The Last Letter

A Month

The next two days, I was completely busy attending my relatives who came for my engagement. I got no phone call or text from Ryan about the updates on calling off my engagement. He would have known I didn't do anything. No follow back from him made me believe that he might have let go of his ridiculous demand. Maybe my words about him being a criminal hurt him somehow. For the monster he became, I didn't want to have high expectations.

The day was going fine. I thought many of my close relatives would taunt me or ask questions for leaving my own engagement for over an hour but thanks to my parents, who told everyone about how I wasn't well and then added how Taral took care of me following the collapse.

" Koi good news toh nahi hai? Aakhir yeh love marriage hai aur aaj kal ke bache kuch sochte nahi hai. (Are you sure there isn't any good news? Kids these days don't really care about waiting)" My bhua ( maternal aunt) joked about. I think she voiced other people's opinions.

Taral was sitting with me on the sofa. And he coughed, listening to my bhua's nonsense.

I wanted to give her a befitting reply, but my mom was faster.

" Didi, aap kyu tension le rahe ho, Bacha raha bhi toh aap per nahi jaayega, agar yeh pregnant rahi bhi toh bacha samjhdaar hi rahega, kyuki Aradhya kaha aap per gayi hai"
( Don't worry, even if she is pregnant, the kid would be smart as the bad genes  that you have, didn't get passed on to Aradhya.) and let out a laugh.

God, I was so proud of my mom.

My Bhua was offended, but she knew that her anget would backfire.

My Bhua's taunt gave me an amazing idea.

What if I got pregnant? I could try with Taral. Ryan wouldn't make me marry him if I was going to be with a child. We both were horny most of the time we were around each other anyway. ( I looked at Taral with my eyebrows arched and smirked)

He blushed. He probably thought I was reacting to my bhua's comment shamelessly in front of my family.

But what if Ryan declared that the child was his and threatened me to keep quiet.

I nodded my head, confused.

I could get a paternity test done before itself. I could record everything he said after that as evidence to police. Do I really need to be pregnant, though? If I faked a pregnancy, he would know. I didn't even know who to trust.

But were we that fertile that we could conceive in 2 days? I could tell my parents. But how would they react.

I imagined the utter shock my parents would have knowing I had a Christian boyfriend who wasn't even a millionaire and had a single mom. They would end up believing that Taral was too good for me. Ryan was a billionaire in the present, so what if that counted.

Taral also had a girlfriend, and I could cry and say that I was naive and he was after me. It wouldn't be that hard to believe considering the way he was behaving at that moment.

After everyone left except us, I had 1000 another pile of thoughts.

" Aradhya, what are you thinking?" my mom asked with irritation. This girl overthinks so much. Your Bhua was joking." She added.

" How insensitive of her to say such things as if our daughter would cross boundaries. She and Taral are friends. She knows her limits." Mom added, making me let out a dry chuckle.

I knew in that moment that even after being a lawyer for more than 3 years, dealing with threats all the time, I was still afraid of my parents.
Their view of me as a sanskari girl who knew her "limits" and would never sleep around.
Taral and the strangers from clubs were the only guy I didn't sleep with from the list of guys I dated. Also, the list includes 2 women. I slept with 5 people before I may or may not sleep with my fiance.

" Ma, tension mat lo ( Don't worry, mom)." I said, smiling like I was the some 'noble virgin' in the world, dedicated to celibacy until marriage.

Taral gave me a smirk. After my mom left. I pinched him on his wrist.
" What were you smiling so much about?" I asked with my fake, angry face.

" Only if your mom knows." He laughed
" Don't act like you are a big virgin of the west or something. Your sexual endeavors are all known to me." I said as I rolled my eyes at him.

" Once you have me, you will always be hungry for more. Trust me, forever wouldn't be enough." He winked

" I am excited. Don't worry, I can always teach you new things. I have more diverse experience than you." I snorted

We both laughed.

Then I held his hand.
He caressed my wrist. The bruises were gone, but I could see. He hadn't forgotten about those.

" It would be worth it because it's you." He said.

" It would be for me too." I added despite knowing that we might never get to that part.

My two days of bliss ended as I saw Ryan’s number flashing on screen. He made me save his number, so I saved it as "Hateful Jerk Ritesh."""I prefer calling him Ritesh now. He wasn't the person I loved, and maybe Ritesh was Ryan’s evil twin.

I stepped away from the main hall.
" Hello," I said dryly
" Hello, my future wife." He said it like a song with enthusiasm.
I cringed at the word wife.
" What?" I asked with irritation.
" Do you hate Taral? Apart from being a tad boring, he seems like a good guy."
" What do you mean?" I asked
" I asked you to break your engagement and marry me."
" I asked you for some time, Ry..itesh. I need this time."
" Dry humping him won't make that happen. Your hands are always on him. This is not how you break up. I gave you time."
" You pervert. Watch porn if you are that interested in spying on people's rooms. Unlike someone, I prefer giving a person time to accept a breakup. Not everybody disappears. At least give me a month or more, " I said.

"You hate him. You want to break up and stay in his life until he has to forgive you so you can feel good about yourself. I think you want me to kill him. I won't hesitate." He said in a serious tone.

" Ritesh, stop this shit. It's not a joke."
I said in anger

" It is a joke for you. I am giving you 10 days. If you don't break up with him, I will kill him." He replied with rage and hung up the call.

I sunk down the floor. He was right. If I really cared about Taral, I needed to break up with him as soon as possible. I decided to do it the next day.

I went to sleep in my room without seeing Taral off. I told my mom that I had puked a lot and I didn't want to see Taral as I felt dirty. I locked my door.

After crying for hours, I stopped. I lost Taral, but I won't lose my freedom to Ritesh. I decided that I won't let him pull my strings. He will pay for my and Taral's broken hearts.

I hope you liked this chapter. Please let me know in the comments 😊