Meisha and Veer were shocked with the sudden change in the emotions of the person sitting in front of them. Meisha wanted to know what was really going inside the peanut- sized brain of this person, while Veer had no such qualms. He simply wanted to punch him directly in the face, remembering how his sister had been crying because she was not ready to accept the fact that someone could behave that badly with her. She had gone through so much because she believed that this specific person couldn't do anything wrong; he had seen Nitya in the depths of despair and a haze of denial, all for the sake of the 'brotherly' bond which the leech had never been fit for, anyway. Veer had seen her suffer and Siddhant had shown up in front of her once again, when she was finally at a good place in her life! He wanted to grab this person by the collar and then drag him out from Nitya's life for all eternity; he would make sure that he couldn't return by any means possible.
Nitya looked at Siddhant, considering herself as the most evil person there and scolding herself for it. 'A person was crying in front of her due to her, and she was doing nothing; Natasha was right, he seemed like he did need someone to talk to. Was he really in depression?' She questioned herself once again, but her mind was already made up.
She needed to help him, otherwise it would be hazardous for his mental health and physical as well; when there is something wrong with the mind, the body also suffers due to neglect. She had to take a step, she had to! She decided that she would forgive him one more time and it would be the last time; after that, she was going to put herself before anyone else- but for now, she was going to forgive him.
Nitya gathered her courage; alarm bells were going off in her head. It was not easy for her to give him a chance after she had witnessed the truth for herself, but not giving people second chances had never been an option in her vocabulary. The possible implications of not helping someone out always managed to steer her away from keeping herself first, what if someone had actually been a good person who had left a somewhat bad first impression on her, how could she not help them because of that? And even if someone was fundamentally bad, how would she make peace with herself without giving them an opportunity to get better? If no one helped them out when they extended their hand out of the pit, they would never get out; at least if she took that hand, the person would have a much significant probability of becoming a good person.
"Don't cry! You will get admission in a postgraduate programme in a good college. There is still a list to be released in mine, so all hope is not lost just yet! "
Siddhant interrupted her in between by saying, "You are telling me that all hope is still not lost, but let me tell you: when you are not there to help me out, I feel like I am peering down a never-ending hole. Without you, I really feel like don't have anything left by my side."
"But there are many people by your side- Natasha, Samarth, your Seniors and juniors , then how did you came with this statement?" It was Nitya's turn to interrupt him in the middle of his rant; feeling offended on the behalf of the people that cared for him.
"But not you! I don't want anybody with me, except you!" Siddhant spoke like a petulant child "You are my only friend and everyone else had never promised me to stay by my side like you did."
"Well everybody else is also your friend, and they will also stay by your side-"
"I don't want them to, I said I want you- please please." Siddhant let out a heavy cry.
"Okay okay, I will be with you till your admission and will make sure to cheer you up."
"Thank you, thank you so much- I always knew you also need me the way I need you. You can also relax, now I am here so everything will be alright."
Nitya had been listening to his statements so far with patience; she had wanted to interject quite a few times up till now but she felt like someone had tied her tongue into a knot. But when he stated that she also needed him, that was the end of her patience, she knew she had to speak up and clarify this misunderstanding at the earliest.
She replied in a low but firm voice "I don't need you, I never did! We just used to be great friends; I used to trust you in the past, but now I don't. But there is nothing that can be done now; so I am chill with you, just relax and go home."
Siddhant knew that Nitya loved to help each and everybody out in studies, and that was one of the reasons she got praise and adoration from her peers- this was why he had been trying to cut her off from everyone else. That way, he could take the credit for the work done by her, and she would not revolt or even say anything about it, because the girl had a bad habit of trusting people blindly. Who needs a weapon when the person already has bombs attached to their bodies in the form of blind trust?
But her statement that she didn't trust him anymore didn't sit right with him, what would be the purpose of her being with him ? She would claim each and every work of hers; even worse, she would always be accompanied with someone she trusted. No matter how strong she presented herself to be, she had major trust issues due to her childhood trauma, which always made her bring along someone whom she trusted.
He needs to do something to rectify this complication that could put his plan in jeopardy. Cunningness shone in his eyes as he finally found the words to trigger her further.
"What do you mean, you don't trust me? If you don't trust me, I don't want your friendship as a favor or alms which you just put in my bag. I know that this way, you will treat me like your other classmates whom you always treat nicely and help them out but don't make them your confidantes."
"Of course , I can't afford to share any more secrets with you; you were the one to rip out the heart from inside my body and stomp on it by breaking my trust, and still I have given you more than enough time. Now I just can't-" Nitya replied, not knowing where she was getting the strength to point out his messed up behaviour. She really needed someone to help her get out of this situation; if not, she would end up willingly forgetting everything that he had done- she had already forgiven him, but now she didn't want to forget anything further.
"I am not a beggar Ms. Nitya Jaikar, so mind your language. If you can't place your trust in me, I can't trust you either! I am trying to be nice to you, even after knowing what a characterless girl you are, having zero morals. And still, you are disrespecting instead of being grateful to me! What an era man! This is how we know the end is near." Siddhant let out the last arrow from his bow, knowing that this wound will make her open up now, and he would console her- and everything would became normal once again.
Nitya was dumbstruck, she didn't know what to say. She didn't want to say anything, she couldn't. All she knew, was that she needed to leave this place immediately, otherwise she would inevitably cry and it would not be good for anybody. She looked up for a second, praying "God , please help", and that was when a booming voice broke her connection to heaven.
"Nitya Jaikar, how dare you ignore my call despite the fact that you are sitting idle in the cafeteria? Don't you know how much I love you-"
"Aman!" She turned her head in the direction of the voice and stood up from her place. She ran across the cafeteria to hug him, leaving everyone behind. She grinned, saying, "I love you more, you idiot! And when did you get back?"
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