*Sneha, 23, is a postgraduate from Delhi.
New love
I got to know about Arun from a dating app. We had many things in common – our love for classical music, our hunger for Chinese food and even our interest in art and photography. I started enjoying his company during the day and his calls at night.
In just a span of two months, I was very sure that he was the perfect boyfriend for me. I felt all the love for him and enjoyed the attention he gave me.
The surprise
One day as we were sitting at a coffee shop, he said he wanted to go for higher studies but he did not have enough money to apply for the course of his choice. He suddenly asked me if I would lend him fifty thousand rupees.
His request took me by surprise. However, I wanted to prove to him that I was the perfect girlfriend – always ready to help. I could not say no to him. It was a huge amount. So I asked him to give me some time. He also promised to return the money soon.
The hunt
I did not have that kind of money even in my savings. I called up many friends but to no avail. It continued like this for many days. Meanwhile, Arun kept calling me asking if I was able to arrange the money. As the days passed, I felt desperate to help him.
As a last resort, I approached my mausi who is very close to me. I told her everything about Arun, so she could not say no to me.
Too busy
I met Arun the next morning. He took the money, hugged me and said he will return it soon. My happiness knew no bounds.
However, in the coming weeks, his behaviour took a sudden turn. He suddenly became too busy for me and started ignoring my calls and messages.
He would often say sorry for his behaviour but that too stopped soon. We started quarrelling on small things. I realised it was me who was often on the receiving end, yet I apologised.
It continued for four months. I felt really angry and disappointed in Arun but also felt helpless.
Getting married
My mausi too called me up to check when will she get her money back. She said she needed the money urgently and if I did not return it to her, she will have to disclose everything to my mother. I did not want to involve my mother in this mess.
I called up Arun to ask him to return the money but he disconnected my call saying he is busy.
For the next two days, his mobile remained switched off. I called his friend Nisha. She informed me that Arun was getting married to his longtime girlfriend in a few days. I got extremely angry and decided to do something about the situation.
Friends in need
I told Nisha the entire story and also took help from my other friends. All of us went to Arun's house the next day. As we entered, we saw all his relatives enjoying the festivities. They stopped as they saw us. I took a deep breath and told the whole thing to his family, how he had been ignoring me after borrowing money from me.
They called Arun. I only had hatred in my eyes when I saw him. He accused me of being a liar but all my friends took my side. Arun finally accepted his wrongdoing and said he had spent all the money.
His mother tried to pacify me and asked me if she could give five thousand rupees for now. I did not know what to say. They promised to return the remaining amount soon. We all left with the thin hope raised by the promise.
No more hope
It has been six months since the incident. His mother again gave some small amount of money – sometimes 2000 or 3000. Arun settled outside Delhi after marriage and blocked my number so that I couldn’t reach him. I have started teaching and repaying my mausi with my monthly salary. I have lost all hope.
This article was first published on May 10, 2019.
*To protect the identity, names have been changed and the person/s in the picture is/are models.
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