rudraksh, responded with a playful tone, "Well, maybe you should go on more dates with me. You might find yourself becoming interested once you get to kn...
