The Haunted Fortress of Bhangarh: Book 1

39. Alike yet different

Shravani alighted from the auto rickshaw a few feet away from Rudra's home. The rickshaw driver informed her that due to heightened security in the VIP lanes housing the residences of high-ranking government officials, he was not allowed to venture inside the protected complex. Hence, she was ambling down the lane from the intersection a few hundred feet away when a swanky SUV rushed past her, leading to her hair getting ruffled. She furrowed her brows in confusion when the black vehicle halted near Ishita's home, and her frown lines cleared when a guy clambered out from behind the wheels. Assuming that he was no one other than Rishabh, for Rudra had notified her about Ishita's boyfriend attending the lunch, she was preparing herself to head towards him and introduce herself when her gaze fell on the manner in which Rudra was with Ishita on the former's porch.

Her arms were brushing against his chest while their noses were nearly touching. In such propinquity with one another, they seemed to be interacting, but before she could warn them and react to the situation, Rishabh had already discerned the entire scene and screamed at the top of his voice.

"Ishita!" His nose flared, and his eyes burned with rage. "What the hell is going on here?"

The puerile banter halted between Rudra and Ishita as their necks snapped towards the source of the sound. His hold from around Ishita's wrists loosened instantly, and she stuck her tongue at him before heading towards Rishabh with a wide smile on her face.

However, Rishabh took rash breaths and strode away, brushing past Shravani with an intensity that she was left grappling for balance as her heels dug deeper into the muddy sidewalk. Ishita's smile morphed into one of utmost befuddlement as she stared at the retreating back of her boyfriend, and it took her two moments to recover as she sprinted after Rishabh and called his name out at the top of her voice, albeit to no avail.

Rudra's brows furrowed as he stepped down from the porch and followed Shravani's line of sight, sighing deeply as Ishita followed Rishabh and rounded paths at the end of the lane, turning left and disappearing from view. "What happened to the dude? Why was he brooding, and why did he leave?"

Shravani hummed. "Wasn't he Rishabh? I have seen his pictures on Ishita's social media."

Rudra yearned to roll his eyes but desisted. "Yeah. I have never met him personally, but I have seen him drop her off after their," he grimaced, "dates."

She took a deep breath and turned towards Rudra. "I think he is upset because you and," she licked her lips and evaded meeting his gaze, "Ishita were standing too close to each other. It seemed like... uh..." She gulped. "It seemed like you were about to kiss her."

His lips parted in disbelief. "What?" He shook his head to rid himself of the momentary puzzlement. "That's crazy! We were fighting. She was trying to run away from the conversation, and I was only trapping her and preventing her from... from..."

She allowed a weak smile to develop on her face. "He must have misconstrued. That's why he went away in a frenzy."

He groaned and rubbed his palms over his face. "I wasn't going to kiss her, Shravani. Please don't get the wrong ideas."

She smiled and cupped his cheeks. "I know. You don't need to explain."

He bobbed his head and peered at her with skepticism pooling in his eyes. "You trust me, don't you?"

Her eyes stung with tears at his question, and she promptly veered to hide her face from him. "Mmm-hmmm."

Taking a deep breath, he said, "Let's go in. Ishita will figure it out. Hopefully."

Her hands clutched the locket lying on her bosom, and when she heard the thudding footsteps of Rudra as he sauntered towards the door of his house, she allowed the tears to fall freely and moisten her cheeks, leaving a fiery trail down her skin. "When I see you happy," she murmured under her breath, "I become jubilant. When I see you sad, I am automatically in despair. But then... when I see you with her, I just can't be jealous, Rudra. You are not... him."