The shift in the air
Author's pov-
Divya had convinced herself that she could ignore Purv. That she could go back to her normal life and pretend that their conversation never happened. But life had a cruel way of proving her wrong.
Because Purv? He wasn’t going anywhere.
It started with the little things.
She would go to the café she loved, and suddenly, he’d be there, sitting in the corner with a coffee, acting as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Stalking me now?" she had muttered one morning, raising an eyebrow at him.
He had smirked, taking a sip of his coffee. "Relax, Divya. I was here first. You’re stalking me."
Infuriating. Absolutely infuriating.
Then, there was the day she got caught in the rain after work. Her umbrella had broken, and she was standing under a shop’s shade, trying to decide if she should just run for it.
A car pulled up. The window rolled down.
Purv.
"Get in," he had said simply.
She had every reason to refuse, but the rain was pouring, and she was cold.
So, she got in.
They didn’t talk during the drive. But she could feel him watching her when he thought she wasn’t looking.
And worst of all? Her heart betrayed her.
Because sitting beside him, hearing the soft hum of the car’s engine, smelling that familiar cologne—she didn’t hate it.
—
Rudra had always known that Kaashi was different. She wasn’t like the other girls he had met. She was loud, chaotic, and half the time, she drove him insane. But she also had this way of making things better, of grounding him when everything else felt like a mess.
And lately?
Lately, he had been looking at her differently.
Like today, when she was ranting about Divya.
"I swear, Purv is such an idiot. He loves her, she loves him, but noooo, they both have to be dramatic about it," she huffed, pacing back and forth in front of him.
Rudra smirked. "Kinda like someone else I know."
She paused, narrowing her eyes at him. "What’s that supposed to mean?"
He shrugged. "Nothing. Just… maybe love isn’t as simple as people think."
Kaashi sighed, plopping down beside him. "Yeah, well, I just want Divi to be happy. She’s been through enough."
There was something about the way she said it. Something soft.
Rudra found himself staring at her—really staring.
And that’s when it hit him.
He had been spending so much time helping Purv fix his love life that he didn’t even realize he was falling, too.
Falling for Kaashi.
—
Purv’s patience had limits.
For days, he had been testing the waters, getting closer to Divya in small ways, but she was still running.
And he was done waiting.
So that night, when he saw her standing alone on the terrace of her apartment, he made a decision.
He wasn’t going to wait for her to come to him.
He was going to make her face the truth.
"Enough running, Divya," he said as he stepped onto the terrace.
She turned, startled, but before she could say anything, he closed the distance between them.
"You can pretend all you want. You can say you don’t know, that you’re confused, but I see it in your eyes."
Her breath hitched.
"You still feel something," he whispered. "And I’m not leaving until you admit it."