𝑨𝑵𝑰𝑫𝑰𝑻𝑨: 𝐓𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐞 - Yours With All My Heart

|50|•ʙᴇᴛᴡᴇᴇɴ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ʟᴏᴠᴇʀꜱ•

BONDITA

Kabir’s voice broke the heavy silence, filled with restrained frustration as he looked Anirudh straight in the eyes. "What do you mean by 'what I'm doing with her'?" His words were defiant, challenging, like he wasn't about to back down this time.

I could feel the tension radiating between the two of them, thick and suffocating. My heart pounded in my chest, unsure of how to bridge this growing chasm. Kabir and Anirudh, the two people who meant the most to me, were standing here, locked in a silent battle with me caught in the middle.

Anirudh’s gaze hardened, his voice low and cold. "Don't play dumb, Kabir. You know exactly what I mean. You think you can just… sit here with my wife and act like I won’t say anything?"

Kabir crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing slightly as he faced Anirudh with a calm I knew was hiding his anger. "I’m here because she’s my friend, Anirudh. You don’t get to decide who she talks to."

"Friend?" Anirudh scoffed, the word heavy with bitterness. He turned to me, his voice softer but laced with frustration. "Bondita, do you really think he’s just your friend? That he’s not here, interfering in what’s between us?"

I felt my throat tighten. I looked between the two of them, searching for the right words to diffuse this, but it felt like anything I said might just make things worse.

I couldn’t wrap my mind around how Anirudh even knew I was here, or why he was looking at me like this—accusing, almost. It was a side of him I hadn’t seen before, one that hurt more than I could bear. My heart felt heavy, each word he’d spoken a sting I couldn’t ignore. Taking my hands from his, I stepped back and faced him, letting every emotion I felt show in my eyes—hurt, anger, disbelief.

I looked up at him, my voice low but trembling with intensity. "I never thought you would say something like this, pati babu… not in my wildest nightmare. How could you say something like that?"

His expression softened at my words, his anger fading just a little as he looked at me, his eyes filled with something between regret and frustration. His hand reached up, cupping my cheek, gentle as ever, but it didn’t soothe the ache in my chest. “You don’t get it, Bondita… you can’t understand these things. This man—” he shot a sharp look at Kabir, “—he’s just using what’s happened between us for his own gain.”

A cold shock ran through me as his words sank in. I could barely recognize the man standing in front of me, speaking as if I couldn’t trust my own judgment. I jerked his hand away, a mix of fury and disbelief tightening my throat as I spoke. "What? Huh? What can’t I understand, Anirudh? What don’t I know? You’re telling me that I don’t know my best friend? That I’m so stupid I can’t even recognize my own fucking best friend?"

I felt a tear slip down my cheek, the pain of his mistrust cutting deeper than I thought possible.

"Bondu, relax..." Kabir’s voice broke through, calm yet firm. I turned slightly, seeing him step forward to stand beside me. He looked at Anirudh, his expression earnest but tired, as if this whole situation was testing him too. "Anii bro, let’s just talk about this… this whole thing is a fucking misunderstanding. Bondu and I are friends—best friends. This—"

Before Kabir could even finish, Mishti Di’s sharp voice cut through the air, making all of us flinch. "Oh, come on, shut up," she snapped, her tone laced with irritation as she stepped closer. "Stop with that 'best friends' thing when we saw what you were doing in there in the car!"

Her words felt like a slap, each syllable laced with accusation, and I could feel my face burn with a mix of frustration and anger. This wasn’t what it looked like. It wasn’t what they thought. But Mishti Di’s pointed stare and Anirudh’s silent fury made me feel cornered, as though they’d already made up their minds about everything without even giving me a chance to explain.