Clouded Crossroads

Prologue

Oblivious to the fact that someone could be in front of me, I continued to sprint forward like my life depended on it. No no - my life did depend on it. There was a time, I would hold myself up with much prestige, never expecting to be in this situation again. A time where my broken self made me blind and stupid. But now...I just wanted to do something right. And I won't let anything stop me.

A sudden thud and an oddly familiar voice stopped me on my tracks, "Watch where you're going! Can't you see?"
I froze. The voice brought many dreadful memories. Memories that took years to be forgotten. Turning around, the sight of the girl in front of me knocked my breath out of my lungs. Even she had to try hard to hide the same reaction. I had something more important to deal with right now, far more important than the girl standing in front of me. But no matter how much I tried to budge, my foot wouldn't dare to take a step ahead.

"Excuse me, sir, but you should walk more carefully next time?" The fakeness in her behavior could be seen crystal-clear to me. Probably, if someone else was in my place they would have believed this act. But this was me. And nobody knows this person better than me.

She dusted off her dress, gathered her belongings, and turned to leave. Maybe she would have kept walking if I kept quiet. But I didn't.

"L-laila." My voice came in mixed emotions of doubt, guilt, anger, desperation, or...fear? "What ...why did-"

"I didn't come back for you." The words came out simple and blameless from her mouth. She didn't even turn around to face me.

Perhaps that's why my tone hardened. "Then why are you in front of me? To lure me and then suddenly vanish? To leave all the blame and guilt on me while you go off all innocent and flawless?!"

"Trust me, it was better off this way. I had to do what was right!"

"And that's perfect! Because I learned to MOVE ON! I learned to live for myself! And find someone who would respect that!"

This seemed to have done the trick. She turned around, her eyes dark and dangerous but somewhere deep inside was a hint of regret. "I would also like to see who this fortunate lady is. Is she someone you actually love or someone you used--"

"Don't. You. Dare." My fists clenched as I took a step forward.

But suddenly, another voice broke the tense aura. A voice that made my heart leap out.

"What's going on here?"

~~

2 Years Earlier

"Vihaan!" a familiar voice hollered.

I looked up to the curious faces of my friends.

"Are you checking how green the grass is?! What are you thinking, Bhai?! Come on!"

I took a quick scan of my surroundings. The chanting from the bleachers echoed throughout the stadium. The beams of light seemed to focus its attention only on me. The scoreboard to the side made my determination even stronger.

The corners of my mouth twitched into a smirk as I turned back to face them. "I'm thinking how to party after winning this match."

They shared an eye roll and gestured back to the field. Taking a deep breath, I looked straight ahead at the goalie guarding the precious net with focused intensity. But any minute now, that intensity wouldn't matter anymore.

Because when Vihaan Khatri sets his mind to something, he will definitely get it.

Making my move, I sent the ball soaring towards the net. I didn't even have to look up before hearing the rattle of the net and the frustrated groans from the opposite team.

~

The next day, the first thing that caught my eye was the bold printed header on the college newspaper. 

"Khatri Ends Football Match in Victorious Style"

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