A Web of Love and Deceit

Moving On

If anyone saw Shivada today, they'd surely think she was a zombie. Her eyes were blank, lips parted in disbelief, and her walk was robotic, stumbling through the motions of reality. Whenever someone called her name, she'd jerk into a frenzied walk, as if her body were being controlled by something other than her mind. In short, she had lost it.

She never, in her wildest dreams, imagined that Aadhi would confess to her. And now, as she managed to make it home, she opened the door and burst into uncontrollable laughter. It wasn't the type of laugh that felt freeing; it was the kind that clung to madness. Her mother, Maya, peeked into her room, watching her daughter laugh while pounding her head with her hands. Concerned but unsure, she quietly closed the door, mentally running through a list of priests who might handle an exorcism.

After the laughter subsided, Shivada went completely blank. Then, all at once, memories came flooding back. Aadhi's room. His confession. The way he leaned in, his words dripping with desire. His dirty talk. Oh my God!

And then she did what any girl might do in such a situation—she screamed her lungs out.

Maya, hearing the scream, dialed a priest.

Shivada, meanwhile, buried her face in her pillows, pounding them as if they could absorb the confusion and shock of it all. If anyone had told her Aadhi had a crush on her, she would've bet one crore rupees they were wrong. There was no way she ever believed Aadhi, of all people, could feel this way about her. He knew how deeply she had loved Shiva. He had teased her endlessly, and sometimes, he even gave her the silent treatment over trivial things. They had been through so much together.

But as she lay there, Shivada's racing mind began to piece things together, slowly comprehending the dilemma Aadhi had been caught in for so long. In some strange, twisted way, they were both alike—both afraid of rejection. She had distanced herself from Shiva, terrified that he'd break her heart. Just like Aadhi had kept his feelings buried, afraid of hers.

She remembered Ram complaining once, annoyed at Aadhi for always taking Shivada's side during their childish sibling quarrels. Aadhi had been her quiet support, the one she could count on to get her what she wanted. He had been there in subtle, unspoken ways.

And then there were moments that she hadn't thought much of at the time, but now they stood out clearly. That one time when Shiva's friends were around and one of the boys tried to flirt with her, Shivada could still remember how Aadhi had stared the boy down. It wasn't long before the boy went silent, refusing to even glance in her direction again.

She also remembered the way Aadhi had held her when she was at her lowest after Shiva's rejection. He hadn't said anything—just let her cry on his shoulder, his presence the only comfort she had needed.

And those eyes... his intense eyes. They had always looked at her with something she couldn't quite place. Now, she understood. And how he had checked her out that day when she was wearing the dhavani—her skin tingled at the thought, goosebumps rising all over. He went so far as to tell her he wants to fuck her and make her his wife. She blushed hard.

It was as if her entire world had shifted, and nothing made sense anymore.

Shivada felt the weight of her emotions crashing down like a wave she couldn't escape. It was too soon. Too soon to even think about Aadhi in that way, even though she knew, deep down, that his love for her ran deeper than she could ever comprehend.She prefers not to play the role of the naive heroine who, in the novel, believes she is too perfect for the hero, dates everyone except him, and then gets married to him after eventually recognising he is the one. Shivada is not a fool. 

She understood one thing clearly—Aadhi wasn't someone she could afford to lose. Yet, her heart wasn't ready. Not while the wound from Shiva still stung. She needed time. Time to heal, time to refocus on her life, her academics, her dreams. She owed that much to herself. And as Aadhi had said, he was willing to wait. He would give her that time, wait for her to let go of her feelings for Shiva, and hopefully one day, embrace the love he'd quietly offered her for so long.