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Chapter Twenty-Two
"Are you in la-la-la-la-love?"
⧠P R E E T â§
"How do I know it's not fake?" I asked Aniketh.
As I said earlier, I knew he was brewing something new up now. Deven had gone to the parking area to get the car, and I regretted my decision to wait there.
I thought I would make an outfit check and post it on my Instagram but God had other plans for me.
So, Aniketh popped up, saying he had something important to show me. It was a letter which supposedly Deven had written for someone.
"You are his legal wife; you must know his handwriting and ways of expression." I took a deep breath.
"Just read it once, Pri." I cringed at the nickname. What does he want? Why can't he live and let me live for fucking once?
I've never regretted dating anyone so much.
I opened the crumbled piece of paper hurriedly, wanting to get done with the shit he's brought for me now. I swear Deven would also be very annoyed if he saw Aniketh here.
To R,
I saw you today after months. just a mere glimpse was enough to make me forget my existence and focus solely on you. you brought hope for me with you, you radiated love, you are love actually.
one single chance and i would grab it, just one.
Ps:- the new girl, i think i am gonna break her heart i can't even dare to think about moving on (these people keep telling me to do that i don't want to) especially not after i saw you again. impossible.
I don't think you will ever read this, but if you do just know that i have achieved my dream and give me a long hug compensating for the years i have yearned for you :)
with lots of patience and love,
Deven â¡
I gulped after finishing and it took me a minute to digest everything. I wanted to think that it wasn't Deven who wrote this. But it was him.
The way he didn't follow the punctuation marks and grammatical rules; he does this on texts, too, and it is very annoying.
Also, the handwriting and the notes he left on the refrigerator whenever he left early for gym or work had the same writing.
So there was no way Aniketh was lying about this.
The new girl?
That is all I was for him?
And who is this R person? Somebody he has dated in the past? Whoever it was, he is very much in love with that person and it is crystal clear.
If he couldn't move on from someone then what was he doing with me? Not that we are together, but it's obvious that a small spark was between us.
I saw the way he looked at me when he saw me in this dress. It was not unnoticeable.
Why did he never tell me about it then? I hate how hideous he is about everything. I've been an open book to him about everything in my life, telling him about Parth, the shit with Aniketh and much more, whereas he is like a locked diary.
Hurt could be seen on my face because I was hurt by this. I owe that.
The new girl. Wow.
I tried to fake a firm expression by not letting Aniketh know that it affected me at all. "How did you get this?"
"I told you, it's written by him. Your lovely husband is writing love letters for someone else."
"Where did you get this letter from?" I ignored his response and repeated. I heard the horn of the car acknowledging that Deven was here.
"You don't need to know that." He replied. Now the sound of the horn turned into noise as Deven kept bleeping it continuously. "I love how your husband is jealous when you're with me. So insecure. Love the effect, do let him know about that."
Asshole.
Ignoring him, I kept the letter in my handbag and moved towards Deven's car. Settling inside without matching my gaze with his, I tried my best to manipulate myself so that this wouldn't hurt me.
Maybe the letter was old? He never mentioned any name in it.
Even if it was old, I didn't know he was so in love with someone. He never told me anything. I was mad at him for that. It was just a letter but the way he wrote it, it was purely filled with love and only love.
The thought of him being crazily in love with someone made my heart ache a little, I know it shouldn't. But it did.
"What happened? Did he bother you again?" I heard Deven ask. I shook my head.
"Nothing." He didn't start the car and kept staring at me. I avoided his stare as long as I could.
"Preet," I gathered some courage to glance at him.
"Yes?"
"Is everything alright?" I let it slide with a nod.
"Yeah, what could go wrong?" If he wants to hide things then let me do it too. Why should I always be the only one going around and telling him things?
"You look upset."
"Guilt, it's kicking me again. Nothing else." I made up a clever lie.
"If you say so." We didn't converse much after that, as I put the radio on intentionally.
My thoughts were messed up. Maybe I was just overthinking but I didn't know how and where to stop. It sucked how I couldn't get the letter out of my head. You are love.
There could be two possibilities for this letter: one, he wrote it for some ex-girlfriend but a while ago, so I wasn't the new girl in that. Two, he wrote it for some ex-girlfriend and I am the new girl.
I had asked him about his relationships; why would he lie to me, telling me there was nothing that serious? I mean, he said that the two were serious, but never elaborated. What if the girl is in one of those two relationships?
