TWENTY-SIX Ravi

TWENTY-SIX

Ravi

Ravi debated whether or not he should have written a letter from his own perspective instead of just giving her the letter from Christian, but in the end, there was so much meaning attached to Divya and Christian's story that it was better than any words that he could have come up with himself. It was what brought them together; it was what helped them fall in love and work as a team.

He waited patiently for class to end before he walked down the steps to her row. She stood, excitement in her eyes.

"How did you find it?"

"My brother helped me, actually," he said. He looked over at Professor Barnard, who was hastily gathering her things. "We went back to the tower," he said, lowering his voice. "We used Deep's keys to get in; then we opened that box of books you found. It was right on top. The same edition of Persuasion where we found Divya's letters."

Her eyes went wide. Then she smacked her palm against her forehead. "I should have made the connection, but I didn't realize! The books are exactly the same."

"Here's the thing," Ravi said as he took her backpack from her like he'd done for the last few weeks and slung it over his shoulder. "It was sitting right on top. There's no way someone didn't open that book and see those letters. I feel like they were meant to be found."

They both looked to the front of the classroom, where Professor Barnard had escaped. Ravi knew it had to be her.

He held Jessie's hand as they walked downstairs to the ground floor then out of the building.

"Are there more letters?" she asked, her excitement evident. "Did Christian have a stack?"

Ravi nodded. "I organized them in chronological order, then read the very last one." He pointed to the envelope she was holding. "I saved the rest of them so I could read them with you. Because we started this together, and I think we should end it together."

She grew quiet as they strolled towards the library. The air was cold now. Even though she was wearing a coat, the wind whipped through her hair and turned her cheeks pink.

Ravi wanted to pull her closer so that he could shield her from the wind. He'd done it before, and he hoped that in the future they'd have countless opportunities to do it again.

"Jessie."

"Ravi."

They spoke in unison, and then laughed.

Ravi looked around and realized they were standing smack dab in the middle of the university lawn. Across the way was the science building with the hidden terrace where Divya and Christian had their first date.

The lawn was mostly empty because of the weather, but that didn't matter. It was still the most visible point on campus.

"I love you," he said clearly. His voice carried. "I love you the way that Christian loved Divya and she loved him. I didn't at first when we met and you made me feel like I had to quit smoking and that I should feel grateful for having been born a Kumar. I did when you stood up to my father when no one else ever has. I'm strong enough to accept that I need to make decisions without worrying about what other people want me to be. Because what's the point in being a nepo baby if I don't take the opportunity to find my own way?"

She chuckled, then her eyes watered. "I didn't love you at first when you demanded my study room after you knew how much seeing the kaleidoscope room meant to me. But then you followed me home," she said quietly.

"Then I followed you home," he repeated. He dropped their backpacks to the ground between them, then held her hands together, warming them between his. "You asked me questions about what I wanted to do and who I wanted to be. You liked the same movies that I did, and you laughed at my jokes, and I think yours are hilarious even though you don't always realize it. I fell in love with you the first time we kissed."

Her tears spilled over, dampening her lashes until they glimmered. Her lower lip trembled, and she bit down on it, as if trying to keep her emotions under control. "Ravi," she said softly.

"I know you said you don't want to see me anymore, and if that's still true, I'll respect your boundaries. But I hope you see that we're stronger together than apart."

Shit, his voice was cracking. He thought he'd have the strength to get through this, but seeing the tears in her eyes made him feel so helpless. He cleared his throat.

"That's a pretty speech," she said, her tears falling freely.

"I'm a writer."

Her lips trembled into a tentative smile. "Will you promise to never make me feel like I'm not good enough or I'm less than the people in the world that you grew up in?"

"I will do my best, and I swear to god if I ever screw up, I'll do everything in my power to make it right."

Her hands curled over his, and he could feel the tiny, cracked shards of his heart start to gel together. He was finally able to take a deep breath.

"Did your brother make a call to my father out of pity, or to control him in some way?"

Ravi was already shaking his head. "In all the time that I've known you, I've realized one thing. Your goal in college is to prepare for a career that will let you give your parents the life you think they deserve. We're a team now, so I'm going to do what I can to help you give them that life, too."

Ravi heard the muffled sound of conversation behind them and knew that people were watching. He didn't care. He still hadn't gotten the answer he was hoping for. He'd wait for as long as he needed.

"I know that I've been judgmental and unfair to you," Jessie said. "And I realize I've been such a coward, making decisions about what-ifs instead of focusing on what we can control. But I promise that I've spent the last four days thinking about you, and I'm going to try just as hard as you will. I'm probably going to make mistakes, but like Christian and Divya, I think we'll be stronger together."

Ravi leaned in, gently resting his forehead against hers, a move that he'd done so many times now when he was feeling overwhelmed and just needed her peace. "Do you love me, Jessie Ahuja?"

"Yes," she said, her voice as clear and crisp as the winter wind. "I love you, even though I know that when your parents came and your brother showed up, you probably smoked with them."

He laughed. "It won't be a habit."

He let go of her hands and wrapped her up close, fitting her body against his. There was hollering from the background, cheering and clapping as if they were putting on a show.

It didn't matter. No one else mattered.

After one last kiss, he picked up their backpacks, linked her hand with his, and started in the direction of the library. "Come on," he said. "I'm going to buy you a latte, then take you to our study room. We have a paper to write."

"Then?" she said.

He let out a deep breath. "Then we do what Christian and Divya tried to do all those years ago. We live our lives. You'll take me on study dates to get truffle fries, and I'll drag you away from your books to go to parties. We'll practice your interviewing skills, and we'll convince my brother, who has been shitty to me all these years, to have his HR department give you an interview. If you're okay with a little helping hand and nepotism that is."

Her eyes were shining. "I don't know if I want to work for your brother after meeting him, to be honest, but I appreciate the offer."

"Always," he said.

"Ravi, I feel like this all sounds pretty anticlimactic compared to Divya and Christian, don't you think?"

"It sounds perfect," he said, and he squeezed her hand as they headed up the walkway to Hartceller Library. "Just having moments with you, living with you, Jessie, is a dream worth fighting for."