cross road

Chapter 18

Pallavi sat quietly, holding the letter from her uncle in her hands. As she read through the carefully written words, a mix of emotions stirred within her. Her uncle had mentioned how much he missed her, how difficult it had been for him to be apart from her during these troubling times. He wrote of his determination to uncover the truth behind the attack on her, but despite his best efforts, the people responsible remained elusive.

He urged her to stay strong, to take care of herself while the chaos raged on. He promised her that once things calmed down, they would finally take the long trip they had always talked about—a journey to escape the shadows of the present and find some peace together.

Pallavi's breath hitched as she read the final lines. Her eyes blurred with unshed tears. The words, so filled with love and concern, made her feel both comforted and heartbroken. She missed him deeply, but more than that, she longed for an end to the fear and uncertainty that had overshadowed her life. With a trembling hand, she wiped away the tears that had slipped down her cheeks, her heart aching for a time when everything would be right again.

Raghav paced restlessly inside his room, his mind running in endless circles. It was as if every thought was somehow connected to Pallavi. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something different about her—something genuine. She wasn't like the women from his past. He felt it deep in his chest, a quiet hope, a flicker of something good. But his mind, kept pulling him back. His past was full of betrayal and hurt, and his family had suffered enough because of someone he once trusted. The scars from that experience ran deep. Could he really trust again? Could he trust her?

The thoughts swirled, each one louder than the last, until finally, he made a decision. He couldn't keep running from this uncertainty. If he was going to find out, he would have to take the leap—take a chance. With a final, decisive breath, Raghav moved towards the back door on the first floor, the one that led directly to Pallavi's house. It was a quiet, hidden entry—when words failed and actions spoke louder.

The door was ajar, and as he stepped inside, he hesitated, unsure of what he might find. He knocked softly, but when there was no answer, his curiosity got the better of him. He pushed the door open and entered.

To his surprise, he found Pallavi sitting by the window, absorbed in something. Her eyes were fixed on a letter in her hands, and she didn't notice him right away. The sight was unexpected—vulnerable, intimate. It tugged at something inside him, but before he could take another step, she looked up, her expression shifting from calm to something like alarm. She quickly shoved the letter into her lap, almost as if trying to hide it, before jumping to her feet.

Raghav froze in his tracks, his confusion evident. Why was she hiding the letter? He hadn't expected such a reaction, and the tension in the room suddenly thickened.

"Pallavi?" he said, his voice softer than he intended. 

She stood there for a moment, her eyes darting between the letter she had hidden and him, as if caught between two worlds. "I—I wasn't expecting you," she stammered, her voice flustered, her hands instinctively gripping the letter even though it was no longer in view.

Raghav's demeanor shifted in an instant. His voice, once soft, now carried an edge, sharp with frustration. He stepped closer, his eyes narrowing with intensity as he asked, "What are you hiding?"

Pallavi flinched, her fingers instinctively clutching the crumpled letter tighter. Slowly, she looked up at him, her expression unreadable. She could feel the weight of his gaze, could sense the shift in the air. With a small, almost inaudible sigh, she exhaled and tried to deflect, "Nothing. Tell me, why are you here?"

But her words only seemed to provoke him further. Raghav's patience, already stretched thin by his own internal turmoil, snapped. Without thinking, he stepped forward, closing the distance between them. Before she could even react, he reached out and gently but firmly took hold of her hand—the one that was still clutching the letter.

"Do not hide it, Pallavi," he said, his voice low but filled with quiet force. "I can clearly see the letter in your hand. If it's personal, you could have just told me, but by hiding it, you're making me trust you less."

Pallavi's words were sharp, and the irritation in her voice cut through the thick tension between them. "You can't just barge in whenever you want to my house and catch me off guard like this, expecting me to share things that are none of your business!" she said, her chest rising and falling with a mix of frustration and anger. "I haven't given anyone permission to invade my life, so you better keep yourself in check!"

The words hit Raghav like a slap, and for a moment, he stood there, stunned, unable to process what she had just said. His eyes widened as her anger flared. He hadn't expected this reaction—not after everything they had been through together. The vulnerability he had seen in her moments before was replaced by a defensive wall, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of confusion.

Pallavi, too, was taken aback by the fierceness of her own response. She hadn't meant to lash out at him like that, but the pressure of her uncle's letter and the constant worry about what was happening in her life had built up, and she couldn't hold it in anymore. The last thing she needed was to feel like someone was prying into her world, especially when she didn't have answers herself.

Raghav, still standing at a distance, struggled to find his voice. He had come with the intention of talking, of trying to understand her, but now, it felt like the ground beneath him had shifted.

Raghav's frustration reached its peak, and for the first time, his anger wasn't directed at himself alone—it was spilling over, and Pallavi was right in the line of fire. He had tried to be patient, tried to show her that he cared, but now, standing there with her distant and closed off, something in him snapped.

"You know what," he said bitterly, his voice laced with sarcasm and hurt. "You're right. I'm stupid. I'm always thinking about your safety. Always putting you first." He took a step back, as if the weight of his words was too much for him to bear. "I left my father and uncle at the function, asked my brother to pick them up, just so you wouldn't get lost in the damn city. Just so you wouldn't be alone in the chaos. But, hey, it's stupid of me to care, right?"

He paused, his chest tightening with frustration. His eyes flashed as he continued, unable to stop the words from tumbling out. "And it's stupid of me to come here, to check on you ,as this morning when I saw you looking down. I shouldn't have done that. I should've just stayed out of your way."

Raghav glanced down at the food container he had brought for her, the one he had carefully picked out, hoping it would make her feel a little better. He placed it on the dining table with a sharp motion, as if the simple act of trying to care for her had somehow become meaningless in this moment. He didn't care about the food anymore. Not when it felt like he was the one being pushed away, like his gestures were nothing but a reminder of how wrong he was.

Pallavi stood there, silent for a moment, watching him. Her chest tightened with guilt and confusion. She hadn't meant for this to happen, hadn't wanted to push him away like this. She just couldn't handle the weight of everything—and Raghav, for all his good intentions, was starting to feel like just another complication in a life already too messy to manage.

As she took a step toward him, her hand reaching out, he turned sharply and glared at her, his expression hardening.

"Do not even think of it," he snapped, his voice cutting through the silence. "Don't come any closer."

Pallavi froze in her tracks, the sharpness in his tone a shock to her system. Her heart clenched, and for a moment, she felt like a complete stranger in her own home, her emotions caught between wanting to fix things and knowing she had pushed him to his limit.

Raghav didn't wait for her to respond. Without another word, he turned and walked out the door, his footsteps heavy and resolute. He didn't look back. Not this time.

Pallavi stood in the middle of the room, her hand still outstretched, but her body frozen, the echo of his words ringing in her ears. "Do not even think of it."

A tear slid down her cheek, not just for what had happened between them in that moment, but for all the things she is facing in her life

The silence of the room felt deafening.