Dare Trilogy | Book 3 Editing | ✓

2.1 | Cold & Empty + My Darkest Place

Posted on March 24, 2017 | Edited on August 7th, 2018

| . . . C H A P T E R - 1.1 : C O L D - & - E M P T Y . . . |

A vacation in Goa.

One would think it would be bliss. Stress-free. Everything one needed before entering the real world with a typical 9-5 job. Right?

Wrong.

How can it be stress-free and relaxing when a certain fiancé tags along because your best friend is his cousin and your best friends' father would not let her go by herself?

According to Kripa, her dad sent Arnav with her as her bodyguard but ofcourse, it was to ensure Kripa wouldn't go wild and have too much fun. I could not understand parents' ideologies sometimes.

One set of rules for their daughters and one for their sons. Or, if I am to be honest, no rules for their sons. They were free to do as per their will without any retribution or threat of a consequence while the daughters were always restricted.

Some answers a girl always gets from her parents: you can do whatever you want at your husband's place or you can go wherever you want once you're married and your husband will take you or you want to stay out after dark? Make sure to take your brother along!

As much as I understood the fear of being harassed or worse, instead of putting restrictions on females, why couldn't the society teach something to their males? Or another solution, get an open mind! Allow some freedom for both your sons and daughters to explore their sexuality instead of repressing them. Then guys might not feel the need to harass girls simply because of their curious mind.

I knew, it was all wishful thinking and an ideal world much harder to achieve. You can try to change one man's opinions but an entire nation? That would disrupt laws of the society, laws of a religion, and that is not something easily attained. It would take an entire era to change that.

On one of the many beaches in Goa, I started walking in the opposite direction from my group of friends in desperate need for some alone time and to give my mind a break from all this anger and frustration I'd felt in the last week since Arnav marked his return in my life.

I heard a person following behind and I turned to face him. a scowl appeared naturally. "What is with you?"

He had the guts to cheekily respond, as if my anger was his source of amusement. "I'm just walking on the beach on a wonderful summer afternoon in Goa."

I turned my back to him and while continuing to walk, ordered over my shoulder. "Go away, Raizada. Stop following me."

"I'm not following you. You are just walking in front of me."

I stopped again to glare with the straightest face I could manage at the lame, cliché, statement. "Seriously? Out of everything, that is what you have to say?"

He opened his mouth, no doubt to spew another nonsensical comment. I threw my hand up in a stop signal and stomped away towards the hotel - that one place I could go to where he could not follow.

I would much rather lock myself up in a room than roam around the beach where he could either constantly follow or my eyes would have to meet with yet another encounter of him with some random female.

Seriously, did he not get tired of this?

Minutes later, I turned around and he wasn't following. Oh, thank God. Finally! I changed my track towards the shops on the opposite side thinking of buying something for my mother.