Chapter 6: Late Night Negotiations

“Neha, was that guy the one who just called you?”

“What did you two talk about for so long?”

She sounded calm, almost amused, as I pressed her for answers.

“Rohan Sir, aren’t you being a bit too nosy?”

Her tone made me pause. I wiped sweat from my brow, voice softening, “With our situation, and you still seeing other men, isn’t that unfair to me?”

Neha laughed, a short, sharp sound. “Rohan Sir, what is this—are we lovers, or husband-wife?”

I hesitated, lost for words.

She continued, “See? You know too. We’re neither. So why can’t I meet another man?”

I had no answer.

She added, “You have a family. I knew from the start—you’d never leave them for me.”

“That’s why I keep my head clear.”

She let the silence linger, fiddling with her phone. “If I really fell for you, what would I get? Only dukh, no?”

My anger flared and I blurted, “Who says I can’t leave my family for you?”

Neha laughed again. “Rohan Sir, stop joking, yaar. Your child’s about to be born, and you’ll leave your family for me? You think I’m a child?”

Her words made me falter. But the thought of her choosing someone else hurt more than I wanted to admit.

So I snapped, “So what if I have a kid? People with kids get divorced all the time. How do you think those kids happen?”

To show I was serious, I added, “Besides, the baby in my wife’s belly is a girl. I only care about my family name—I don’t like girls.”

Neha finally went quiet.

After a long pause, she asked, “How will you prove you’re serious?”

Delight flickered in me. “Whatever you say, I’ll do.”

She paused again, then said, “Come to my place now and stay the night. Can you?”