Page 30 of Strictly Solo
Despite every instinct telling her to leave, Naina approached the lounger, acutely aware of the danger of being alone with Ruhaan, especially in the intimate darkness of the midnight. To his evident surprise, she sat down next to him, reaching for the beer bottle and taking a gulp before setting it back down.
He raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t take you for a beer drinker.”
Naina shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant despite the nervous energy coursing through her. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”
A charged silence fell between them, filled with unspoken words and lingering glances. Finally, Naina spoke. “Thank you... for what you did with Neil today. It meant a lot.”
His expression softened. “He’s a great kid. You’ve done an amazing job with him.”
She felt a lump form in her throat. “It hasn’t been easy,” she admitted.
“I can imagine,” Ruhaan replied. “But you’re stronger than you give yourself credit for.”
Their eyes met again, and Naina felt the walls she had so carefully constructed begin to crumble.
Chapter 8
“You know,” Naina began hesitantly, “from everything I’ve heard about you in the last few years, I never thought you could talk so sensibly to a kid. It seems... opposite to your playboy nature.”
Ruhaan took another swig of his drink, breaking eye contact with her. “Thenyoutoo don’t know me at all,” he said, with hurt in his voice.
Naina fell silent. Ruhaan set his drink down, his shoulders sagging as he turned back to her, his eyes reflecting a depth of emotion she had never seen before.
“My life took a 360-degree turn after Dad passed away,” he began. “It happened three months after our engagement broke.”
Naina nodded, recalling the news of his father’s heart stroke. She remained quiet, sensing that Ruhaan needed to let this out.
“Dad was like an anchor in my life,” Ruhaan continued, his gaze distant. “Even though I was always a mama’s boy, losing him... it shook me to my core. I had plans, you know? I was going to travel abroad, start a business. But I couldn’t leave Mom alone, not after that.”
He paused, running a hand through his hair. “So I took over Dad’s business, and that’s when I discovered the truth. We were drowning in debt. The company was barely functioning; clients were leaving in droves. Dad had kept it all from us, probably to protect us. But in the end, that stress... it’s what killed him.”
Naina reached out, hesitating for a moment before placing her hand on Ruhaan’s arm. He looked at her.
“I couldn’t let my father’s legacy crumble,” he said, his voice gaining strength. “But in the end, I had to wind it all up and start fresh. It took years, Naina. Three years of non-stop work, of sleepless nights and endless stress. There was no time for anything else, no space in my life for relationships.”
He let out a bitter laugh. “So yeah, short flings and hookups became the norm. It was all I could manage; all I had energy for. I didn’t want any real attachments, any distractions from my goal of making the business succeed.”
His eyes met Naina’s again. “Of course, society didn’t approve. The‘playboy’tag stuck, and after a while, I just... accepted it. It didn’t matter to me what people thought. I was at peace with who I had become.”
Naina listened, understanding more about him than she had in years. She saw him now in a new light, realizing the struggles he had faced, the choices he had been forced to make. He wasn’t just a playboy. He was a man who had been thrust into a challenging situation and had done his best to navigate it.
“My mother still wants me to get married,” he continued. “But I don’t think I have those husbandly qualities anymore. What didn’t work for me in the last seven years was committing to one woman, trying to make it work. I think I’d fail miserably if I tried now.”
She stiffened at his words, feeling a pang of disappointment, she hadn’t expected. She couldn’t deny that she was drawn to Ruhaan, but his words confirmed her fears. He wasn’t ready for the kind of commitment she needed. Ruhaan noticed and shook his head slightly.
“These short-term flings, they work for me, Naina. I’m happy with them. And it’s not like I’m deceiving anyone,” he added quickly. “I’m always upfront about my intentions. If a womanagrees, knowing it’s temporary, then we proceed. If not, we part ways.”
He sighed, leaning back in his chair. “I can’t change that image of mine. And honestly, I’m fine with it. But being a playboy doesn’t mean I’m inhuman. I respect people’s feelings, just like I understand yours.”
His eyes locked with Naina’s, intensity burning in their depths. “I get it, Naina. You don’t want to give any air to whatever attraction we still have for each other, despite the seven years between us. And I respect that.”
A heavy silence fell between them. The man before her was complex, wounded, and far more vulnerable than she had ever imagined.
“Ruhaan...” Naina began, then faltered, unsure of what to say. “Why are you telling me all this?”
He gave her a sad smile. “I just wanted you to understand. To know the real me, not the image everyone else sees.”
The attraction between them, which she had been fighting so hard to ignore, suddenly seemed more complicated, more real. It wasn’t just about physical desire or nostalgia for what they once had. It was about two people who had been through their own personal hells and come out the other side, changed and maybe even broken.
