69. Chapter 5
There was one year of midnight phone calls and occasional sleepovers when Lule’s bestie, Hallie needed the room to herself.
They weren’t the kind of sleepovers that meant anything - just Rahul on the floor with a spare pillow and Lule stealing all the duvet and turning into a human cocoon.
She blew her nose into his t-shirt when they watched Savior together and he never admitted that her taste in sci-fi was superior to his.
Once, she admitted that she didn’t remember much about her parents or her older brother.
She only knew that her sister Aria had been through hell and back to keep her safe.
Rahul still made tea like his father-too strong, too milky-and Lule still mock-gagged every time he handed her a mug before diluting it with equal parts of hot water.
By some miracle of fate (and algorithms), they both ended up on the same campus.
Lule was knee-deep in cybersecurity modules and late-night rage against weak passwords.
Rahul, the golden nerd, was at King's, balancing computer science, mathematics and management like it was light cardio. They played Assassin’s creed in their free time.
They still saw each other more than most people saw their flatmates.
Lule had ditched her latest boyfriend-a posh, breathy-voiced Oxford preppy-within a year. Rahul had expected heartbreak but what he got was Lule on a warpath.
“He was a fucking twat who disrespected my sister,” Lule declared over bao buns one night. “And no one-none-disrespects my sister.”
Rahul, mid-sip of chocolate milk, raised an eyebrow. “Did you go full Hulk on him?”
Aria smiled sweetly. “I may have poured glue into the pockets of all his designer suits. ”
Lule choked. “You didn’t.”
“I did,” Aria confirmed. “Also, I may have accidentally let it slip-via Chinese whispers-Hallie’s, not mine-that his porn collection includes a lovingly curated folder titled ‘Peg Me Daddy’.”
Rahul sprayed chocolate milk out of his nose.
“Jesus Christ,” he wheezed, “You didn’t. Flipping heck, his father owns most of west London. Do you think that’s wise?”
“Oh, I pretended his toxic ex visited and she was the one who did it. Then, I spoke about thinking of wearing a headscarf like my orthodox cousins. That had him running for the hills. What cousins? He didn’t even realize it’s just me and Aria.”
Rahul was already doubled over laughing, holding his belly like it hurt, “You’re the queen of petty revenge. I worship you.”
“I accept tribute in Nando’s takeout,” Lule said, raising her chopsticks like a sceptre.
On the other end of the bench, Priya looked… less amused.
It was rare for her to be around. Her law course in London kept her buried under contracts and caffeine-but tonight she’d made the effort.
She was quiet for a while, then said stiffly, “You two spend a lot of time together.”
Lule didn’t respond. The tone in Priya’s voice was enough to ice over the table.
Suddenly, the laughter from a few minutes ago felt uncomfortable and far away. She pushed back her chair casually, slipping her phone into her pocket without making eye contact. Priya stayed seated, now visibly bristling-marking her territory, Lule thought wryly.
“I’ve got an assignment due,” she murmured. “Gonna head home. Nice to see you again, Priya. ”
Rahul glanced up, but she stood quickly and dumped all her stuff in her backpack before walking away.
He heard Priya mutter good riddance under her breath.
He knew that Lule felt like a third wheel. She had described it after a couple of drinks at the pub as the kind clanking against the axle, making everything awkward and noisy. It was a little easier when she had a boyfriend.
The dark mood followed them to the flat that Rahul shared with two of his friends. Later that night, back at Rahul’s place, things didn’t stay quiet.
“I don’t get it,” Priya snapped. “Why do you spend so much time with her?”
Rahul closed the door behind them and raised an eyebrow. “Because she’s my friend? And she gets me like no one does.”
“She’s not just your friend. You’re practically attached at the hip. And don’t even pretend you haven’t noticed she’s obsessed with you.”
Rahul sighed. “She just got out of a shit relationship. She’s having a hard time. And I like spending time with her. We have never ever been more than friends.”
“She’s always having a hard time.”
He paused.
Priya crossed her arms. “Why her? Why that orphan girl?”
Rahul’s voice dropped an octave. “Don’t.”
