Tales of Heartfelt Embrace

24 | Nathan's obsession

The next morning, Tanya  got up earlier than she was used to. Illahi  was still in her bed, sound asleep. Tanya  quietly went to take a shower and then got ready. As she was about to get out of the apartment, Tanya  shot a look at Illahi.

"Sorry, Illahi. I would have taken you along, but Nathan instructed me to meet him by myself. If I want to help Jahaan , then I have to do this," Tanya  thought to herself. Suddenly, Tanya  realized that if Illahi  woke up, she would frantically start searching for her.

So, she decided to leave a note for Illahi .
"Going out for a run. Will see you at college!
Don't be late! xoxo ," Tanya  wrote and placed it on the top of the nightstand. She threw one last glance at Illahi  and tiptoed out of the room.

Meanwhile, Nathan had already arrived at the park and was waiting for Tanya . Although Tanya  had not confirmed her arrival the previous day, Nathan still had high hopes that she would turn up.

"Finally, Tanya  and I will be together today.
No one will be here to interrupt us. Not Jahaan  and not even Tanya's  clingy friends. I have been waiting for this day for so long," Nathan muttered to himself, and a devilish smile appeared on his face.

"Today, I'll make Tanya  believe that Jahaan is not the right guy for her," Nathan gritted. He took out his phone and started scrolling through Tanya's  photographs, which he had downloaded onto it.
"I'm the perfect guy for you, Tanya . I will always keep you happy. Jahaan  is always hurting you, but I wouldn't do anything like that," Nathan hissed. He looked at one of the photographs, where Tanya  and Illahi  were smiling together.

"You know, Tanya , since that rainy day, I cannot help but think about you. My gaze always searches for you, but I think you never noticed that. But this won't happen again. jahaan snatched you away from me, but I'm going to get you back. Do you know why? Because no one loves you more than I do," Nathan mumbled possessively. His eyes carried a gleam of some lovesick maniac, and he appeared really creepy.

Ever since Nathan had seen Tanya, he had fallen head over heels for her. Since then, he had made it a habit to stalk her silently. He would skip classes and stealthily follow Tanya  throughout the campus, just to get a glimpse of her. But Nathan always maintained a distance from her, so Tanya  could never suspect that he was lurking after her. When Nathan had seen that photograph of Tanya  and Jahaan  kissing, he couldn't control himself - seeing Tanya  in someone's else embrace really infuriated him.

"Tanya , no one can love you more than me.
No one could care for you more than I do!" Nathan gritted. Suddenly, he realized that Tanya  was coming to meet him regarding that photograph incident. Nathan's face turned red with anger as he thought about that.

"That photograph hurt you a lot, didn't it, Tanya ? I saw the tears in your eyes. It is all because of Jahaan. Everyone was taunting you only because of him. And what did he do? He left you all alone by yourself! But I would never do something like that," Nathan spat angrily.

When  he saw that Tanya  was finally here.
He waved his  hand in Tanya's  direction, and she strolled towards him.

Tanya  was wearing a tank top and running shorts. She had left her hair open, which was waving along with the morning breeze. Nathan was completely enchanted by her beauty. As Tanya came near him, she observed that Nathan was eyeing her quite creepily.

"Hello, Tanya ," Nathan greeted, but Tanya  did not reciprocate his gesture and jumped straight to the point.

"Nathan, tell me. How do you know about Jahaan  and me? And how are you gonna help me?" Tanya  inquired.

"You look pretty, March," Nathan stated with a smile. Tanya  felt a bit weird, but she did not pay much heed to his compliment.

"Thank you, Nathan, but I want answers to my questions." Tanya  pressed.