Page 2 of Always With You

“And I don’t find myself enjoying her company like I do with you. Imagine, even after I proposed marriage to her last month in the hopes of experiencing something, she didn’t get intimate with me, saying she would like to save it for our wedding night. God! In which age does that woman live?!”

The contempt in his voice is like a jolt and makes me aware that I am not hallucinating any more. Did he really just say that? His words felt as if someone stabbed my heart with a sharp knife. Sure, we didn’t take our relationship further than stealing kisses here and there, as I insisted on wanting it to be special. I wanted to wait for marriage and was always under the impression that Siddh and I were on the same page. But looks like he had a different mindset, and all that mattered to him was physical satiation.God, I was such a fool!

I need fresh air to clear my head, unable to stand here a second longer. I know it’s a cowardly move, but I’m not brave enough to face him with another woman. Not wanting to torture myself further I turn around ready to walk away for good, but my feet come to a standstill when I hear his voice again, “We’ll get married soon, Kiara.”

Kiara? My friend Kiara?Impossible!Why would they do this to me? I need to confront them. I need my answers. Without giving a second thought, I storm into the bedroom.

“This is what keeps you busy when I am not around?” I yell as I step into the room and make my presence known. Kiara jumps off Siddh’s lap, straightening her barely there red strapless night dress that doesn’t even reach her knees. Siddh immediately rises to his feet, and I notice his hands shake as he buttons his shirt. Both their faces turn white as if they have seen a ghost. My hands move to my stomach. Suddenly, I am feeling sick and am fighting an urge to throw up.

“Alisha?” Kiara’s voice comes out as a squeal as she stares at me.

“You were not supposed to be back… tonight, were you?” Siddh swallows hard. His eyes dart from me to Kiara as he mumbles with uncertainty while he runs his hand through his messy black hair.

Fresh anger fills my veins as I glare at the two people, who were supposed to be my most dependable people.Oh, God! How I wish to strangle them with my bare hands!Taking a deep breath,without breaking eye contact with him, I walk towards Siddh and slap him hard across his face. He winces and rubs his cheek. The sting on my hand matches the mayhem going on in my heart.

“How could you go behind my back and have an affair?” I feel the anger building within me, and with each second, my voice grows louder. “Why did you make me believe that you love me when you clearly wanted someone else? Why Siddh? Why?”

He remains tight-lipped, while his dark black eyes keep staring at me with hurt and something like regret on his face.

“What! Cat got your tongue?” However, he continues to remain silent, which annoys me further. “Damn! You can’t turn mute on me. You have to tell me why you cheated on me.” Tears stream down my face, but I make no attempt to wipe them. “I thought I could trust you. I thought you loved me and wanted to be with me forever. I thought we were… soulmates.” My breath feels hitched as I say the word, which I had associated only with him ever since I understood the meaning of that word. Regaining my breath, I continue, “But apparently not. You have broken my heart into pieces and humiliated me.” My voice cracks as I fight back to keep more tears from flowing. Taking a deep breath, I stare at him. “How could you do this to me? We’ve been through so much together, yet now it seems like all those memories are nothing more than just a bunch of lies created by my imagination.”

“I’m... I’m sorry, but I don’t love you anymore, Alisha.” The hesitant voice and the sadness that spreads across his face as he says those fatal words which I had never ever dreamed to hear from him, make me dumbfounded. However, after his treacherous actions, I should have been prepared for it.

Unable to bear the blow, I stagger back a few steps. I try to speak, but it feels like someone has punched my stomach hard. Something inside me breaks, making my heart ache.

We all stand there for some time, looking blankly at each other. After a while, I find my voice and ask, “When did you fall out of love with me? Please, at least answer this. You owe me at least this.”

“It doesn’t matter. All you need to know is that I don’t love you, and you need to find someone else as your life partner.”

Is he for real? Did I seriously love this douchebag? God, my heart is feeling so worn out. I don’t have the strength in me to have this conversation with him without losing my mind. Without bothering to give a scathing reply to him, I turn to Kiara. “How could you stoop so low?” She opens her mouth to come up with an excuse, but I don’t give her a chance to speak, as I holler, “If you have a bit of decency, do not excuse yourself by simply saying that it was an accident, because you knew he’s my boyfriend, but you still slept with him.” My hands go up in the air as I grit my teeth. “For God’s sake, Kiara, you’re my friend, or was it always with an ulterior motive?”

“I’m sorry, I really am, but….”

“Your sorry won’t fix this!” I cut her off again as I lash out.

They both stare at one another before focusing back at me.

Kiara gives an exasperated sigh and counters, “Look, we know we did make a mistake. But I am not sorry for loving Siddh. And Alisha, if you’re a good friend, you’ll let us….”

I let out a sarcastic laugh. “And if you were a good friend, you would have never hurt me like this.”

“But I did. This shows that I’m not your friend. So, let’s just forget about this and move on,” she shoots back, making my blood boil in fury.

No way in hell will I let her get away with it so easily. I close my eyes for a moment and focus on my breathing.

“You want me to forget about all this, just like that?” I raise my eyebrows, looking at her with an incredulous expression. When she nods her head, I clench my jaws and grit my teeth as I say,“Then I hope you never forget this.” I step forward, raise my hand, and give her a resounding slap.

She gasps and her head snaps to me, anger reflecting clearly in her eyes. “How dare you touch me!”

“Stop behaving like a kid, Alisha.” Siddh’s booming voice fills the room.

Is he serious? After all this, he is expecting me to be civil?! Disgusting.It makes me feel gross when I think that he cheated on me while we were still in a committed relationship.I have had enough of him and look squarely into his eyes. “I hate you, Siddh Gupta. Get the hell out of my sight.” I say with as much disdain as I can muster.

“Let’s go, Sweetheart. We are wasting our time here. She is not worth it,” Kiara spits out as she holds onto his arms and pulls him away.

Siddh glances at me one last time before turning his head as he walks away with Kiara. As soon as they leave, I fall to my knees and break down in tears. All I want to do right now is cry, scream, and let it all out. Damn! It is killing me inside. I’m shattered and broken. The only time I gave love a chance, it left me heartbroken. It hurts. I feel like an idiot for not seeing this coming and trusting him blindly. He has been lying to me pretty much since we moved here, whereas I thought everything was going great between us. But apparently, I was building a castle in the air. When he said he would never hurt me, I was foolish and naïve enough to believe him with all my heart. Now I know he was feeding me empty promises that he never meant to keep.

I’m not sure how long I sat here, staring at nothing. My mind keeps replaying everything that happened moments ago. No, I can’t cry. I need to be strong. I quickly wipe my tears and get myself together.

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