Fuck!

Fuck!

Fuck!

There she is,

Rooh Chaudhary, the reason for my daydreaming.

We were friends, but she stopped talking and deactivated her account. Now, we're meeting face-to-face for the first time. She didn't look at me, nor did she say anything. Neither did I try to say anything. We didn't even exchange a word. I hate being an introvert.

After spending the whole day with friends, I went back home. "Abhimaan!" my mom shouted as I entered. "Yes?" I said. "Come here," she said, sitting on the couch and patting the seat beside her.

I walked over and sat beside her. "See, you're financially set, but what about your family?" Mom asked. "Family? I have you and Dad. What else do I need?" I said, mystified. "Your wife? Who will take care of us?" she listed this, I closed my eyes and put my hand on my forehead before saying anything. "Mom, I told you, I don't want to marry," I said to her.

"Give me one reason why you don't want to marry. I want someone who will take care of me," she said. "I don't know, but I don't want to marry anyone. And am I not enough for you that you want a daughter-in-law?" I breathed out.

"You’re going to marry, and that’s it," she declared. "Mom, I’ll not," I said and walked away. "I’m telling you, not asking." I didn’t answer and went to my room, closing the door.

I was sitting in my room, working on my laptop, when someone knocked on the door. "Come in," I said. The door opened swiftly, and I averted my gaze from the laptop. I saw a worker standing with his head down. "Hm?" I hummed and closed the laptop. "Sir, Shalini ma'am is calling you," he said. "Okay, coming," I said, and he left the room, closing the door behind him.

I wear my slippers and walk downstairs, seeing Mom sitting on the couch, talking to her friend. I walk toward them and touch Aunty's feet; she smiles at me.

I sit beside Mom and whisper, "You called me?" Mom looks at me and says, "Yes." I nod. "Meet Veena, my friend, and her daughter, Anushka," Mom says with a smile. I avert my gaze from Mom to them and nod.

"Anushka is a fashion designer—" Mom pauses, looks at me, and then at Anushka. "And I want you to marry her," Mom says with a slight smile. I snap my head toward her. "Mom?" I rub my head frustratingly. "Mom, I told you earlier, I don't want to marry anyone," I say as I stand up.

"Why?" Dad said as he entered the hall. "Dad—" Before I could say anything, Dad cut me off. "You're getting married in three weeks," Dad declared. I sighed frustratingly and walked away without listening to Mom. I closed the door and, without thinking, punched the wall.

After a few days~

Rooh's POV~

I was having breakfast with my family in silence when Vanshika, my sister, said, "So, what about marriage?" I closed my eyes, opened them after a few seconds, and put my spoon on the plate. "I don't want to marry," I said. "Why? If you like someone, let us know. We don't mind," Papa said softly. "No, Dad, I don't like anyone," I replied. He nodded and didn't say anything further.

After breakfast, everyone went back to their rooms. I started working on my laptop again when my phone began ringing.

I picked up the call, seeing Agastya's caller ID. "Hey?" I said, looking at my laptop. "Hi, what were you doing?" Agastya said from the other end. "Nothing special, you?" I replied, running my fingers over the keyboard. "Same here. Do you know Abhimaan bro is getting married?" Agastya said, making my heartbeat increase.

I stopped typing and switched the phone to my other ear. "What?" I closed my laptop. "Yeah, Hriday told me an hour ago, and then I called Abhimaan brother to confirm if it was real or not. He said yes, he's getting married in two weeks, so I called you," Agastya said.

"O-oh!" I whispered. "Yeah, be ready. He's going to invite everyone, and we'll enjoy it too much," he said happily. "Yeah, we'll," I said, running my fingers through my hair. "Agastya, we'll talk tomorrow if you don't mind," I said. "Yeah, no problem. Bye, take care," he said before hanging up.

Thoughts of him being with someone else ran through my mind—him loving someone else,

spending his days with someone else,

telling someone else that he cares about her.

A tear rolled down my cheek, and I quickly wiped it away. "Don't cry, don't cry. He was never yours. Neither does he want you, nor will he ever," I said to myself, breathing heavily as I stepped down from the bed.

More tears roll down, which I wasn't able to wipe off. More thoughts run in my mind, which can't be erased. "HE FUCKING DOESN'T WANT YOU, YOU IDIOT, STOP CRYING. HE WAS NEVER YOURS, NEITHER DOES HE WANT YOU NOR WILL HE EVER." I screamed, trying to make my heart understand, but dil kahan sunta hai.

As I screamed, I started crying loudly and sat on the floor. "He never wants you, Rooh, please understand." My voice cracked. I put my hand on my heart and started crying loudly.

"Kya hogaya hai? Kyu ro rahi ho uske peeche jo tumhari kadar nahi karta? Aur tum hi kehti thi na ki you'll never cry for him. Ab kya hua? Rooh toh apne vaadon ki pakki hai na?" I said and started wiping my tears, which weren't ready to stop.

I stopped rubbing my eyes and leaned back against the bed corner, closing my eyes. But his face, his smile, his eyes came in front of my eyes, making me open them again. "Rulate bhi tum hi ho, aur jab aankhein band karun, tum hi samne kyun aate ho?" I chuckled. I stood up as my phone rang, and I saw Aarohi calling me. I picked up after clearing my throat. "Hey, Rooh?" she said. "Hii, Aarohi," I said, trying to control my tears. "Um... did Agastya tell you about Abhimaan's wedding?" she said hesitantly.

"Oh, yeah! He called me half an hour ago and told me," I said normally. "Oh... are you okay? I mean—" she paused and waited for my reply. "I'm fine, why?" I said, trying to act normal. "Stop acting, yaar," she said.

"Acting? For what?" I said before gulping down a glass of water. "I know you're not happy, or you must be crying," she said, whispering the last word. I chuckled softly. "I told you, one day I'll never cry for someone, and you know about Rooh Chaudhary—she doesn't break promises." Fake! Liar! Didn't you cry? My mind taunted me.

"Oh," she said, still unsure. "Well, I saw Abhimaan's future wife's pic; they look good together," Aarohi said. "Nice... I'll congratulate them on their marriage," I said, and she hummed. "I'll call you tomorrow; I have work to do," I said and cut the call.

Abhimaan's future wife.

His future wife.

His better half.

They look good together.

I looked at the photo frame of only Abhimaan, which was beside me on the nightstand. I slowly grabbed it; my mind wanted to throw it, but my heart protested. "I used to think, will I ever love someone too much? But see, I fell for you. I fell for your smile, for your eyes. I fell in love with you. Even though my mind wants to hate you, at the same time, I love you to the core. Nafrat bhi nahi kar paa rahi hu ab tumse."

I chuckled sadly and put his photo frame on my chest, near my heart, and started crying silently again. "Na chah kar bhi tumhe kisi aur ke saath dekhna padega!" I said and closed my eyes, falling into a deep slumber.