Page 10 of No Other Love

‘What wasn’t?’ I kept my eyes trained on his face, even though I wanted to look at his shoulders. I used to sit right next to him, safe in the circle of his arm.Chipku,he used to tease me. Sticky. I had beensostuck on him.

It was horrifying but tears unexpectedly sprang in my eyes. I blinked rapidly, clenching my fists in an effort to stop them.

‘Attacking Swamy and Anu. They were just trying to defuse the situation.’

‘The situation being me, right?’

Vikrant sighed. ‘Will you sit down, Anika?’

‘What for?’ I was scornful because it hurt that he’d come to the hospital and not sought me out first. He’d actually spent time with his friends,ourfriends, and not even bothered to tell me he was coming.

It just showed how badly our relationship was destroyed.

‘So, we can talk?’

‘What do you want to talk to me about? I signed the papers last week, didn’t I?’ I whispered.

It had broken my heart, brokenmeto see those papers. To see the death of the loving hope I had nurtured when I’d seen this man for the first time, when he’d been just a boy. He was supposed to bedifferent.He was supposed to stay.

But he hadn’t.

Vikrant dropped his eyes at my question, not answering it. Perversely, it made me bold enough to sit down opposite him.

‘Well, I’m sitting now. What did you want to talk about?’

He raised his eyes and looked at my ponytail. It was short and stubby. ‘You cut your hair.’

I shrugged. ‘It was too much to maintain.’

We lapsed into silence for a moment. I remembered how he’d loved to comb it every chance he got and tangle it in his fist right before he brought me to my toes to kiss me. The gesture wassodominatingit drove me mad. Right out of my clothes.

‘I see.’

‘I see you’re still the same.’ I indicated the ketchup stain on his cute pink shirt. ‘Still a klutz during mealtimes.’

He was one of those secure manly men who had no problems experimenting with colors. In fact, it was one of the rare times we’d bonded over shared playfulness – his love of bold and unusual colors.

He smiled and rubbed half-heartedly at the stain. It spread further.

‘Is everything okay, Vik? Why are you here?’

‘Forget about me. Tell me about you. Anu told me you’re this close to becoming chief resident. Congratulations, Ani.’

‘Thank you.’

I was confused. He sounded sincere. As if he couldn’t be happier for me. When the exact opposite was the truth.

‘You don’t look…are you okay?’ Vikrant asked, all innocence.

‘I don’t understand,’ I said slowly.

‘You don’t understand what?’

‘You hate my job,’ I bit out. ‘You hate that I chose it over moving to the backwater town with you. That I wouldn’t help take care of your parents. Now you’re congratulating me on doing well at my job? What kind of sick game is this?’

‘First of all,’ Vikrant retorted. ‘Aronda is not the backwaters. It is a small town on the border between Maharashtra and Goa. So, stop calling it that. Secondly, I never hated your job or your commitment to it. As for the rest, I don’t want to talk about it right now. You signed the papers, didn’t you? We’re officially done.’

I couldn’t believe it, but he actually sounded bitter. Bitter and angry.