She looked at him, arms still crossed. “Just be honest. Is something going on between you two?”
“No,” Rahul said, calmly. “But your nagging really makes me want to check if she is willing. ”
Priya’s mouth fell open.
“Oh, so now you’re the victim?” she said, voice rising.
He didn’t respond. Just stood there, watching her unravel.
“You want to break up?” he asked after a long pause.
Priya blinked, backtracking, “No. I just… I don’t want to lose you over her.”
She moved toward him, slid her hands around his waist and reached up for a kiss. When he didn’t respond, she began unzipping his jeans with slow deliberation.
Rahul stepped back, catching her hands mid-motion. “Don’t.”
She stared at him.
“I think we’ve outgrown each other,” he said, quietly but clearly. “If you can’t trust me, there’s no point.”
She opened her mouth, but he kept going.
“And before you ask-no. Lule’s never behaved inappropriately. She doesn’t like you. You don’t like her. Let’s not pretend otherwise.”
Priya flinched. “You’re just saying that because-”
“I’m saying it,” Rahul said, cutting her off, “because we both know the truth. We were pushed together by our families. You’re smart, ambitious, and good at arguing.
But we don’t fit. And this? This isn’t what you want.
I just happen to have the right pedigree and IQ.
Don’t waste your time on me. And I am not willing to give Lule up. Not even for you.”
She didn’t answer.
“So, let’s end it,” he said. “Without drama. ”
She stood there for a beat, her eyes dry as if calculating his next move. Then she finally nodded, arms falling limply to her sides.
“Fine”, she muttered as if throwing away a puzzle piece that didn’t fit “I have better things to do than babysit a machine with the emotional maturity of a four-year-old. If you had any sense, you would know Lule is no good for you.”
He gave her a small nod. Then turned away, surprisingly unaffected by the breakup.
“Okay, thank you for your advice on my future romantic endeavours” he said, already moving on reaching for his phone to text Lule.
“Priya broke up with me.”
“Nasal overload?...I am sorry…Deleting that.”
“Be serious. She implied I was emotionally stunted.”
“To be fair, that tracks.”
Later that night, they sat cross-legged on Rahul’s flat with a half-empty bag of Chinese takeout between them, cartons steaming gently.
Rahul sipped from a can of Coke. Lule, in contrast, had unscrewed a bottle of rum she’d pulled from her oversized tote like a magician pulling a rabbit. She was drinking it straight, occasionally splashing a bit into his Coke without asking.
“So,” she said eventually, voice soft. “You and Priya.”
Rahul nodded. “Done.”
Lule stared down into her plastic container, “I’m sorry. ”
He shook his head. “Don’t be. We didn’t have that much in common. Honestly… we just drifted together. Same circles, same expectations. It felt easier than saying no.”
She chewed on that. And her dumpling.
A long pause stretched between them.
“It’s not because of me, is it?” she asked, her voice quieter this time. “Because I know I can be... outrageous”
Rahul raised the inevitable eyebrow, “Really? I have never noticed that about you.”
Lule ignored his teasing and powered on, “And I take up space. And she hated me.”
Rahul glanced at her. “It’s not because of you.”
She nodded.
He added, gently, “You’re important to me. And you give it to me straight. Also, you are loud and obnoxious. And she did hate you”
She scoffed softly. “Well, I hated her as well. Loud and obnoxious is not fake. Still more authentic than Priya’s ‘Janice laugh’ whenever someone mentioned Cambridge. She hates it when someone implies, she didn’t get her first choice.”
Then Lule, unable to help herself, pitched her voice high and nasal and said, “Oh. My. God. Rahul Bing!”
Rahul lost it.
He laughed so hard he almost dropped his phone, one hand braced on the table, trying to breathe.
Rahul’s roommate, Jacob who had joined them, said with a smile, “You’ve got her voice down. ”
His eyes gleamed with interest as he watched Lule. But Lule didn’t notice because she was looking at Rahul with that soft expression in her eyes.
Because Rahul was still laughing, shoulders shaking, his eyes creasing at the corners the way they only did around her.