46

Ria's POV;

I wandered through the meticulously maintained pathways, my fingers brushing against the soft petals of blooming roses. The air was filled with the sweet fragrance of jasmine and the gentle hum of bees flitting from flower to flower.

The cool morning breeze caressed my face, filling my nose with the earthy aroma of freshly turned soil and blooming flowers. The garden was a haven of peace, with the soft rustling of leaves and the distant chirping of birds creating a symphony of nature.

Suddenly, a sharp bark pierced the air, startling me out of my thoughts. I turned around, wide-eyed, to find a dog standing there, its eyes fixed on me with what seemed like hostility.

I gulped, my heart pounding in my chest. I've always been scared of dogs. Even though they look cute, the only thing I can do is watch them from afar. I don't take the risk of going near them.

The dog began to approach, its gaze unwavering. I took a hesitant step back, my body tensing, ready to run at any moment. Just as I was about to turn and run, a familiar, amused voice called out, "Wait. Don't run. He won't harm you."

Relief washed over me as I recognized Advik's voice. I looked in his direction, and there he was, walking towards me with a warm smile, dressed smartly in his office attire. His presence was like a soothing balm to my frayed nerves, making me release a breath.

My scared brown eyes met his ocean-blue ones, and in that silent exchange, I found comfort. His eyes held a promise of safety, a reassurance that everything would be alright.

He bent down towards the dog, patting its head gently. The dog's demeanor changed instantly, its tail wagging enthusiastically as it leaned into Advik's touch.

"See? He's just a big softie," He said, his voice filled with warmth and amusement, "This is Mojo."

As I watched Advik with that cute little dog, I couldn't help but admire him. There was something really sweet about the way he handled the dog, his movements gentle but sure. His fingers moved easily, scratching behind Mojo's ears and making the dog sigh with happiness. The sunlight hit his hair, making it shine like gold and giving him an almost magical look.

I found myself smiling as I observed him. His sharp jawline, the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled, and the effortless grace with which he moved—it all added to his undeniable charm.

He looked up and caught me staring, "Come,"

I hesitated, but his encouraging smile gave me the courage to step closer. "I'm really not good with dogs."

"He doesn't do anything." He said, a small smile playing on his lips. I took a step ahead and he teased, ".... He just bites the people he dislikes."

I took the step back as soon as his words reached my ears. Watching me glare at him, he chuckled softly, his melodic chuckle sounding in the air.

"What if he bites me?" I spoke out crossing my arms.

"He won't." He said, his expression turning soft.

"Why?"

On my question, he looked up at me, his ocean-blue eyes sparkling with something, as he spoke, "Because he loves the people I love."

I felt a blush creeping up my cheeks, but I shook my head and went near him.

"But Still." I sat beside him, still keeping my distance from the dog in case he attacked out of nowhere.

"You can try," he replied, taking my hand gently in his. "Mojo's a sweetheart. Just trust me."

With his hand guiding mine, he brought it to Mojo's head. The dog's fur was surprisingly soft, and as I tentatively stroked him, Mojo leaned into my touch, his tail wagging happily. I could feel the tension in my body slowly melting away, and a grin spreading on my lips.

"See? You're a natural," Advik said, his voice warm and reassuring. "Mojo loves you."

I laughed softly, feeling a sense of accomplishment. "I guess he's not so scary after all."

Advik's eyes sparkled with amusement. "Told you. And now you have a new friend."

A sad smile appeared on my lips, "Just for today."

Tomorrow, we have a flight in the morning. I'm going to miss this place.

"But we can always come back here," he said, making me look at him with a smile.

"Really?"

He nodded his head and stood up glancing at his watch, "I have to go now."

I nodded and stood up; my gaze fixed on the dog.

Advik moved closer, and placed a kiss on my forehead, "I'll be back soon."

=================

I regret not accompanying him to the office. I had taken a day off as I was supposed to meet Ruby. She had sent me the location and instructed me to be there by 11 a.m. Glancing at the clock, I realized it was only 10:11 a.m.

What a boring day!

Pulling out my diary from the bag, I stared at it. I don't even know why I had brought it here. But I just did.

