Anupama
I shivered in the car seat, a chill running through me as the weight of their accusations hung heavily. Each voice around me demanded answers, yet I was paralysed, unable to articulate the turmoil inside. "Anupama! Look at social media!" Devika insisted, shoving her phone close to my face, the bright screen reflecting the chaos swirling in my mind. Naomi, frazzled and overwhelmed, desperately tried to keep up with the relentless flood of emails and messages, her fingertips flying across the screen as Kinjal navigated the busy street with urgency. Meanwhile, Kai and Adrian hovered nearby, their concern palpable as they attempted to calm my fraying nerves.
"Guys, she isn't at fault," Kai interjected, his voice rising above the cacophony, but he was met with furious glares from the others. "She didn't do anything wrong!" Devika shot back, her frustration boiling over, triggering memories of the pleading look in his eyes—the same eyes that had begged me to reveal that it was all just a joke, how I wished, deep down, that our story could remain safe, untouched by this turmoil.
"Did I hurt him?" I whispered to Adrian, my voice trembling as tears cascaded down my cheeks, raw and unrestrained. He responded gently, his eyes filled with compassion, while Naomi, perched in the front next to Kinjal, gasped in disbelief. "You broke him, Anu. I can't believe you'd hurt him intentionally," she said, shaking her head as she reached back to grip my hand tightly. "What happened?" she pressed softly, her concern cutting through the noise of my spiralling thoughts.
"Anu," Devika murmured, her hand rubbing my shoulder comfortingly. "You need to tell us. You're clearly in pain," she said, brushing away a tear that escaped my cheek.
"Pain is worth happening quicker than later," I managed to say, my bottom lip trembling as the harsh screams of self-doubt clawed at my chest, threatening to consume me completely. "Pain isn't worth these demons, mommy," Kinjal whispered from the driver's seat, her voice heavy with empathy. My eyes flared with anger, red and watery, at the implication.
"Sometimes we have to choose what's worth it, and sometimes you lose even if you have everything to gain," I replied, tears continuing to tumble down my face as I leaned back in the seat. I was grateful for Adrian's soothing touch as his fingers glided through my hair, offering a momentary reprieve from the ache that seemed to settle in my heart.
"What choice?" Adrian asked, his voice low and steady, yet I kept my eyes closed, yearning for sleep, for a dream where everything felt right again. "Choices that even Jonathan would have made," I said firmly, feeling the intensity of their gazes boring into my soul as we halted at a stoplight. "I would never intentionally hurt him because doing so would mean hurting myself," I took a shaky breath, the weight of my emotions threatening to overwhelm me. "I love him, and no one can question that."
***
My legs trembled uncontrollably as I stumbled out of the elevator, each step a desperate attempt to prevent myself from collapsing. I was overwhelmed, intoxicated not by alcohol but by a profound, aching pain. Was this all real? Could a feeling be so consuming and overwhelming that I might hurl my insides against the wall while shivering as if a bitter chill had seeped into my bones in the name of love? I longed to expel the poison coursing through my veins, tears streaming down my cheeks like a torrential downpour.
"Leave me," I whispered, my voice barely escaping my lips as I gasped for air. Yet, even in that fragile moment, he heard me. Jonathan burst through the doors, hair matted with sweat, his blue eyes wild and illuminated by the flickering lights outside as rain pattered relentlessly against the pavement.
My breath became shallow and uneven as my heart thundered in my chest, each beat sending waves of weakness through my knees at the sight of him gripping the doorframe. "I'm sorry, baby, for all of this," I thought. "I'm sorry you must lose me, but it's for the best. You'll be happier without me, and one day, we'll fade into a blurred memory—one that lingers in my soul, cursing me until only your name echoes in that hollow space where our shared moments once thrived."
YOU ARE READING
THE PERFECT DECEPTION
Fanfiction''We had no plan of it becoming real. It was just perfect.'' Every plan has a fault, no matter how perfectly planned it is. However, maybe the fault was the perfect destiny plan, colliding two worlds together. Each world has its missions to accomp...
