TARGET: 115 VOTES🌟
A/N: Many readers didn't get the notification for the previous update(maybe that's why the engagement on the previous part was low), do remove and re-add the book to your reading list. And read the last chapter if you haven't, cuz this one wouldn't make any sense without that one.
( Do follow me, if you don't want to miss an update because I announce every chapter on my conversations board)
"Tara was pregnant with our baby."
Record. Skip. Rewind.
Say what now?
I gaped at him at the incredulous confession. I mean, how to react to that? I waited for him to elaborate because none of this was making sense right now.
His eyes slowly blinked when he glanced at me, they were glassy with unshed tears, as he uttered his next words, "She miscarried in the second trimester. And she blames me for the miscarriage. Tomorrow would be the date, ten years ago when we lost the baby," His voice cracked when he explained.
I reached for his hand on his thigh.
"And maybe she is right. Maybe I was the one responsible for the fate of that unborn baby. I told her to abort when I first came to know it. I was harsh with my words. It took me weeks to accept."
Next, when he looked at me, a lone tear slid down his cheek.
"What about your parents? Did they support both of you?" They both were so young, surely they must have had some support from the elders.
He shook his head before breaking the eye contact again. "We didn't tell them. I had just graduated college and was going for my MBA and Tara was just a year into the college. Tara's family...they are... Her Dad, he's the Chief Minister. His election campaign was at its peak. His career would have been torn into pieces by the media if they had known about his unwed pregnant daughter."
"Tara is Loknath Sharma's daughter?" I asked, shocked at the revelation. That was the most influential family in state politics with generations of legacy. Her father had held his position as the C.M. for the last fifteen years.
He nodded his head ruefully. "She was at the event tonight because she handles the charities of her father. Our dads were friends. I proposed marriage to her, out of obligation, when I got to know about the baby, but she refused."
"But you must have been in a relationship, right?" I stressed.
"That was the main problem. We were not in a relationship," He said, glancing out of the window, as if embarrassed.
My eyebrows furrowed as I said, "Then how? I mean, was it some no-strings-attached kind of thing?"
"There was no thing. Not ever. It was just a one night stand from which I can't remember even a second. And same goes for Tara. She doesn't remember what happened. How it happened. Nothing. Just that it was my graduation party and we were drunk out of our minds to remember anything," He sighed sadly, "And the results of that were in front of us a month after. Tara refused marriage because we both knew that there were no feelings we had towards each other. She just wanted to let the baby in this world and let him or her grow in a loving environment in shared custody. But-" He stopped, taking a deep breath as I squeezed his hand to provide him some solace, "But I fucked up when I told her I didn't want to keep the baby. I should have taken the responsibility for my actions."
I couldn't even imagine the circumstances Tara had to go through. Barely into college, Expecting, with no support and alone, and then the baby daddy tells her that he wants nothing to do with the baby.
"But then you came to terms with the situation. You accepted and you even proposed a marriage. You both were in it together. Then what's with Tara's contempt? Miscarriages are natural. Why does she blame you?" I questioned.
"Even when I said I would support her throughout, I couldn't stand on my promise. I fucked up again. This time, when she miscarried," He confessed, barely whispering.
The silence in the car was accentuated by the glowing street lamp on the side of the road, which interrupted the tranquil darkness.
He continued, with a sigh, "I had already gotten my admission letter from IIMA, but she wanted me to reject the offer and be by her side. I refused to put my career on hold, for which I had worked so hard. So I left her. I was on campus when she called me to tell me the dreaded news. The semester exams were on my head, and even though I tried to console her, she wanted me to drop my exams and come home."
He was quiet after that, so I filled the gap of what he was too ashamed to say. "And you refused to drop a semester."
He nodded, staring ahead, with his fingers gripping the steering wheel. "I told her that I wouldn't be back home before my exams got over."
Anger rose through my veins, at how selfish that sounded.
"Tara, she is a Chartered Accountant, right?" I asked.
"She is."
