Kshitij got Kritika [Completed✓]

CHAPTER ~ 12

POV :~ KSHITIJ

After instructing one of the female hotel employees to escort Kritika to her room, I turned and walked towards the bar. The festive atmosphere around me felt like a weight pressing down, and I needed a moment to clear my head.

I reached the bar, and ordered something light—a whiskey soda, just enough to take the edge off. I settled onto a stool, feeling a wave of frustration wash over me.

Why had Kritika’s touch felt so uncomfortable? Her touch isn't supposed to be like any other's women touch which I — despise. Yeah. I do. I don't like anyone touching me. Mental trauma? Maybe. I don't know about it myself.

The sensation of her hand on my wrist had left me feeling —strange and unsettled. I couldn’t pinpoint exactly that it shouldn't have, but it did and it gnawed at me.

I took a sip of my drink, trying to calm my racing thoughts. In that moment, she had needed comfort, and I had simply responded. That's it.

That was all there was to it, right? Yet, the memory of what I had said to her—“I'm there”—kept replaying in my mind. The words had come out naturally, but now they felt foreign, as if spoken by someone else.

A shiver ran down my spine. The idea of being someone’s emotional support, of being so intimately involved, triggered the familiar symptoms of my gamophobia. My chest tightened, and I felt a sudden urge to escape, to be alone. The room seemed to close in around me, the noise of the bar amplifying my discomfort.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to steady myself.

It’s just for a few days,—I reminded myself. Then the wedding will be over, and maybe things will settle down.

But even as I thought it, I knew it wasn’t that simple.

The prospect of marriage, the commitment, the closeness—it all felt overwhelming. I opened my eyes and looked around, feeling a sense of detachment from the people around me. I had been thrust into this situation, and while I wanted to be supportive, every part of me recoiled at the thought of a lifelong bond.

Finishing my drink, I stood up and made my way back to my office, needing the solitude it provided. It felt like a world apart from my own internal turmoil.

I closed the door behind me and leaned against it, taking a moment to collect myself. When everything settled in, I opened my laptop to focus on my work finally.

~

I was still working in the silence of my office, when I heard a knock at the door.

"Come in," I barked from inside.

The door opened, showing me my little brother's face, who was not so little.

"Yeah!" I said.

"It's dinner time, bhaiya...planning to stick with office?" He takes, "No way.. it's your wedding in five days!"

I nodded, standing up - I know there's no escape - "Let's go."

We left my office together, walking through the dimly lit corridors towards the banquet hall. The hotel's grandeur seemed to amplify the atmosphere of the wedding preparations of it's owner.

"So, how are you holding up?" Aayush asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.

I chuckled, "I was holding pretty fine until you both ended up calling her 'bhabhi' and teasing her to an extent that she thought she'll mess things up."

"Caring, are we?" As soon as the tease left his mouth, I raised my hand to beat his ass off and he escaped from me, running fast towards the hall.

I reached the entrance of hall and the sounds of laughter and conversations grew louder. Everyone from the family was already seated on the grand dining table.