Page 262 - The World's Best Boyfriend
P. 262

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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
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