An unbelieving scoff left past my lips before I could control it, "And let me guess, she was the one who had to put her career on hold but you didn't."
He didn't need to say the words to tell me that I was right. The irony of the situation wrapped with the tinge of gender bias made me realize for the umpteenth time in my life how a woman is always the one who suffers in conditions like these.
"I failed that semester nonetheless. Couldn't handle the stress. I got the result of my doings."
"God, Aryan, I hate to say this and make you more guilty but it was indeed a dick move. I mean..." I paused, unable to put my anguish into words, "You didn't for even a second think how a barely twenty-year-old girl with no family support whatsoever would handle such a complex situation alone. It's no surprise that she hates you for what you did."
His shoulders slumped as he breathed in, "I was confused too. It's not like I wasn't suffering. And I regret what I did to her every second. I wish I had done things differently. I wish I could apologize to her for my stupidity but..." He exhaled, shaking his head. "She doesn't ever talk to me. Only some sidetracked jabs of what I did wrong and ignorance."
Men. Sigh.
So clueless, I tell you.
I explained as calmly as I could have, "You could have tried to talk to her after you were back home. Both of you would have gotten some closure about the situation. But now that the damage is so deep with years of suffering and grief, it would be more difficult to cope."
"I would have talked to her if I could have contacted her. She left the country to live with her Aunt in the States, blocked my number and only came back after five whole years," He muttered.
"And nobody else knows about this blunderous mess?"
"Rohit knows. He saw some of our texts on Tara's phone back then."
I took a sharp breath slowly, before saying, "Okay. And how did he react?"
"He wanted to murder me at first for doing something so horrible to his best friend. But we have always been close. He came around after some time. But I don't think that he would ever forgive me for what happened."
I asked, raising my eyebrows, "You do realize that, Tara and you- you both need to talk about it at some point in your life, right? Talking that doesn't involve yelling and angry tears."
"I don't know, Ria..." He trailed, settling the back of his head on the headrest of the seat.
"You need to apologize to her, Aryan. Sometimes time doesn't heal the wounds. Only heartfelt words do," I whispered softly.
"What makes you think that she is ready to have that talk with me? After all, she has avoided the conversation all these years."
"Maybe she is waiting for you to make the first effort. While you are expecting the same from her. And in the end, you both are left feeling bitter about each other..."
"I hate it when you start making sense in that professor-like voice of yours." He gave me a small crooked side smile, saying, "When did you become an intellectual guru, huh?"
I bit my lip to stop the smile that was threatening to appear on my face. "When you decided to dump all your past trauma on my head like I am supposed to be your bought and paid for therapist."
He looked at me with earnest eyes before asking, appearing doubtful, "You really think that she would be willing to talk to me?"
I hummed. "Both of you were friends at some point in life. And Tara...she is a nice girl. A loyal friend. She cares about the people around her. She will forgive you eventually."
I patted his hand in a comforting gesture before adding, "Now, move. Two minutes more on this side of the road and people will start assuming all the unspeakable unholy things that happen at night in the cars on the hidden corners of highways."
And there, the mischievous playful spark in those captivating eyes of my roommate was back, replacing those sad guilty tears that had filled them earlier.
He probed, leaning close to me, "Oh yeah? Please do elaborate on what you mean by unspeakable unholy things, Professor Ria."
I titled my chin up, saying in a lower tone, whispering slowly, "Like gory murders and kidnappings. Yup, that's what I meant."
He shook his head with a laugh, "God, Ria. You are something else."
And then as he drove towards our home, he mumbled quietly, glancing at me, "Thank you for listening to me and for being my un-bought and un-paid therapist."
I replied in my professor voice, teasingly, "Don't make it a habit though."
***
A/N: That was a short one, sigh...but I hope it clears some things up!
Did you all see a twist like this approaching?
Hope you enjoyed this chapter! The next-to-next few chapters are my fav;) can't wait to share them with you all!!!
TARGET: 115 VOTES🌟