A Bond Of Intellect

Chapter - 17

As night approached, Evan left the room to prepare dinner. Riti continued using her phone until it suddenly shut down. Realizing it was out of battery, she set it aside, planning to charge it later. She leaned back against the bedhead, staring at the ceiling.

A few minutes passed, and then the lights began to fluctuate, making Riti jump. She looked around, seeing that every light in the room was flickering wildly. Suddenly, all the lights went out, plunging the room into darkness.

Riti, paralyzed with fear, stared blankly into the darkness. She couldn't even see her hands in front of her. Her heart racing, she began to cry and scream, "Mamaaaaaaaa!" She repeated the scream several times, her panic growing.

Sweating profusely, Riti screamed again, this time louder, "Where are you?" A reply came from the darkness, "Right here." Evan appeared, holding his phone with the torch on. "Are you alright?" he asked, shining the light on Riti's face.

Riti's face was drenched in sweat and tears. She didn't respond, instead wrapping her arms tightly around Evan and holding him close. Evan tried to reassure her, "It was a sudden shutdown. The whole building is affected, not just our apartment."

As he spoke, Evan rubbed Riti's back, attempting to calm her down. However, Riti refused to let go of him, clinging to him tightly.

Evan could hear Riti's heartbeat racing extremely fast, and he grew worried. "Hey, are you alright? Say something," he urged.

Riti, however, was too scared to respond. Evan broke her hold and shone the torch on her face. Her eyes were closed, and she was taking long, deep breaths. Evan called out to her again, gently tapping her face with his hand. "Are you listening, Riti? Answer me."

When she didn't respond, Evan leaned in closer, his face inches from hers. He pressed his lips to hers in a gentle kiss, breaking away to say, "Come to your senses, Riti."

The sudden touch on her lips made Riti forget everything around her. She opened her eyes to find Evan's face very close to hers and instinctively pulled back, wincing a slightly pain as her back touched the bedframe.

Just then, the lights flickered back to life, illuminating Riti's bright red face. Evan asked, without mentioning the kiss, "Are you okay now?" Riti nodded silently, still too stunned to speak.

Evan then asked, "Should I go to the kitchen or stay here?" Riti, overwhelmed with embarrassment, forgot her fear and stuttered, "No, you can go."

As Evan left the room, Riti touched her lips, remembering the kiss. Her ears turned bright red, and her face grew even hotter.

On the other side, Evan resumed preparing dinner, his mind flashing back to the kiss. He thought to himself, "Her lips were so soft."

After a while, he brought Riti's dinner to her.

The next day, she woke up at 8 am. Riti checked the time and saw that Evan was not in the room, so she waited for him. When he arrived, she went about her morning routine, and as she ate breakfast, Evan sat in a chair nearby.

Riti asked, "Is there a holiday at college?" Evan replied, "Yes, today is. Yesterday was the last day of the trip, and today is a rest day."

Riti didn't feel awkward around Evan because of the kiss, mainly because he hadn't mentioned it. Instead, she just felt shy whenever she talked to him, but she didn't mind that feeling. In fact, she felt happy, knowing that it was her first kiss.

With the week coming to an end, Riti had made significant progress in her recovery, learning to move around on her own. As a result, Evan needed to start attending college again, leaving Riti in the care of the maid.