Page 343 - The World's Best Boyfriend

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Aranya’s bags were packed and were being hauled out of her apartment by her

brother, father and Raghuvir. An Innova had been called by Raghuvir—he was
certain they would need one. Shifting bases is a cumbersome process. Clothes,
electronics, memories, all stuffed into polyacrylic suitcases. But much to
Raghuvir’s surprise, all her belongings fit into two average-sized suitcases.

‘Check everything once again. Passport? Visa? Documents? Ticket?’ asked
Raghuvir like the responsible man he was. Over the past three days that he had

been living with them he had floored her parents. He was the perfect prospective
son-in-law. So much so that even her brother, she thought, got a little jealous
from all the attention he enjoyed.
Though sometimes she could see the confusion writ large over her parents’

face. Why would a seemingly perfect guy date their daughter?
Quite obviously, they didn’t know that Farah Iqbal and Raghuvir were now

steadily moving towards what could only be described as sexting. Raghuvir
would go down for a smoke every night after everyone slept off and would talk
to Farah till early morning. Aranya had now zero to no guilt about what had
happened between Dhruv and her, only a crushing longing.

Everyone boarded the cab. Her parents were the happiest people. Aranya was
happy, too. After all, her long-standing dream was coming true. Soon she would

be miles away from the family which had failed her. No longer would she be
concerned about what they felt about her moral or social takes. No longer would
she have to depend on them for alms. She was finally going to be independent.

She rolled down the window and felt the Delhi smog run through her hair for
the last time. Raghuvir held her hand. Aranya smiled weakly at him and
wondered when her relationship would break down. She would have to stop

pretending to be Farah Iqbal quite soon. It was too time consuming for her to be
someone else. She had done it for far too long. But she knew it would happen
sooner or later. Two years is a long time. Raghuvir would forget her, find a new

muse, fall in love and leave her alone.
What really bothered her were the miles between Dhruv and her. Would she
ever forget that boy? Would success and acceptance obliterate signs of his

presence? It didn’t feel like it would. The car stopped at a red light and suddenly