Page 262 - The World's Best Boyfriend
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Dhruv saw Aranya push the door open rather lazily after her conversation with
Raghuvir, as if lost somewhere. To mask his concern he spat out angrily, ‘So do
you have the job yet or not? Finally your sycophancy seems to have paid off,
Aranya. Congratulations! You didn’t even have to interview.’
Aranya didn’t answer. She walked slowly to her seat and sat down, her skirt
crushed beneath her thighs. She fidgeted with her pen, opening the cap, closing
it. Click. Click. Silence. Click. Click.
‘The interview of that boy is taking long, isn’t it?’ asked Dhruv after ten
minutes of piercing, irritating silence.
Aranya clenched her jaws and put on her poker face. She wouldn’t react, she
told herself. She would keep the facts and choices open in front of Dhruv and
wait for his reaction. ‘Raghuvir proposed to me. Sorta.’
‘What?’
‘He said we could try being in a relationship,’ said Aranya, a little loudly, her
voice still stripped of any expression, like a mean lawyer.
Dhruv felt his stomach grumble. ‘You’re kidding, right?’ Dhruv was in half a
mind to grab Aranya, tie her up, and take her away from anyone who might
stake a claim on her.
‘He said he would talk to my parents, make everything okay. He said he will
be with me for good. I don’t think he is going to kid about such a thing. He was
very serious about it.’
‘Are you out of your mind?’ said Dhruv. ‘You’re talking nonsense right now.
You’re imagining things. He would never say that. You know his history with all
those women. He’s never leaving that for you.’
‘He would. He’s getting his act together. And if he has decided it, he will do
it. Raghuvir will make everything all right for me,’ she said and she looked at
Dhruv. ‘He said that. Quite a few times actually.’
‘You’re kidding.’
‘I’m not, Dhruv. He said it to my face. He’s mature enough to think before he
says what he says. He’s out there waiting for my reply and I’m still thinking
what to say to him,’ said Aranya. Her matter-of-fact tone angered Dhruv. Why
the hell was she asking him? He was not going to be a part of her mathematics