I don’t know what had come over him the last few days. Till a week or so back, everything was fine. Well, as fine as it could be for two strangers, a man and a woman, engaged but not to each other, living together.

It was shameful what I was doing. But I had no choice. I had to convince my parents and I had to lie. It was not a good plan but it was the only plan. And impossible without Sharan’s help. It helped that his fiancée understood, and trusted Sharan, as I didn’t want to increase the number names in the list of the people I will have to hurt eventually.

Sharan was a jewel. In another life, I might have been besotted with him, and wouldn’t have been happier. But this wasn’t another life. Though at times, when I would hear him talking to his girlfriend over the phone in whispers, I would feel jealous. Jealousy of what, I feared to analyse. But in the dark of night, reliving our shared laughter while working in the kitchen, I felt secretly glad that he was mine for the time being.

Well, except for this week. This week his girl will be here, living with us.

Sadly you don’t choose who you fall in love with.

“I don’t know what was wrong. I can’t pin-point it, Dhruv. But I think you should go and stay there for a while…”

“Mia, I told you it was a bloody bad idea… Why did you agree to it in the first place? You must be crazy!”

“You don’t understand, Dhruv….”

“I bloody well do. This is going to be…”

“Dhruv, Sharan is not sleeping with her, okay?! It is not that!”

“Dammit Mia, how are intelligent women like you so blind?!”

“Dhruv, please… listen to me! It is not that. You know Sharan. You have been together since forever… No Dhruv, let me finish… It is nothing like that. I am a woman and you think I didn’t think of these? That girl is not lusting after Sharan, trust me and neither is Sharan, thank God! But it’s something else. They are perfectly civil to each other but there is something cold, almost foreboding in the atmosphere. When Sharan was with me, he was perfectly fine, but there’s a chill in his behavior, so unlike him, when that girl is nearby! Please Dhruv, talk to Sharan, find out what’s wrong… You are his best friend… Please?”

“Mia, you are so blind… It’s nothing but…”

I never thought Maina would sic Dhruv on me, or that she would be so astute to sense that it was required. But Dhruv wasn’t as smart thankfully. Or sadly? He thought it was the usual sexual tangle. As much as he loved Maina, he was too loyal to his oldest friend. And it made it easy to stay loyal to Maina and confess of being ‘just a man’. His evident expectation of my confession shrouded his senses. He never realized my lie.

And that was necessary. I didn’t want Dhruv to distract me, or Maina to get caught in the crossfire.

I apologize if the ‘Series‘ format is making you impatient. Honestly, this was an outline that I had been building upon and hadn’t taken into being read so closely! I hope you will enjoy reading in parts as they come as this is not really a short story but an attempt at a story about the complex nature of the human mind (even in the most uncomplicated individual). Thanks for your interest so far. It fueled me  to keep writing and inspired me to see Sharan’s story to the end. Love, G.