The Story Of Us

CHAPTER 7: The Guilt (Part 1)

I just got up from the jogging track and decided to make my way to Rahul's room. As I walked, I couldn't help but feel a sense of unease and worry about what was happening between Alizeh and Kabir.

Without thinking, I reached for my phone and dialed Alizeh's number. "What happened?" I asked as soon as she picked up.

"I told you all about it in the texts", she replied curtly.

Desperate for some direction, I asked, "What do you want me to do? Shall I go and talk to Kabir?"

But Alizeh was quick to shut that down. "What are you going to talk to him about? There is nothing to be explained here!"

I couldn't help but feel responsible for what was happening between them. "Yaar, I don't want this to happen. I am not like this Alizeh. I do not want to be the person because of whom you guys break up, and I don't want anything to be messed up between you two. So shall I go and talk to him?"

Alizeh's voice softened a bit as she reassured me, "No, don't ever think that all of this happened because of you. You didn't know any of this would happen, and if I feel that you should talk to him, then I will ask you to go and talk to him, okay?"

I sighed with relief and replied, "Okay!"

Finally, I reached Rahul's room, my heart pounding in my chest. I needed his support now more than ever. As soon as he answered the door, I blurted out everything that had happened between Alizeh and Kabir. I needed his help to make sense of it all.

As soon as Rahul arrived, I spilled everything to him, recounting the conversation I had just had with Alizeh. He listened patiently before placing a hand on my shoulder, urging me to calm down.

"We will see whatever's gonna happen, don't worry, I am here with you!" he assured me.

His words did help me to relax somewhat, but the tension that had taken root in my mind still lingered, and I couldn't shake the sense of panic that coursed through my veins.

And then, amidst all of this turmoil, Alizeh's messages began to flood my phone once more. "I am really sorry Varun that all of this happened. I don't know how to sort everything out, and I just don't know what to do?" she pleaded.

Feeling equally helpless, I replied, "Neither do I know what to do, but I just don't want your relationship to be spoiled or affected because of me!"

Alizeh then implored me to help her make things right, and in my desperation to fix things, I made my SECOND MISTAKE. I shouldn't have agreed to help her, but at the time, I was blinded by the so-called love that consumed me. Looking back, I can only blame myself for allowing it to happen. I replay that moment in my mind every day, wishing I had made a different choice.

Alizeh's next words chilled me to the bone. "There is only one thing we could do to save my relationship", she said. "I will have to lie to him about whatever I said to you. I will have to tell him that 'I only did what I did to just get it out of you, I don't have feelings for you, and I never did. I only did this because I felt guilty and I wanted to know this.' Only telling this to Kabir will help save my relationship with him. And I wanted to tell you that when I say this to him in front of you, just don't get hurt because you know that it will all be a lie."

I knew in my gut that it was wrong, but the thought of being responsible for their breakup was too much to bear. "You should do whatever it takes to save your relationship because if you guys break up, that will be on me, and I will feel guilty throughout my life", I told her. "So go ahead, do whatever you want to do, but just tell him after some time because keeping a thing this big from him will not be right."