Selfish For You

50

The cheers echoed in the auditorium as caps soared into the air, marking the end of an era. Kritika stood amidst the chaos, her hands clutching her gown tightly. Ruhi and Pranjal were laughing beside her, nudging her to join in the excitement, but her gaze kept flickering toward the entrance

She hadn’t seen Yuvraj for four days

He had promised her over the phone earlier, "I’ll come, Jaan. Meeting or no meeting, I’ll be there"

But she had insisted, "Please, Yuvi. It’s your father’s dream project. Just finish the meeting and come after"

"You’re impossible" he had groaned and continued"Fine. But don’t blame me if I miss seeing you in your graduation gown" she pouted sadly but said nothing before hanging up

Now, hours later, with the ceremony nearly over, she started to doubt herself. What if he was too busy? What if he couldn’t make it?

"Kritika, stop stressing" pranjal said, looping her arm through hers, "You know he’ll come. He always does"

Ruhi smirked saying, "And if he doesn’t, we’ll hunt him down"

Kritika laughed softly but couldn’t shake the nervous flutter in her chest

•••••••••

Outside, the group posed for photos. Akki complained about the endless retakes while Mohit stood with his arms crossed, looking done with them

" Guys I'm not as free as you, I've actually work to do, so please can we wrap it up" akki groaned feeling tired, he just wanna sleep right now

" Oh shut up Mr COO , you've been 'working' for eight months only and you are already acting like CEO " pranjal sneered looking at him and he smirked saying

" Well someone has to keep yuvraj's madness in check and it's not an easy task to do " they burst into laughter and posed for the photo which akki agreed to click after throwing some tantrum

"Smile, Kritika" Ruhi called, waving at her to join

Kritika tried, but her heart wasn’t in it. Her eyes kept darting toward the gates

And then she saw it....a sleek black car pulling up with a screech. Her breath hitched as Yuvraj stepped out, looking dashing in his crisp white shirt and loosened tie. But what caught her attention next made her gasp

"Mahi?" Kritika whispered, spotting her sister stepping out of the car behind Yuvraj

The world seemed to blur as Mahi ran toward her "surprise di" she grinned widely with teary eyes

"Mahi" Kritika cried, her voice breaking as she hugged her tightly

Tears brimmed in Mahi’s eyes as she whispered, "I couldn’t miss this. I’m so proud of you di"

Kritika clung to her, overwhelmed "I missed you so much"

" I missed you too di" mahi said hugging her back tightly

Yuvraj stood a few steps away, watching the reunion with a small smile. When Kritika finally turned to him, her emotions spilled over. She ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck

"I missed you sooo much , finally you came" she whispered, her voice trembling

He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close, "Of course, I came. Did you think I’d let you graduate without me?"

She pulled back slightly, her eyes searching his "But the meeting...."

"Ended early jaan. I didn’t even wait for the formalities. I just had to see you, next time I'll take you with me and dare you make any excuse next time , i really can't stay away from you , only i know how i spent these past days" he complaint