Page 20 of Twisted Bonds

“I liked you, Chitra. I wanted to be in your company.” His words made her stop, and she turned to look at him.

She liked him too. She was even beginning to fall for him.

She shook her head slowly as her eyes stung at his lies. “I don’t want to see you again.”

With that, she went straight to her residence, fighting back the tears.

She stepped into her room and stood with her back to the door, burning tears rolling down her cheeks.

She fell in love with a liar.

CHAPTER 9

The following day, she woke up and was immediately reminded of what happened the previous night.

Was it real or a bad dream?

The pounding headache she felt as she sat up confirmed it was all real. She had trusted someone blindly and was even falling in love with that person. And so, she was paying the price for her foolishness.

Her heart felt the painful betrayal of every sweet moment she had shared with Mihir.

He is a liar.

She never wanted to see him again. She didn’t think of him or do anything that would remind him of the liar that he was. She had to move on, and she would.

I will forget him.

***

She remained in bed later than usual. Later that day, she woke up alone in her room, dim light streaming from the gaps in the blinds. Every word of the pep talk she had given her was futile. She ended up sleeping all day, and from the dried-up tears on her cheeks, she was sure she had been crying even while asleep.

She was mid-task earlier that day when one of the volunteers caught her from falling. She hadn’t realized her head was spinning. She was escorted to her room and was asked to rest the entire day.

She told herself she would nap for an hour, but based on the lighting in her room, she knew it had to be late afternoon. It was time to go to her evening shift at the food bank. She wanted to go back to bed, but she knew the only way to break the downward spiral she was caught in was to get back to the routine.

It took a lot to step out of her room and face everyone. No one knew anything, and there was nothing to talk about, but she felt the betrayal so deep she was sure people could tell something was off. To offset her feelings, she added extra chirpiness to her voice when she approached the residential desk where one of the volunteers was working.

Chitra forced a smile. “Good evening, Sara. I’m off to my shift at the food bank. Can you tell the children they should be in bed for me to narrate a new story?”

Sara’s smile did not light up her eyes. “Sure…but are you okay? I’ve never seen you down like that, ever.”

“Just a bit tired.”

Sara looked convinced as she nodded. “I know. I came to check on you a few times when Mihir asked for you, and you wereknocked out.”

The good feeling that was settling in vanished. “Mihir?”

“Yes, he looked super worried, so I told him the same thing, that you were tired and just sleeping.” Sara smiled and leaned closer, “But he’s been here all day waiting for you to wake up. That guy cares for you so much. He was here all day and didn’t eat a single meal. He kept saying he would eat with you.”

She bit down another urge to scream, but she swallowed her anger. “Is he still here?”

“I think he left just a short while ago when the kids needed the prayer room for their activities.”

Heaving an invisible sigh of relief, Chitra pulled her jacket hoodie over her head as the evening started getting chilly and walked out of the temple side entrance. She wanted to avoid him even if he was waiting for her at the main entrance to tell her a new set of lies.

Her heart started a rampage two minutes into her walk, and she didn’t need to guess why. A moment later, a tall figure stepped out of the shadows. She was outraged, not because he was there but because her heart leaped with joy just at the sight of him.

She quickly crossed the street and started walking away from him. It was a matter of time before he caught up with her, but she would do what it took to avoid facing him. Her mind shunned her for trusting him so profoundly in such a short time, but her heart wept for him.

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