Page 98 of Playing By her Rules

“It is. Vaibhav started paying them, and fortunately for them, their payments were never stopped because Varun, my adopted dad, thought it was a charity favored by his late brother. For years, I never bothered to stop the payments either until I found a half-faded note between the pages of an old book in the study. The note read ‘It isn’t enough, we need more mon...”After that, I dreamt of them, of the moments before the accident. I remembered Diksha’s last words,‘We’re paying the price of what you did...’. That’s when I started digging into Vaibhav’s and Fortuna’s accounts and found some charities that he was supporting.”

“That’s why you told me to look at each of the charities and find out if they were authentic. That’s why you stopped all the payments.”

“It worked. The Grewals returned to India as soon as the payments stopped. When you and I bumped into them that night, all the horrors of my past came rushing to the surface, and I clammed up. Those people were the reason I didn’t believe in happily ever after. Vaibhav had cheated on Diksha because of them. Their closest friends had destroyed my birth parents’ life. But Vaibhav and Diksha were equally responsible for allowing them to do so. And I was born to them. They didn’t know how to love and be loved. They didn’t know how to be parents or even good partners to one another. How could I be different when the first half of my life was defined by them and their actions? How could I give you a happily ever after when I thought I was incapable of loving anyone? I thought you deserved so much better than me. That’s why I pushed you away.”

Tears shone in her eyes. “Oh, Rohan! I told you before also that you are not defined by your past.”

He nodded. “Some nights ago, Rithwik and Aisha had flown down to Delhi, and we were to meet for a family dinner. I reached there and saw Nandini and Pavan trying to befriend them. I saw Pavan trying to touch Rithwik’s son. That pushed me to break the shackles of my past and not let it destroy my present any more. I couldn’t allow that man to touch Arnav. I confronted that couple head-on.” He told her everything that had happened that night. “Suffice it to say, they will never bother anyone in my family again. But I did all that becauseyoumade me realize that I am capable of love and already loved my parents and Rithwik. That I was capable of loving. And now, I finally get it. Vaibhav and Diksha may have birthed me, but Varun and Tara are my parents, and I finally accept that with my entire heart and soul. They are all things love, and my life has been shaped by them also. I’d always labeled my feelings for them and Rithwik as care and concern. Only now, I realize that along with that was also love. I love them all deeply. And I… I love you, Jiya.”

She gasped. “Oh, Rohan…”

“I couldn’t say it earlier, Jiya. And I am so Goddamn sorry for that. Seeing that couple again made me think I was broken. And that’s why I let you go. But I was wrong.” He stared at her. “Losing you made me realize how empty and alone I was. That I had found happiness, and I’d let it slip away without a fight. And I will fight for you, Jiya. I pushed you away because I thought I’d eventually hurt you. Losing you finally made me realize that I’m incapable of hurting you. So, please, Jiya, give me another chance.”

Jiya stared at him silently, giving him no clue as to what she was thinking or feeling. And his heart raced with uncertainty.

“You’ve accomplished so much,” she said. “You charted your own path in life. You could have taken any number of wrong turns and done so many wrong things, but you chose not to. You need to take credit for that.Youare all heart. It reflects in every single thing you do in life. I…”

She swallowed and moved closer to him. She palmed his cheek, and his heart began to thump. Hope blossomed.

There was a knock on the door and Jiya pulled away from him.

“Hey, Jiya…” Aditya poked his head inside the office.

Jiya’s lips tipped. Rohan hated to see her smile for another man. Her smiles belonged to him. She belonged to him. He wanted to punch Aditya in the face for interrupting them. But he held his emotions in check.

Aditya entered the office and kissed Jiya’s cheek. She let him. She fucking let him. Rohan’s heart screamed in agony.

“Shauna told me I’d find you here,” Aditya said cheerfully. “I need to talk to you about something very important.”

“Can’t you see she’s busy?” Rohan snapped, his temper fraying.

Either Aditya couldn’t see how close to violence Rohan was, or he didn’t care.

“This can’t wait, Jiya,” Aditya insisted.

Jiya looked between Aditya and him. She finally faced Rohan. “We’ll talk in a bit.”

And then, without a second glance, she left, dashing all his hopes. Pain sliced through him. It hurt. Her leaving him…hurt. She could have chosen to stay and finish the conversation with him, but she had opted to leave with another man. He didn’t know what to make of it and her. Did she even love him? Did his revelations mean nothing to her? Where did they go from here now? He had no answers to anything. Only a growing list of questions…which only Jiya could answer. He’d handed his heart to her, and he didn’t know whether she’d accepted it or rejected it.

His soul weary, he returned outside to the party.

33

Rohan watched Jiya interact with Aditya. He loved her so much. But he couldn’t push her. He wouldn’t. After his revelations, he needed to give her time to process everything. He only hoped she understood that he was trying to heal and forgive him.

A familiar arm wrapped around his shoulder, and Rithwik came to stand next to him. Akash joined them. The two men stood on either side of him as they watched Jiya and Aditya stand by the railing. Aditya shifted a strand of hair from her face, and Rohan had to literally stop himself from reaching them and physically shoving him away from Jiya. He watched as they climbed down the stairs that led to the beach and disappeared from his sight.

Mine! She’s mine; his heart kept screaming. And with every second that Jiya was out of his sight, that chant in his heart grew louder and angrier.

“Jiya looks happy, no?” Rithwik asked. “I’m glad you’re taking all this very well. It’s quite mature of you.”

Rohan’s forehead creased. “What are you talking about?”

“He’s talking about Jiya and Aditya,” Akash said.

Even hearing Jiya’s name with another man in the same sentence felt like acid was being poured down his skin.

“What about them?” he rasped.

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