Two boats

"Riya's point of view,"

"How did I end up here?" When I opened my eyes the next morning, I was in my hotel room. Last night, I was at a bar.

"I'm the one who brought you here." What exactly is Rahul doing in my room? Somewhere last night, in a state of intoxication, I did not commit any mistakes again.

I peeped inside the blanket covering my body. Finally, seeing my clothes on, I breathed a sigh of relief.

He asked, lifting a glass of lemon water towards me, "Riya, how can you cause yourself so much grief because of a man?"

There was a solemn expression on his face. He wasn't speaking to me in his normal jocular manner; instead, he sounded intense, as if he were ready to complete a business deal.

"How did you end up in my room?" I posed my inquiry by refusing to respond to him.

"Ankur gave me your hotel's address." He replied in hushed tones. After all, why is he so upset? Have I done something wrong with him while inebriated?

"But, so far, what have you been doing in my room?" I was annoyed, wondering what he had been doing in this room all night.

"I was about to leave you here when you grabbed my hand and stopped me."

"What? That is not possible for me. Is it between us? I mean, have I been with you?" I didn't know how to ask Rahul about what had happened between us.

"Relax, nothing happened as you think; yeah, you tried, but I kept my cool," he said, a sly smirk on his face.

"Stop your nonsense and leave my room right now." I stood up and tossed the pillow over him.

"What happens if I don't go?" He seized my toss pillow in mid-air.

"So I'm going to contact the management and get you out of here." It enraged me after hearing his mocking remarks; how could he make light of such a sensitive subject?

"You can't do that?" He remarked this while placing the pillow on the bed.

"I definitely can. I'm calling the manager right now," I remarked as I picked up the receiver from my side table's landline.

"Riya, put back the receiver. Don't waste your time. Because I am the owner, the manager cannot kick me out of this hotel." He grabbed the receiver from my grip and placed it on the landline.

"Will you forcibly enter anyone's room if you own this hotel?" I wasn't expecting Rahul to use his power in this manner.

"Riya, could you please put your anger aside for a moment and listen to me?" His tone became solemn once more.

"Tell me what you've got to say." I tried to make my voice sound more normal.

"How long will you continue to be harmed by your past?" His voice sounded broken, and it filled his eyes with a range of emotions as he stared me down. He wasn't acting normally today, yet It filled his eyes with an unknown emotion.

"There is no need for you to get involved in my matters, Rahul, because you haven't yet become a close enough friend to do so." I tried to make him aware of his limitations.

"I'm not interested in being your only friend; I like you and want to think about our relationship." His expectant gaze fell on my face.

"No, it will not happen;" how can I forget about Harsh like this and move forward?

"Riya, I know it won't be easy for you, but can't you just give me one chance?" Why, though? Isn't he aware of my past? This may be the reason.

"Rahul, You probably do not know about my past, that's why are you asking me to think about our relationship? You probably wouldn't want to talk to me if you knew."

"Riya, even before I met you, Ankur told me everything I needed to know about you. To tell you the truth, I fell in love with you the moment I saw you. You can be furious with me all you want, but I never feel terrible about what you say. You're the only female I've ever met who didn't even let the sound out of my mouth correctly on our first meeting."

"Rahul, I don't want to hurt you because you are a wonderful man, but...,"

"But what is it?"

"But I don't want anyone else in my life to take Harsh's place." I don't want to hurt Rahul's feelings because I know how it feels to love someone and have them choose someone else.

"Which Harsh are you talking about? The one who abandoned you and married someone else?" Hearing me, he became irritated.

"Yes, I'm talking about the same Harsh, but he didn't abandon me; I ruined our relationship because of my mistake, and now I'm paying the price for it."

"Do you realize that the punishment you're talking about will last a lifetime? Harsh will not return to you."

"Yes, I understand." He said nothing I didn't already know, yet I couldn't stop the tears from streaming down my face after hearing what he said.

"Do you want to hurt yourself despite knowing everything?" He was surprised and looked at me.

"This is my penalty for my mistakes, and I will no longer run away from them."

"Last night, when inebriated, you were simply taking Harsh's name. What is it about him you don't want to forget and move on with your life?"

I said, fiddling with my fingers. "I don't know."

"Last night, seeing you pine for Harsh made me envious of him. I hope you love me as much as I do, so I won't waste any time making you mine."

"Would you be able to accept me after being betrayed by love?" Looking at his face, I inquired.

"Maybe not, but I'd forgive her if someone like you accepted her mistake."He replied thoughtfully.

With a phony laugh, I said, "It's easy for you to say because nothing like this has happened to you."

"No, I'm not saying this merely to make you feel better; no, I'm telling you the truth. I am unconcerned about your past; I believe in living in the present." Listening to him gave me hope that perhaps Harsh would forgive me as well, but I could never return to his life, and this notion was sinking into my heart in misery once more.

"Rahul, I did not know you were so strong." Listening to his statements, I couldn't believe that he was such an open-minded individual.

"You never know; you might fall in love, too, if you just get to know me a little." His yearning eyes were looking at me once more. But my heart was not ready to let go of Harsh.

"Sorry, Rahul, but love isn't something that happens while you're living with someone; it's just a habit; love is something that we can't live without. I can survive on Harsh's memories, but I won't be able to live if I forget him and compromise with someone else."

"Riya, believe that until today; I had never seen a girl like you."

"And because I am a single piece in the world, you cannot see girl like me in the future also." I wiped my tears away and continued.

"If in the future you decide and you need a partner to help you move forward in your life, then I'm the one for you.

Rahul, I'm sure you can remember my name now." His eyes were welling up with tears, which he was doing his best to disguise. But I can sense his anguish. I didn't want to break his heart, but I also didn't want to take two boat rides.