The Wrong Woman

31. Mouna

He wanted to go to a bar with me?

Rani. Not me.

I gaped at him before nodding vigorously. I'd never stepped foot into such a place but since he had said that I would like it then that meant this was a place Rani liked. This was perfect! He was inviting me out— a very good sign.

His shoulders that seemed rigid and his jaw that had popped as he hesitantly spoke those words were nowhere to be found. Now, his body was slack and the lines on his forehead eased.

He gestured to the lunch box in his hand. "You cook better than me by the way," he said. "And no, I won't say it again just so you can use it against me in the future." I giggled. This was great! "Oh, and uh, I met Veer at the bar. He asked about you."

"Veer?" I questioned.

A flicker of realisation flashed across his face. "Your ex boyfriend."

"Oh, him," I blurted, pretending to know him for some reason. I had to show him that I wasn't completely different right? "I remember him a little." I cringed on the inside seeing the way Dhruv raised his eyebrows at me. But he nodded.

"At least you remember some things. That means you're slowly getting better." He began to wash his lunchbox. "Just let me know whenever you're free."

"Free?" He glanced at me over his shoulder. I nearly slapped myself for forgetting what we were talking about so quickly. The name Veer sounded extremely familiar but it wasn't clicking. Then again, thousands of people in this country had the same name so I didn't know why it stuck to me specifically. "Oh! Yes, the bar. Is going after work okay?"

"That's certainly safer than going before," he joked.

"Then it's a plan!"

***

That day I was incredibly jittery. When I went on-air for the first time, I had a mic clipped and an IFB earpiece where I could hear Tara's voice while I sat, reading from the screen. The words went by so quickly and I thought I was going to faint again.

Thinking about going to the bar tonight was the only thing that kept me going. Somehow, the adrenaline helped me get through the business of that day and I managed to get Tara to smile at me, too!

That evening, I looked through Rani's closet and tried not to gasp at the array of different clothes neatly arranged based on type. She was incredible. No, this closet was incredible. Now was my chance to try on everything. I sneakily laughed to myself as I got out outfit after outfit—I didn't know how to pair stylish pieces—but I did so randomly. I was having fun, not knowing time was running out when I heard a knock on the door.

"You ready?" Had he finished taking his shower already?!

"One moment!" I made sure the door was locked to make sure there was no repeat of last time before taking off the clothes I was wearing currently. Now, I thought, scanning all the clothes on the hangars and the drawers, what did a person wear to a bar? Is a club and a bar the same thing?

Even though I wasn't asking anyone this out loud, just thinking it made me feel silly. As a young woman, I should have been experiencing this but clearly, I had missed out on a lot thinking about my own problems. I went to Rani's laptop and opened up a browser, searching 'dresses to wear to a bar' and a lot of advertisements popped up.

Nothing came up that was particularly useful or similar to any clothes Rani had until I scrolled down. I clicked on an article that showed pictures of simple outfits that anyone could easily recreate with something similar. Surely this could work.

Black leather skirt.

Hmm, Rani had a leopard printed skirt that was very tiny...I shuddered. I couldn't wear that. Especially not in this cold. Then again...it wasn't my body so was it something I needed to worry about? I bit down on my lip. I shook my head. What about ripped jeans?