A Century of Us

Rohit couldn't tell the world about the deal but he could definitely tell Vritika. He needed to. He wanted to be clean with her. Tell her everything. Plus he had a lot to apologize for.

So he tried calling again and again to Vritika but she wasn't picking up. He got it. It was because of the most absurd and cruel things he had said to her......Curse him to hell and back! 

A massive regret had started hitting him hard. How could he have been so cruel? How could he have degraded her like that? He had made it sound like it was her fault like it was something to be ashamed of. But the truth was, she had been doing the best she could, trying to balance everything while dealing with a life that had thrown more than its fair share of challenges her way.

And he knew that... he fucking knew that! He punched the wall. Didn't he know how hard she had worked day and night to get her earnings? And what had he done? He had belittled her.

What the hell had come over him? The pressure of the situation, the accusations, the anger.... But that was no excuse. None at all. 

And then... Aanya. His stomach churned at the thought. Vritika had seen him with her, the timing damning enough to twist the knife even deeper. She must think he'd abandoned her, traded her in for money or convenience.

"No," Rohit muttered, shaking his head violently. "No, that's not true. She has to know that's not true."

But why would she believe him? He had done nothing but give her reasons to doubt him, to think the worst. Had he lost her then?

No...he wasn't ready to lose her. He couldn't. He wasn't going to let her think and he had left her just because of money. Or worse dumped her because she had made one wrong decision that had affected him the wrong way. It wasn't her fault. She had rejected the deal then but he had it now...he just needs to grovel for the hateful things   he said to her and clear the air.

So he went back to his house to find her to make amends. 

But she wasn't there. 

Her things were gone. The usual clutter of her presence—her shoes by the door, the jacket she always left draped across the couch—were nowhere to be found. She had packed up and left. Rohit's hands had trembled then feeling the guilt swallow him whole.

Where was she? Where should he find her? He had tried calling her again but it yielded the same results. He then tried calling her from a different number...she picked up...he breathed a sign of relief.

"Who's this?" her sweet voice came from the other end.

"Ritz," he said. "It's me."

There was a pause. A long, deafening pause. He could almost picture her standing there, phone in hand, debating whether to hang up. She was definitely going to hang up. He was sure. So he spoke up before she did it 

"Please can you tell me where you are, I want to talk to you in person and apo-"

"You told me not to interfere in your life anymore. So I will not. Don't worry. You can live your life in peace from now on. Congratulations on the marriage. Goodbye."

She hung up. 

Rohit looked at the phone in his hand, stunned.

"You told me not to interfere in your life anymore. Congratulations on the marriage." The way she'd said it—calm, resigned, and utterly detached—it made a shiver go down his spine. She was done with him, truly done. 

 "No," Rohit whispered, "No, Ritz, you've got it all wrong."

 He was so panicked that he called her again and this time she cut the call and sent a single message.