Bewitched

Chapter -1

"Shubman "

"Shubman"

Shubman, disoriented, woke up to find himself surrounded by concerned faces.

"What happened?" he asked Rashid, his teammate.

"You fell, bro. When you were introduced to our new owner, Mr. Ishan... You suddenly got unconscious. He was really worried about you."

"Is he still here?" Shubman inquired.

"Umm... no, he had to go for some personal work. But he will come back within an hour."

"He is real then?"

"Why wouldn't he be?"

"No, nothing!"

"Come on, eat something, you are weak," urged Ashish Nehra.

Shubman was in the middle of enjoying his favorite mutton biryani when someone sat down behind him. He turned around and froze, the spoon hanging from his mouth, eyes wide, as he realized it was Ishan, their new owner, looking at him concerned.

"Shubman, for god's sake, chew the damn bite and reply to him," Ashish whispered, leaning in.

Shubman hurriedly swallowed a gulp of water.

As Shubman tried to compose himself, Ishan spoke up, his voice gentle yet curious,"Are you alright,Mr. Shubman? You seemed quite startled when you saw me."

Shubman managed a nervous chuckle,Is he acting like a lunatic in front of their new owner.

Ishan smiled warmly, "Well, I hope you guys didn’t find me too intimidatng. I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone here"

Rashid, ever the peacemaker, jumped in, "Don't worry, Mr. Ishan, We're all thrilled to have you as our owner."

Shubman nodded in agreement, grateful for Rashid's intervention. "Yeah, sorry about that,Mr. Ishan. It's just..."

Ishan's smile widened, "No need to apologize. Let's just enjoy our meal and get to know each other better, shall we?"

Shubman couldn't help but steal glances at Ishan as he engaged in lively conversation with everyone, his laughter echoing through the room at one of Ashish bhai's jokes.

"This Ishan is so different from my Ishan," Shubman mused silently to himself. "My Ishan wouldn’t even talk to his teammates."

A pang of realization hit Shubman as he acknowledged the truth: "Well, that's because your Ishan doesn't exist," his brain supplied.

"Excuse me,I have to take a call,hello,yes Aditi, have you reached? "-Ishan drifted off to take his call.

Oh,This Ishan has a fiancee,Shubman's brained tortured him again.

Ashish bhai, ever observant, didn't waste any time probing, "What's with you fainting and all while seeing him?"

Taking a deep breath, Shubman decided to come clean. "Well, do you guys remember what my therapist told me?"

"About your imaginary boyfriend?" Rashid recalled.

"Yes, yes," Shubman affirmed, reaching beneath his t-shirt to retrieve a pendant. He displayed Ishan's picture from the pendant for everyone to see.