wild_cat4
Jaipur. Ugh.
Seven years away and I swore I'd never go back. That city doesn't deserve me - dusty streets, loud prayers, people pretending happiness while I survived the disaster they call "family." Life, of course, has a sense of humor. Meera - my loud, emotionally blackmailing cousin - announces she's getting married and suddenly my name is the only thing missing from her perfect photo album. So I'm on a flight I never wanted. Thirty days of marigolds, fake smiles, and other people's curated joy. Thirty deliciously short days.
Then I saw her.
Kanan arrives like a sunrise with a ring on her finger and a life that seems deliberately designed to rub salt in my scalp. Perfect hair. Perfect laugh. That outrageous, effortless happiness that looks offensive on her. Yes, I'm jealous. Deep, greedy, unapologetic jealousy. I won't cringe and say I'm sorry.
I don't owe anyone an explanation for why I hate her. Secrets are boring - and explanations are boring. What matters is she has what she doesn't deserve, and I've had enough of standing in the background while other people collect trophies. Misery, frankly, would look fantastic on her.
So here's the plan. Thirty days. My deadline, my playground. I will not be the pity-story background in her photographs. I will not be the quiet footnote while she wins everything she wants. I will be the sentence that rewrites her chapter.
Call me petty. Call me vindictive. Call me villainous. I'll wear those labels like couture. Being the "good girl" was dull and unrewarding. It's time to try something sharper.
Revenge is my antidote - and it suits me.