And what if he is trying to get over her by flirting and trying to get close to me? But why did they break up if he loved her so much? Maybe she fell out of it and broke his heart?
What was the exact situation?!
I need to give my overthinking a pause. I can't be thinking of every possible scenario. What if there's something I missed?
What if Aniketh-- No, the letter is not made up and my gut says that. Anyone who knows Deven can tell it's written by him. It screams his name.
Gosh, I'm going to go crazy.
But who is this heavenly girl who made him write things like that for her? It was heartbreaking for me yet it was beautiful.
Oh, to be loved like that...
We reached a friend's house where the party was held. One of the reasons why I had agreed to come to a house after years was I wanted to overcome the fear of it. But now as I stood here, the cold wind hitting my naked arms, the nervousness mixed with a sense of nostalgia kicked in.
We went inside the lavish row house with lots of party lights indicating that we were at the right place. I dialed Neava's number and she picked it up in a ring.
"Where are you?" She managed to yell in between the loud music. I could understand that she was already inside.
"Just walked inside the house." I looked around to find her, and in the next two minutes, she rushed towards me with a glass of drink in her hand.
"You look super hot. How is Deven alive?" Neava cheered loudly. I looked around to check if he was still around. He wasn't, luckily. She dragged me to a corner on a couch.
"Shut up. You look mesmerizing, girl." Neava was wearing a simple V-neck wine-red dress which perfectly hugged her at the right places, matched with minimal gold jewellery and subtle makeup with a bold red lip, which was the cherry on the cake.
She understands fashion like no one else, trust me.
"Also, Red...." I paused and eyed her from head to toe with a teasing glint, "I know what that means."
It was her thing since we were teenagers. We read an article online saying Red is the colour that grabs more attention when it comes to men, it has that aura. A simple red would do a lot of things.
Red means to attract. This was an unsaid rule between us. Just know that whenever she wears red, someone around is her prey, her target.
"Shh." She kept a finger on her lips and winked at me. Any man would have easily been seduced by that simple action.
"After looking at you, Rushaad is either going to be a goner or is ending up with a boner." She gasped and cracked up, laughing.. I joined her, feeling immensely proud of my one-liner.
"Did he see you though?" I asked and she nodded, with a shy smile. Last week, someone told me with utter confidence that she doesn't like him. Look at her now. "What was his reaction? I still need tea, Nivea. You didn't even tell me."
"I know, but we haven't had a proper chat for a long time. You can't blame me." I grunted. As much as it annoyed me, it was the truth.
"Alright but are you guys dating?" She blushed at this. Imagine if she says yes and leaves the party unalive.
"No." I just made a criminal-like statement for no reason.
"Seeing each other?" She shook her head. I was about to open my mouth again until she showed her palm.
"I don't know what it is. I don't have any terms, but all I can say is it's very special. I feel something very special every time I glance at him. Something unreal." She whispered the last words with a very shaky breath, followed by a gulp. Looking over her shoulder and snatching a very lovely look at her Rushaad, her eyes beamed.
My gosh. I have never seen her talking like this. Never. Ever.
This is like an undiscovered, uniquely new side to her, which Rushaad has given birth to.
Neava has come and told me that her former boyfriends have done this for her, done that, said such beautiful things, this that. She might have put in effort for one or two as well, but the way she was speaking. The softness in the tone, that one shaky whisper. It was something else.
He better not break her heart.
"Are you in la-la-la-la-love?" I teased her, only to find her shake her head leaving a breath.
"I don't know what it is. But it's way beyond my control now." She didn't even deny it. Oh my god.
"I need to know what's cooking ASAP. You sound like you'll get hurt with a mere burning touch of his."
Why did that sound so nice? Astonished.
"Does he feel the same?" I asked in confirmation. It does look like that because of his actions, but I don't want to assume. "Because since when it's only you who was flirting. He was avoiding it like he was pissed."
"He is a nice actor. At that time, he was mad at me for lying to him throughout the night of our date. He wanted me to exit his life, yet I stayed with a promise I wouldn't leave. I did everything to make it up. So at the time when he was acting like he was getting irritated by the flirt and didn't like it at all, it was all a mask to push me away, a shield, you can say. Now, he's back to normal." She elaborated all of it and I was wonderstruck.
Rushaad has to be the lucky one if Neava Pipadiya does everything to make it up to him.
