Betrayed by a Friend

I decided to confront Suravi and tell her the truth. When our vacation was over, I went to college hoping to speak with her, but couldn’t find the right opportunity. The following day, my phone rang with a call from Raj, one of our mutual friends.

“Can I ask you something?” Raj said as I received.

“Sure, what’s up?” I replied.

“Why are you avoiding Suravi? Did something happen between you two?” he asked.

“I’m just focusing on my studies. I don’t want to waste her time or mine. I can talk to her, but I’d rather not,” I explained.

“Why not?” he inquired.

“I don’t harbor any romantic sentiments towards her. It’s important to me that I treat her with respect, so it’s best to move on.” I admitted.

“Oh, I see. Have you considered telling her the truth? She seems really upset lately, and her friends are worried,” Raj said.

“I’ll think about it. Thanks for letting me know,” I said before ending the call.

My mind was filled with a whirlwind of thoughts. “What if she doesn’t forgive me? What if she starts spreading this to others? How should I approach her?” These concerns raced through my head relentlessly. I mustered my courage and walked into the classroom. To my surprise, everyone was staring at me, and I had no idea why. I took a seat, feeling confused. Then, Piyush- my buddy spoke up softly.

“Chirag, the whole class is talking about you,” Piyush said.

“Why? How come I become so famous?” I asked, trying to play it cool.

“Raj called you yesterday, and he had Suravi at the conference without your knowledge. He asked you about ignoring her, and Suravi is now aware that you weren’t serious about her,” he explained.

“But why would Raj do that?” I questioned.

“Come on, Chirag. We all know that Suravi is the most beautiful girl in our college, and Raj is aware that you aren’t interested in her. He saw an opportunity to drive a wedge between you and Suravi, so he can make a move,” Piyush replied.

“Wow. In any case, I wanted to end things with her. I don’t care who dates who. Let’s concentrate on our studies,” I said.

Since I was already aware of Suravi’s character, I didn’t pay much attention to this incident. When I returned home from college, I shared the news with Pranshi, and she couldn’t contain her excitement upon hearing that I was once again unattached.

Living Alone At home

As I focused on my studies, life took an unexpected turn. Just a week later, my mother started experiencing intense pain in her pelvic bone. Worried, we took her to the doctor, who discovered a fracture that required immediate surgery. This news hit us hard, especially because I had my 12th board exams in just a few months. After lengthy discussions in family, it was decided that my mom and dad would have to go to Hyderabad for her surgery, leaving me alone at home for a month. It was a challenging time, but I embraced it with a sense of responsibility.

With no one around to cook for me, I resorted to eating at restaurants. However, when Pranshi’s mom and sisters discovered this, they became upset with me. One day, Pranshi’s sister called me and expressed her disappointment, saying, “Why are you eating out? We consider you a part of our family. Come and have meals at our home.”

Realizing their concern for me, I thought its a good idea to join them for meals at their place. We would often have dinner together, engaging in long conversations. Disha, Pranshi, and I also became close friends, frequently going shopping and exploring nearby places.

While we were all hanging out at a park one day, I noticed a familiar face from school taking pictures of us. Curious, I approached him to find out why he was capturing those moments.

Keeping Trust Despite Doubts

“Why are you taking pictures of us?” I asked.

“I’m taking these pictures to show Pranshi’s boyfriend that she’s spending time with other guys,” he replied.

“What do you mean? What’s going on? She’s single,” I responded in shock.

“No, she’s not telling you the truth. She only considers you her boyfriend at home to please her family since they know you well. But in college, she has another boyfriend whom she hangs out with while skipping classes,” he revealed.

I thought he might be doing it intentionally since he and I were not good friends in school and he was also envious of my relationship with Pranshi.

Upon learning about Pranshi’s double life, I kept silent and we returned home from the park. Despite being disturbed by this news, I chose to ignore it and maintain my trust in Pranshi.

I left home to stay with Sumay-uncle

After spending a week alone at home, my grandmother (Sumay-uncle’s mother), reached out to me. She suggested that I stay with them for a while. I discussed it with my father, and he agreed. The next day, I packed my study materials and headed to Sumay-uncle’s house.

When I arrived, I went straight to Sumay-uncle’s office room to meet him. He warmly greeted me, shaking my hand and asking how I was doing.

“Hope you’ll be staying with us for a while,” he said.

“Yes, I plan to stay for about two to three weeks,” I replied.

Even though I wasn’t really interested in devotional activities, I would still join Sumay-uncle and his friends for their daily morning and evening kirtan practice. I did it because everyone else was doing it. Sometimes, we would go out together and have a great time exploring different places. However, I found it hard to concentrate on my studies because there were many things that grabbed my attention and kept my mind occupied. Sumay-uncle would sometimes playfully tease me, saying things like, “You’re clueless. Your studies won’t get you anywhere.” I found these comments irritating, and I would get defensive in response. But instead of stopping, Sumay-uncle and his friends would laugh, which made me feel even more uncomfortable and self-conscious.

Every day, my father would call me and ask how my studies were going. He would stress the significance of using my time wisely, saying, “This is a crucial time. Avoid wasting your time on unimportant things.” He would remind me of this repeatedly. My mother would also talk to me and ask if I was comfortable with everything.

After spending about 20 days at Sumay-uncle’s house, I received news from my dad that the surgery was successful and they were returning home. It was time for me to go back home, however, I realized that something was missing once I returned. While staying at Sumay-uncle’s place, I had gotten used to hearing the chants of Srila Prabhupada resonating throughout the house. Their absence left me feeling empty. So, I decided to buy a new speaker from the market, loaded it with the chants on a USB, and played them at home. Even though I wasn’t deeply religious, as soon as I turned on the speaker, I felt a profound sense of peace. Unbeknownst to me, during my time at Sumay-uncle’s place, I had started to be influenced by him. One habit I picked up was performing Japa, which involves meditative chanting of mantras, every night before going to bed. This practice proved to be helpful in reducing stress and maintaining my focus on my studies.

The Truth Comes Out

After three months of rigorous preparation, my board exams were fast approaching, and I was confident about performing well. However, just before the exams, I stumbled upon something that greatly disturbed me and led me to make a significant decision in my life.

One of Pranshi’s friends reached out to me by phone and revealed, “Pranshi is playing with your emotions. She’s seeing someone else while also trying to get your attention.” Along with this revelation, the friend sent a photo of Pranshi standing with a guy at a place I didn’t recognize. It shook me, and I felt disturbed by the news, but I chose to remain silent and not react immediately. Instead, I texted Disha, expressing my frustration with Pranshi. I said, “I’m exhausted from dealing with this girl. Once my exams are over, I’m leaving and never want to see her again. She has no shame.”

After discovering Pranshi’s constant deceit, accepting the truth was challenging for me. My anger and sadness towards her intensified, making me feel more and more miserable. To distance myself from Pranshi and anything associated with her, I made the decision to pursue my engineering in a different place away from home town. As my board exams drew near, I dedicated myself entirely to preparing for them, determined not to let Pranshi’s actions distract me.

Regrettably, this decision turned out to be a mistake, even though someone I respected had warned me about it. I didn’t pay much attention to the warning and ended up making the wrong choice.

In the midst all of these, the intermediate board exam had already started and the initial subjects went decent.

Stay tuned to know what happened next…