Page 37 of Since You Came Along

Meera didn’t respond, her silence speaking louder than words. Raghav felt anger simmer in his chest, hot and fierce.What kind of man would behave like that?He couldn’t fathom how Meera had endured it.

‘After more such comments from his friends, Rutvik insisted we meet only in private. I was fine with that. But then one day, I got a call from Ahana. She asked me how it felt knowing my boyfriend was ashamed to be seen with me.’

She paused, her voice cracking. ‘I didn’t want to believe her, so I asked Rutvik. When he confronted Ahana, she cried and accused me of lying, saying I was trying to create a rift between him and his friends. Things just… spiralled from there.’

Her shoulders slumped as she leaned back against the couch, drained. The pain in her eyes made his chest ache. He couldn’t stop himself from asking, ‘Why did you put up with all that, Meera?’

Her answer was a simple, ‘Because I loved him.’

Raghav tilted his head, his brows furrowed. ‘Why?’

‘Because, in the beginning, he was amazing. He was charming and thoughtful, everything I thought I wanted. And I didn’t understand why someone like him would be interested in someone like me. I believed I had to work hard to keep him.’

‘A girl like you? What does that even mean?’

‘He was everything I wasn’t. Polished, organised, ambitious. He knew what he wanted out of life and I didn’t. He was systematic, and I was chaotic,’ as she said that a tear fell from her eyes.

Raghav recalled the sketch on the table, now recognising the figure she had drawn. It was her—raw and vulnerable, much like the woman sitting before him. The words she’d spoken weren’t hers, he realised. They were Rutvik’s.

‘Let me guess,’ Raghav said. ‘He told you that, didn’t he?’

She nodded. ‘To him, emotions were a weakness. Whenever I expressed how I felt, he’d tell me to grow up. He always compared me to Ahana, telling me how she was more mature than me.’

‘Is she the one with whom he cheated on you?’

Her voice turned hollow as she nodded. ‘Ahana had been trying to come between us for ages, but Rutvik was the one who let it happen. No third person can come between two people unless one of them allows it. When I caught them in bed together, Ahana laughed and said, “About time you knew”. I didn’t even cry. That’s how perfectly I had trained myself not to show emotions in front of Rutvik.’

Raghav leaned closer, his knuckles white as he clenched his hands. ‘He didn’t even try to apologise?’

She laughed, sharply, ‘Rutvik and apologies? They don’t go together. He didn’t regret it for a second. Instead, he blamed me. He said I wasn’t enough, that I didn’t do enough. And that’s why he had to look elsewhere. He said I wasn’t good enough, but Ahana was.’

Her voice was calm, almost detached, but the pain in her words hit Raghav hard. He saw how much Rutvik had broken her. She believed those words. Fury bubbled inside him, but so did a fierce need to protect her. For the first time, Raghav questioned whether he deserved her, too.

‘Please tell me you saw through his bullshit,’ he said, his voice pleading.

Meera nodded. ‘Of course I did. I’d spent every single day trying to bend over backwards to earn his love, his acceptance. I gave him more than I could, so much more that I forgot to keepany part of myself for me, that I bled myself dry. I might not have been good enough for him, but he wasn’t good for me at all.’

His heart swelled with pride and admiration. Despite everything, Meera had found the strength to walk away.

I will be respectful and loyal to Meera till my last breath, Raghav vowed. But as that promise solidified in his heart, another truth crashed into him like a freight train. Meera deserved so much more than he was giving her. She deserved love, with a kind of devotion that went beyond just respect and loyalty.

He had locked that part of himself away after Veronica’s death, sealing it in a way he wasn’t sure if he could ever open it again. The realisation of how little he could offer her gnawed at him.

‘Why didn’t you date again? You could’ve found someone better than him. Someone worthy.’ He stopped short of saying the rest,someone who would love you.

Her gaze focused on the plain white ceiling as she answered, ‘I was a fool in love once, Raghav, and it nearly destroyed me. After Rutvik, I just didn’t have the strength to put my heart on the line again. I was too emotionally drained to even think about love.’

‘And when I saw him today, everything came rushing back. We didn’t even talk, but just being in the same room as him... it took a toll on me. Since then, it’s like the past won’t stop echoing in my mind.’

They fell silent. Meera could hear the night crickets, the occasional howl of the wind, the horn of a car passing by.

Raghav’s question sliced through the silence. ‘Do you have any regrets?’

‘Yes, I regret going to college today,’ she said, making Raghav chuckle.

Then her tone turned serious a moment later.

‘Ever since I was a kid, I had this dream of an evening wedding. A traditional ceremony first, and later, a small, intimate wedding with my friends. One wedding with my blood family and one with my bond family. Siya would be my maid of honour, and Swayam would walk me down the aisle. My husband and I would exchange rings and vows, promising to bind our lives together forever.’

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