𝐔𝐃𝐄 𝐃𝐈𝐋 𝐁𝐄𝐅𝐈𝐊𝐑𝐄

34.Night before the fest

Rishi wasn't aware that we had seen him with Sakshi.

We went to him only after Sakshi left, and he didn't mention her name either.

Maybe he is just thinking about how to tell us.

What would they have been talking about?

Rishi wasn't smiling, but he wasn't upset either. I wonder what must be going inside his mind when he saw her.

Did he remember all the times when they were together?

Stop overthinking, Radhika! I'm sure it's nothing.

But a part of me can't stop replaying the image of them together.

"Honey!", Rishi's voice dragged me out of my mind.

"Yes?", I looked at him hopefully.

Please say it.

"Prakash was asking if we want to do a performance or something. The others are saying it's not enough time left to practice. What about you?"

Oh.

I looked away, "I don't know."

He clicked his tongue, "It's supposed to be a yes or a no, honey. And if you ask me? I really want to do it."

And then he looked at me with those eyes.

How am I supposed to say no to him when he looks at me with so much hope?

"Why are they saying no again?", I asked.

His brows furrowed, "You didn't hear the conversations?"

"I... I might have zoned out."

"Well, Ruhi says she won't have time for practice due to work. She is anyway going to have a hard time in managing everything during the fest. Aditi and Naman have to prepare for stalls, and Siddharth is, well, Siddharth.", he shrugged.

This feels like such a great opportunity to spend more time with him.

So, of course, I said, "Let's do it then."

His face lit up, "Really? Thank you so so so much, honey! You know what? Come to my home after you freshen up! We will think of something together."

I smiled, nodding my head as I watched him tell the others that I agreed and that we are going to prepare something phenomenal.

And just like that, Sakshi doesn't seem to be that big of the problem it was five minutes ago.

He cleared his throat, "By the way, I might give you guys a surprise in a few days!", he announced.

"What kind of surprise?", Naman asked.

"Something big. Something unexpected.", he said dramatically.

"What? You getting a role in a movie or something?", Ruhi joked.