Her Dangerous Obsession

Chap 8 - The Friendship

Author's POV

The sun shone brightly that Sunday morning, gilding the city in gold. The streets bustled with vendors shouting, bicycles squeaking, and children running barefoot, chasing one another in simple joy.

Adhrit walked through those very streets, his pace unhurried, his thoughts restless.

He was returning to his home, after visiting temple in the morning.

The last few days had been a strange blur, and ultimately stressful for him, and praying to God was what provided him peace, so he decided to go to the temple.

Anaisha’s words at the restaurant still lingered in his mind. That apology — soft, trembling, so unlike her usual arrogance — had caught him completely off guard. He wasn’t naive — he knew people rarely changed overnight. Yet the sincerity in her voice, it had unsettled him.

How can someone shift like that? From venomous arrogance to broken vulnerability in a matter of days?

Were his words really that much effective, that she realised her mistake?

Why did it all feeling so unreal, so weird, yet unexpectedly sincere?

His brows knitted in dilemma. "Is she pretending? Or… was I really too harsh on her before?", he thought with confusion in his mind.

He was lost in these thoughts, when the sound of children’s laughter drew his attention. His eyes moved toward a corner near a shabby roadside stall, and what he saw stopped him in his tracks.

His eyes widened in surprise.

Anaisha.

The name burst in his mind before his lips could shape it.

She stood among a group of children, clad not in her usual high - fashion modern attire, but in something casual, and simple — a simple white top, light blue jeans, her hair tied back loosely.

The air of sophistication was still there, unshakable, but today, it mingled with something softer. She held a box in her hand, distributing candies to the children gathered around her.

The children giggled, tugging at her hands, eyes sparkling with joy, as they received their small share. And Anaisha — the same Anaisha who once threw money like it was dust — was kneeling slightly, laughing with them, her face bright with a kind of joy, Adhrit had never seen before.

He felt something inside him stir. His lips curved into a small smile before he even realized it. The sight was infront of his eyes was beautiful. Almost surreal. A sight, he could never imagine.

Before he could process it further, a cry rang out.

One of the children had stumbled on a loose stone, falling hard onto the ground. The little boy’s wails pierced the cheerful scene.

Adhrit instinctively moved forward, but before he could reach, Anaisha was already there. She knelt, her hands gently cradling the boy’s scraped knees, her voice soft and soothing, as she tried to calm that little boy.

"There, there… shhh, it’s okay, baby. You’re strong, aren’t you? Let me see. Are you hurt so badly?", She blew lightly on the wound, cooing words of comfort, her face filled with genuine concern.

The boy’s small, dirt-stained hands reached up, and touched her cheek, smearing soil across her flawless skin. To Adhrit’s astonishment, Anaisha didn’t flinch. She simply smiled, stroking his hair, until his sobs quietened into sniffles.

Adhrit stood frozen, his heart thudding strangely. "This, this is Anaisha Mehrotra? The same girl, who once treated everyone like, they were nothing infront of her?", he couldn't stop himself to raise this question in his mind.