I knew she was trying to tell me something.
Something important.
But before a single word could escape her lips--
"Risha!"
Rishab called out.
I clenched my jaw slightly.
Of course… right now.
The entire way back home , I barely said a word.
Rishab kept talking about something -- I didn't even remember what it was.
My mind was stuck into that room.
With her
With Ananya
Her eyes...
Her grip ...
the way she looked at me
Like she was trying to say something she couldn't.
I replayed that moment again and again.
What was she trying to tell me ?
It didn't feel random.
It didn't feel like confusion.
It felt like a warning.
But about what?
Or...about whom?
And somehow...
My thoughts kept going back to only one name -- Rakshat Verma .
VIDYANTSH POV
People often believed power was something you earned.
That it came with hard work ... With ambition and with right choices.
But they were wrong
Power was never earned.
It was inherited.
Controlled.
Protected.
And sometimes...
It wasn't given...
It was taken.
Snatched...
Stolen...
For me ...
Power was never just about control.
It was about who held it...
and who was left without it ...
Termed as worthless.
Because I had seen it --
Not outside ...
But inside my own home .
Growing up ... everything around me revolved around politics.
Conversations at the table were never about family --
They were about strategies , influence , alliances ... and decisions that shaped lives I would never even see.
My parents were always there
Physically
But never really present .
There attention was always somewhere else -- on power , on control ... on maintaining the position they had built over years.
And I --
Was just another responsibility they didn't have time for...
Or maybe...
Something they never truly valued .
It wasn't just them.
The entire family was the same.
To the world ,
We were one of the most successful and powerful political families in the city .
Respected
Feared
Untouchable
But behind the four walls of that luxurious house...
I saw something else.
I saw how the system really worked .
Deals made in silence.
Loyalties were sold .
And Power -- that was never clean.
Maybe that's when I learned --
Attachements were a weakness no one in my family could afford.
I was never really heard .
My thoughts never mattered enough to be listened to.
So I learned to prove myself --
Again and again..
Just to be seen .
But he never needed any of that .
He never really asked for explanations.
Never asked for proof .
He just...understood
And most importantly
He ... Always believed.
And somehow -- In a world where everything felt calculated ...
He was the only thing that never was .
"Hii ..."
He walked towards me, his voice carrying a familiarity I have never found anywhere else .
And without meaning to --
Something shifted within me .
A quiet storm...
That I never allowed myself to feel
"You've been quiet."
Rakshat's voice pulled me back.
I didn't turn.
"I'm always quiet."
A faint chuckle followed.
"No… this is different."
He stepped beside me, leaning casually against the wall, his gaze drifting in the same direction as mine.
"So?" he continued,
"how long were you planning to just stand here and stare?"
He asked in a playful tone
"I observe."
"Of course you do," he smirked slightly,
"especially when it comes to her."
My expression didn't change.
"You're overthinking it."
"Am I?"
His tone was light --
but there was something beneath it.
"You've been watching her since the workshop," he added.
I exhaled slowly.
"She notices things."
That seemed to interest him.
"You care about her."
I finally turned to look at him.
"I don't."
"No?"
A faint, knowing smile appeared on his face.
"I don't care about her," I said calmly.
"She doesn't matter."
Silence followed--
brief… but heavy.
He studied me for a moment.
"That's interesting," he said finally.
"Because you don't usually pay attention to things that don't matter."
I didn't respond.
He pushed himself off the wall, standing straighter now.
"You should stay out of this."
He warned .
My gaze shifted slightly.
"Since when do you decide that?"
A pause.
For the first time, his expression lost a fraction of its ease.
"Since I know how these things end."
The words were quiet--
but they carried weight.
I watched him carefully now.
"You're assuming too much."
"No,"
he replied, just as calm,
"I'm remembering enough."
Something about that didn't sit right.
"Not everything is as simple as it looks," he added after a moment.
"And not everyone… walks away from it."
The air felt heavier.
"You're hiding something," I said quietly.
He didn't deny it.
He didn't confirm it either.
Just that same faint, controlled smile.
"Some things," he said slowly,
"are better left unnoticed."
My jaw tightened slightly.
"That doesn't answer anything."
"It's not supposed to."
Silence stretched again--
but this time, it felt different.
Tense.
Calculated.
I looked ahead once more.
"This isn't about you," I said.
"Then stop acting like it isn't about you," he replied instantly.
That made me pause.
Just for a second.
He noticed.
Of course he did.
"Careful," he added, his voice lower now,
"you're stepping into something you don't fully understand."
I finally turned to look at him properly.
"Then explain it."
A brief silence.
Then--
he smiled.
Not amused.
Not mocking.
Just… certain.
"You don't need to know everything."
My gaze hardened slightly.
"That's not your decision."
"Maybe not," he said calmly,
"but it's still the truth."
I held his gaze for a moment longer.
Then looked away.
"This time…"
I said quietly,
"it won't be the same."
For a second, he didn't respond.
Then that faint smile returned.
Like he had already heard that before.
"That's what you think."
The tension lingered for a moment longer--
then, just as easily as it had built,
he let it go.
"Anyway," he said lightly, pushing himself off the wall again,
"you really need to work on your expressions."
I glanced at him.
"There's nothing wrong with them."
"Exactly," he replied, a faint grin forming,
"that's the problem."
I didn't react.
He sighed dramatically.
"You know, normal people blink, react… show emotions."
"I'm not normal."
"That, I agree with."
I paused for a second.
The audacity
I chose to ignore him.
But a thought suddenly crossed my mind...What was he talking about with Risha?
"What were you talking to her about?" I asked suddenly.
He glanced at me--
just for a second--
before a slow smile appeared on his face.
"Her?"
I didn't respond.
I didn't need to.
"Oh," he let out a quiet chuckle,
"you mean Risha."
I looked away.
"It doesn't matter."
"Really?"
His tone turned almost playful now.
"Because I thought…"
he paused deliberately,
"she doesn't matter."
Silence.
I didn't react.
He noticed that too.
Of course he did.
"Relax," he added casually,
"it wasn't anything important."
A brief pause
Then--
"At least… not yet."
He said in a mysterious tone.
My gaze shifted once more--
instinctively finding her.
She was heading out with her friend.
Unaware
.
And somehow…
that made it worse.
Because this time--
I had a feeling...
she wouldn't stay untouched for long.