YOU AND ME

Amina

I wake up in a dimly lit room, my head throbbing. Raj is sitting beside me, his hand warm around mine.

“Amina, why didn’t you tell us?” Raj’s voice is a mix of frustration and worry. “Why weren’t you eating?”

I try to sit up, but Raj gently pushes me back down. “I knew you wouldn’t listen to any of us, so I called your mom. She’s on a video call right now.”

My heart skips a beat as I see my mom’s face on the screen. Her eyes are filled with a mix of anger and concern.

“I told you to fight this battle, Amina,” she begins, her voice stern yet loving. “But I didn’t tell you to starve yourself. How can you fight a battle with hunger? You need to eat. The food did nothing wrong to you, so there’s no need to be upset and not eat. You need to eat now.”

Raj nods in agreement. “Rohan, go get her some food. She needs to eat after this.”

“Mom, I’m not in the mood,” I protest weakly.

“Not in the mood?” her voice rises. “You eat that food, Amina. No excuses.”

Rohan leaves to get the food, and Raj turns back to me. “Amina, I think Ayush hasn't completely forgotten you and everything. But there’s something there. He cannot completely forget his true love. You are his epic and true love. Someone can’t just forget their love like that.”

Raj takes a deep breath before continuing. “And let me tell you something. You were supposed to be sent to prison, but Ayush thought leaving you was punishment enough. He didn’t want you to go to prison. They have evidence against you, a video of you pushing grandma. I don’t know how they got it or how it happened, and I don’t want you to explain. But you need to know that even though he might give you hateful looks and tell you he hates you every moment, the man who hates you is protecting you from prison.”

Tears fill my eyes. “Please, Raj. I hate him and he hates me. That’s the end of the story. Please, just leave me alone.”

Raj sighs and leaves the room, leaving me to my thoughts. I decide to bury myself in work, arriving early and leaving late, trying to forget everything about Ayush.

Ayush has changed. He’s no longer the man I once knew. At the office, he’s like a robot, emotionless and cold. He shouts at everyone, his anger palpable. Everyone is scared of him, except me. I can see the pain behind his eyes, the betrayal, the love, and the rage all mixed together.

One day at the office, Ayush and I have a heated argument. The tension between us is palpable.

“Ayush, you can’t keep treating me like this!” I shout, my frustration boiling over.

“Treating you like what, Amina? Like the person who betrayed me?” Ayush retorts, his eyes blazing with anger.

“You don’t understand anything!” I yell back, my voice shaking.

“Maybe because you never explain anything!” he snaps.

“I don’t owe you any explanations!” I scream, my hands trembling.

“Then stop acting like the victim!” he shouts, stepping closer.

“I’m not acting, Ayush. This is who I am now, thanks to you!” I cry out, tears streaming down my face.

In a fit of rage, I grab a large hammer and start destroying the office wall that divides our spaces. “If you can’t stand me, the better punishment is for you to look at my face every day!” I yell, smashing the wall. “News flash, Ayush, you’re going to see me every day in this office, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”