Page 57 of Since You Came Along

Rutvik urged, ‘Don’t be so formal with me, Meera. We have a history, after all.’

Meera forced a smile, refusing to shy away from discussing their history. ‘Speaking of which, how is Ahana doing?’

His expression darkened as he said, ‘Ahana broke up with me.’

‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ Meera offered, her voice neutral.

‘She couldn’t trust me after what I did to you,’ he admitted, his words deliberate. ‘She was afraid I’d cheat on her too. It destroyed us.’

The remorse in his voice felt like a trap, but Meera didn’t know how to respond. She looked around, trying to find Raghav in the crowd.

Rutvik leaned closer, his voice dropping further. ‘I wanted to tell you something, Meera.’

Her heart skipped, her senses on high alert as she met his gaze.

‘I wanted to contact you earlier,’ he began, his tone almost wistful. ‘But I didn’t have the courage. I’m sorry for what I did to you.’

She tried to swallow past the hard lump in her throat, her emotions warring with her rationality. His words felt rehearsed, calculated, and yet they stirred an unresolved ache within her.

He continued, ‘I thought you’d moved on. But when I saw you at the meeting, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I came here today only for you, to talk to you.’

His confession hung between them. The memories of old wounds surfaced in her mind.

The music swirled around them. As Rutvik took a step closer, Meera stepped back. A knot tightened in her stomach. It felt wrong to be this close to him again.

‘Letting you go was a mistake, Meera. I never should have done that to you,’ Rutvik said, his voice oozing regret. ‘I loved you so much, but Ahana… she tempted me into sleeping with her. It was the biggest mistake I ever made.’

Meera stared at him, unblinking, unable to believe the audacity of his words. He was shamelessly shifting the blame onto Ahana, conveniently washing his hands of guilt. Her laugh was cold and bitter, the sound startling even to herself.

Her mother’s question surfaced in her mind.‘When did the problems start, Meera? Before or after he cheated?’Meera could not answer then, but now it was glaringly obvious to her.

The cracks had been there all along, but undeniable now as she stood in front of him. She saw him now for what he truly was—manipulative, selfish, and utterly devoid of accountability. She just hadn’t wanted to face the truth back then.

Meanwhile, across the room, Raghav leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. He watched Rutvik and Meera move together on the dance floor. The way her gaze lingered on Rutvik as she listened to him was like a punch to the gut. The sight was unbearable. Helpless, he looked away.

Abhay appeared at his side, fuming. ‘What the hell are you doing? Why did you let him near her?’ he hissed, anger vibrating in his voice. ‘I’ll take care of him right now.’ He stepped forward, but Raghav stopped him with a firm grip on his shoulder.

‘Don’t, Abhay. This place is full of her colleagues. Don’t create a scene.’ His voice was steady, but his eyes betrayed his turmoil as they stayed glued to Meera.

‘I don’t care!’ Abhay snapped. ‘She was a wreck just seeing him from afar the last time. Do you realise how much this will hurt her? She’ll carry this for days, Raghav.’

‘I trust her. It’s her choice,’ Raghav said, though every fibre of his being screamed to storm over there and rip that bastard to shreds for touching his wife. His fingers itched to pull her away, to shield him from Rutvik. But he had to trust her. Meera deserved that.

Clueless to her thoughts, Rutvik pressed on, ‘I should have been a better boyfriend. I should have taken care of you, loved you more. I know I was too controlling, but it was only because I loved you so much. I wanted us to be perfect. You meant the world to me, Meera. And I threw it all away because I’m a horrible person.’ He paused, looking at her, as though waiting for her to disagree.

Meera didn’t take the bait, remembering all too well how he twisted words and wielded them like weapons. Rutvik took her silence as encouragement and stepped closer, his voice droppingto a pleading whisper, ‘I can still be that man for you, Meera. It’s not too late. I can give you everything you ever wanted, everything you deserve. I can love you for the rest of your life.’

It was in that moment that the contrast hit her, stark and undeniable. Rutvik had been the one to say, ‘I love you,’ during their four years together. But it had been empty words, void of the actions.

Raghav, on the other hand, showed her every single day how much she meant to him. In the little notes he left on the fridge, in the way he stocked her favourite snacks, in the random orchids he brought home just to see her smile.

Meera didn’t need the words. Her husband showed her how he felt in a thousand small, thoughtful gestures. And with that came the realisation of what she felt for Raghav as she closed her eyes.

She was in love with her husband. The knowledge filled her with a rush of emotion so strong it made her breath hitch. She wanted to tell him right then and there.

Her eyes snapped open, searching the room until they found him. Raghav was leaning against the wall, his face blank, though his eyes betrayed a storm of emotion.

Meera wanted to run to him, throw her arms around him, and tell him everything she’d just realised. But first, she had to deal with the bastard standing in front of her.

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