Us Forever (girlxgirl)

Chapter 1- I Know You

This is Riya for you all.

Riya

I loved coming to my office. When the real-estate consultant showed me this bungalow, I instantly knew this was going to be my office. At heart I'm a green panther; nature played a crucial role in finalizing my home or office space. My cabin overlooked a garden, with a fountainhead in the center, which was often crowded with the peacock, parrots, green bee-eaters, and rabbits. This was my definition of heaven, in the congested city of Mumbai, securing a view like this was sheer bliss. And I paid through my nose to maintain this luxury, which only a few lucky ones could afford.

Inside my cabin, one could find various kinds of in-house plants that controlled pollution and added life to the room. The wall opposite my seat was converted into the book self. I had limited editions, fiction, non-fiction, history books gracing my shelf. I could spend days locked inside my cabin without interacting with the external world.

But today even my preferred place was unable to calm my internal turmoil. I was working on a presentation, but failing miserably. My mind kept repeating the argument I had with my husband the previous night. My eyes were burning due to lack of sleep and I could feel the pressure build-up in my temples.

I knew my marriage was crumbling and I couldn't do anything about it. Honestly, I was not even interested in putting up a fight to save it. According to me, the day I discovered my scoundrel husband was cheating, it was the final nail in the coffin.

My entire marriage flashed across my eyes, and I again started wondering how things went wrong? I always held marriage as a sacred institution, which has no space for lies, cheating, and roving eyes. My mind went back to the night when all the lies came to light and shuddered internally.

That night I was sitting on the couch working on an article when my husband's phone caught my attention. For a long time, I wanted to check his phone, I silently picked it up and tried to unlock it but failed, as it was password protected. Suddenly an idea occurred, I removed his memory card and inserted it in my phone. God, what happened next, broke me to pieces. There were nude photos of our son's nanny, photos of theirs in the act. I calmed down, inserted the memory card back in his phone, and I realized I need to get access to the password. My detective work paid the results and I got his password. I opened his phone and went to his WhatsApp, he was chatting dirty with so many girls, with a few he was sharing the nude videos. He lied to me about late-night meetings when he slept with women in strange hotel rooms. The thought that pained me most, I always used to feel guilty around his late-night sittings. I was awake, waiting for him to reach home safely when I myself had a hectic day in the office.

He was always distant but soon became mentally abusive, insulting me in front of my family and friends. One fine day I decided I couldn't take this anymore and confronted him. He denied most of the allegations and for rest, he put the blame on me, for his actions.

It took me four years to reach the conclusion, this guy was manipulative, coward, and truly wrong. He was responsible for his actions and I couldn't be blamed. 

The ring of the intercom interrupted my thoughts. "Yes, Shelly?" I asked my administrative assistant on the other end of the line.

"Ma'am, your friend, Annie, is here to meet you."

"Please send her in," I instructed, surprised by the sudden visit.

Annie and I went to the same school, it was a warm sunny day when I met her for the first time, my parents left me in front of Grade-1, I hesitantly entered the class, and tried locating a place to sit. Finding none, I panicked and was about to cry, when a doll-like girl waved her hand and indicated a vacant seat nearby. The moment I parked myself near her, she gave me an adorable smile and handed me a candy, mentioning, her mom has told her sharing is caring. We were inseparable from that day, we shared everything right from candies to lipsticks to life problems. The bond we share grew each day, she became a family to me, who can precisely predict what was bothering me, without my uttering a word.

She burst into my office with a big smile. "Hey, my favorite person! Why does your assistant always stop me? Please ask her to drop the ritual before I start a fistfight or something."

I laughed and pulled my childhood friend into a warm hug.

"Come here, you spoiled brat. I will make sure you can enter my office anytime you want."

Her face lit up with excitement, but she frowned after studying me for a moment and instantly knew, something was bothering me. Hiding anything from her had never been easy. She looked at my sleep-deprived eyes.

"Riya, what's wrong? Why are your eyes red? You look sad and lonely. Did something happen? Lemme guess, your husband did something again, didn't he?"

"It's nothing, An," I sighed, waving my hand to dismiss the notion. "Tell me what brings you here?" I rubbed my temples to stop the onset of migraines and braced myself for another barrage of questions and concerns, but Annie remained silent instead, looking somewhat defeated.

"Last night I was browsing through a site that had a lot of stories, small novels, poems, and other things," she said, accepting the change in conversation.

"I came across a small novel written by some person named Lizzie. I loved this story, Ri. I started reading it at 10 last night and didn't stop until the early hours this morning! I have a feeling you would love this book."

I stared at my friend as if she lost her mind and asked incredulously. "Are you kidding me? You barge into my office to discuss a book written by some Lizzie chick?"

Annie looked a little offended and irritated but shrugged off my questions.

"I hope you remembered I'm leaving for Europe and won't be available for the next 15 days. Leaving you like this breaks my heart, but at least Lizzie can keep you company while I'm gone."

I chuckled and shook my head. "So, you're saying Lizzie will be my babysitter for the next 15 days?"

She laughed. "Respect her, beautiful. She's an excellent writer. I know your love for reading, and I'm positive that by the time I return, you will be tracking her down."

I pulled her into another tight hug. "You know you're crazy, but you're also the best. I cannot imagine my life without you. Fine, I will read her book. Send me the link when you have a chance."

She gave me a warm, genuine smile. "Just promise me you'll take care of yourself, and you won't get lost in some senseless drinking. I'll be back before you even have a chance to miss me."

I nodded in agreement.

Annie

I left the office but with an uncomfortable feeling, it seemed Riya was slowly giving up, she was slipping away in front of my eyes. This business was her passion, but I had seen her looking lost and not even focusing on that. Her eyes lost the natural spark, they looked lifeless and dead.

My head automatically turned towards the sky and I internally pleaded with God, to do some miracle and save her. Dear God, send one person in my friend's life, who can make her alive again.

Only time would reveal whether my fervent prayers would be answered or I would invariably lose my best friend.