The Iceberg Method (Kareena version)

Chapter 12

Toh yeh rha guys aap logo ka bonus. I hope you guys enjoy it.

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I felt the tears seep through the fabric of my shirt but I didn’t care. I held the shorter girl tightly against me as she continued to cry. I don’t know how long we had been like this but I knew I had missed my class. I made a mental note to send an email out to my students and apologize. But as I sat on the couch of Naina’s private office with the said girl still crying uncontrollably into my shirt I think I made the right decision in staying with her. The poor girl informed me she had no idea about her lovers current marital status. He had apparently told her he was divorced when their relationship started,three years ago.

I recalled that three years ago Jay still didn’t know about Haseena and I. So it then made sense why it didn’t bother him that Haseena was cheating, he was doing the same thing. My mind then began to wonder, if your wife tells you she’s cheating and you are also holding out your own affair why stay together? Was is simply because it was familiar? Comfortable?

I couldn’t wrap my head around it.

But before my mind could wander too much the crying girl grabbed my attention when I heard some incoherent mumbling against my chest. She had done that a couple times before. When I told her it was like, everything started to make sense to her. Gaps in her relationship with Jay that were now being filled. Like why he never wanted to move in together, or meet her parents, or make any real movement to solidify their relationship. These were the things she mumbled earlier when we entered her office. I stopped wondering if she was directing her words to me or just thinking out loud as she put the pieces together. Either way, I’m not sure when she collapsed onto me but I haven’t had the heart to walk away from her since.

I find it incredible the rippling effect that one man can have. See, because it’s not just Naina. Jayant is the source of my pain. He is the man that kept Haseena from me for years. He is the one who sleeps beside her, kisses her goodnight and wakes up next to her every morning and the thought of that is more painful than you could imagine. He is the man who took the happiest person I have ever met and lied to the unsuspecting woman for two years, turning her into the sorrowful girl next to me. But most importantly he’s the man to blame for Haseena’s heartbreak, he’s the one to blame for her not speaking to me right now. The worst part of it is he probably doesn’t even know what he’s done. He’s completely unsuspecting of the devastation he’s created around him, and for that I hate him even more.

I felt a weight being lifted off me as Naina sat up straight.

“I’m sorry” she said as her crying slowly came to a stop. I handed her a tissue from the box that was at the nearby table.

“Nhi koi baat nhi”

She sighed “Yeh puchna thoda sa weird hoga but kya aapke paas uski wife ka koi photo h” she asked.

For a split second I found it odd but then it made sense, she wanted to see the competition so to speak.

Of course, I had a picture of Haseena. But instead of showing her the pictures I still had saved on my phone of our time together I opted for going on the schools website and finding the picture of her there to make sure I didn’t raise any suspicions in the older girl.

“Oh, that’s not even fair” she sighed as she looked at the picture of Haseena

“Yeh toh ekdum perfect h!”

I smiled. She sure is, I thought.

Once I noticed my reaction might be inappropriate, so I cleared my throat and put away my phone.