Chapter 27 #2
Keya rolled her eyes. “You wish.”
Aditya smirked. “We were just saying how you make excellent life choices… sometimes. Case in point, Aisha.”
Rithwik looked in the direction of his family, his eyes softening. “You’re right about that. I was an idiot before her, and now I’m an idiot about her.”
“So, you did hear us,” Raashi said.
Keya made a face. “I swear he has an uncanny ability to pop up just when we’re talking about him, and to our luck, he always hears us.”
“It’s my superpower, you know,” Rithwik said with a grin. “Along with being ridiculously good-looking and incredibly modest.”
They all burst out laughing and, for the first time in days, Aditya felt a little lighter, grateful for the comfort of his friends.
Rithwik caught his shoulder and pulled him into a hug. “How are you? You’ve hardly been in touch these last few weeks.”
Aditya held him a fraction longer than usual, his chest tightening. These people had been in his life for too long. They were his constants through every high and low.
At any other time, he would’ve shared his heartbreak over Sabrina without hesitation with them.
But today, the words stayed locked inside him.
She and him were connected with all these people, and Rithwik was quite protective of her.
Sabrina was the first instance when he had gone against his friend.
And now that they were over, he didn’t feel the need to rake up all that with his friends.
Rithwik released him, searching his face. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, of course,” he smiled.
Rithwik studied him for a long moment. “No, something’s not okay. You haven’t met me in way too long. You look exhausted, too serious. And your smile is not reaching your eyes.”
Damn, Rithwik was too observant as usual. Keya and Raashi immediately snapped to attention, staring at him. They exchanged a worried glance with Rithwik.
“Rithwik’s right,” Keya frowned. “You do look like you haven’t been sleeping well.”
“What’s wrong?” Raashi asked. “Tell us.”
He sighed. It sucked to have such perceptive friends. He let his gaze wander around the lawns, trying to look as nonchalant as possible. His eyes went to the entrance, and his breath hitched.
Sabrina.
Dressed in simple black trousers and a pink top, with her hair left loose, she looked lovely.
At least she wasn’t dressing severely again.
She was standing to the side, Ahaan’s hand clasped in hers.
The sight hit him like a punch to the gut.
In an instant, all the hurt and pain he’d been feeling roared back to life.
“What was that look?” Raashi asked sharply.
Before he could answer, Keya said, “Yes, what was that sad, miserable look that crossed your face?”
Aditya’s jaw flexed, but he forced a smile. “It’s nothing. I’m fine.”
He turned toward Rithwik, but Rithwik wasn’t looking at him. His eyes were on Sabrina and Ahaan. Very slowly, Rithwik’s eyes shifted to him. Aditya felt the weight of his gaze, saw the wheels turning in his clever friend’s head, and realized the exact moment Rithwik had joined all the dots.
“It’s her, isn’t it?” Rithwik said. “She’s the reason you look like shit.”
“Her? Who her?” Raashi asked, looking around the lawn.
Keya too scanned the crowd. “Who are we talking about?”
Aditya glared at Rithwik. Before he could say anything to him, a hand touched his arm. Turning around, Aditya found Ahaan standing next to him, his expression downcast, eyes too solemn for a boy his age.
His heart softened instantly. “Hey, Ahaan. How are you?”
“Hello, Uncle,” Ahaan replied quietly. He looked away, then back at him, chewing his lip as though mustering courage. “Why… why have you stopped coming to meet us? Did I do something wrong?”
A sharp pinch gripped his chest, and sadness rolled through him. He quickly shook his head and placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “No, Ahaan. You haven’t done anything wrong. Not at all.”
“Then why are you not coming to meet me?” Ahaan asked.
Aditya gently steered him a few steps aside, away from the others, and lowered his voice. “It’s not because of you. Don’t ever think that.”
He glanced up and saw Sabrina watching them from across the lawn, her face unreadable.
Ahaan’s voice wavered as he went on, “I’m mad at Mom. We haven’t really been talking the last few days. She didn’t let me watch the match… And when I asked her about you, she said you wouldn’t be coming over anymore.”
His throat tightened. The innocence on the boy’s face, the quiet hurt in his tone, all of it cut him deeply.
Thanks to Sabrina, he’d lost this sweet boy too.
Somewhere along the way, Ahaan had carved out a place in his heart, and now his chest squeezed with pain.
Ahaan was watching him, a sad but hopeful expression on his face.
Sabrina and he had broken up, but he couldn’t burden this child with that truth. All he could do was ensure that Ahaan never doubted that he mattered— both to his mother and to him.
