Author's note: Just to put it out there, I write stories with fucked up characters and an angsty storyline. So, let me warn you for once. This is not just any boy-meets-girl, rich-girl-falling-in-love-with-poor-boy story. So, if you're expecting cute puppy love with stars and butterflies, with lots of kisses and SMUT, then this story is not per your expectation. This is a romance genre story, so romantic encounters are obvious. But... you'll have to wait. Again, this story is complicated with fucked up characters. So, that's that. But I can promise, you won't face boredom reading this story, and have a closure for sure. I hate open endings. So, keep that in mind and happy reading. I love you. 😘❤️

..

She felt like crying. But couldn't. The angry-frustrated tears from earlier had dried on her cheeks. It was a struggle to hide the feelings that physically hurt her inside. She wasn't the strongest of warriors, but it was a necessity to conceal her pain in order to see her family smiling.

Ritu had never been the expressive one. People always took her as the haughty and demanding spoiled daughter of a rich man. But that was just the tip of an iceberg. In reality, it was just a camouflage. She was tired of putting a brave face to the world. She was tired of being misunderstood, tired of being reckless in order to escape the insufferable feelings trapped inside her. She was tired of her flaws and insecurities, tired of the fake smile she wore... just tired of feigning resilience.

Apparently, everything in her life was organized and perfect. So, everybody thought she had no problems in her life. Any stranger could conclude that she was the happiest person alive to have a close-knitted family that got each other's back. But the reality was far from what was visible to the naked eyes.

She was tired of pretending to be strong while every day she was fighting the loneliness and breaking inside piece by piece. Most of those around her were incapable of understanding how tiring it was to act okay and always be strong while her inner struggles were pushing her towards the edge.

After her outburst in the morning, she was escorted to her room by Vijay who expressed his disappointment quite verbally.

"What is this behavior?" Vijay demanded once they passed the threshold of the balcony. "You need not to scream out what you mean every single time. Especially in front of strangers."

Ritu sulked as Vijay added, "Ritu, they're rivals! We need to be extra careful with them, especially in a sensitive time like this. You can't flip out in front of them like that."

Ritu tried to defend herself. "I'm not sure why I yelled like that. It just happened."

"No! You're in the wrong. Accept your fault when it is really yours."

"Okay, fine. I'm sorry." She averted her gaze and huffed.

Vijay sighed, then said in his fatherly tender tone, "Once the damage is done, a sorry cannot restore its former essence. Always remember this old man's words."

Ritu looked down at her hands. Everything was bleak. She felt stupid and numb at the same time. "Vijay uncle, why is everything I do is another mistake to the world? I can never do things correctly. Why so?"

Vijay's eyes softened as she continued, "Just see what happens when I do something keenly." She held her knees and squeezed them. "I thought I was going to save Didiya and Gyan. But as usual, remained derisively unsuccessful and lost two effing months from my life. Why is it I always mess things around a little more?"

Vijay tsked, "Language Ritu! And whatever happened, it wasn't your fault."

"It was my fault. If I had listened to Dadabhai and stayed at home, life'd have been different."

"Ritu, listen to me." Vijay said and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Sometimes life throws us into the pit of hell, and forces us to be humble. It's a cruel way, experience is cruel teacher. It might seem a lot at times. You might feel frustrated, angry, overwhelmed...even afraid. But, in the end, they're all just chapters of the same process that makes you humbled. We can't do nothing but accept it. It's the way of life."

"I hate this so-called process. It makes me feel helpless. Sometimes, I feel like I'm a clown. People see me as a fiasco and laugh behind my back."

Vijay put a hand around her and said in a softened tone. "You're not a fiasco. You need not to think about what others think. You're only twenty-one Ritu. Just focus ahead of you."

"Yeah, right." And that makes my anxiety turn worse. Ritu thought, but said nothing.

Vijay patted her back then got up. "And, try to keep your temper in check. Otherwise, it'll cost you high in some unexpected way."

So, since then, she had been repenting inside her room and remembering all the times she had been nothing but a disappointment. Vijay asked her to focus on her life ahead. But she was so clueless. Sure, she had been enrolled in the fashion designing course. But then what? Launch her boutique? Work under some renowned designer?

Ritu knew, if she asked her parents just once, they'd move heaven and earth to do networking for her career. But that again meant, she was nothing without her parents, and dreadfully dependant on them for her survival. She wouldn't survive a single day without them.

But, did she really want to bother them? At the very moment, they had far more important things on their plates to deal with. She couldn't really intensify the anguish of being the burden on them.

Ritu mournfully looked out the window and watched the sky getting darker with each passing moment. It was almost like her frame of mind.

But it didn't stay like that for a long time.

Like a breath of fresh air, like the healer of nature...her world lit up suddenly.

"Ritz!"

