“What a surprise,” his father muttered.
A streak of rage shot through Karthik’s body. Before he could help himself, he added, “Because I called Meghna. Today.” The lie tasted acrid on his tongue.
“Really?” his mother asked. Her entire face brightened, only to quickly dampen when his father spoke.
“Wow. Congratulations.” His father’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “Did you hear that, Shanti? Our son, after meeting eight different women, finally called one of them. What do you think? Should we bring the sweets back out to celebrate?”
The rage within Karthik grew, but he refused to let it show. “Maybe we should. I’m going to ask her to marry me,” he said calmly. The words echoed in the room.
“What?” his father croaked.
“I’m going to ask her to marry me,” he said again. A sense of rightness settled over him. He headed to leave, but took a final look back at his parents. “Happy birthday,” he said with a smile, enjoying the dumbfounded look on his father’s face and the joyful look on his mother’s. It wasn’t until later, when he was halfway back to his apartment, that he realized this meant he’d really have to propose.
He waited for the idea to fill him with horror, but the more he thought about it, the more he wondered whether it wasthatbad of anidea. After all, people broke engagements all the time. And while he was engaged, he wouldn’t be expected to travel and meet all these women. The meetings were starting to take a toll on him, and he couldn’t imagine lasting the rest of the year at this pace. Of course, going through with this would mean that he’d actually have to call Meghna and talk to her again, but for some reason, that didn’t seem like such a bad idea, either.
That night, just as he was about to fall asleep, he reached for his phone, scrolling until he found it: the email his mother had sent him with Meghna’s number. He flagged it and set a reminder to call her the next morning before work. He closed his eyes, feeling at peace about his plan. For the first time in the past month, he slept soundly through the entire night.
—
Meghna lay in bed, eyes wide, staring at the ceiling. Best man?Best man?What had Seth been thinking? And what hadshebeen thinking? How could she have agreed to it?
She tossed back and forth, finally finding a comfortable position on her side. Per the neon lights of the digital clock on the nightstand, it was five in the morning. And by her count, this was the third time she’d woken up tonight. She closed her eyes, hoping to squeeze in an hour or two more of sleep, but nervous energy hummed through her body.
It would have been hard enough going to Seth’s wedding in the first place. Watching him marry someone he considered the love of his life when she’d once imagined the two of them finding their way back to each other. When she’d once thought of him as the one that got away. But this was so much worse. She’d have to smile and pretend to be happy for him. Stand by his side as it all happened and act as if nothing was wrong.
Meghna groaned, reaching for her phone and finally admitting defeat. As much as she wanted to get a bit more sleep, she was awakefor good now. She scrolled through her texts and snorted as she reread an earlier conversation with Ankita.
Meghna: So, that call? It was Seth. He’s getting married.
Ankita: What??
Meghna: And he asked me to be his best man.
Ankita: WHAT?!
Meghna: And I said yes.
Ankita: …
Ankita: I’m coming over.
Just twelve minutes after that text, Ankita had burst through Meghna’s door, rushing into the living room, slightly out of breath.
“Are you kidding me? You’re going to be his best man? What does that even mean? What will you have to do?”
Meghna had shrugged, trying to keep a veneer of calm. “I’ll have to do the same stuff as any other best man.” She hadn’t mentioned that she had very little idea of what that usually entailed.
“But how could Seth ask that of you? Doesn’t he know…He has to know that it’s weird to ask you. That it would be hard for you and…”
Meghna had blown out a breath. “How would he know that? We’re friends. We’ve always been friends. Even when we dated, he didn’t really see me as anything beyond that.” She had forced her lips into a smile, but the movement was brittle. Stiff. “He’s made that very clear.”
Ankita’s arms had immediately come around her, and Meghna relaxed into the embrace. Maybe Ankita was right. Maybe Seth should have realized that asking her to do this would be hard or weird, but Meghna had never given him any reason to think that their breakup back in college had hurt her. Or that she still harbored feelings for him. She’d always played it cool.
Not that she’d really had any other choice. At their collegegraduation, Meghna had felt so secure, so safe in their relationship. She and Seth had been going to different cities, but she had never doubted that they could make it work. Never doubted that Seth was just as committed to their future as she was.
When he’d broken up with her, she’d realized how delusional she’d been. Seth had wanted to go back to being friends. Just friends. And the way he’d said it, he’d made it sound like that was all they’d ever been. Like they’d only dated because it had been convenient. Because they’d been in the same class and lived in the same dorm. And now that they were going their separate ways, this was the only thing that made sense.
She’d been crushed, but with time she’d realized it wasn’t Seth’s fault that she’d gotten carried away. That she’d developed stronger feelings for him than he had for her. She was the one who’d let her expectations get out of control. Who’d dreamed of a future he hadn’t promised her. A future he couldn’t give her.