"I'm speechless. A lot is going on." She took a deep breath.
"Yes, kind of."
"I still need the details, babe. This looks serious to me." For the first time.
"Sure. What's up with Mehrotra and you?" My face dried up at this question. I had just forgotten about that while talking to her.
"Nothing. I'm not in love like you."
"Oh, but he is." She said in a very serious tone. Her facial expressions said she regretted saying that. I narrowed my eyes at her while twisting the ends of my hair. What?
"I'm sorry?"
"Joke. I meant the way he is with you. I'm guessing he already likes you. What about you? I'm not taking a no as an answer because that would be a lie." I bit the inside of my cheek, unable to form an answer.
"What? Preet, do you like Mehrotra?" She repeated her question for the second time. I couldn't help but pass a slight nod.
"Oh my god. That marks a celebration. Preet accepted her feelings for Mehrotra. Best day of his life." Oh, I wish.
"But,"
"But?"
"He wrote a letter to some girl whose name starts with an R, telling her how she's radiated something, something, blah blah. " I confessed. I needed to get a second opinion on this because I would die keeping it inside and overthinking every second of it.
"What the fuck?" That came out as a whisper.
"Yeah, Aniketh got it somehow and he showed it to me. And before you start, it's Deven's exact handwriting and way of texting like a duffer. So, Aniketh didn't make it up." Her lips formed in a thin line.
"And yeah, he also called me something like the new girl. " I added and her eyes looked up at me. "I'm guessing that it was me."
"Interesting." Was all she could say.
"Did he ever tell you about some ex-girlfriend with a name starting from R or shit?" I shook my head negatively while huffing in irritation.
"That's the whole point, he never shared anything that personal with me. Don't know why. He says he lacks at expressing his feelings and can't do it easily. He never shares anything with me, Neava." She looked like she wanted to say something to me but was hesitant about it.
"He might have a reason. Give him time, that's it. And show me the letter."
"Not here." She made a face as if I said something stupid. Is a house party filled with lots of humans a perfect place to showcase a love letter written by a person who is present at the house party?
"Okay. I think you need to chill right now. We are at a party and behaving as if it's a cafe for our gossip session. Loosen up a little and fuck the men." I glanced at her oddly.
"Correct." I noticed Rushaad walking over to us. "Also, Nivea." She raised her eyebrows at me twice before I indicated to her through her eyes to turn behind.
"What a hottie hottie." I managed to mimic her special tone of saying this phrase to me.
"Oh, we are reversing the roles, aren't we?" I chuckled at her reply.
"Hello, ladies." I passed him a smile as he sat on the handrest beside Neava.
"Hey," I replied, which seemed to get ignored as he was busy getting so lost in my best friend's lethal face.
"Um hm, I thought you hated liars, Rushaad." I broke their intense trance of eyecontact. If I'm not happy, I'm not letting anyone else be as well.
"Still do, Preet. Still do." He replied, eyes still fixed on her like she'd vanish the moment he looked away. Oh, I'm going to jump off a cliff if they choose to continue this.
"Doesn't look like that to me though."
With an embarrassing smile, Neava pushed his cheek and made him look at me.
"Yeah, what?" He came out of his zone. "Where's Deven? He didn't come with you?"
"I thought he was with you." I switched my gaze between both of them, taken aback at this.
"No, I didn't see him so I came to ask you."
I tried to search for my phone in my bag, but to my surprise, it wasn't there. I replayed the moments trying to see if I lost it.
The last use of my phone was when I spoke to Neava when we entered. Where did it go after that? Even Deven's not seen after that.
"Call Deven. I don't have my phone." I said to Neava and she did the same. It rang but nobody picked up. "Call my number."
It was directed to voicemail.
What the hell? Where is he?
"I got a text from him," Neava screamed making me cover my ear. I read the text through her phone.
in the car had to make an important call and will join you guys asap also pre et's phone is wid me tell her to calm down
Oh.
I panicked for no reason. I thought he went because I was avoiding him after that conversation with Aniketh.
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A kinda filler chapter again?
The letter, what are your thoughts on that? Who did Deven write it for? The R person? Or is Aniketh making it up?
Neava? My pookie pie is down bad for Rushaad. Any thoughts on that? Them?
Also, let me tell you something, there will be their book and it's going to be my fav so keep some love ready for them ð¤
Let me know about your thoughts on the book and ilysm.