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“You and I don’t belong together. We are different. I finally see it.”
“Don’t say that.” Horror filled his soul. He shook his head. “No, I was wrong, Jiya. You and I…”
She put a hand on his mouth. “This is about Aditya, isn’t it? You saw me with him and suddenly realized that you want me back because you can’t bear the thought of me with him.”
He kissed her fingers before shifting them from his mouth. “I doubt I’ll be able to survive seeing you with any man. You are mine, Jiya. You belong with me.”
Her face saddened. “What we had at one time was great. But we lived in a bubble. Even those closest to us didn’t know we were together. And that was wrong. So wrong. Our relationship was doomed even before you ended it because we lied to the people we cared about. Nothing that begins with a lie can end well. We didn’t allow the world to come inside our bubble. But bubbles ultimately burst. The world did come in between us. Your past popped in out of the blue, and it destroyed us.Youlet it.”
“I’m sorry, Jiya, I’m so sorry… It’s hard for me to talk about the past. No one knows…”
She shook her head, stopping him. “You didn’t give me your all, and I need someone who is one hundred percent with me, all the way, all the time. And that’s why I truly believe that you would have hurt me at some point or the other. You’re too stuck in your past to move ahead.”
“My past…is what defines me. But I’m willing to try to change for you.”
“That’s just it. You don’t have to change forme. You have to change foryou.” Her expression fell. “Your past doesn’t define you. You lived with your birth parents for seventeen years. I believe you were traumatized by them and their actions. What you need to realize is that for the latter seventeen years of your life, you lived with Varun and Tara. They are your parents, too, and they are wonderful. You are this amazing man because of them. You, however, don’t fully believe that. And that’s why I’m convinced that you’ll never be able to give me what I want.”
“No, Jiya… Tell me what you want, and I’ll get it for you. Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it. I’ll do anything to get you back. Just say the words.”
She shook her head. “If you still don’t know what it is that I want from you, what I’ve always wanted from you, then it’s too late already.”
A horn sounded in the distance. She backed a few steps. “Akash is here. I have to go. I called him as soon as I woke up to come fetch me. And one more thing. I’ve quit FF.”
He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “What?”
“Yes. I already handed in my resignation to Mr. Modi yesterday. He was kind enough to sign off on it immediately. I’ve packed, and I’m leaving for Mumbai tonight.”
“Don’t do that, Jiya,” he pleaded. “I thought you loved your job.”
“I do. But I love myself more. I’ve figured out what I want in life. It’s high time you figure out what it is thatyoutruly want. That’s the only way you can be happy, and you deserve to be happy, Rohan. You’re the only one who needs to believe that.”
He ran a shaking hand through his hair. She was removing him from her life altogether. In the past, he’d thrived on the fact that she was around him at their workplace. That he just had to take an elevator down, and he could see her if he wished. He’d taken too much for granted, and now he was losing it all. He was losing her.
She turned and walked away. Defeat filtered inside him. Sadness drenched his soul. Today was the second time he’d lost her. He hadn’t given her a chance the first time around, and now she wasn’t willing to give him one. He followed her outside the stables and into the sunlight. He stood by the side for a long time, even after Jiya got into Akash’s car and drove away. His heart splintered. He’d lost the most precious thing that had ever happened to him. If only he’d valued her more when she’d been with him. If only he’d never let her go in the first place. If only… His eyes burned. He was paying the price of his decisions, of choosing his insecurities over her, and it was indeed…regret.
27
“You need to figure out what it is that you truly want.”Jiya’s words continued to haunt him for days. What he wanted was…her. But she didn’t want him.
The days were flying, and his misery was only growing. He’d tried texting and calling Jiya, but she wasn’t responding to him anymore. After the way he’d behaved with her, he completely deserved the pain, the heartache, and the agony he was suffering now. He wanted Jiya back, but he didn’t know how to win her back when she’d cut him off from her life.
He sighed, entering the lobby of Sehgal Plaza Hotel again, the hotel that was like a stark reminder of his failure with Jiya. His brother and his family had flown in from Mumbai just this afternoon. They all, including his parents, were to meet for dinner. And tonight, after dinner, Rohan planned to tell Rithwik everything about Jiya and him. It was time to start correcting all the wrongs he had done. And he needed Rithwik’s help. He wanted Jiya back, and he’d do anything to win her over.
Rohan entered the restaurant, searching for his family. He froze when he saw who they were with.
His mom and dad were conversing with…with…Nandini and Pavan Grewal. Rithwik and Aisha were nowhere to be seen. He studied them from afar, his entire body tightening. It felt like all his senses were shutting down one by one. He hated feeling like that. He hated feeling helpless like this each time he came across that couple.
Unable to move, he watched Nandini chatting with his dad while his mom was talking to the woman’s husband. Nandini laughed at something his father said, and Rohan felt his blood curdle. Images from the past flashed inside his head at lightning speed. There had been countless times in the past when this couple had been engrossed in similar conversations with his birth parents, laughing with them, touching them like Nandini was touching his dad’s arm now.
Their voices carried to him.
“We’re meeting you after so many years,” Nandini smiled at Varun. It made Rohan feel sick in his stomach. “We used to be so close to Vaibhav and Diksha, and we’d like to connect with you in the same way.”
“Those were good times…” Pavan added. “But we’re all not that old. We can still have a good time together. We’re finally back in Delhi after all these years, and we’d love to see more of you both. We can have so much fun together.”
Nandini laughed. She patted his dad’s arm again and pouted at him. Fuck. The woman was in her fifties and she was flirting with his father. What was worse was that his mother was allowing it. Why? Could she not see what was happening here?
These two people had ruined his birth parents’ lives. They’d ruined his childhood. They were the reason his parents had been fighting when they’d met with that accident that took their lives. And now, they had the audacity to try and befriend his adopted parents.
