A Bond Of Intellect

Chapter - 26

Evan rushed out of the classroom, his anger and frustration evident on his face, leaving the students to breathe a collective sigh of relief.

He tried calling Riti again, but her phone was switched off this time. He cut the call, slamming his hand down fiercely. Then, he got into his car and called his brother, Vivan, asking about Riti. Vivan replied, "Riti must have gone to the library, as she's been going there for the past two days. She told me she'd come home by herself, so I didn't pick her up."

Evan ended the call, tossed his phone onto the passenger seat, and rested his head against the seat, covering his forehead with his hand. After calming down slightly, he started the car and drove straight home.

As he arrived, his mother, Shivani, greeted him, "Oh, you're back early! I thought you'd be coming tomorrow." She then asked, "And where's Riti?" Evan looked at his mom and asked, "I think I should have asked, where is she?"

Shivani replied, "How would I know? Didn't you meet her in college?" Evan responded, "No, I didn't find her, and when I called Vivan, he said she is been going to the library. Which library has she been going to for the past two days?"

Shivani noticed Evan's anger and asked, "Well, we didn't ask her about the library's name, and why do you look so angry? What happened?" Evan's frustration grew, but he still spoke to his mother respectfully, saying, "Then what should I do? I came back and couldn't find her at college, and you're saying she's at the library, but you don't even know which one."

Just then, Ruhi arrived with a glass of water for Evan. Shivani tried to reassure him, "Don't worry, beta! She comes back from the library every day, and I'm sure she'll come back today too. You just didn't know about it, that's why you seem worried."

Evan didn't respond further and instead headed to his room. Before leaving, he instructed, "If she comes, don't tell her about my arrival." With that, he left.

Evan didn't explain the situation to his mother clearly, that Riti was missing from college, and as she was aware of his anger, she was going to take Riti's side. So, next, in his room, he fiercely opened his tie from his shirt, which expose the part of his chest, and sat on the single big sofa. He took his phone and called the professor who had the attendance of students in Riti's class and asked him if Riti had attended any other class.

Then, he found out that she daily missed the third class with Kavya, and Evan understood the situation a little bit - that they were bunking class and must be going somewhere else for fun. Evan remained seated, leaning his head back, waiting for Riti's return. He knew Riti didn't love studying that much, so it was unlikely she'd be in the library.

On the other side, Riti and Kavya left the club and went straight to eat ice cream. Afterward, they decided to go home. As she reached home and entered, she found Shivani and Ruhi sitting with unusual expressions, hinting that Riti had done something wrong.

Shivani asked, "You're back, beta. How was your day today?" Riti replied, "It was good." Shivani then said, "Okay, go get fresh and take a rest." Riti left for her room, opening the door to darkness. She flipped the switch, and as the lights turned on, she turned around and was startled to see Evan sitting there.

She let out a slight scream, "Waaaah..," before composing herself. "Oh, I literally got scared," she said, placing her hand on her chest as her heart beat rapidly from the shock. "Y-you came early," she stuttered.

Evan's head was still leaning back, but he lifted it and replied, "Why, did I interrupt something by coming early?" His tone was slightly sarcastic. Riti mumbled, "N-no." She tried to move, but Evan asked another question, making her stop. "So, where were you?" As he asked, he thought to himself, "Don't lie, don't lie...." He wasn't sure how he'd react if she lied.

Riti replied, "F-from college." Evan pinched the area between his eyes on his forehead and said, "Oh, don't you think that's a pretty bad excuse? Didn't you see the time?... Oh, my mistake, seems like you weren't able to check your phone since it's switched off."

Riti was shocked, wondering how he knew, and asked, "H-how did you know my phone is dead?"

Evan's eyebrows rose slightly, his expression conveying that he thought she might be foolish. He said, "I called you, that's how I got to know and why you didn't pick up when I called you the first three times." His tone seemed normal, but he was struggling to contain his anger, slowly losing his patience.

Riti replied, "I... maybe I didn't hear." Evan's response was immediate: "Oh, so where were you that you didn't hear it?" Riti hesitated before answering, "I-I just told you, I was in college. Where else would I be?"

Evan's anger grew, and he raised his voice slightly: "This excuse isn't going to work. I'm giving you a second chance, so tell me everything." Riti thought he must know something, but she continued to lie, trying to cover her tracks: "Well, yeah, I was in college, and after it ended, I went to the library."

Evan's next words left Riti feeling helpless. "Well, I came back early, so I took my last class, which is yours," he said, his tone implying that he had caught her in a lie. Riti realized that Evan had been in her class and hadn't seen her, leaving her exposed.

She didn't respond, unsure of what to say. Evan's voice was angry and firm as he asked again, "So, where were you in the last class?" The weight of his question hung in the air, and Riti knew she had to come up with a convincing answer, but her mind was blank.

Riti thought about running away from the room, but she knew that if she did, no one would be worse than him. So, she dropped the idea and remained standing, clutching her dress.

As she stood there, Evan got up from his seat and slowly approached her. Riti got scared, and before he reached her, she replied in a trembling voice, "I-I just went with Kavya... we just played games and ate, and then came back." She completed her sentence in one breath.

Evan continued to move closer, his face near hers. He was looking down at her due to their height difference, his eyes intense, and said, "WHERE?" The single word made Riti's tears come, and her body started to tremble a little.

She replied with a cracking sound, "I-I don't know the place's name... K-Kavya took me there."