Concealed Passions

~ 5. Dhruv's explanation ~

~Dhriti's Pov.~

I nodded and stepped outside to find Vihu standing there, his hands on the railing. I overheard him saying, "Yaar, tu karna baat usse. Teri toh last mein maan hi leti hain baat."

(Yaar, please talk to her. She always listens to you in the end.)

From that, I guessed he had called Dhruv to convince me to cancel my event and join them early.

~Vihaansh Pov.~

When our parents mentioned that we youngsters are going ahead for the wedding arrangements, I immediately thought of turning it into a fun trip for us. It felt like a perfect opportunity for the five of us to spend quality time together, especially the three of us who used to be inseparable. I’ve been missing those days when we were all together, and I'm sure they both feel the same way.

Dhri and I, being neighbors, at least get to see each other occasionally. She’s often busy with her event planning, and I’m usually caught up with my gaming projects, but we manage to cross paths at night or sometimes in the morning but Dhruv is not in frame with us as he lives an hour and a half away in the opposite direction, making it difficult for him to join us regularly.

Dhruv only manages to come by once every two weeks on weekends. As he is also busy like us or you can say even more busy than us since he is the CEO of his company. I don't know what made him take that position at such a young age, but I respect his choice and I'm happy as long as he is happy.

When Dhriti mentioned that she couldn’t cancel her event to help with the wedding arrangements, frustration boiled up inside me. There are plenty of people who can manage that event—why does she always have to be the one? We could’ve had more time together, but she chose work instead. Anger took over, and I stormed out of the room, slamming the door hard in my frustration.

I grabbed my phone and called Dhruv. If she wouldn’t listen to me, I was sure she’d listen to him.

"Hello," I said as soon as he answered. He greeted me back, but quickly jumped to the point. "What happened, Vihu? Did you and Dhri fight again?"

"Yes and no," I responded, unsure of how to explain. Dhruv, sounding puzzled, asked, "What do you mean ‘yes and no’? It has to be either yes, that you fought or no, you didn’t."

“Yaar, it’s complicated.” I sighed. “First, let me tell you, she got her revenge on me for calling her at midnight yesterday by covering me in makeup and powder.”

Dhruv’s confusion was evident as he asked, "But why did you call her at midnight in the first place?”

“I couldn’t sleep, so I called her and told her to come to the balcony so we could talk,” I explained.

“Wait, wait... something’s missing. Dhri wouldn’t give up her sleep just to chat with you. What’s the full story?” He knows. He already knew us very well that he got the point.

I let out a nervous laugh, trying to stall. “Maine na… actually, hehe…”

“Vihu, just so you know, I’m still at the office, and I have a meeting in 20 minutes. So better for you if  you speak up fast,” he said, his tone more serious now.

I hesitated. “Okay, fine. But first promise you won’t scold me.”

"Vihu mar dalunga agar jaldi nahi bola toh aab," he growled, getting irritated.

(Vihu I will kill you if you don't speak quickly.)

"Vo toh tu ase hi sun kar marega," I muttered under my breath, but then I spoke up, louder this time, "Maine na usko dhamki di thi ki agar vo mere se baat nahi karegi toh, I will not speak to either of you for at least a week." I let out another nervous laugh, bracing for his reaction.