Taking a seat on the bed, I opened it and smiled. Maybe it's the time to write what I have been bottling up inside me for a long time.

So, I began.

Mr. Advik, I, Ria Mehra, admit that I am in love with you. I keep thinking of how much I love talking to you. How good you look when you smile. How much I love your laugh. I daydream about you off and on, replaying pieces of our conversations; laughing at funny things that we said or did. I've memorized your face and the way that you look at mine. I love everything about you. Either it's your scars or those ocean-blue eyes that never leave my mind--everything is beautiful.

You were that missing piece of the puzzle in my life which made it complete by your presence. So, thanks for coming into my life and I love you. I will always love you.

I stared at it for a good 50 seconds. And the more I stared, the more it started looking cringe.

Wait. I sound like a lovestruck teenager.

I read it for like 10 times, and then it looked too cheesy. So, I thought I would strike it off and rewrite something nice. A little mature.

But before I could do that, my phone rang.

It was Vishant.

Leaving everything I picked it up instantly, I had asked Esha to tell him to call me.

"H...hello." His voice was hesitant, making me furrow my eyebrows.

"Hi, Vishant, it's Ria," I said, excitement bubbling in my voice.

"Hello, Ria." His reply was monotonous. I waited for him to continue, but he remained silent.

"What happened to you suddenly? You seemed fine yesterday," I muttered under my breath, but he heard it.

"Me? N...nothing. I'm fine." His nervous voice crackled through the phone. "You want to say something?"

"Yes, can we meet?" I asked, hopeful.

"No, I'm out of the city."

I knew he was lying. But why?

"Anything else?" His voice was distant.

"Yeah, I told you I want to know about me. What happened during those years when we were classmates?"

"Well, nothing special happened." I could sense the fake smile and the lie in his words.

Why is he speaking like someone has put a gun to his head?

Advik wouldn't do such things, right?

It's such a small topic.

Just a girl desperate to know about her past.

There's nothing wrong with that.

"Is it because of Advik?" I blurted out.

"W...what? N...no."

Yeah, it is.

My doubt turned into certainty.

But why would he do that?

"Okay, Vishant. I won't ask you anything else." I heard him let out a deep breath of relief.

"Okay. Shall I hang up?" His tone was back to normal again.

"Just tell me one thing," I requested.

"I'm pretty busy right now—" He started, but I interrupted.

"Please, Vishant. Just one thing. I promise I won't bug you after that."

"Okay."

"Was Advik there with me in the past?"

There was a ten-second silence.

Then, his low voice came, "Yes, he was your best friend. You both were always together. We all went to the same school."

He was there.

I had asked him a million times, but he lied.

He lied every time.

He knows everything.

No. Don't believe things you hear, what if Vishant is just lying? Even after knowing it wasn't a lie, I was still hoping for things to turn out differently.

I found my voice and asked, "Um...Do you have any photographs or something like that from those days?"

There was a pause on the other side. I know he has that.

"Please, Vishant. Help me with this. I'll be forever grateful to you." My voice was low as I requested.

After a long pause, he sighed, "Okay. I'm sending."

5 minutes passed, and I was still waiting for him to send the photos. My heart raced as I paced back and forth in my room. And when my phone pinged with the message, I rushed to it.

Picking up the phone, I opened the photos, and indeed it was true. My heart skipped a beat as I stared at it. It was a group photo, yet Advik's young self was the first thing I noticed. He was standing there smiling, his arms resting on the shoulder of a girl who looked exactly like younger me. It was me.

My grip on the phone tightened and I started feeling lightheaded, my eyes stinging with tears. I don't know what I felt at that moment. Happy, or sad, but one feeling was certain-- betrayal.

You were prepared for this, weren't you?

But still, I had held onto the hope that he was speaking the truth.

Does that mean everything he said is a lie?

Yeah, probably.

Ending the call, I stepped out of the mansion and dialed Ruby's number to inform her I would arrive early, and she agreed.

I needed fresh air. I needed to get out of here.

I made my way to the car. Fortunately, no one was around. My path was clear.

Sweat beads formed on my forehead as I thought more about it.

He was there.

He lied.

Those words chanted in my brain, and I couldn't think of anything clearly.

