Maybe she’s asleep. Or out. What if she were at a club and someone was chatting her up? Or worse, on a date?
I pounded my fist on the door. ‘Ananya!’ My voice echoed in the silent hallway. ‘Open the door!’
Eventually, it flew open.
Rhea glared at me, standing at the threshold in an oversized T-shirt and pyjamas, her hair messy from sleep. ‘What the hell are you doing here?’
‘I …’ I looked into the flat from over her head. ‘Where is she?’
‘You’re drunk. Go home.’ She started to push the door shut, but I caught it and held it open.
‘Ananya!’ I called loudly. Surely, she would come out if she knew I was here. ‘I need to talk to you.’
‘Are you out of your mind?’ Rhea hissed, glancing towards the neighbours’ doors. ‘It’s midnight. Are youtryingto wake up the whole building?’
‘Please,’ I said. ‘Let me just talk to her.’
‘She’s gone.’
A wave of panic swamped me. ‘What do you mean gone? Where is she?’
She exhaled sharply, moving away from the door and going farther inside. I followed.
The living room seemed the same. The Polaroid pictures. Her designing corner. The couch where we’d sat and laughed. But it lacked … life. Ananya really wasn’t here.
‘She’s gone back to Banaras,’ Rhea said, crossing her arms, eyes flashing. ‘And I don’t know if she’s going to be back.’
‘No.’ The word tore through my throat as I shook my head. ‘She wouldn’t do that.’
‘Why not?’ Her tone was sharper than a knife.
‘Because … she loves Mumbai. And her family is … they don’t get along.’
‘Oh my God. You don’t get it, do you?’ Her hands shot up in frustration. ‘Not everyone has the safety net of having a ridiculously rich family. She can’t stay here just because she likes it. She doesn’t have a job,’ she said. ‘Do you realise how impossible it is to find one when you don’t have the right connections?’
Her finger jabbed into my chest. ‘And thanks to your mother, she’s not going to get another opportunity in fashion. She has no reason to return. It’s all your and your family’s fault.’
Anger spiked hot in my gut. ‘Myfault?Shewas the one spying onmethis entire time!’
‘She was trying to survive. Between a family forcing marriage on her, Rekha’s blackmail and you … she was cornered.’
I ran a hand down my face. ‘She could have told me. But she didn’t. Shechoseto betray me.’
Her laugh was humourless, harsh. ‘Look at what you did when shedidtell you. Did you understand? Did you forgive her? Or did you prove her fears right?’
‘She only told me because she needed to. Because Rivaayat was in danger.’
‘She could have just stayed mum,’ Rhea snapped back. ‘Said to hell with the line. Kept her job. Kept you. But she didn’t. She told you the truth foryou. Despite knowing it could cost her everything.’
Her words hit hard. I swallowed. Cold weight sank in my stomach. She hadn’t gained a thing from telling me. Rivaayat’s success meant nothing to her future. She told me anyway. For me.
‘Why didn’t … why didn’t she say anything sooner?’
‘She should have,’ Rhea said, her anger fizzling out. ‘I’m not saying she did the right thing. It ateat her every day. Everything she did was her way of surviving while protecting you. Ananya—’ She exhaled, her head lowering as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
‘She was terrified,’ she continued, quieter now, her eyes meeting mine. ‘Of losing you. Of losing the career she was desperate to build. Of being forced back to Banaras into a marriage, into a life she didn’t want. And it cost her herself. The anxiety. The panic attacks. She couldn’t even eat on some days. She was a mess, Jai. I don’t understand how you didn’t see it.’
Something inside me splintered. ‘Panic attacks?’ I croaked. ‘Anxiety?’
