AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Nami was shaking all over as he looked at her like he wanted to turn her to dust. “I came here… to study.”
“Bullshit.”
“I… I really don’t know everything that happened between our families. I don’t intend to incite anything new. Just let me be.” She was being truthful.
He fell silent for a moment. “You have Oscar-worthy acting skills. If you think this meek and sweet manner is going to melt me, you are fucking wrong. You should have minded your own business, but now, you have no escape. I’ll show you.”
With those famous words, he left her staring at the boxing gloves swaying on the rods. If she thought their fathers’ fallout was a complication, she didn’t realize her interactions with him would add fuel to the dormant fire.
How the heck was she going to make him believe she wasn’t out there to seduce him into a lovesick puppy?
*****
Nami was barely awake when she heard her phone ring on the side table. It was too early for anyone on campus to call her, and excited it had to be her family, she scrambled out of bed. A broad smile formed on her face when she saw it was her dad calling her. She adjusted her hair before answering the video call.
“Daddy!” She was overjoyed to see her father. The last couple of times they had spoken, her dad was traveling and was not available for a video call.
“Namrata, how are you? Is everything going well for you?” her father asked, almost skeptical about her stay at Simha. Nami had barely slept the night before after being confronted and cornered by Rana.
Hoping her dad didn’t notice how sleep-deprived she was, she let out a laugh, pushing away thoughts of her rival. “I absolutely love it here. Just a couple of weeks, and I wish I went to college here like you.”
Her father looked at her for a long moment. “We miss you very much.”
She pouted, feeling homesick. “I miss you all very much, Daddy. It’s just one semester, and the campus, it’s better than what I had imagined.”
“Have a little fun too.” Her father winked.
She nodded. “I am. You won’t believe what I saw at one of the parties.”
“What?” Her father asked like he was excited to hear more. Something she hadn’t seen when she told him she wanted to go to Simha.
“Arm wrestling!” She let out a giggle.
Her father was surprised. “Nami, did you know that was what I had started when I was in college? That’s what carried on into our family reunions.”
“Yes.” She laughed, wiping the moisture that gathered at the edge of her eye. “I was amazed to see boys arm wrestle here.”
“Daddy, you should come visit. You are an alumnus,” she said and saw the change in his manner just for a moment.
Her father went back to being his casual self immediately. “You come back soon.”
“I will… but I really want to come back here for one more semester. I really really like it here.” She only hoped she wouldn’t upset him.
He didn’t respond immediately as if he was processing her ask. “As long as you are happy at Simha and you like it there, it’s your call.”
“I love you, Daddy. Thank you! Why didn’t you agree to send me last year then?” A question that was burning in her head came out inadvertently.
Her father’s smile faltered a bit. “We didn’t want you to go to India, and…” His voice trailed off, and it looked like he was thinking about what to say next. “And, when we left India, we weren’t on good terms with the Simhas.”
She shrugged. “Why does that matter, Daddy? The university may have been founded by them, but Neela Ma’am runs it so well.”
Her father smiled. “Neela and I were in the same graduating class.”
Nami could see the joy on his face as he seemed to be reminiscing his college days. She almost hesitated to ask the question, but she had to. “What happened between you and your friend?”
He shrugged and looked away, and she knew he was finding it hard to talk about.
“Daddy, you don’t need to tell me, but—”
