Page 70 of Strictly Solo

He banged his fist on the steering wheel, cursing under his breath. Why was everything conspiring to keep him from getting there? Why couldn’t anything go right for him today?

He was late to drop Poonam, late to fix things, late to face the consequences of his inaction. And now all he wanted, all he needed, was to know that Naina and Neil were okay.

Slowly as the traffic began to ease, Ruhaan pressed his foot harder on the accelerator, weaving through the cars as if speeding could somehow make up for the time lost.

Almost twenty minutes after he stormed into the Kundra house, his heart pounding in his chest as if it might explode. The front door slammed behind him but he didn’t care. The only thing that mattered to him was finding Naina and Neil. Herushed to the room where they had been staying, but when he pushed open the door, the room was empty.

He glanced around in confusion. The bed was made, their luggage gone. Where were they? He stepped back into the hallway. The house felt hollow. It was clear that most of the guests had left earlier that morning, following the conclusion of the event. Even he and his mother had a flight to catch later this evening. But Naina… Where was she?

Panic began to creep into his mind as he turned around, his eyes darting across the quiet halls. That’s when he spotted Rohit in the foyer, speaking to the decorators who were dismantling the decorations from the event. Without thinking, Ruhaan marched straight toward him.

“Rohit!” he called out.

Rohit turned around, his expression darkening the moment he saw Ruhaan. The decorators, sensing the tension, stepped back, giving the two men space.

“What?” Rohit snapped.

“Where’s Naina?”

“What do you want from Naina now?” he asked, his tone biting. “I can’t believe you. After everything that happened this morning, you still want to see her? Haven’t you done enough damage?”

Ruhaan opened his mouth to respond, but Rohit didn’t give him a chance.

“Don’t think we didn’t notice,” Rohit continued. “Everyone this morning realized that you and Naina were together last night. Subodh uncle, Malti aunty, Suman, me, we all. And I’m sure so did your mother. Both you and Naina were in the same outfits of yesterday this morning. We can connect the dots.”

Ruhaan froze. He hadn’t thought about how it might look—Naina being with him last night, had draped the same saree that morning. He had been too consumed by everything elseto realize the implications. But it wasn’t what they thought. It wasn’t like that.

“Rohit,” Ruhaan started, trying to keep his voice calm, though his insides felt like they were twisting into knots. “It’s not what you think. It didn’t happen like that—”

“Enough!” Rohit cut him off. “I cannot believe that even after everything between you and Naina, you didn’t say a single word this morning to defend her. Not one word! How could you, Ruhaan? How could you leave her and Neil like that, when they needed you?”

The accusation hit Ruhaan hard, but he didn’t have time to dwell on it. Right now, his focus was Naina. He could deal with Rohit’s anger later.

“Not now, Rohit,” Ruhaan said through gritted teeth. His patience was wearing thin, his mind screaming at him to find Naina. “We can talk about this later. I need to know where she is. Where’s Naina?”

Rohit crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes blazing with anger.

“She’s gone. Naina and Neil left for the airport already.”

Ruhaan felt the ground shift beneath him, his breath catching in his throat.

“What? No, that’s not possible,” he said, shaking his head in disbelief. “Her flight was tonight.”

“She booked the next available flight,” Rohit said. “Subodh uncle and Suman took her and Neil to the airport a while ago. She didn’t want to be here anymore. All because ofyou, Ruhaan.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Ruhaan barked, anger and desperation flaring in his chest. “Why didn’t you tell me she was leaving?”

“Why would I?” Rohit shot back. “What difference would it make? It’s all over. You had every opportunity to talk, to clearthings up, and you didn’t take it. Now she’s gone, and you’re too late,” Rohit scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief.

Ruhaan slammed his fist against the wall, the sound reverberating through the empty house.

“Damn it!” he cursed.

Rohit watched him with cold eyes, his arms still crossed, but there was no sympathy in his expression.

“This is on you. You could’ve stopped this. You could’ve spoken up on time.”

Ruhaan’s heart pounded in his chest, knowing Rohit was right. He had to get to Naina. He grabbed his phone, his fingers trembling as he dialed her number but she didn’t answer.