Birds of a Feather

Chapter 64: Forgiveness

"Oh, cut the crap Myra, I don't have the energy or interest to play along! Since when did you start caring about my aspirations?"

"Just because I didn't voice it doesn't mean I didn't care, Arnav. I valued your presence in my life, believe it or not. Why do you think I stayed in the relationship for six years if I didn't lo-"

"Don't," he cut in sharply. "Don't you dare say you loved me."

Myra's lip trembled, as though she was fighting back something.

Arnav continued. "You stayed with me for six years because it was convenient."

"I stayed because I wanted to."

He pretended not to hear that. "Just like how you killed my child because it was convenient."

"You have no right to comment–"

"And you had no right to get an abortion without even telling me!"

"So, what was I supposed to do?!" Myra burst out. "We broke up for crying out loud! I don't know how you have forgotten, but I didn't. You stared in my face and screamed that we were over. W-what could I have done?"

Arnav wasn't moved. "For starters, you could've picked up my phone calls."

She glared at him. "And when did you exactly call me Arnav? After you had married her, when it was already too late."

He couldn't believe his ears. "Are you kidding me? I called you the day before I got married Myra and left you a very long voicemail telling you we could still get married if you wanted to – not my proudest hour, I agree, but I did call you many hours before I committed to that amazing woman waiting for me outside right now."

Myra opened her mouth to retort.

"And more importantly," he continued, cutting her off. "The fact that you were pregnant is not something to wait to share until I called you. The minute you find out, the second the doctor confirms it, you pick up the damn phone and tell me without caring if we were on talking terms or not!"

"And what would you have done?" Myra snapped, equally angry. "Marry me for the sake of the child?"

"I would have married you because I loved you–"

"Do you really? Love me still?"

Arnav grimaced. "So that's why you're here."

Myra closed her eyes, her expression softening. "I'm here because... because... I miss you."

Arnav scoffed. "Sure you do."

"Why is that so hard to believe? Weren't we good friends before all the fights happened? Didn't we share everything about each other?"

He didn't want to acknowledge that.

"I left you," Myra continued. "Because in my eyes you weren't good enough for me... and now, my fiancé doesn't think I am not good enough for him."

That was not what Arnav was expecting her to say.

"I mean, sure we are together... we go to dinner once a week, we plan a vacation once every six months, but it's... it's nothing like how it was between us. I felt a hundred times more loved with you in Goa, than I ever do with Neil in Paris... I didn't understand at first, I thought we were just getting used to each other, but eventually I couldn't deny it.

Neil doesn't prioritize me, like how you do... if I'm working late one day, you would bring me dinner, but Neil doesn't even seem to remember. If I forget to message him one night, he won't call my friends, worried about where I am... it's like, I'm just another person for him, but for you, I was the only person."