YOU AND ME

Amina

It’s cold outside, and I don’t know how long I’ve been standing here. The wind bites through my clothes, but it doesn’t compare to the chill spreading through my heart. What just happened? Why am I locked out? Why is everything crumbling?

I stare at the door in front of me, my hands trembling. I don’t understand any of it. Why is this happening?

“Amina?” I hear Raj’s voice call from the other side. His tone is filled with concern. “Amina, are you okay? What’s going on out there?”

I press my forehead against the cold wood of the door. "Raj... I don’t know. I don’t know what’s happening. Why is it like this? What did I do?"

There’s a moment of silence before he replies, "Just stay strong, okay? I’m going to get you something. It’s too cold out there. Hold on."

I’m too confused to respond properly. My mind is spinning, but I manage a small, shaky “Thank you, Raj.”

Minutes later, I hear him trying to open the door, but it won’t budge. He tries again, harder this time, but it’s no use. The keys... they’re with her. Aisha.

Raj comes back to the door. “Amina, the door’s locked. I’m going to find another way to get you in, okay? Just... just stay there.”

I close my eyes, hugging myself tighter against the cold. I don’t want to cry, but the tears come anyway. “Raj... just do one thing for me, okay? Keep Grandma’s ashes safe. Don’t let anyone touch them. I have to be the one to perform her last rites. No one else. Promise me.”

He doesn’t hesitate. “I promise. No one else but you. I’ll make sure of it.”

As I stand there in the cold, time blurs. Every second feels like an eternity. I keep replaying everything in my head, wondering what went wrong.

Finally, after what feels like hours, the door swings open. Aisha is standing there, her face filled with disdain. She doesn’t even need to say anything—her eyes say it all. I’m not welcome here.

I try to push past her, but her sharp voice stops me in my tracks.

“How dare you come back after everything? Have you no shame, Amina?”

I turn slowly to face her, my body trembling not just from the cold but from the anger bubbling inside me. “I don’t care for your accusations, Aisha. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

She steps closer, her presence towering. “You ruined everything. You think you can just waltz back in here after destroying my family?”

“I destroyed your family?” I laugh bitterly, shaking my head. “You’ve hated me from the moment Ayush brought me home. You never wanted me here.”

“You don’t belong here!” she snaps, her voice rising. “You were never good enough for my son. And now look what’s happened.”

I meet her gaze head-on, refusing to back down. “I’m not leaving. This house is half mine, remember? I’m staying, whether you like it or not.”

Aisha’s face twists with fury. “You’ve got nerve, talking to me like that. After everything—”

“I don’t care about your opinion of me anymore, Aisha,” I cut her off, my voice steady despite the chaos inside me. “I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.”

She opens her mouth to say something else, but I walk past her. I don’t have the energy for her insults, not tonight.

I head straight for our room—my room and Ayush’s. My heart pounds in my chest as I reach for the door. I just need to see him. I need to talk to him, to make sense of all this.

But when I push the door open, the sight in front of me stops me cold.

Ayush... and Kavya... in bed together.

My world collapses.

I feel my breath catch in my throat, the air leaving my lungs as if someone punched me. I can’t move. I can’t speak. I can only stare at them, my mind refusing to process what I’m seeing. How could he? How could he do this?

Ayush’s eyes meet mine, but there’s no regret, no apology. His eyes... they’re cold. As if everything we shared, everything I thought we had, was just... gone. Like I meant nothing to him.

I take a step back, my legs shaking, my hands numb. Everything inside me is breaking, piece by piece. The love I had for him, the trust, it all starts slipping away. I keep stepping back, unable to tear my eyes away from the betrayal in front of me.

And then... I’m falling.

I don’t know how it happened, but I’m falling from the top of the stairs. The air rushes past me, but in that moment, I don’t even care. I don’t think about the pain or the impact. All I can think about is him. How could he?

But before I hit the ground, strong arms catch me.

Raj.

He looks down at me, his face full of worry, but I can’t process any of it. I can’t breathe. My world has shattered, and I don’t know how to piece it back together. I close my eyes, wishing—hoping—that when I open them, it will all be a bad dream. That Ayush wouldn’t have betrayed me like this.

But when I open my eyes, reality hits me harder than the fall ever could.

Raj is still there, holding me carefully, as if I might break even more. “Amina, are you okay? Talk to me. You’re not thinking straight.”

I shake my head, tears streaming down my face. “There’s nothing more to the story, Raj. He... he hates me. He left me for Kavya. I was so stupid, thinking he cared.” My voice cracks as the words tumble out. “I’m done. I’m leaving. I’m going back to Africa.”

Raj shakes his head, refusing to let go of me. “Amina, don’t say that. Don’t let him break you like this. There’s more to this—there has to be.”

I push myself away from him, my chest heaving. “Raj, please... don’t follow me. I need to go. The pain... I can’t stay here. Not anymore.”

---

That evening, I find myself in the rain, sitting on a bench outside. Everything feels so... heavy. The memories, the betrayal—they crush me. But the next morning, when I talk to my parents, my mother’s voice pierces through the numbness.

“Amina, you will not come back here without proving your innocence. I didn’t raise a coward.”

Her words shake me. She’s right. I won’t run.

I return to the house, dressed in black—not just for Grandma, but for the death of the person I used to be. And when I step inside, Ayush is there, staring at me with anger.

“What are you doing here?” His voice is cold.

I stand tall, unflinching. “I own half this house, Ayush. I’m staying. Whether you like it or not.”

Ayush’s eyes darken with rage, but I don’t back down. Not anymore.

Aisha’s voice cuts in from behind him, full of venom. “How dare you show your face here after everything?”

I turn to her, meeting her fury with my own. “I’m not here for you, Aisha. And I don’t care what you think.”

Ayush storms into the kitchen, grabbing a bag of flour and drawing a line down the center of the room.

“Stay on your side, Amina,” he says, his voice filled with bitterness. “And I’ll stay on mine. We’ll never cross this line.”

I look at him, the man I once loved, and feel nothing but cold emptiness. “Fine, Ayush.