Bade Sapne

◇ Part 3 ◇

Ishan's POV

I woke up to my phone buzzing relentlessly. Groggily, I reached over, grabbing it from the nightstand. The screen was lit up with notifications—calls, messages, news alerts. My heart sank as I blinked at the absurd number of texts flooding my screen. It wasn't normal.

Still half-asleep, I scrolled through, trying to make sense of what was happening. Group chats were exploding. Friends. Teammates. All of them messaging me, tagging me, talking about...something. That's when I saw it—a headline that punched me straight in the gut:

"Shubman Gill's Performance Wanes Amid Tensions with Friend's Girlfriend?"

What. The. Fuck.

I sat up instantly, my heart racing as I clicked on the article, praying I was imagining things.

"Sources close to the situation claim that Vira Malhotra has privately confided in friends, expressing guilt over Shubman Gill's recent lacklustre performances. Kapoor was overheard saying, 'Mujhe Shubman ko lekar guilty feel ho raha hai,' suggesting her involvement in the cricketer's declining form. According to sources, she believes their emotional connection may be affecting his focus on the field."

My stomach twisted into knots. Vira said that? My girlfriend, talking about Shubman like this? What the hell?

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. The words were right in front of me, but my mind was scrambling to make sense of them. Emotional connection? Guilty about Shubman's performance? Where the fuck did this even come from? I wasn't even fully awake yet, and it felt like my entire world was tilting.

Without a second thought, I shot a message to Vira: We need to talk.

But that wasn't enough. Not now. I couldn't sit here stewing in confusion and anger. I needed to talk to Shubman. He had to know something about this, right? He had to.

I grabbed my keys and stormed out of the apartment, barely registering the drive to his place. My mind was a whirlwind of thoughts—betrayal, confusion, rage. By the time I reached Shubman's door, I was practically shaking. I didn't hesitate before pounding on the door.

When Shubman finally opened it, he looked like hell—exhausted, tense, and completely taken off guard by my sudden appearance.

"Ishan?" he asked, confused.

But I wasn't in the mood for pleasantries. I shoved my phone in his face, the article glowing on the screen. "What the fuck is this, Shub?" I spat, my voice trembling with anger. "What the fuck did Vira say about you?"

Shubman's eyes darkened as he took in the headline. His jaw clenched, and something unreadable flickered across his face. But what pissed me off the most was the lack of shock. Like he wasn't surprised.

"You knew about this?" I growled, barely able to keep my voice steady. "You fucking knew, and you didn't tell me?"

Shubman's face hardened. "I didn't know about this until this morning," he snapped. "Abhi showed me the article, and I was just as blindsided as you."

"Bullshit!" I shouted, stepping closer. "You expect me to believe you didn't know? Vira's out here telling people she's the reason you're fucking up your matches, aur tujhe pata nahi tha?"

His fists tightened at his sides. "I didn't know, Ishan! Aisi cheez tumse mein kyun chupaunga? You think I wanted this to blow up?"

My anger was boiling over now. "Then explain to me why the hell she's talking about feeling guilty over you? Over your performance? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

Shubman exhaled sharply, his eyes flashing with frustration. "I don't know, okay? I don't fucking know why she said that. I didn't even know she felt that way. I've barely spoken to her since all of this shit started."

"She feels guilty?" I hissed, the words tasting bitter in my mouth. "Guilty about what, Shub? What have you two been hiding from me?"

Shubman stepped closer, his face inches from mine, his voice low but laced with venom. "There's nothing going on, Ishan. Whatever Vira said, I had no part in it. I didn't ask for this. I didn't want this."

His words only stoked the fire inside me. "Then why the hell does it look like you're both tangled up in something behind my back? Why is my girlfriend out here talking about you like this?" My chest heaved with the weight of my anger, confusion clouding my thoughts.

"I don't fucking know!" Shubman barked, his frustration matching mine now. "I've been trying to keep my distance. I've been trying to stay out of this mess, and now this article comes out, and I'm in the middle of it anyway."

"You think I'm just going to sit back and believe that? That this all just happened?" I was practically shaking now. "I'm supposed to ignore the fact that my own girlfriend is saying this shit about you, and you didn't think to tell me sooner?"

Shubman's fists clenched by his sides, his voice low and dangerous. "I'm telling you now because I didn't fucking know, Ishan. You think I wanted this to get out? You think I wanted my form to tank because of all this bullshit?"

"Then why the hell is she saying this? Why does she feel like she's responsible for you?" My voice was shaking with fury. "Do you even know what the fuck is going on, or are you just pretending this isn't your fault?"

Shubman's eyes flared with anger. "Do you really think I'd let something happen behind your back? That I'd stand here and lie to you?"

"I don't know, Shub. Right now, it sure as hell looks like I'm the last one to know anything around here!" I shot back, my voice cracking.

We stood there, the tension between us thick enough to choke on. My mind raced, trying to make sense of it all, but nothing fit. Shubman and Vira—how the hell had things spiraled this far out of control? And why did it feel like I was the only one left in the dark?

"You better figure this out," I said coldly, the fury still pulsing through my veins. "Because I'm done being left out of the loop. If something's been going on, I'll find out."

"Ask your stupid fucking girlfriend, coz it sure seems like she leaked it. She doesn't know shit about the way our lives are, and she starts stirring up drama, that bitch."

"Don't call her that."

"Ishan, believe me that's exactly what she is. She admitted that she said that, then made up some bullshit story about how she was just talking to Priya, and maybe someone overheard their conversation. She's a good liar, for sure."

I looked at him, the idea of her telling Priya seeming plausible to me. But if Shubman was angry, he was probably right.

"You better not be lying."

Shubman's jaw tightened, but he didn't say anything. For the first time, it felt like the distance between us wasn't just physical—it was something deeper, something neither of us knew how to fix.

"She's ruined my life. Break up with her before she ruins yours, too."
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A/N:

ooohhhh what's going on??

Can't believe these two are letting Vira come in the way of their friendship- boys, what can I say 😒🤦‍♀️😭 (jk)

Also BGT last match was VERYYY interesting 👀🫣

Come on, team India, go for a whitewash 🇮🇳

Steal BGT (and WTC finals) from 🇦🇺 like they stole the ODI WC from us 🙌🫡🇮🇳

Next update comes on Friday next week at 4 PM GMT

Stay tuned ;)