Aditya leaned down, keeping his voice gentle. “Hey, don’t be mad at your mom. She always does what’s best for you, even when it doesn’t feel that way. She loves you more than anything in this world, Ahaan. Every decision she makes is for you.”
Ahaan’s eyes searched his, uncertain. “Did you and Mom have a fight?”
For a moment, Aditya’s throat closed. God, this child was so intuitive. So mature already. One day, he would grow up to be an amazing man. It hurt that he wouldn’t be around to witness that and to guide him to be the best version of himself.
“Sometimes adults don’t agree on some things,” he explained. “But that doesn’t mean we stop caring about each other. And it certainly doesn’t mean you did anything wrong.”
Before Aditya could say more, Ahaan suddenly threw his arms around him, holding him tight. The boy’s voice came out small and muffled against his chest. “I miss you. Maya also misses you. Will you promise to come meet us soon?”
The words were a blow. Aditya wrapped his arms around the young boy, steadying him.
“I miss you too, buddy,” he said softly. He pulled back just enough to meet Ahaan’s earnest gaze. “And I promise, as soon as I can, I’ll come see you.”
Ahaan’s face eased with relief, and he nodded, as though the promise had lifted a weight off his shoulders.
Aditya managed a smile, but inside, his chest clenched.
Because he knew he meant every word. Whether or not Sabrina wanted him in her life, Ahaan already had a piece of his heart, and he wasn’t ready to let go of him, not like this.
Even though it would hurt eventually, Aditya would have to wean him off slowly, in a manner that Ahaan never felt less of himself.
Ahaan darted past him. Reaching his mother, he tugged Sabrina down for a quick kiss on her cheek before racing toward the bouncy castle.
Sabrina approached him, her steps measured.
Aditya stared at her. She looked like she hadn’t slept in days.
There were faint shadows under her eyes, her skin looked pale, and her clothes seemed to flow loosely around her.
It felt like she’d dropped weight in just a week.
Anger flared hot in his chest. Not because she looked fragile, but because she’d done this to herself and to him.
Because her stubbornness had dragged them both into this wreck. With Ahaan in the middle of all this.
Reaching him, she gave him a tentative smile. “Hi. How are you?”
“Fine,” he said, his tone sharp.
Her eyes raked over him, taking in all of him. “You don’t look fine.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “And why do you care?”
She shook her head. “I just wanted to thank you… for whatever you told Ahaan just now. It was the first time in a week that he kissed me and looked happy again.”
Aditya didn’t respond. He stood stiffly, anger simmering beneath his skin.
“He misses you,” she added.
He flicked his gaze to hers. “You didn’t just break my heart, Sabrina. You broke his too. And I’m not going to stand by and let him believe he did something wrong that made me stop visiting.”
She gasped. “Oh, God, is that what he told you?”
“Yes.”
Her lips quivered as she stared at her son, and then her expression tightened. “I’m so stupid. I knew you and I had no future. Yet I dragged him into this. I—”
“—Enough,” Aditya shot out. “You and I have no future because you don’t want to have one with me. You, me, and Ahaan—we had something beautiful between us. But you threw it away because you’re too afraid to trust me with your secrets.”
“I told you I don’t want you, and I don’t love you,” she said.
“And I actually did believe that. But looking at you now… You haven’t been sleeping well, have you? You miss me, don’t you?”
She shook her head. “No. I’m fine.”
“I don’t believe you, but you can continue living in denial.
You could have chosen to be happy with me.
But instead, you chose to stand in the way of your own happiness!
” He exhaled. “When I told you that I loved you, I meant it unconditionally. So, whatever has happened in your past wouldn’t have mattered to me in the least. We all have a past. Hell, I have a very recent one with Kanika. ”
“That isn’t the same,” Sabrina whispered.
He shook his head. “You know what, I’m done fighting for someone who doesn’t trust me enough to have her back when it matters the most. Who doesn’t think I’m worth fighting for. I’m done.”
Sabrina flinched. He turned to walk away, but then he paused and went up to her again.
“I care about Ahaan,” he said, his tone firm. “And I’d like to keep visiting him for some more time, if that’s okay with you. I’ll eventually phase out my visits so he’s not hurt in the process. I don’t want him to ever feel I cut off contact with him because he did something wrong.”
Her throat worked as she swallowed, her eyes darting toward the bouncy castle where Ahaan played, then back to him.
Without waiting for her answer, Aditya turned on his heel and walked back toward his friends. He could feel the weight of their stares. Rithwik, Raashi, and Keya—all of them had been watching and had obviously joined the dots. Everything was now out in the open.
He couldn’t hide the truth from them anymore. And really, did it even matter now? It was all over anyway.