Chapter 5: Ice Cream, Guilt, and the Unraveling

Kabir’s voice trembled, "Priya, y-you stop crying, okay? Listen to me."

I widened my eyes, lip trembling, letting my tears glisten. Every woman knows the power of a public breakdown—my Nani always said, let them drown in your tears if they dare hurt you.

Kabir opened and closed his mouth, lost for words. I sobbed quietly, shoulders shaking. It was my Filmfare moment—tears and all. Waterproof makeup, hair perfect. If this was a serial, I’d cue the dramatic music now.

Kabir grabbed my wrist, his palm sweaty. "You’re overthinking, Priya. What photo? Must be a misunderstanding. Please stop crying, yaar."

I let him stew, then gently pushed his hand away, giving him one last wounded look. "Sorry, Kabir, I troubled you."

I wiped my face, straightened up. The salesgirl approached, voice soft: "Madam, your dress and bag…?"

I nodded, “I’ll take them. And that other bag too—sab le lo.”

I turned to Kabir, voice quiet: "I’m accepting these things. You and Arjun must be happy now, right? He finally has a reason to dump me."

Kabir flinched. "Stop talking."

I stood tall. If I was to be painted a gold-digger, might as well own it.

Kabir was silent all the way out, arms full of shopping bags and guilt. He started to say something, but I cut him off, covering his mouth with my hand, then nervously twisting my dupatta—an old family habit.

"Kabir, I don’t know what you want to say, but I’m scared. Let’s pretend nothing happened, okay? Please don’t tell Arjun."

He asked, "You like him that much?"

I nodded, eyes steady. "Hmm."

"What do you like about him?"

I smiled, thinking of all the silly reasons girls give. "I don’t know, I just really, really like him. I’m happy when I see him. If he pays attention to me, I’m happy for days."

I looked at Kabir, moved closer. "What do you think of me? Do you dislike me?"

He shook his head, voice gentle. "How could I dislike you?"

"Then can you say something nice about me in front of Arjun? Just say, ‘Priya is actually nice, not that annoying,’ and tell him to pay more attention to me. Okay?"

Kabir looked away, cheeks red. "Okay."

I beamed, "Thank you! Are you feeling hot? You’re sweating. Let’s get ice cream, it’s supposed to be really good."

He looked so guilty, I nearly felt sorry for him. Nearly.

I fed him a spoonful, grinning, "I’m afraid you’ll be unhappy and won’t say nice things about me."

He sighed, letting me feed him. The longer I stared, the redder his face got. For once, he was the flustered one.

After, Kabir sat me down at a café. "Priya, I don’t know what photo you mean, but it must be a misunderstanding. As for Arjun… maybe you two just aren’t right for each other?"

My smile froze. "Not right? What’s wrong with me? I can change."

Kabir hesitated, then let me grab his hand tightly. "Weren’t you going to say nice things about me? You promised."

He squeezed my hand, voice soft. "There’s nothing wrong with you. It’s Arjun who doesn’t deserve you."