My Ex - Crush

Episode 56

Arjun's POV:

"Sanjay, where on earth are you taking me?" I muttered as he dragged me out of my room. I’d been packing my bag to check out of the hotel.

"Just shut up and come with me!" Sanjay replied, not slowing down.

He led me up to the hotel terrace. As we stepped into the open space, I spotted Deepika standing there, tapping her foot, looking incredibly tense.

My heart kicked up a beat—she’d actually confessed she liked me in front of everyone! I was still reeling from it, and the thought of telling her that I felt the same had me both nervous and ecstatic. I was playing out a million scenarios in my head. Should I just kiss her again? Maybe that’d be the best way to make her understand how much I want her. Words could never do justice to what I feel when I look at her.

And that kiss… God, just thinking about it made my pulse quicken. She’d completely surprised me—this was a side of Deepika I hadn’t seen, one that could keep up with the intensity I felt. The memory of her slightly flushed face, those slightly parted lips… it was enough to drive me crazy.

But then, as I got closer, something didn’t sit right. She looked different—pale, her eyes slightly red like she hadn’t slept. The energy I’d expected to see wasn’t there, and instead, she seemed on edge, almost like she wanted to bolt.

What was going on?

"Wait, so she wanted to talk to me? Or is this your idea?" I asked, chuckling, turning to Sanjay.

"Arjun, Deepika asked for you. Be serious," he replied sternly, giving me a look.

"I am serious!" I said defensively. I’d been planning to tell her that I liked her too. But she’d vanished after her confession, and I hadn’t seen her since.

Deepika’s gaze landed on me, and she visibly straightened, trying to hide her nerves. Sanjay left us alone, and I took a step toward her.

“Hey…” I started, but she cut me off.

“Arjun, please don’t talk until I’ve said what I need to.” Her voice wavered, but her expression was guarded.

Confused, I nodded, signaling her to go on.

She took a shaky breath. “Alright, here goes. I like you,” she said, her words spilling out quickly. I bit my lip to hold back a smile, but then she continued, rushing through her next words like she couldn’t wait to get them out. “But it’s…like a train stopping at a station like Mathew Hussey says, It’s here for a moment, but it moves on.”

“Wait…who’s saying that? Some train metaphor?” I asked, baffled.

“I said not to talk!” she snapped, her nerves now brimming over into frustration. She looked down for a moment before continuing, her face tense. “So yeah, that’s my confession. And I don’t need you to say anything back. In fact, I don’t want to know what you think about it. You don’t need to say anything,” she added, almost as if she was telling herself, not me.

Her words felt like a weight crashing down on me. She was putting up walls, shutting me out. Why wouldn’t she want to know how I felt? Did she really mean to let this go?

“Wait—what are you talking about?” I managed, confusion giving way to a growing, painful disbelief.

She took a steadying breath, not meeting my eyes. “I just don’t want to look like some lovesick fool. I’m not desperate. And I think you should know that.” Her tone was sharp, defensive.

“When did I ever say that?” I protested.

“Just…stop, Arjun!” she said, closing her eyes as if trying to block me out.