Why did he do that?

I would have been happy if he had told me the truth. His answer was always a 'No'.

Turning on the deserted road, I blinked my eyes, trying to get a clear vision.

No, I shouldn't feel this way. There's no big deal.

But The feeling of betrayal crept in, like a knife twisting in my heart. Holding the steering wheel with one hand, I pulled out my phone, my fingers hovering above his name as I contemplated whether to call him and demand answers. But I knew he would still lie. He's a master at it, after all.

"Hey, Ria." His cheerful voice came through, making the moisture in my eyes grow.

"I hate you," I uttered, a tear escaping from my eye.

"Ria? W...what happened? Are you driving? Where are you?" His voice was panicked but it was nothing compared to the chaos inside me.

I cut the call before he could interrogate me further and threw the phone onto the passenger seat.

My heart told me I shouldn't have done that.

That it was too much.

But I care less about that. It all happened because of my stupid heart. And now, I don't even know what I'm doing. I couldn't control anything.

I wiped my tears with my forearms and looked ahead, increasing the speed of the car. The voices in my head were getting too loud. I gripped the steering wheel tighter, my knuckles turning white.

I tried to think about him in the past.

Blurry images flashed through my brain, causing a searing pain. I winced, my vision momentarily darkening. I tried to remember anything I could. But nothing came, making me more frustrated. But I didn't back down and searched every corner of my brain.

And it was a bad idea.

An unsettling sensation crept through my body. At first, it was just a tingling in my fingertips, but within moments, it spread like wildfire, consuming my limbs with uncontrollable tremors. I struggled to maintain my balance, gripping the steering wheel more tightly as my vision blurred and swirled.

My breath came in ragged gasps. I felt like I was suffocating. The car swerved slightly as I fought to keep control.

'What's happening to me?' I muttered, trying to catch my breath.

Panicked, I reached for my phone and succeeded, but then my mind went blank when the message from that unknown number popped up again. I tried to ignore it and call someone, but the name written there caught my attention and I found myself reading the whole message.

'You think you can win this? Let me reveal something to you. On the day of your accident, Advik was aware it would occur. He had foreknowledge, yet he did nothing to stop that.

Want to know why?

Because he wanted you to die.'

I stared, not wanting to believe it, and threw the phone away, it was burning my hand.

No, he couldn't do that.

Fear gripped my heart as my thoughts became disjointed, memories flashing before me in rapid succession—a party celebration, a family vacation by the beach with my parents, the day I met Advik. But just as quickly as it came, it was gone, leaving me gasping for air.

In the midst of the seizure, my world spins into a chaotic whirlwind. My body started giving up, muscles convulsing involuntarily, gripped by an unseen force.

I tried to press the brakes to stop the car, but it was all in vain. My body stopped moving. But still, I managed to do that, and the car stopped.

I put my head on the steering wheel, and closed my eyes, wishing for everything to stop.

God, please stop these things.

In an instant, I was transported back to a stormy night, the screech of tires echoing in my ears, and the sensation of cold rain on my skin as the accident flashed before my eyes.

I was there...

Crying, seeing everyone covered in blood...

I couldn't do anything at that time. And today, the same thing is happening now.

I wiped my tears with trembling hands and looked up, trying to focus. The road ahead was blurry. I took a deep breath and gripped the steering wheel, deciding to drive back home.

Out of nowhere, a blinding light filled my vision. I squinted, trying to make out what it was. A truck. It was coming towards me, horn blaring.

Panic surged through me. I tried to deviate, but my hands were shaking too much. The truck grew larger, and in that split second, everything seemed to slow down. I could see the driver's horrified expression, the screeching tires, the inevitable collision.

The impact was strong. My car spun out of control, metal crunching and glass shattering. Pain exploded through my body as I was thrown against the seatbelt. The world outside the windows became dizzy.

For a moment, everything went silent. Then, the pain returned, sharper and more intense. I could taste blood in my mouth, feel it trickling down my face. My vision blurred, darkness creeping in at the edges.

As consciousness slipped away, the last thing I saw was the shattered remains of my car. And then, there was nothing but darkness.

My eyes closed down.

Upon my wish, things did stop, but just not as I expected.