Page 169 of One Hellish Love

“Why are you here now, Rudra?” she asked. “I... I didn’t expect you to come like this.”

“I didn’t expect you to be here either,” he snapped. “You don’t belong here, Kashish.”

Hearing him say her name sent a familiar shiver through her, but it wasn’t the same as before. He hadn’t changed, but she had. Did he even notice?

“Is this because I left?” he asked, cutting straight to the point. “Was this your plan to get me back here? If it was, congratulations—you succeeded. I’m here.”

Kashish shook her head, her voice firmer now.

“Always so presumptuous! I didn’t leave to get you back. This was something I had planned from the moment I was forced to stay with your family. I’ve enjoyed the comforts of Raheja Mansion, but I knew deep down I never really belonged there.”

Rudra let out a sarcastic laugh, his eyes narrowing.

“This isn’t a decision, Kashish—it’s an escape. If it were a real decision, why didn’t you tell me about it?”

“Would you have let me leave if I had told you?” she challenged, already knowing the answer.

“No,” he replied sharply.

“There you go,” she said, giving him a sad smile. “I knew your answer, which is why I didn’t ask for your permission.”

Rudra stared at her, shocked at how resolute she had become. In his frustration, he hadn’t even noticed how much she had changed. She looked thinner, paler, despite everyone assuring him that she was fine. She was suffering in silence, just like he was. Her eyes, now more expressive than ever, betrayed the truth. Kashish hadn’t been happy at all - she’d been crying every day, missing him. Not just once or twice, but over and over. She’d fooled everyone else, pretending to be happy. That’s why no one had noticed how sad she really was. It all made sense now. The reason he kept seeing her crying whenever he closed his eyes wasn’t just in his imagination. It was real. While he was gone, she’d been here, crying and wishing he was with her.

“So, you’ve been pretending? Pretending to be happy?”

Kashish frowned, not understanding the direction of his question.

“I should have known,” he said bitterly. “The way I know you, no one else can. I was a fool to believe others.”

Kashish felt a pang of guilt. He was right—she had been pretending.

“You can’t expect everything to happen as per your wish, Rudra, especially not in love.”

“We’ll see about that. Right now, you’re packing up and coming back with me to Raheja Mansion. And this time, it’s for good.”

Kashish let out a bitter laugh.

“What makes you think I’ll do that?”

His expression darkened with anger.

“I see this time apart has given you an attitude,” he growled.

“I’m not going anywhere, Rudra. This is my home. I belong here, not at Raheja Mansion.”

He glared at her, clearly offended. But Kashish didn’t want to fight.

“This place is close to the office. It’s more convenient for me,” she explained.

“I’ll arrange your commute,” he shot back without missing a beat.

“I don’t need your unnecessary comforts anymore,” she said, standing her ground. “I want a simple life now - the kind I should have had since I was little. The only reason I stayed at Raheja Mansion was because the law said I had to. That’s over now. I don’t have any excuse to stay there anymore, especially without you.”

Rudra raised his eyebrow.

“An excuse? That’s all it was?”

Kashish nodded, not trusting her voice, not really understanding why he seemed so wounded by her words.

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