Forget-Me-Not: Taste of Freedom

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

January 1st, 2001

     There is a strange peace in war, a strange hope in misery, and a strange happiness in inflicting pain. Ananya watched Vidhi's expression contort. She saw every little emotion displayed in her vulnerable eyes... saw the way her knees buckled, her hands loosened. Saw the way the wallet dropped, the way her eyes filled. Vidhi was trying to fight it, but this time, there was no dam to hold back the tsunami of her emotions. She was hurt where she was the easiest to break—Ananya had placed a carefully calculated blow. What she hadn't expected, though, was her own rush of feelings. Feelings of triumph, of pride, of bitter, raging jealousy and the satisfaction that often came after taking revenge. It was hateful, she knew. It was shameful... she was a monster for doing this, but it pleased her.

      "What?" the first reaction was not from Vidhi, but from Dia. "What did you just say?"

      "I slept with Abhay," Ananya whispered. "It was unknowingly done. We were both drunk, and we had both lost so much... it just happened."

      Geet stepped back, looking horrified. "Oh god."

      "What the hell were you thinking?!" Dia demanded, "How could you even think about it when you knew that Vidhi..."

      "I wasn't thinking, Dia!" Ananya returned in a trembling voice. "I was drunk, I told you. Neither of us was thinking. If we had... god. I am ashamed of what I did, but..."

      "But you knew Vidhi and Abhay love each other. You knew it! You had no feelings for Abhay whatsoever, and you made it clear from the very beginning. Then how could you possibly want to..."

      "I love him," she whispered, silencing Dia, and everyone else. A tear fell down her cheek. "I never said it, because I knew he didn't feel the same way for me, and because I knew that Abhay and Vidhi loved each other."

        For long, tense moments, her admission sank into the silence that cloaked them. Vidhi felt like the ground had just tilted, tipping her sideways, leaving nothing to grab onto. She had never felt this scared, never felt this alone in her whole life. Ananya had been in love with Abhay all this time, but none of them had realized... she'd never said a single word about it. She'd bottled everything in, and then like a cork leaving a wine bottle, she'd let it out in the worst way possible.

       "How could you?" Vidhi spoke finally, her voice barely a whisper. She was trembling. "I trusted you! You are my best friend! How could you lie to me all this time, when you had feelings for him? Why did you hide such a thing from me?"

       "I'm so sorry, Vidhi..."

      "Don't," Vidhi stepped back, her eyes shining with tears. "Just don't. I can't listen to another thing."

       "I didn't want to hurt you," Ananya pleaded.

      "But you did. You did hurt me, and I have nothing else to say to you."

       "Vidhi, please listen to me..."

       "I'm leaving. I don't want to talk about this."

        "It was all me!" Ananya said, in a last effort to stop her. "I initiated the kiss! It wasn't Abhay's fault. Don't blame him for what happened, please."

      But Vidhi didn't wait for her to finish the sentence. She'd already left.

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