Raina didn't really expect Angad to return, but there he was sitting in her bedroom the next night. He was quietly sitting on the armchair and staring at his phone screen. And Raina was staring at him, confused at his intentions. She leaned back against the headrest and pulled her knees close to her chest. She wasn't used to silent nights. Her nights were filled with her own cries and moans and groans of men she satisfied. Her gaze again fell on Angad. She wondered how long he will pretend to be busy on phone. He wasn't even scrolling or tapping.

“I wonder what's so interesting about the blank screen that you keep staring at it. Are you admiring your reflection?” Raina remarked.

Angad shifted his gaze to her and put the phone down on the coffee table.

“I was thinking of ways to strike a conversation with you. We aren't friends anymore naa. It's quite awkward. The silence between us,” He confessed honestly.

Raina disgreed with him, “No, it's comfortable. The silence. I like it. Silence is quite rare here.” She could hear the sound of crickets which she never noticed before.

“Why is silence so precious to you?” Angad asked her while looking at her keenly.

“My nights are never silent,” She rubbed her arms, flashes of men pounding into her appeared in front of her eyes.

“Tell me about your nights,” Angad asked, quite intrigued by her words.

Raina was left off-gaurd when Angad said that. How could she tell him about her nights?

“Umm... they say I'm the most beautiful one here so I have to sleep with men almost every night,” She was confused about how much she should share with him.

“Yeah, I'm spending quite a fortune to be with you. What do you do with them?” Raina was pretty sure that this guy was still a virgin from how innocently he asked that question. But really?

“I don't do anything. They do it as they please,” it was getting awkward for her. Talking about her sex life with the guy she loved.

“Do you like it? The sex?” But it seemed like Angad wasn't going to stop.

“It's a job for me. It doesn't matter if I like it or not,” She replied in a little annoyed tone.

That hint of annoyance in her tone didn't go unnoticed by Angad.

“I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable,” He quickly apologized.

“Are you... a virgin?” Raina asked hesitantly. She wasn't expecting him to be a virgin, but his words said so.

Angad nodded, “I am.”

“But you are around thirty,” she argued.

“So?” He didn't get her point.

“Isn't it normal for you to get into relationships, explore your sexuality, and then get settled when it feels right?”

“I would have. But the girl I liked dissappeared one day so I didn't get the chance to explore.” Did he just put all the blame on her? She was responsible for his inexperience in sex and relationships?

“It's not like I was the only girl left in this world. You could have met someone else,” Raina argued, clearly not liking his words.

“I couldn't like anyone else. I wanted it to be you. My first and my last.”

“Why are you sitting there then? Sleep with me if you want to,” Raina was being difficult, because he was knocking at the door of her heart again and she wasn't willing to let him in again.

“This exactly is the problem. You will treat me like any other man coming here for pleasure. I'm not here for pleasure, I'm here for you.” But he had already entered her heart through a secret door, it seemed.

“You'll be contesting elections from Keeratsar, right?” So now she was trying to push him out of her heart.

“Right,” He nodded.

“What if anyone finds out about you visiting a brothel?” She asked.

“I'm not the only politician coming here. A lot of them do. Their wives and children will be sitting at home and they will be playing with women here.”

“So you want to become like them?” She frowned.

“No,” He disagreed.

“Then stop coming here,” Raina told him stubbornly.

“Why? You don't like my presence around you?” She didn't want to answer that question.

“You are putting your reputation at risk,” She argued. That's the only card she could play to push him away from her.

“No one will find out,” Angad told her confidently.

“We have no future, Angad,” It hurt to say that but it was true. What future a girl like could have whose world was confined to this Kotha since her birth?

“I don't care.”

“You should leave.”

Angad stood up from the armchair and took long strides towards her. One moment he was towering over her and the other moment he bent down and locked their lips. Raina was left off-gaurd by the sudden lip lock. Her arms wrapped around his neck while his hands snaked to her exposed back. Her blouse was kept at place by a single string at the back. Angad fought the temptation to untie the string and take a look at her bosom. The kiss ended after long moments and left them both craving for more. It felt so different to be kissed by him. As if he poured his heart into the kiss to tell her how much he loved her.

He wiped her tears, which she didn't realise were flowing down her cheeks. Just one kiss and her resolve was broken. She can't push him away. Not after experiencing how it felt to be loved by him. Could it be their future? Do they have a future together?

“Be mine, Raina.”

He kissed her forehead before getting up from the bed. Angad picked his phone from the coffee table and walked out of the room.

Raina sighed loudly when he left the room. More tears came running down her cheeks. She just hoped he won't disappoint her. There were a lot of failed love stories floating around in the Kotha. Tales of shattered dreams of prostitutes like her. She didn't want her love to fail.

✿ ✿ ✿

Among the failed love stories narrated at the Kotha, many believed that Payali's love affair will become a part of it soon. Payali was only a year older than Raina. She must be around fifteen when she was thrown into the Kotha by her own father due to a debt he couldn't pay. But Payali was strong and somewhat fortunate too. Because one day the crown prince of Keeratsar walked into her room.

It is said that Raja Adhiraj Scindia of Keeratsar was living in a loveless marriage. His wife knew about his visits to brothels, but she cared more about her reputation than her self-respect. So she let him sleep with other women. Because at the end of the day, she was his legal wife and her son, the heir.

But things got complicated when Adhiraj met Payali. He liked her. He liked her enough to imagine a future with her. Even if he couldn't marry her, he promised her that if she ever got pregnant with his child, the child will live a respectful life as a member of the royal family of Keeratsar.

But of course, the women at Kotha discouraged Payali. Warning her to not make mistakes she will regret lifelong. One of those being getting pregnant.

That morning Payali ran into Raina's room and announced happily, “Raina, I'm pregnant!”

Raina was shocked. She could only congratulate her friend while wondering if Payali's love story will also fail or not.

She wanted Payali's love story to succeed. So that she could also be hopeful enough to imagine a future with Angad.

•••

New characters!

Thoughts 💭