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“So, perhaps we make him figure it out,” Shauna said in that typically confident way of hers.
“Like I said,” Akash added. “It’s time to do something drastic. Go big or go home, Jee.”
“I…I’m not sure,” Jiya swallowed the thick lump that had formed in her throat. “I love him…so much. But he’s rejected me twice now. I doubt I’ll survive a third rejection from him.”
Janak spoke up, “I’ve told you before also, my dear girl, only you can decide if he’s worth fighting for.”
“You also told me that in order to have a future with him, he has to confide in me. He hasn’t. How do I go forward now?”
“That is entirely up to you, Jiya,” Janak said. “The question remains, is he worth fighting for or not?”
Jiya looked at all of them. Tara’s and Varun’s faces shone with hope, like she was the answer to their prayers for their son. Akash and Shauna were raring to go, like all she had to do was say yes, and they’d do anything to help her. And without a doubt, they would.
She finally looked at Janak. He’d told her in the past that being with Rohan wouldn’t be easy. And now she’d experienced the truth of his words first-hand.
But agreeing to this…to taking a chance on him was a risk to her heart, one which she had to decide if she was willing to take. She knew Rohan. To make him realize and accept that he had feelings for her, that he was in love with her, was going to be a challenge. Therefore, the question was whether she should stay and fight with all her might for him, for their relationship, or whether she should give up and move on.
23
The day count had reached twenty-four. It had been twenty-four long, lonely days since he’d first told Jiya that they were finished. Rohan looked at the vacant seat in the conference room, a seat that should have been occupied by her but was not. He was in a regular update meeting with the FF team and had learned that Jiya had taken a couple of days off from work. It truly sucked that he hadn’t even known. But then, how could he have known when he was the one who’d ended things so conclusively with her. Post that, he’d made it a point to not visit the FF floor and to not ask for her, even when he was working with Akash. But now, hearing that she was on leave, he wondered if she was well. His heart pitched. What if his rejection had caused her to fall ill? No. He hoped not.
He rubbed a hand down his face. He was frustrated, tired, irritable, and hadn’t slept in days. And the thought that she could be unwell because of him made him feel more on the edge.
The meeting winded up, and he caught up to Akash as he was leaving the conference room.
“Akash, wait,” Rohan said.
Akash turned. “What can I do for you?”
“I, uh, actually wanted to check on Jiya.”
They began walking to the main office floor. “What about her?”
“Is she alright?” Rohan queried. “I mean, she’s on leave; I hope she’s not sick.”
Akash gave him a straight look. “Oh, I get it. You’re checking on her because suddenly you feel guilty for breaking up with her.”
Rohan winced. The younger man was a straight arrow and never hesitated in speaking his mind.
“I suppose you know everything,” Rohan said.
“Of course, I do.” Akash continued forward. “And Rohan, why would she be unwell?
So what if she and you didn’t work out? Breakups happen. It’s not a big deal. Jiya’s friend, Shauna, was in Delhi. The two of them took a short trip to Dubai to meet Shauna’s cousin, Sheena, who lives there. They’ve spent the last few days partying and generally having a great time.”
Air punched out of Rohan’s lungs. Bloody hell. Here he was, feeling distraught that Jiya may have taken their breakup seriously and had fallen sick, but instead, Jiya was… She’d been partying in Dubai! What was he to make of that?
“Jiya’s fine, Rohan. She’s a survivor,” Akash declared. “You’ve moved on, as you so categorically made it clear to her, and now so has she.”
Rohan didn’t know what to think. Of course, he’d wanted her to move on. But a small corner of his heart wondered if he was that forgettable that she’d moved on so quickly? Had her love for him been that fickle? Bloody hell. He was not making sense. This was exactly what he’d wanted…for her to move on.
“Oh, look,” Akash continued, oblivious to Rohan’s riotous thoughts. “There she is. She was to return to work today. See for yourself; she looks fine.”
Rohan turned and stopped in his tracks. Jiya was talking to one of her colleagues, not a hint of distress on her face. He scanned her from top to toe, and nothing in her demeanor showed that she’d missed him or had spent sleepless nights because of him.
Jiya threw her head back and laughed at something the woman said, looking like everything was perfect in her world, while he felt like his entire world had been destroyed because he’d removed her from it.
Jiya shook her head, and her hair fell across her shoulders.
