Fear and apologies

I was terrified by what happened that day. It became a nightmare that haunted me. I started feeling like a coward, constantly regretting why I ever went there in the first place. The fear of running into Vinodh made me too scared to even step outside when I was home in my village for holidays.Afterward, I went to Vizag to continue my master's. That's when I saw a message from Vijay on Instagram. I wanted to share everything with him, but something inside me held me back. I was afraid Vijay would ask why I even went there with Vinodh. So, I pretended everything was normal and acted casual with him. When Vijay asked why I hadn't replied earlier, I hid the truth and told him I was just busy.He started sharing everything he'd been up to while we weren't talking. Somehow, his presence made me feel a little better. He healed a wound that wasn't even his fault. Slowly, I began to relax, thinking Vinodh didn't know where I was.Then one day, out of nowhere, Vinodh texted me. He apologized for what happened and said he wanted to marry me. I was shocked and knew right away he was up to something. I tried to avoid him as much as I could.

Even though I blocked every number Vinodh used to contact me, he kept texting me from new numbers. He grew frustrated and started telling people that I had slept with him in that room. He twisted the story, making it look like I had cheated on him. I didn't even know any of this was happening. To me, he was apologizing, but behind my back, he was bad-mouthing me and drinking with his friends, saying I'd cheated on him.I found out through a friend who knew I wasn't that kind of person. He warned me that I needed to clear this up as soon as possible. Terrified that Vinodh might spread these rumors, I decided to confront him. But instead of resolving things, he insulted me and my family. I recorded the entire call, feeling desperate to protect myself.During this time, Vijay was my only source of mental support, though he had no idea what I was going through. I didn't know why, but I felt safe whenever I talked to him. I sent the recording to someone I trusted, hoping they could help. This person spoke to Vinodh and later told me that Vinodh wanted to talk to me one last time. But I refused.Then one day, unexpectedly, a classmate informed me that someone was near the hostel gate, showing my picture and asking around about me. She sensed something was off and let me know right away. Panicking, I called the person I had sent the recording to and told him what was happening. He called Vinodh and later told me that Vinodh just wanted to talk to me and promised he wouldn't bother me again after that.

I only told my friends that someone was asking about me near the gate and asked them to watch over me from a distance when I went to meet him. But I didn't tell anyone, not even Vijay, about what was really going on. I was scared Vijay would hate me if he found out, so I kept everything a secret and went to meet Vinodh alone.When we met, Vinodh tried to manipulate me, but I confronted him about the rumors and how he insulted my family. I told him that it was impossible for us to be together. He kept trying to twist things, but I left and went back to the hostel.Later, he twisted the story again, claiming we met at the beach as some sort of special reunion after getting into a relationship, which was a total lie.