Mumbai

Subhangi's Apartment

The evening at Subhangi's apartment was unusually quiet.

The television was playing in the background, but nobody was really paying attention to it. The conversation had been going on for a while-random things, jokes, memories, everything that usually helped them forget the chaos outside.

But Yogesh wasn't really there.He was sitting on the edge of the sofa, staring somewhere ahead, his phone lying untouched in his hand.

From the outside, his life seemed fine.

Splitsvilla was over.

He had gone back to his normal life.

He was with Ruru.

At least, that was what everyone believed.

But things were far from normal.

Their relationship had become a strange cycle of closeness and distance. One day they would talk for hours, and the next, they would barely be able to stand being in the same room. Small misunderstandings turned into arguments, arguments turned into silence, and silence eventually became another reason to fight.

There was no ease between them anymore.

No natural understanding.

No warmth that came without effort.

And somewhere in the middle of all of it, Yogesh had started blaming himself.

Not only for what was happening with Ruru.

But for everything.

The episodes of Splitsvilla were still airing, and with every new episode came another wave of comments.

People called him names.

People judged him.

People dissected his every decision.

But strangely, none of that hurt him as much as one thought that refused to leave his head.

Akanksha.

He had hurt someone who had genuinely cared for him.

Someone who had stood beside him without knowing what was happening behind the scenes.

Someone he had lied to.

Someone he had left behind to deal with a journey filled with enemies, misunderstandings and pain-while he walked away knowing more than she did.

The guilt had slowly become heavier than the hate.

And then there was Rohit.

A friendship that once felt unbreakable had suddenly developed a distance neither of them knew how to cross.

They weren't talking.

They were angry.

And even though both of them knew the friendship still mattered, neither was ready to take the first step.

Yogesh had too many things inside his head.

And none of them had an easy answer.

"Yogesh?"

Subhangi's voice pulled him back.

"Huh?"

He blinked and looked at her.

"What are you thinking?" she asked. "You're not even listening to what we're talking about."

Yogesh forced a small smile.

"Nothing, yaar."

Subhangi looked at him for a few seconds.

She knew that smile.

It wasn't real.

Gullu glanced at her and then at Yogesh.

"Sach bata, Rawat..."

Yogesh looked at him.

"Tu wohi sab soch raha hai na?"

"What?"

"Splitsvilla. Akanksha. Pre-planning. Jo kuch hua... sab."

The room suddenly felt quieter.

Yogesh didn't answer.

He simply looked away.

That silence was enough.

Subhangi sighed.

"Look, we're with you. Always. Jo bhi ho, hum tujhe akela nahi chhodenge."

Yogesh lowered his eyes.

"But..." she continued, choosing her words carefully, "hum tujhe woh jhoothi tasalli bhi nahi de sakte ki tune jo kiya woh sahi tha."

Yogesh's jaw tightened.

Subhangi's voice softened.

"Galti teri thi, Yogesh."

He didn't argue.

Because he knew.

"Akanksha ki nahi," Subhangi continued. "Woh jo feel karti thi, genuinely karti thi. At least jitna hum episodes dekh kar samajh pa rahe hain... usne tujhe kabhi fake nahi kiya."

Gullu nodded slowly.

"Ha yaar. Meri bhi usse achhi friendship ho gayi thi. Aur honestly, mujhe lagta hai woh tujhe genuinely like karti thi."

He paused.

"Isliye mujhe sabse zyada bura is baat ka lagta hai ki jo sach tujhe pehle pata tha... woh usse bahut baad mein pata chala."

Yogesh swallowed hard.

Every word hurt because none of it was wrong.

When he had finally told his friends about the pre-planning, they had been angry.

They had questioned him.

They had told him he was wrong.

But they hadn't abandoned him.

Because that was the kind of friendship they had.

They weren't the kind of friends who would blindly defend him just because he was their friend.

They were the kind who would stand beside him while making him face the consequences of his own mistakes.

Yogesh finally spoke.

"Main jaanta hoon."

His voice was barely above a whisper.

"Main jaanta hoon maine galat kiya."

Subhangi looked at him.

"Toh phir khud ko itna punish kyun kar raha hai?"

Yogesh gave a bitter little smile.

