Tales of Heartfelt Embrace

22. Tanya Slaps Reeva

Everyone in the college was looking at Tanya as if she had committed a crime. Tanya was getting uncomfortable with all the people gazing at her, so she decided to head towards the cafeteria to look for Jahaan .

Just as she was going, her eyes fell on a piece of paper lying near the noticeboard. As soon as Tanya picked it up, she was shocked by its content.

"What the hell is this!" Tanya exclaimed with a panicked expression. The paper contained a photograph wherein Tanya was kissing someone whose face wasn't visible. She had her hands under the person's shirt and seemed to be forcing herself upon him. Tanya knew that the person in the photograph was Jahaan , but in the picture, it somehow looked that he was not interested in her, and Tanya was forcing that kiss on him.

Suddenly, Tanya could hear all the whispers around her. Whispers turned into loud gossip. Tanya's entire soul was shaken by this incident. When she looked down, she noticed a few more papers lying on the ground. All the papers contained the same photograph which she had seen a while ago .

"A white girl who traps guys into sex with her!" read one of the papers.

"This...this is disgusting. Who made these posters?" She yelled, and everyone looked at her like she had grown a second head.

"...l have to find Jahaan ," Tanya whispered as tears brimmed her eyes. She ran towards the cafeteria and started searching for Jahaan .

As soon as everyone saw her there, they looked at her with mocking contempt. At that moment, Tanya almost wished the earth to open and swallow her whole. But Tanya stood her ground. She circled her eyes around the cafeteria, but Jahaan was nowhere to be seen.

Tanya was about to leave when suddenly, Reeva and Anika blocked her way. Tanya was in no mood to argue with them, so she ignored them and chose another path, but they again impeded her way. When Tanya looked at their faces, they both had devilish smiles on their faces.

"Are you in a hurry, Tanya ?" Anika cooed, and Reeva started giggling.

"Try to understand, Anika . She must be in a hurry to find her boyfriend," Reeva commented. Tanya glared at her but chose to remain silent.
"By the way, Tanya . The boy that you were kissing in that photograph is he actually your boyfriend or is he one of your...boys!" Reeva taunted.

Tanya was left completely speechless as she heard this. Reeva had spoken this so loudly that all the students in the cafeteria started to laugh.

"What happened, Tanya ? Did I reveal the truth by mistake?" Tanya asked with a gasp, feigning concern. Tanya was still unable to understand anything. Everyone was looking at her with accusatory eyes while Reeva continued to talk wantonly about her. Tanya was just on the verge of breaking down but, she composed herself. She couldn't let a girl like Reeva have the power to hurt her.

"By the way, I heard that people change when they move to new cities, but I didn't expect you to turn upside down. How many boyfriends or boys do you have?" Reeva asked.

Tanya couldn't control her anger anymore, and she slapped Reeva on her cheek. All the students in the cafeteria gasped, and an ominous silence surrounded the place. Reeva was still unable to believe that Tanya had just slapped her and that too in front of everyone. Before she could say anything, Tanya spoke up.

"Do you think that everyone is like you?
And what did you say? How many boyfriends or boys do I have? Actually, I am not like you. I don't change my boyfriends like I change my clothes!" March yelled.

"You don't even have the right to accuse me when your actions are in front of everyone!" Reeva countered, but Tanya didn't entertain her statement and stormed out of the cafeteria.
As soon as she got outside, tears started to flow from her eyes.