A pair of delicate arms wounded around her neck from behind, as she felt a pair of soft bosoms touching her back. Before she could bask herself in the sweet fragrance permeating the air, she tilted her head slightly back and a pair of soft, warm lips captured her own fervently.

For a brief moment, she forgot about her surrounding. There was an urgency in the way their lips moved. Ritu's eyes were shut on their own accord as a tiny sound between a whine and a moan left her mouth. They really knew what they were doing. Ritu raised one of her hands and grazed them through the other's hair whose lose end had fallen over her breasts.

They were kissing like it was the only moment they had been waiting for all this while. Tasting each-others' lips was another thing but forgetting that their lips are two separate entities was another. For a split moment, their kiss turned more intense and demanding before it finally dawned on her.

They couldn't lose it here.

"Wait..." She released her lips and tried to get back to her senses. "Pihu... wait. We can't do it here."

Pihu complained with a whine but let go anyway.

She placed her forehead against hers and whispered. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Ritu said back. Pihu came round and sat before her wheelchair, on the floor.

Before they could say anything else, both looked at each other and grinned.

Pihu was in her late twenties. She met Pihu at the intra college competition her college held during last year September. As the owner cum designer of the famous clothing line, Trippy, which was very popular among the youngsters, she was made one of the judges. In that same designing competition, she faced betrayal from her friend.

Actually, she was naïve enough to consider the newcomer girl as her friend. When she saw her looking lost while struggling with the design, she went ahead to offer her help, and then she had to face cat-calling from her rivals, a bunch of annoying bullies. As she was making friends with the new girl, they called out to them and passed mocking statements which weren't very entertaining. she mocked her saying pretentious. Although she ignored them but they made it impossible to completely unhear them.

Later, when the new girl's design won the competition, Ritu genuinely felt happy for her. She never really saw winning college competition as such a big deal. She was happy just seeing others having fun. But her heart shattered to pieces when the girl came down the stage after receiving her prize and straight away went past her and towards the same people who were passing them bad comments before. Turned out, they planned it since the beginning. As Ritu's design was the best one and had the potential to win, they made this cruel plan so that she wouldn't receive the prize.

And indeed, if she hadn't wasted her time on that other design and assembled her dress instead, she'd have been the winner. Her rivals started mocking and laughing at her again, and the worse part, the new girl contributed in their mockery.

Never in her life she felt so humiliated and used like she felt at that moment.

However, Pihu acknowledged the potential in her design, and shared her personal card with her.

In the beginning, Ritu didn't give it much thought. But when Pihu called her one day and asked her out on a coffee date, she was slightly taken aback. Out of all the students, she was receiving the unpredictable favor from a leading designer. But why? Was it because of her family background? But Ritu was doubtful whether Pihu knew about her background at all. She only met her once, that too for a few minutes. How would she have known?

She was indecisive at first, but then she accepted her offer.

In the fashion industry, if someone wanted to make their footing, they needed to invest in a lot of networking. So, she thought it was a professional meet up.

It came as a surprise nonetheless. Pihu proposed her right on the first day, and she had a breakdown right after that.

The problem was, she couldn't share this situation with anyone. Gyan found out on his own when she was talking on her phone. That stupid-ass eavesdropped! Although he gave her some genuine advices, but they were overpowered way sooner by his furiously annoying teasing.

After much thought, she said yes. Cause, there was no way in hell she wasn't attracted to Pihu by her immensely accentuated classy looks.

After that, Pihu visited her home a few times and tried to be friendly with the members. Her charm worked on some, and deterred by the rest. Sadly, her mother was on the second team.

"God Ritz! For once, I really thought I lost you. But I totally forgot that my girlfriend is so resilient."

Ritu's eyes widened. "Oh my God! Pihu!" she reprimanded quickly. "You can't say that loud here. This is my house and..."

"And no one knows about us! I know!"

"Then stop being careless!"

Pihu pouted and waved her hand dismissively. "Ritz, you scared me real bad huh! For two months?" She gasped dramatically. "I was cursing myself the whole time and thought it was my fault."

"It wasn't your fault. Come on! I was the one who was reckless."

"Yeah, that you are! But I was the one who lent you the car that night. If I didn't, you wouldn't have to go through all this crap. I truly feel guilty."

"So, it was you."

Both shifted their eyes towards the door and witnessed a very displeased Shreya whose eyes were solely trained on Pihu.

Pihu hurriedly stood up and lowered her eyes. She apologized genuinely, "I'm sorry. I didn't expect things could go this wrong."

Shreya entered into the room and strode towards them quietly. Meanwhile, Ritu froze in her seat. She had no strength to avert her gaze from her sister-in-law. Did she see them kissing a few seconds ago? How long had she been waiting outside her room? Was it the end then? Of her cover up?

No one knew about her and Pihu's relationship except Gyan, and he wasn't even here to save her arse.

She was in a deep trouble.