Yeh Dil ♥️ - Love Like This

6

The throb of the music pulsed through the room, a relentless bass beat that mirrored the frantic rhythm of Sonia's movements. Her lips grazed Rudra's throat, her touch sending a spark down his spine that he quickly extinguished. His mind, however, was a traitor, a persistent image of Rohit's face flashing before his eyes. The vulnerability in those bruised eyes, the unexpected gratitude in his voice – these were unwelcome distractions in the midst of Sonia's advances.

He pushed her away gently, or at least as gently as he could manage in his current state of disarray. "Sonia, enough," he muttered, his voice laced with a frustration he couldn't quite explain.

Sonia, momentarily surprised, pouted playfully. "But Rudra, darling," she whined, batting her eyelashes at him. "We were just getting started!"

Rudra's irritation flared. The forced intimacy, the shallowness of it all, felt suffocating. He wasn't interested in Sonia's usual games tonight. He yearned for something…more. But what that ‘more’ was, he couldn't say.

"Not tonight, Sonia," he said, his voice firm. He turned away, his gaze sweeping over the throng of dancing bodies. His friends, Akash and Yohan, were laughing uproariously with a group of girls, lost in their own intoxicated oblivion.

A wave of loneliness washed over him, a stark contrast to the usual frenetic energy he thrived on. He grabbed a bottle of beer from a passing waiter, the cold glass a welcome relief against his heated skin.

"Dude, what's wrong?" Akash materialized beside him, his voice thick with slurred concern. "You look like you swallowed a lemon."

Rudra didn't respond, simply tilted the bottle back and took a long swig, the bitterness of the beer mirroring the turmoil within him. Parties, women, the constant chase – it all felt like a hollow performance tonight.

He downed the beer in a single gulp, the emptiness echoing in his stomach. Without a word, he reached for another bottle, his movements jerky and uncoordinated.

Akash frowned, his usual carefree demeanor replaced by a flicker of worry. "Whoa, Rudra, slow down. Something's definitely off."

Rudra ignored him, his gaze fixed on the flashing lights and the pulsating crowd. The music seemed to distort, morphing into a cacophony of noise. He felt like an outsider, a spectator in a world he no longer recognized.

Suddenly, a hand touched his shoulder, a familiar warmth seeping through his chilled skin. He turned to see Sonia, her earlier pout replaced by a forced smile.

"Come on, Rudra," she coaxed, her voice laced with a hint of desperation. "Let's get some fresh air." Before he could protest, she looped her arm through his, her touch sending shivers down his spine – not of desire, but of unease.

He found himself being dragged towards the balcony, the cool night air a temporary respite from the stifling atmosphere inside. He leaned against the railing, his chest heaving with a mixture of frustration and a strange, unidentifiable longing.

Sonia stood beside him, her body pressed close to his. "What's wrong, Rudra?" she whispered, her voice husky. "You can tell me anything."

Rudra opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He couldn't explain the turmoil within him, the confusing thoughts about a bruised freshman that seemed to have taken root in his mind. He closed his eyes, the image of Rohit's face a stark contrast to Sonia's heavily made-up one.

Sonia, mistaking his silence for an invitation, leaned in closer, her lips brushing against his ear. "Let me help you forget," she murmured, her voice laced with a suggestive promise.

But before she could close the distance, Rudra stopped her. He grasped her arms gently but firmly, pushing her back a step. "Sonia," he said, his voice low and strained. "I need to be alone."

Sonia's face fell, a flicker of anger replacing the forced sweetness. "Fine," she spat, her voice dripping with disappointment. "But don't come crying to me when you realize what you're missing." With that, she turned on her stiletto heels and sashayed back into the party, leaving Rudra alone on the balcony, the cool night air swirling around him, carrying with it the echo of his own unspoken questions.

Sleep refused to come easy for Rohit. The throbbing pain in his leg was a constant reminder of yesterday's ordeal, but it was his mind that was truly restless tonight. He tossed and turned, the image of Rudra's face flashing before him, unbidden. He tried to distract himself by scrolling through social media, hoping for a mindless scroll to lull him into sleep.

Suddenly, a live video from his own college popped up on his feed. It was a chaotic scene, flashing lights and pulsating music filling the screen. A caption scrolled across the bottom: "Party at Sonia's place! #lit"

A knot of unease tightened in Rohit's stomach. Sonia, his senior and Rudra's classmate, was notorious for her wild parties. He scrolled through the comments, a cold dread settling over him as he saw several mentions of Rudra's name.

He forced himself to click on the video, a morbid curiosity gnawing at him. The camera scanned the room, capturing the dancing bodies and the overflowing glasses. Then, it stopped. Sonia was in the frame, her heavily made-up face plastered with a suggestive smile. And next to her, leaning against the wall, was Rudra.

Rohit's breath hitched. He watched, heart hammering in his chest, as Sonia leaned in close to Rudra, her hand reaching up to touch his face. Rudra, for a moment, seemed to hesitate, a flicker of something unreadable crossing his features. But then, Sonia closed the distance, their lips meeting in a heated kiss.

A wave of nausea washed over Rohit. He couldn't explain the sharp pang of jealousy that ripped through him, the unexpected possessiveness that clenched his gut. He was nobody to Rudra, just a bruised freshman he'd helped out of a scrape. So why did it feel like someone had punched him in the stomach?

Anger, hot and irrational, bubbled up within him. He was angry at Rudra, for succumbing to Sonia's advances, for being everything Rohit wasn't – popular, carefree, the center of attention. But mostly, he was angry at himself, for feeling something he couldn't define, for letting a guy he barely knew occupy so much space in his head.

With a frustrated groan, Rohit tossed his phone onto the nightstand. He squeezed his eyes shut, willing the unwanted emotions away. Sleep, he pleaded silently, take me now.

But sleep remained elusive. The image of Rudra and Sonia, locked in their passionate embrace, burned behind his eyelids. He closed his mind, focusing instead on the steady rhythm of his breath, on the dull ache in his leg. Slowly, ever so slowly, sleep began to claim him, a fragile escape from the confusing whirlwind of emotions that swirled within him.