Unspoken war
Author's pov-
Divya had mastered the art of indifference.
The gala continued, the music soft, the clicking of glasses filling the air. She moved through conversations effortlessly, flashing polite smiles, nodding at potential buisness partners. Every now and then, her gaze would flicker in his direction-not out of interest, but out of awareness.
Purv was there. Close, yet distant. Engaged in conversations, yet distracted.
And every time her presence neared him, she walked past like he was a stranger.
Like he wasn't the man who once shattered her.
Like she hadn't spent years pulling herself together after him.
Kaashi, ever the observer, leaned in as they stood near the bar. "You're playing with fire," she murmured, swirling her drink.
Divya lifted an eyebrow, taking a sip of her own. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Kaashi chuckled, shaking her head. "He looks like he's two seconds away from losing his mind."
She refused to glance in purv's direction. "Good for him."
Kaashi studied her for a moment, then smirked. "I like this new version of you. Scary, but impressive."
She rolled her eyes. "Shut up, kaashi."
But despite her calm facade, she felt it-his gaze. It wasn't longing. It wasn't soft. It was calculative. Observing.
He wasn't used to being ignored.
Good.
Purv, on the other hand, was growing impatient.
The way Divya laughed at kaashi's jokes, the way she brushed her hair back without a care in the world, the way she hadn't even spared him a glance- it was grating on his nerves.
He had expected something. A reaction. Anger, resentment, anything.
But this?
This was worse.
It was like he had never mattered. Like she had erased him.
Rudra noticed. "You keep staring at her like that, and someone's going to think you care."
Purv exhaled sharply, setting his drink down. "I don't."
Rudra smirked. "Right."
Silence stretched between them before Rudra added, "she's different now."
Purv's jaw ticked. He didn't need Rudra to point that out. He had seen it the moment she walked in.
Confident. Detached. Untouched by past.
He should've been relieved.
So why did it feel like she was winning a game he didn't even know they were playing?