Gabriel and Gyan were college sweethearts, and they thought they had found the love of their lives. Then Gabriel got an opportunity in Australia, and he left behind a heartbroken Gyan.
It's been more than five years, and Gabriel finds hims...
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"How pissed is your family?" I asked Anushka as she and I sat opposite each other outside of Angel's Pizzeria.
"I don't give a rat's ass." She munched on some bread with a shrug. "They're talking. What else is new?"
Everyone was talking. That was all they could focus on. Gabriel confessing his love to me at my own ring ceremony. I thought that shit only happened in the movies. Let's just say the guests would never forget last night.
"Do you really not care what your family thinks?" My food was long forgotten.
Anushka took her time to answer as she sat up straight. "If I didn't care, I wouldn't be marrying you."
"How so?"
She smirked. "Gyan Gupta. You're gay. Even if you weren't, I still wouldn't want to marry you."
I leaned back in my chair with my arms crossed. "Thanks."
"It's nothing personal," she said. "I don't think I want to marry anyone. No matter how good the dick is."
I chuckled. "Elaborate."
"You should be concerned about your little curly-haired friend." She put a mushroom in her mouth from her spaghetti. "Not my disinterest in marriage or relationships as a whole."
Gabriel. All I could think about was him, and it had only happened yesterday. I hadn't seen him since he left my ceremony. When I returned to the apartment, he wasn't there, and when I woke up this morning, he was gone, probably left for work. I couldn't even find it in me to text him, not after last night.
This wasn't it. Gabriel and I couldn't end like this. It was a speed bump in the road. We would get through it, like we always did. He just needed some space, then we would talk, and we would be okay.
He always came back to me.
I sighed, leaning towards her. "I wanna think about something else."
"Like how we both don't have the balls to go after what we really want?" she said with a sly smile. "At least, you were born with balls to begin with, but you still found a way to lose them."
I playfully glared at her. "You think you're cute."
She lightly smacked my arm. "I'm messing with you. I'm not judging you. I get it. I really do. We all have roles to play."
"Why are you marrying"—I lowered my voice—"a gay man when you could wait it out and find someone else?" I asked her. "I know you've never been in love or anything, but maybe you just haven't found the right person yet."
Anushka was an enigma. When I first met her, I thought I had her all figured out. The poised, spoiled rich girl who didn't say much, choosing to just smile instead. Then she opened her mouth, shocking me with the things that came out of it. Her parents didn't know the Anushka I saw. The sexually liberated girl who loved going to raves, drinking, and having the mouth of a sailor. I thought I was putting up a façade, but Anushka had me beat. Then again, she didn't seem very close to her parents. It was easier to wear a mask around someone who wasn't around often.
