Chapter4
1146 Words
The morning after Rian’s late night visit, the day began just like every other day sunlight through the curtains, the smell of coffee filled the kitchen, her mother humming an old song, but the peace and quiet didn’t last.
By noon, Maya’s phone was buzzing nonstop.
Group chats, whispers, snippets of gossip, all circling the same topic.
“Did you hear about Rian Kapoor’s fiancée?”
“Apparently, she was cheating and the wedding’s off.”
“Some people are saying he’s been spending time with his best friend’s sister…”
Maya felt her stomach drop.
Her hands were shaking as she scrolled through, trying to find out the source, the rumors were already spreading like wildfire, screenshots, half-truths, speculations, someone had even posted a photo of Rian’s car parked outside her house and it was timestamped from last night, she couldn’t breathe properly. A genius was not required to connect the dots, within an hour, her world had turned into something she didn’t recognize.
Arjun came home that evening, earlier than expected, his face was pale, his voice tight.
“Maya.”
She looked up, frozen.
“Is it true?”
Her throat went dry. “Is what true?”
“That Rian came here last night, alone after midnight.”
She tried to speak, but the words got caught up in her mouth. “He needed to talk” she said
“About what?” Arjun snapped, “The same thing the whole city’s talking about?”
Tears stung her eyes, “It’s not what they think!”
“Then what is it?” His voice cracked with anger and disbelief. “He’s my best friend, Maya! You’re seventeen! Do you have any idea what this looks like?”
She was so scared and nervous, the silence between them became longer and more painfully.
Finally, he said, shaking his head. “I’m going to talk to him.”
“Arjun, please” she was trying to say but he was already gone.
Rian’s doorbell rang ten minutes later.
He knew it would be Arjun, he had been waiting for it, the confrontation and the explosion when he opened the door, Arjun’s face said everything.
“Tell me it’s not true,” Arjun demanded.
Rian ran a hand through his hair, exhausted and said “If you mean Anika yeah, it’s true, she cheated, the wedding is off.”
Arjun snapped at him and said “That’s not what I meant,”, “I’m talking about my sister Maya.” Rian froze.
“People are saying things, Rian, they’re saying that you have been sneaking around, that you”
“That’s a lie,” Rian interrupted him, his tone was hard, “You really think I’d”
“I don’t know what to think!” Arjun’s voice broke, “You show up at her house in the middle of the night, the next day your engagement blows up, and suddenly everyone is talking! What am I supposed to believe?”
Rian swallowed hard, “she did nothing wrong, I went there because I needed someone to talk to, that’s all.”
Arjun stared at him searching his face for a lie, finding none, yet he was still unable to trust what he saw.
“I can’t” He shook his head, “I can’t do this right now”, he turned to leave, but Rian caught his arm. “Arjun, listen to me. I would never hurt her.” Arjun’s eyes were cold, he said “Maybe not on purpose but you already have” he left without another word and for the first time in years, the silence between them wasn’t friendly it was broken.
The next day, the tabloids picked up the story.
“Business Heir Rian Kapoor’s Wedding Cancelled ~ Close Friend’s Sister at the Center of Rumors.”
Maya stared at the headline until her eyes became weak, her phone vibrated again and it was a message from Rian.
I’m sorry. I should’ve been more careful.
She didn’t reply.
She wanted to , she wanted to tell him she didn’t blame him, that it wasn’t his fault but part of her knew that would only make things worse, because now, every whisper, every glance at school, every message she received said the same thing: she was the reason his wedding had fallen apart.
That evening, she went up to the rooftop that was her escape from the noise below, she buried her face inbetween her knees.
“Running away?”
She turned, Rian was standing there, his expression a mix of exhaustion and open resistance, “You shouldn’t be here,” she said.
“Everyone keeps telling me that,” he said quietly. “And yet, I’m here.” She didn’t say a word.
He came closer, his voice low, “You didn’t deserve any of this, Maya, you did nothing wrong.”
“I let them think I did,” she said very sad, “I didn’t stop them, I just froze.”
“You couldn’t have stopped it,” he said, “The world loves a scandal more than the truth.”
She met his eyes, her voice trembling, “then why are you still here, Rian? Why do you keep coming back?”
He hesitated, then said softly:
“Because the only time I feel like myself anymore is when I’m with you.”
Her breath hitched.
He took a step closer, rain beginning to fall in light drops around them, “I know it’s wrong, I know it’s messy, but I can’t pretend anymore.”
She closed her eyes, tears mixing with the rain, then she said “Please don’t say it.”
“I have to.” His voice broke. “I think I’m falling in love with you.”
Her heart stopped.
Lightning cracked somewhere far away.
She took a trembling step back away from him saying “Rian, you can’t, not even after everything, not with Arjun”
“I don’t care about what they say,” he said fiercely. “Not anymore.”
“But I do!” she cried, her voice trembling, “You’ll lose everything, your friendship, your name, everything you’ve worked for.”
He shook his head, “None of that matters if I can’t even be honest with myself.”
The rain poured harder now, soaking them both.
Maya’s voice broke as she whispered, “It’s too late.”
He looked at her for a long moment with heartbreak, before finally saying, “Maybe, but I’ll never regret it.”
Then he turned and walked away.
She stood there long after he was gone, her tears lost in the rain.
And somewhere far below, in the shadows of the city, a camera shutter clicked, someone was still watching them, someone who wasn’t finished with their story yet.
- Writer
