Page 82 of Right Where I Belong
“—Enough,” Aditya shot out. “You and I have no future because you don’t want to have one with me. You, me, and Ahaan—we had something beautiful between us. But you threw it away because you’re too afraid to trust me with your secrets.”
“I told you I don’t want you, and I don’t love you,” she said.
“And I actually did believe that. But looking at you now… You haven’t been sleeping well, have you? You miss me, don’t you?”
She shook her head. “No. I’m fine.”
“I don’t believe you, but you can continue living in denial. You could have chosen to be happy with me. But instead, you chose to stand in the way of your own happiness!” He exhaled. “When I told you that I loved you, I meant it unconditionally. So, whatever has happened in your past wouldn’t have mattered to me in the least. We all have a past. Hell, I have a very recent one with Kanika.”
“Thatisn’tthe same,” Sabrina whispered.
He shook his head. “You know what, I’m done fighting for someone who doesn’t trust me enough to have her back when it matters the most. Who doesn’t thinkI’mworth fighting for. I’mdone.”
Sabrina flinched. He turned to walk away, but then he paused and went up to her again.
“I care about Ahaan,” he said, his tone firm. “And I’d like to keep visiting him for some more time, if that’s okay with you. I’ll eventually phase out my visits so he’s not hurt in the process. I don’t want him to ever feel I cut off contact with him because he did something wrong.”
Her throat worked as she swallowed, her eyes darting toward the bouncy castle where Ahaan played, then back to him.
Without waiting for her answer, Aditya turned on his heel and walked back toward his friends. He could feel the weight of their stares. Rithwik, Raashi, and Keya—all of them had been watching and had obviously joined the dots. Everything was now out in the open.
He couldn’t hide the truth from them anymore. And really, did it even matter now? It was all over anyway.
28
Shock was written clearly across his friends’ faces. Keya’s eyes were wide, her lips parted as though she couldn’t believe what she’d just seen. Raashi’s expression was sharper, a frown pulling at her brows, questions brimming behind her silence. And then there was Rithwik. The weight in his gaze cut deeper than either of the women’s. After all, Rithwik had warned him to steer clear of Sabrina, and he hadn’t listened.
“Do we need to ask the obvious?” Raashi broke the silence. “Clearly, Sabrina is the woman Rithwik was talking about.”
“When did Sabrina and you become a thing?” Keya asked. “Why have we not heard of this before? We know she was in Singapore at the same time as you. Did it… start there?”
He faced Rithwik instead, who was watching him silently.
“How did you know it was her?” Aditya asked.
Rithwik’s steady gaze latched onto him. “Ahaan came home last week to spend the night, and he was absolutely mad with his mother because she didn’t allow him to see the India-New Zealand T20 match thatyouhad taken them to. He told us how you’d been visiting his house often.”
Fuck. He’d never even considered that Ahaan would have spoken to Aisha and Rithwik about him. Of course, Ahaan must have been distressed to miss the match. And he was close to Aisha and Rithwik. It made sense he would have vented to them.
“I figured you and Sabrina had become friends while in Singapore, that’s why you were visiting her. I didn’t suspect anything more,” Rithwik said. “But seeing your face when Sabrina walked in—your expression was all the confirmation I needed that there was indeed more going on. You looked… besotted. And then watching you with Ahaan, and later with her…” His lips formed a thin line. “This… you and her… started in Singapore, right?”
Aditya swallowed hard, his jaw tense. “Yes.” There was no use denying what was pretty apparent now. “And I’m sorry. I couldn’t stay away even though you warned me to.”
“That is irrelevant right now,” Rithwik said.
“Oh my God,” Keya said. “I’ve spent a long time with her planning everything for Kush’s birthday. I even asked her how it was in Singapore for her. But she never mentioned meeting you. Not even once.”
“Explain now,” Rithwik ordered.
“I was in a relationship with Sabrina, but she called it off.”
“And you didn’t want that. No wonder you look so sad,” Keya surmised. “Will you tell us everything?”
For a long moment, the words were stuck in his throat. Then, taking a huge breath, he began. He told them everything. The words poured out of him in a rush, raw and unvarnished, until there was nothing left to hold back. When he finished, his chest felt lighter, though the ache in his heart remained.
His three friends stared at him, as if unable to believe what he’d told them.
Rithwik touched his shoulder. “I never imagined that she’d hurt you like this. I feel awful that you didn’t confide in mebecause you thought that I’d be more protective of her. You are my best friend, and her breaking up with you the way she did is simply wrong. You didn’t deserve it.”
