Forbidden Lessons

Prologue

"Aradhya, Can we talk for a second?" Aradhya heard the voice of her Criminal justice and theories professor, Mr. Anand Pandey and turned around to look at him while maintaining an extremely neutral face.

"Yes, sir? Do you need something? " she asked with a curt voice laced with fake professionalism.

"Aradhya, stop icing me off. I'm trying to talk to you." Aashrit quipped with growing frustration.

"And I'm replying to you, sir." She added the last bit with a hint of sarcasm.

"Listen, there's nothing going on between Me and Miss Nair." He explained trying to make an eye contact with her.

"And why should your personal affairs interest me?" She asked with hurt clear in her voice.

"Because you mean the world to me. I search for you in corridors to see you animatedly taking to someone else who's not me and it irks me to the core." He said with raw emotions laid bare in his tone.

"Stop lying Professor Pandey. I don't even mean a tiny fraction to you. I was just a small part of your life that eased your worries for few days."

"That's not true, Aradhya and you know it."

"Then why are you leaving?" She asked with tears brimming her eyes.

"No, don't cry. You know it breaks me to see tears in your eyes." He said while stepping forward to wipe her tears.

She immediately moved back and raised her hand to stop him making him root to the ground and stiff with uncertainty.

"You lost the right to touch me when you accepted a government job opportunity over our-sorry--my- happiness." She said now tears streaming down her face.

"I have to, tigress. Please understand, we'll still be together in discreet."

"Don't call me tigress. You are not anyone to me now. Just my professor who is resigning today and you lost me when you said that you still want to hide me from the world. When I always envisioned you showing off our relationship but you act like as if you are ashamed of me."

"I'm not. You are my everything. You are the rarest diamond that I don't even want someone to steal a look at you."

"Oh yeah?" She asked satire clear in her voice.

"Listen to me Aradhya. We can't be together in public eyes because this is wrong. It can unsettle both our lives and I don't want that."

"You know everyone was right about you. You really are the best criminal detective and lawyer because you are wonderful at selling lies."

"I'm not lying, tigress. Please don't do this. I really would not be able to live without you."

"It's not prideful for you to beg in front of a mere student."

"You're not a mere student."

"Stop manipulating words. And I have to get to another class. Good bye, I hope I never see you again." She turned around still crying and walked away.

While Anand just stood there gazing at his happiness walking away from him and a lone tear fell from his eye that he quickly wiped off.

"Good bye tigress." He murmured.

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"Aradhya, What happened to you? Why are you doing this?"

"Because you hurt me terribly and I want to make you feel the same despair by destroying what you love the most."

"You got it wrong tigress. If you really want to hurt me, you are degrading the wrong thing. " 

"Stop playing with me, Mr. Pandey because I know you will never even let a pin touch me."

"You know me too well, darling."

"That I do." And then she smiled and walked away in the darkness. Her black gown trailing behind her.

She glanced back at him and smiled. That's all it took for him to lie for her and malign himself so that he'd see her smile at him again.

Even in her worst times, he saw the truth in her eyes and he knew he was goner because he'd kill himself before even thinking of turning her in.

Things people do for love. 

...

I hope you like the prologue