"The Unspoken Connection"

Chapter 10: "Disappointment and Doubt"

Title: "The Unspoken Connection"

Chapter 10: "Disappointment and Doubt"

Next morning, Rhea woke up feeling as down as she had the night before. Then she made up her mind and stopped herself from thinking about Aryan anymore.
Rhea sat at her desk, surrounded by biology textbooks and notes. She was determined to focus on her test preparation, but her mind kept wandering. The sun was shining brightly through the window, casting a warm glow over her room. But despite the pleasant atmosphere, Rhea couldn't shake off the feeling of unease that had been building up inside her.

Just as she was starting to get into a study rhythm, her phone buzzed with an incoming message. It was from Rohan, a classmate of hers.

"Hey Rhea, thanks for sending me that biology PDF!" Rohan's message read. "Aryan had already forwarded it to me, though!"

Rhea's heart sank as she read the message. She had sent the PDF to Aryan, hoping he would appreciate the effort she put into making it. But instead of thanking her, he had forwarded it to their classmate without even acknowledging her.

She immediately opened Aryan's chat window, her eyes scanning the conversation for any sign of life. But the message she had sent him still showed only two grey ticks, indicating that he hadn't seen it yet.

Or so it seemed.

Rhea's mind began to spin as she realized that Aryan might have actually seen the message, but had turned off the 'Read Receipts' feature to hide it from her. She felt a pang of disappointment and frustration. Why would he do that?

As she sat there, feeling lonely and depressed, Rhea's mind wandered back to a conversation Zara had told her about. Apparently, Zara had asked Aryan on Instagram if he had a crush on a classmate named Kiara. Aryan had responded, saying he hadn't talked to Kiara in two years.

Rhea felt a surge of anger and hurt. Why did Aryan have time to chat with Zara about some other girl, but couldn't even be bothered to thank her for the PDF?

She couldn't shake off the feeling that Aryan was deliberately ignoring her, and it stung. Rhea thought about all the times she had tried to talk to him, all the times she had sent him messages or tried to strike up a conversation in class. And yet, he always seemed to be distant, always seemed to be pushing her away.

As the hours ticked by, Rhea found herself becoming more and more withdrawn. She stopped responding to messages from her friends, stopped checking her social media accounts. She just didn't feel like talking to anyone.

Her parents tried to reach out to her, but Rhea just shrugged them off. She didn't feel like talking, didn't feel like explaining how she was feeling.

As the sun began to set, Rhea finally emerged from her room. She walked into the kitchen, where her parents were cooking dinner.

"Hey, beta," her mother said, using the Hindi term for "child". "How was your day?"

Rhea shrugged, not feeling like talking.

Her father looked at her with concern. "Rhea, is everything okay? You seem a bit down."

Rhea sighed, feeling a lump form in her throat. "I'm just fine, Papa," she said, trying to sound convincing. "I'm just a bit stressed about my exams, that's all."

Her parents exchanged a skeptical glance, but didn't push the issue further.

As they sat down to eat dinner, Rhea couldn't help but feel a sense of emptiness inside. She felt like she was just going through the motions, like she was just pretending to be happy.

But deep down, she knew she wasn't happy. She was hurt, she was angry, and she was confused.

As the night drew to a close, Rhea retreated back to her room. She lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling as she tried to make sense of her emotions.

Why was Aryan ignoring her? Why did he have time for everyone else, but not for her?

As she drifted off to sleep, Rhea couldn't shake off the feeling that she was just a tiny blip on Aryan's radar. And that thought hurt more than anything else.

The next morning, Rhea woke up feeling just as down as she had the night before. She didn't feel like getting out of bed, didn't feel like facing the day.

But she knew she had to. She had to get up, get dressed, and go to school. She had to pretend like everything was okay, even though it wasn't.

As she walked into school, Rhea felt like she was walking into a nightmare. She didn't want to see Aryan, didn't want to talk to him. She just wanted to avoid him altogether.

As Rhea sat in class, she found herself involuntarily drifting back to thoughts of Aryan. She was determined to push him out of her mind, so she turned to her friend, Neha, and started explaining a complex chemistry topic to her. As they delved into the details, they both started laughing, and for a moment, Rhea forgot all about Aryan.

But as she glanced up, she caught Aryan staring at her, a warm smile spreading across his face. Rhea's heart skipped a beat as she quickly looked away, focusing on Neha once again. She tried to composed herself, but she could feel Aryan's eyes on her, making her skin prickle with awareness.

Again, she caught him staring at her, but this time, she refused to acknowledge him. She kept her eyes fixed on Neha, pretending to be engrossed in their conversation. Aryan, seeming to sense her indifference, eventually looked away, his head drooping as he tried to sleep.

Rhea felt a wave of relief wash over her as she realized she wouldn't have to face him for the time being. She couldn't resist his charming smile, and she knew that if she looked into his eyes, she'd be a goner.

Just then, one of their classmates called out to Aryan, asking him to pass over his notes. Aryan, still half-asleep, slowly sat up, his hair disheveled and his face flushed. The class erupted into laughter at the sight of him, and Rhea couldn't help but laugh along with them.

But as she glanced over at Aryan, she felt a pang of hurt. Why were they all laughing at him? Couldn't they see how adorable he looked, all sleepy and rumpled? Rhea's heart went out to him, and for a moment, she forgot all about her resolve to ignore him.

As the laughter died down, Aryan looked up, his eyes locking onto Rhea's. For a moment, they just stared at each other, the tension between them palpable. Then, Aryan looked away, his face still flushed, and Rhea felt her heart sink. She knew she had to be strong, had to resist his charms. But as she looked at him, she couldn't help but feel a spark of attraction.

To be continued....