Page 79 of Red Flags and Rishtas
‘But I’ve also had it so,sohard.’ She let out another sob and said, ‘My boyfriend is cheating on me and I still can’t bring myself to leave him. I’m too scared to follow my dreams and start my own fashion line. Every day when I enter the boutique, I can see the look of disappointment on my mother’s face.’
‘I’m a coward, Annie,’ she said, regaining her composure.
Her words bore a hole through me and I began to feel like I was going under.
‘Why the hell are you crying?’ She snickered through her tears.
‘Because …’ I said, controlling my sob, ‘because I can’t believe I let you keep all that bottled up inside you for so long.’
She threw her arms around me, and we held on to each other for dear life, bawling and giggling like utter maniacs.
‘You have to dump his ass,’ I told her later when we had sobered down to have a glass of wine on her balcony.
‘I know,’ she said, taking a deep breath.
‘You’re going to be just fine, V,’ I said, holding her gaze with intent. ‘Delhi boys are in for a treat.’
She laughed, playfully punching my shoulder.
‘Speaking of Delhi boys …’ I could tell she was choosing her words carefully. ‘I’m sorry about yours.’
Their engagement photos were all over Instagram, so I wasn’t surprised V knew.
‘How are you holding up?’ she asked.
‘I’m fine.’ I cleared my throat, uncomfortable that the spotlight was moving towards me.
She took the wine glass from me and placed it on the bamboo table behind us.
‘I thought we decided on no more secrets,’ she said, placing her hands on both of my shoulders to make me face her.
‘No, really. I’m okay … as okay as I can be, I guess.’ I took a deep breath and said, ‘I told him how I felt … so at least I don’t have to wonder, you know?’
‘You did what?’ she asked, dropping her hands in shock.
‘I told him I loved him,’ I said, a small smile creeping onto my face. ‘On the day of his engagement.’
‘Oh my God, Annie. You’resucha trip,’ she said, squealing. ‘So fucking filmy.’
‘Yeah,’ I mumbled. ‘Except for the part where I didn’t get the guy.’
She pouted, placing an arm around my shoulder. ‘Fuck him, then.’
We picked up our drinks, sipping quietly as we admired the clean, wide roads of Central Delhi, with the setting sun disappearing behind them.
20
Work in Progress
In all my twenty-sevenyears of existence, I’d found nothing I despised more than exercise. Not to be overly dramatic, but the insides of a gym reminded me of a torture chamber – dingy basements with fancy equipment designed to instil dread, pain and horror. And only those with nerves of steel and an unbreakable willpower lived to see the day. It’s safe to say that I was not one of those people. And yet, I’d been dragging myself to the gym in my complex every day for the past week, hoping that I’d enjoy it a little more than the previous day. So far, I’d had zero luck.
I thanked my trainer for yet another session of abuse and ill-earned punishment and picked up my duffel bag to leave. As soon as I opened the door of the clubhouse, I was ambushed by a furry creature. The dog, unleashed as he was, jumped onto my torso, leaving imprints of his paws on my neon green tank top.
‘Charlie, no.’ A woman came running around the corner.
She gasped animatedly when she saw me. ‘God, I’m so sorry,’ she said, peeling him off me and clipping his leash back on.
‘That’s quite all right,’ I said, petting the golden retriever. ‘He’s a friendly one, isn’t he?’
