Gossip, Weddings, and Manipulation

Chapter 38 - Brotherly Love

"Hello."

"Wake the fuck up!" I slurred.

"Shit Vivek do you know it's three in the morning. What happened?"

"You little mother fucker is what happened! Why did you have a fake engagement with Tara?"

"You know why I did it. You know damn well that my parents were never going to let me marry Sandra. What does my fake engagement have to do with you anyway? Why the hell do you care?"

"You dumb ass since you haven't already figured this out. I'm in love with Tara. I've been in love with her since the first time I laid eyes on her at your engagement."

"So ask her out if you're in love with her. What do I have to do with it?"

"God, you're an even bigger idiot than I thought. I did ask her out. We've been dating for almost a year. She just broke up with me because of you!"

"Shit, Vivek, it's three in the morning, I am so not following how this has anything to do with me."

"How did you even come up with this stupid idea of a fake engagement? Whose idea was it?"

"Tara came up with the idea when she saw how down I was and how my mom kept making me see all of these girls. Every time I'd go see a girl I'd come back and show Tara the bio-data. After about the tenth girl I had to go see, Tara came up with the idea that I should tell my parents I wanted to marry her. We both knew our parents would be ecstatic so we would get their blessings. We'd carry the charade through the engagement and then afterwards I'd say I caught her cheating on me. And then I'd play the sympathy card and eventually marry Sandra."

"Why did you say yes?"

"Because it solved all of my problems and I knew I wouldn't be hurting Tara. Plus, Tara didn't want to have an arranged marriage either and this would get everyone off of her back too. And she so badly wanted to leave Toronto. This would be her ticket out of Canada and she could take an offer States side which was her dream."

"You're a coward! How could you sacrifice Tara's reputation for your own love life?"

"What do you mean sacrifice Tara's reputation?"

"You know damn well, how hypocritical our community is. If you had cheated on her people would be upset and a year later everyone would forget and you'd be married. But, that's not how it works for women. Do you really think she's ever going to live down cheating on you?"

"Come on it's not that bad. Everyone will eventually forget. It's not like anyone in the States cares about what happened here in Canada."

"What do you think gossip stops at the border? Really you think if I ask for Tara's hand no one is going to say, oh wasn't she the girl who was engaged to Vivek's cousin Armaan? What a field day it's going to be at all of the kitty parties all over the North American Eastern board. Your mom will be the first one to get the story started. It will be her revenge on Tara breaking her poor son's heart. "

"You're really in love with her. What do you want me to do Vivek?"

"I want you to man up and tell the truth so that I can marry Tara without all of the bullshit."

"Ask me anything else and I'll do it, but I can't do that. My mom will never forgive Sandra. And as it is my mom is civil to Sandra only because of the broken engagement. I can't do that to Sandra."

"You're one of the shittiest best friends I know. You're damn lucky to have a friend like Tara who would sacrifice her reputation for your happiness. If you had been as good of a friend you would have turned her down because you would have been concerned about what this meant to her reputation and the double standard world we live in. Tara has way more balls than you ever will!" I shouted and slammed down the phone.

My own damn cousin was such a coward. Hell I had been just as bad with my judgmental attitude. The funny thing is that both Armaan and I had been born in the West and yet we'd behaved as badly as our parents. Like a bunch of judgmental, hypocritical, cowardly guys.

I needed to sleep off the alcohol and then work on Plan B. This wasn't over yet.