Espresso Love (SanDhir)

Chapter 21 - French Roasted

"It wasn't in my control Vidushi..." I trailed off, not finding the words in my throat. From the corner of my eyes, I could see her raising her eyebrow. "The first time I left for home was when I decided I'd tell my parents about Randhir. But it turned out that they'd decided to get me married off to that... bastard without even asking me about it. At first, I let it go because I honestly believed that I could get them to change their minds. Perhaps it was my naivety or my ignorance of how important our family's image is for my parents, but I believed they would realize that Randhir was the right person for me, not anyone else. And especially not Sameer."

She turned to face me for the first time since I spoke, "You always spoke about doing the right thing back in college. What part of leaving Randhir without telling him anything seemed right to you?" Her voice was icy cold, but I didn't feel defensive because I knew this was just her concern for Randhir.

"It felt like the right thing to do back then," but Vidushi scoffed to this. "I know it sounds like I'm just trying to come up with any excuse that would explain my actions. But trust me when I say I just wanted to protect him! He'd been through way too much at that point in time, and I was sure that if I told him about what I was going through at home, he'd be overwhelmed with everything. His studies were already being affected Vidushi! I really couldn't put him through that again, and so I decided to leave."

And for the first time, I heard anger in her voice as she spoke; "And you think running away without any explanation is a solution?"

"Believe it or not, I wasn't running away. I had broken up with him telling him it was for the better before leaving. I didn't give him all the answers because he didn't need to know. Had I told him, it'd be unlike him to allow me to go on with the path I had chosen. Regardless, I went home to convince my parents that I had the right to choose with whom I'd like to spend the rest of my life. But how was I to know that I'd end up in a cascade of emotional blackmail."

"You have always been the one to choose family over anything else. Enough proof of that back in the years you spent at FITE too. So this is clearly nothing unimaginable. But I thought you loved Randhir; I thought you knew just how much you'd be hurting him."

"I know I'm in the wrong, but I did what I could to protect him..." I trailed off. The more I tried to explain myself, the harder it became for me to hold myself together.

She put her hand on my shoulder, "You know how he is Sanyukta... You broke him," her voice just a mere whisper by the end.

I heard Riaan laughing with Parth in the living room and smiled despite the sadness that had engulfed my heart because of the conversation I was having with Vidushi.

—

—

I was trying to understand her point of view as she explained why she left Randhir, but I couldn't.

"That doesn't justify anything Sanyukta," I mentioned.

"That's the last thing I want to do..."

"Saanyuktaa!" Parth screamed. "I'll be right back!" Sanyukta said as she headed to the living room.

I stared out the balcony and thought back to the time we all found out Sanyukta had left.

—

I went to meet Randhir and Parth in their room as we had planned yesterday. The four of us - including Sanyukta - were preparing an introductory briefing for our final project which was going to be our only true assessment of the year. I was assuming she was already in their room and so I rushed out without waiting for her.