"Pata nahi."

"Past change nahi kar sakte," she said. "Jo ho gaya, woh hum undo nahi kar sakte. But you can at least accept that you were wrong and try to become better because of it."

Gullu leaned back.

"Exactly. Tu galti se bada nahi hai, Rawat. But galti ko justify karega, tab problem hai."

Yogesh remained silent.

Subhangi reached for her glass and took a sip before adding,

"Abhi jo phase chal raha hai na... woh bhi nikal jayega. Log aaj bol rahe hain, kal kisi aur topic pe chale jayenge. But tujhe khud ke saath jo problem hai, usko tu hi solve karega."

Yogesh nodded faintly.

"Ha."

Subhangi studied his face.

"And Rohit?"

Yogesh looked at her.

"Kya?"

"Rohit ke saath bhi mujhe nahi lagta ye distance itne lambe time tak rahega."

A faint smile appeared on Gullu's face.

"Bilkul nahi. Tum dono ek dusre se kitna bhi gussa ho jao, care toh karte ho."

"He's angry," Yogesh said quietly.

"Tu bhi toh angry hai."

"Ha."

"Toh baat kar lena."

Yogesh didn't answer.

Gullu shrugged.

"Jab ego thoda kam ho jaye tab."

For the first time that evening, Yogesh smiled genuinely.

"Shut up."

Everyone laughed softly.

For a moment, the heaviness in the room disappeared.

But only for a moment.

Because Gullu suddenly remembered something.

"Waise Ruru ka kya scene hai?"

Yogesh's smile faded slightly.

"Kya matlab?"

"Abhi Mumbai aayi thi na? Mujhe laga tum dono enjoy karoge. But woh ek din mein hi chali gayi. Aur uske baad se tu bhi thoda... lost sa lag raha hai."

Yogesh looked down at his hands.

"Nothing."

Gullu raised an eyebrow.

"Sure?"

"Bas thodi misunderstanding ho gayi thi."

"Big one?"

"Nahi."

"Fight hui?"

"Thodi."

Subhangi looked at him carefully.

"Yogesh..."

"I'm fine."

He looked up and smiled.

"You guys don't worry about me. I'm not overthinking anything. Chill."

The others exchanged a glance.

They knew he was lying.

But they didn't push him.

Sometimes, friendship meant knowing when to ask questions.

And sometimes, it meant knowing when to let someone keep their silence.

The conversation slowly moved on.

Someone changed the television channel.

Someone started talking about food.

Someone made a joke.

And everyone tried to return to normal.

But Yogesh remained quiet.

Because the truth was...

He was not fine.

Not even close.

His relationship with Ruru might become normal again.

They might stop fighting.

They might laugh together again.

They might even make everyone believe that everything was perfect.

But there was something inside Yogesh that had nothing to do with their fights.

Something he had never told anyone.

Not Subhangi.

Not Gullu.

Not Rohit.

Not even Ruru.

His friends knew about the pre-planning because he had confessed it to them.

They knew about the guilt.

They knew he regretted hurting Akanksha.

They knew he was struggling with the consequences of his choices.

But they didn't know the whole truth.

There was still one piece missing.

One thought he had never allowed himself to say out loud.

Because perhaps, if he said it...

Everything would change.

Everyone believed Yogesh had chosen Ruru because he loved her.

That the connection he had shown on the show was real.

That he had made a difficult choice because his heart belonged to her.

But what if that wasn't the entire truth?

What if even Yogesh himself was still trying to understand what his heart had actually wanted?

Had he truly loved Ruru?

Or had he convinced himself that he did?

Had his connection with her been real from the beginning?

Or had some part of it been an escape from a choice he wasn't brave enough to make?

And most importantly-

Had Akanksha ever been just a friend to him?

Yogesh closed his eyes for a moment.

There were questions he could answer.

There were mistakes he could accept.

There were peop

le he could apologize to.

But this one question...

This one, he wasn't ready to face.

Because sometimes the hardest truth isn't the one you hide from others.

It's the one you hide from yourself.

And only Yogesh knew what that truth was.

Or perhaps...

Even he was still afraid to find out.

That's it for this chapter

So , how's the chapter