Breaking up with someone you love is almost always a far-from-pleasant experience. Ved and I had been dating for 4 years, and things went south when I initiated discussions around him and I tying the knot. Sure, we both needed to devote time to career building, but marriage, as he put it, was ‘nowhere on the cards’. As much as we tried to reach a consensus regarding this, we had to ultimately pull the plug on the relationship.
It was about 8 months after breaking up with Ved, that I agreed to meet prospective grooms – all of whom were suggested by my parents. It wasn’t the most comforting experience, but I figured that it had to be done one way or the other.
It was during one of these rishta meetings that I met Karan. He had a pleasant personality, was good to talk to and seemed like someone I could get along with. We met a number of times over the months that followed, and I even told him about my past relationship with Ved and the reason for breaking up with him. Then, during one of our dinners together, he popped the question and asked me to marry him. It was a sweet and intimate proposal – there was champagne, cake and ring too, and I said yes.
Expectedly, both Karan and my families were excited for the occasion and preparations were on full swing. Then came the day of the engagement, which was a month after the proposal. I was at my makeup artist’s studio, getting into a powder blue lehenga and soft pink-toned makeup, when my phone began to ring. I had goosebumps as I stared at my phone screen – it had Ved’s name flashing on it. I almost instantly knew how to handle this – I didn’t take his call. This was followed by two more calls and I ignored both the them too.
What followed after this was a volley of WhatsApp messages from Ved. ‘I know that you’re getting engaged today, but I need to tell you this anyway. I have always loved you, and maybe I freaked out when you mentioned marriage, but I can’t imagine my life with anyone but you. MARRY ME, PLEASE!’ Against my better sense of judgement, I ended up responding to these messages. I replied with a plain and cold, ‘It’s too late now, Ved.’ ‘Better late than never, right?’ said Ved. Even though I felt a rush of emotions and an urge to get back to him and the life we had together, I decided to block his number on my phone that very moment. I knew that this was the right thing to do, to ensure that he can never contact me again.
Honestly, when I think back at this, it was quite a high-on-drama situation – my ex asked me to marry him on my engagement day! In hindsight, I’m glad I said a no to Ved. I’m now married to Karan and am very happy about it. Did I mention to Karan what happened on our engagement day, you ask? Well, in certain situations, it’s best to remain quiet. It’s more peaceful that way.
*Names changed to protect privacy.
Images: Shutterstock
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