12-10-2025, 12:14 PM
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Neetu’s eyes flicked to the bed, and Ravi froze, a chill creeping up his spine. Sirisha’s smile vanished instantly.
“Yes, Priya,” Neetu replied evenly, though her tone was now careful, almost too careful. “He’s here. He came for lunch today.”
A brief pause hung on the line before Priya shifted the conversation back to more practical matters, though Neetu could sense the subtle tension in her voice. Ravi sat silently, his heart heavy with guilt.
The weight of Priya’s voice still echoed in his chest, even as she moved on to discussing other things.
The call ended, and Neetu placed the phone down, her eyes briefly meeting Ravi’s, before she softly mentioned, “It was Priya. She called to check in.”
The room was quiet again, but not in the same way it had been before. The air felt thick, weighted by what had just transpired. Ravi, for the first time that afternoon, felt the shift, the warmth, the laughter, the connection had all felt distant.
Priya’s name had cast a shadow over him, and he wasn’t sure whether it was guilt or something else, but the heaviness in his chest felt suffocating. The carefree mood of the day seemed to evaporate, leaving a quiet void that hadn’t been there before.
Neetu, sensing his unease, smiled reassuringly, though there was something slightly strained about it.
“Don’t worry, Ravi,” she said, her voice warm yet careful. “I told her you were just here for lunch. Everything’s fine. No need to overthink it. Priya trusts you.”
Ravi nodded, but the discomfort still gnawed at him. Sirisha, noticing his change in mood, reached out, her voice light, trying to dispel the tension.
“See? Nothing to worry about. Priya Didi’s fine, and so are we.”
Neetu glanced at him with a teasing smile, trying to bring some levity back into the room.
“Let’s not ruin the mood with all this. You’re here, and we’re all good.”
The lightheartedness returned slowly, but Ravi couldn’t shake the feeling that something had shifted. The day had been carefree, but Priya’s call had reminded him of the tangled mess of emotions he was caught in.
As the shadows lengthened across the room, Ravi wondered if he could ever truly untangle it all, if Priya would ever forgive him, or if the distance between them would only grow.
-- oOo --
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