Back Stories We Never Tell Save as PDF
Chapters (48)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. PROLOGUE
  4. 1. JHANVI
  5. 2. ASHRAY
  6. 3. JHANVI
  7. 4. ASHRAY
  8. 5. JHANVI
  9. 6. ASHRAY
  10. 7. JHANVI
  11. 8. ASHRAY
  12. 9. JHANVI
  13. 10. ASHRAY
  14. 11. JHANVI
  15. 12. ASHRAY
  16. 13. JHANVI
  17. 14. ASHRAY
  18. 15. JHANVI
  19. 16. ASHRAY
  20. 17. JHANVI
  21. 18. ASHRAY
  22. 19. JHANVI
  23. 20. ASHRAY
  24. 21. JHANVI
  25. 22. ASHRAY
  26. 23. JHANVI
  27. 24. ASHRAY
  28. 25. JHANVI
  29. 26. ASHRAY
  30. 27. JHANVI
  31. 28. ASHRAY
  32. 29. JHANVI
  33. 30. ASHRAY
  34. 31. JHANVI
  35. 32. ASHRAY
  36. 33. JHANVI
  37. 34. KAVYA
  38. 35. ASHRAY
  39. 36. RISHI
  40. 37. JHANVI
  41. 38. DR SHYAM
  42. 39. ASHRAY
  43. EPILOGUE
  44. TO MY READERS
  45. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  46. ABOUT THE BOOK
  47. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  48. A MUST READ

‘I understand completely,’ I said, finally finding the words. ‘I will make the relevant adjustments for today’s posts.’ Arnav smiled and wished me luck for the remainder of the day. As he walked away, I put my elbows on the bar counter to steady myself. My heart was racing and I felt as if I was going to be sick again.

‘You all right?’ The phrase made my heart leap. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I remembered it from last night.

‘Could I have a double vodka?’ I said, sliding the glass with orange juice across the bar counter. The barman smiled knowingly. I needed to calm my nerves, and I knew one drink wouldn’t make that much of a difference. Picking up my glass, I walked towards Kavya. A hand grabbed my arm, swinging me around.

It was Gaurav. ‘You need to stay out of my life, Jhanvi,’ he said, squeezing my arm. ‘I don’t know what you told Latika last night, but I came back to my room to be greeted with her acting like a drunken slut with some loser marketing nerd.’ I pulled my arm back, spilling orange juice on his white sneakers. ‘Just perfect,’ he spat at me. ‘I don’t need my reputation pulled through the mud because of a bitter ex and a stupid woman!’

‘As opposed to your stellar reputation when you recorded yourself naked and allowed it to leak onto social media?’ I shot back.

‘Get lost, asshole!’ Kavya said, appearing from behind me, hands on her hips, ready to take on Gaurav. He put his hands up in defeat. Not wanting to cause a scene, he walked away to sit with Latika in the corner. Kavya rolled her eyes and locked her arm in mine. We spent the remainder of the day watching musicians and taking photos; I made sure to post photos as requested by Arnav. Every second trip to the bar was mine, and by the fourth trip, I was beginning to feel a bit buzzed. I knew we had to fly back tomorrow morning; I couldn’t afford to have a repeat of last night. Eventually, I convinced Kavya that I needed to go back to the room, tasking her with taking photos of the night set for me to post.

Back in the room, I opened the minibar and tiny bottles of alcohol stared back at me. I was tired, really tired. I picked up the hotel room phone and ordered three energy drinks. Once they arrived, I poured a small bottle of vodka into my drink, flopped down on the bed and opened my phone.