IN LOVE WITH YOU HARI CHAPTER 17
I was knocked off in the blue by Avinash’s confessions. I wished I could explain to him that I am Hari’s girl. My soul, my mind, my heart and my body belonged to Hari. I could only love Hari and no other man. I wasn’t in the right state of mind to explain all this to Avinash. However, his career and his ambitions had been compromised just because of me. I felt liable to put him back on the right track.
“Hi Susmitha. Remember me? I’m Gayathri. You gave me Avinash’s gifts, remember?”
I met Sushmitha, who was Avinash’s best friend. She was the very first person to tell me about Avinash’s feelings.
She was sitting alone on the floor at the corner of the chaotic canteen building lost in her own World.
“Of course. How can I forget you?” she wasn’t delighted to see me.
She looked depressed and annoyed. I could sense her vibes. Her expressions screamed that I should stop the conversation and leave. I wondered what made her so livid.
I ignored her arrogance as I wanted to talk about something important to her. I sat down next to her and looked into her eyes.
“I need your help. It’s about Avinash. I know both of you are really good friends and only you can help me to bring him back”
“I do not want to help you in any way. You have ruined his life and his career. He left his internship. It was a golden opportunity. Who else gets such an opportunity? The company is ready to take him back, but he doesn’t wish to go back leaving you. He doesn’t talk much to his friends. He prefers sitting alone. He has started smoking too. I haven’t seen him smile for many days. He is always sad or angry. He doesn’t answer my calls or replies to my messages. We were so close. You are responsible for ruining everything. Go away. I hate you” her beautiful white face and her dove eyes turned red in fury.
I was in deep agony when I realized that I was the slayer of their relationship. A pain gushed through my heart and mind like a swarming river and drowned me in culpability. Although it was unintentional, I felt responsible to fix this situation.
“Please listen to me. You have misunderstood me. I am in love with someone else. Our families know about our relationship and our marriage is fixed. I do not love Avinash. However, he doesn’t seem to understand. He’s being adamant on staying back. I cannot alone persuade him to go back. You are his best friend and I thought we both could convince him to go back to the US and finish his project. I feel guilty as I was the reason he came back. Although unknowingly, I ruined his life. I want everything to be normal and perfect like before. Please help me”, I urged.
She nodded her head after thinking for a while and got up and started walking with me.
She knew where to find him. He used to stand near the corridors of our classroom before and after our lectures. Rest of the day, he used to spend in the deserted canteen outside our college. We both went inside the canteen and saw him lying on a bench. His eyes were closed, and his head was resting on his backpack. There was a cigarette in one of his hands. He sensed our presence and opened his eyes. He was surprised to see us there together.
“What happened? Why have you both come here?” he jumped from the bench.
“I want to talk to you Avinash”, I replied.
“Listen, if you both are here to convince me to go back to the US, then please go away. I am not interested in talking about it”, he threw his lit cigarette on the floor and crushed it under his shoes.
“It’s not just about you going to the US. It is about our lives that I want to talk to you. Please hear what I have to say and then decide” I said.
“What about our lives? Why is Sush here with you?” he questioned looking at her angrily.
Sushmitha cringed when he questioned her presence and started walking away. I asked her to stop and said, “Because it is about her life as well.”
Avinash and Susmitha looked at each other and were puzzled.
“Avinash, you have been so engrossed in your blues that you gave up everything and everyone. You left your dream project and came back. That was so foolish of you. You know that I am in love with Hari and I will never be yours. Yet, you are being adamant on staying back. What will you gain in the end? Have you ever thought about your parents and your friends? Do you know how much expectations the college had from you? You have acted so selfishly by coming back. You thought only about your feelings. You didn’t think how much you will hurt others by doing so. Do you know that your friends are upset because of you? Have you ever noticed the pain in their eyes when they see you suffering? How will you? You have just built a boundary of smoke around you with these cigarettes”
I grabbed Sushmitha’s hand and pushed her in front of him.
“Look into her eyes, she loves you. You love her too. She was your best friend. You told about me only to her and not anyone else. Yet, she loves you. She had made your dreams as her own dreams. She was shattered when she learnt you will not go back. She feels dejected and lonely just because you did not realize how much she loves you. What wrong did she do?”
Susmitha bent down and sat on her knees after hearing my words. She covered her face and wept. She felt like her heart was on display and felt angry and embarrassed.
Avinash stood stunned with his eyes wide open. Before he could say anything, I said, “Please listen to me. Forget me! I can understand that it will not be easy, but you do not have a choice. We should not spend our lives with whom we love rather we should spend our lives with the person who loves us. Susmitha really loves you a lot. Your loved ones want you to go back and do this project. Please go back and fulfill your dreams. Be wise enough to make the right decision. Please don’t disappoint us.”
I bent down and hugged Sushmitha. She hugged me back.
Avinash left without uttering a word. He was puzzled and didn’t seem to know how to react to the situation. I consoled Susmitha and went to her house and stayed back till she was feeling better.
I reached my house and decided to take a bath. I was lost in my own thoughts when the doorbell rang. I fastened my pace of bathing and rushed to the door to open it. I opened the door and was astonished to see him in front of my house. I stood there frozen.