Stranger Love [completed]

Chapter 18 : Jealous Doesn't Suit You Well

"I thought you liked me. How could you lead me wrong? I can't believe it" Arjun said with disbelief and rejection. He kept asking the same kind of questions for the next few days ever since he heard about Rohini's engagement.
"Do you love me?" she asked
He was silent.
"I can't be one of those girls you date and experiment things with. I'm looking for something long-term, even though it may not be a happy one but it is there till the end, the one my parents approve of, the one both the families approve of" she said sternly.

Arjun started to get where she was going with, came to think of it in her shoes, it made sense. Still he could not do anything about his rejection. He had his doubts what if she was the one he wanted to settle down with. Since he wasn't sure about anything, he decided to respect her choice and give her some space. More he avoided her, the more he missed her. He consoled himself that it takes time to get over her.

That weekend she had plans with her fiance. They were going to watch a movie. She informed Arjun about this earlier. Arjun could not get used to this new member in her life. He hadn't felt jealous before, as she had no male friends. She was basically friendless and Arjun was the only one she had. Probably that's what drew Arjun closer to her. He liked being needed. He also liked being taken care of by her. They were quite enjoying their symbiotic relationship. He had nothing to do that Sunday. The thought that she was out with her fiance while Arjun rolled around on his bed lazy drove him nuts. He decided to do something crazy. He decided to stalk her. Check out who the new fiance guy was. So he headed to the same movie theater they were going to. He didn't try to hide because that'd be very weird when you get caught. So he thought he'd be casual there.

Rohini saw him and shocked what was he doing there. She couldn't believe that he cared enough about her to get jealous in the first place. She didn't want to react or show any emotions, so she pretended like she didn't see him. That made Arjun more angry. He shouted her name through the crowd.
"ROHINI!"
The couple turned towards the sound. Now she couldn't pretend. She acted like she was surprised to see him there. She introduced both of them to each other. Her fiance Akash seemed very friendly. Akash suggested that Arjun should join them to watch the movie, even though he had language problems. Akash suggested that he would translate it for Arjun. And they became instantly good friends.

Inside the theater, Akash sat in between Arjun and Rohini. Arjun looked at her longingly hating the new intruder between them. Rohini pretended to not to see his left alone sad face, she focused on the screen. As the movie ended they bid byes and left separately. Akash insisted that he drop her by her hostel which she lied about. She refused by saying that the Warden doesn't like guys around her hostel. She escaped from him and took a bus to go to her apartment. Arjun was in his room locked quiet by the time she reached there. The evening was slow and dull, with both locked in their respective rooms. At night she came to kitchen to see Arjun standing and eating bread. He stood still as he was ashamed with his stalkery behavior. She drank water and before leaving she hugged him as an apology for ignoring him at the movie theater. She left without looking at him. It made him feel like she was slowly moving away from him and it made him sadder.

She took a lot of leaves to visit her hometown for her marriage stuff. It felt like she almost left him. There was a Hindu festival for which she again went to her hometown leaving Arjun alone. She asked Akash if he could hang out with Arjun as he had language problems. Akash was happy to help his fiance's friend. He took Arjun to his home and their family treated him warm and friendly. Arjun liked the food they prepared for the festival. He appreciated how Rohini still cared for him. He genuinely thought this new guy Akash would be the perfect match for the caring Rohini. He felt bad for not having these qualities himself.

Pretty soon Arjun and Akash became friends. They hung out a lot. They even became drinking buddies as Rohini doesn't drink.

Rohini packed her stuff and vacated the house and took them to her hometown. The house was blank and silent.