What if the love of your life slipped away, leaving only a quiet ache and an unfillable void? World’s Best Ex-Girlfriend explores the bittersweet pull of unresolved love as Daksh and Aanchal, after a brief spark at a wedding in Dubai, are unexpectedly thrown back together. Read the excerpt below to know more.
World’s Best ex Girlfriend || Durjoy Datta
Intro Every city transforms in five years. New buildings obscure the older ones. Roads are widened. More cars spill on to the road. Dubai does that faster than any city. I pass by landmarks I recognize, but most of what I remember has been painted over, built over, broken and rebuilt. It’s a small kindness that this city no longer looks like the city that wrested everything away from me.
The closer I get to the Atlantis, my discomfort shifts from the city to her. The nearer I am to her, a torrent of haunting memories surges forth—the ugly words, the echoes of past arguments—and anxiety begins to seep into my very marrow. The last thing I want is to bump into that over-smart, cold, heartless person I was once in love with. Until this very moment, I didn’t realize the visceral hate I still feel for Aanchal. It feels like yesterday.
I feel it rattling in my bones.
‘Don’t stop the trip,’ I repeat to the driver as I pull out the suitcases outside the Atlantis.
It’s 6 p.m. so there’s still plenty of time for the cocktails function to start. I make my way in. The front desk has a long serpentine queue with tourists lugging their carry-on bags and checking if they’ve lost their passports.
‘I’m here to drop off Gaurav Madan’s luggage,’ I tell the lady managing the check-ins.
‘Do you know the room number, sir?’ she asks. I call Gaurav. And as usual, he doesn’t pick up the call.
‘Listen, the person’s not taking my call. Can you call their room and inform them?’
She looks at the line behind me and is about to protest.
‘They’re wedding clothes, or I wouldn’t waste your time,’ I inform her.
She checks the room number and makes the call. She shakes her head and puts the receiver down.
‘Sir, no answer,’ she says.
‘You can keep the luggage here and go check in the open area. Maybe you will find the guest there. That’s the best I can do for you.’
‘Perfect,’ I tell her.
Except that it’s not perfect. I should have been in my taxi, going away from this city, away from her. Not towards her. Not towards the reason I spent a couple of years in absolute misery. A dread fills me up. I’m going to see her. I push the thought out, just in case people are right about manifestation and the law of attraction.
After wandering through the multiple corridors, I spot the cocktail venue. Vanita Weds Aditya, says the signage in an ornate flower arrangement. Vanita never struck me as someone who would get married so early, but here we are. I call Gaurav’s number again. There’s no answer. I walk towards the venue. A small part of me is commanding me to go back. Leave the suitcases at the reception and leave the city, it tells me. She’s here, the voice inside my head warns me. I can feel the air crackle with bad energy.
I look for someone near the stage, anyone I could pawn off the suitcases to. The stage is being given the final touches, the lights are being tested, the harried staff is running around shifting chairs, arranging flowers, testing the sound system. The wedding planners in black T-shirts bark instructions over their walkie-talkies. White people look on, watching curiously. Faint sounds of Hindi songs are in the air. I look around there’s not a single guest there. This is taking way too long.
Fuck it. I turn back and walk towards the reception.
That’s when I see her.
Aanchal Madan.
For a moment, I think I have imagined her. I hope that I have imagined her. But there she is.
Aanchal Madan.
In flesh and blood. All of her.
Aanchal fucking Madan.
A wave of hatred crashes upon me.
My biggest regret.
Aanchal Madan.
The World’s Worst Girlfriend.
I am consumed by how much I despise her.
Aanchal Madan.
It engulfs me entirely. I thought I had gotten over the hurt, but my revulsion towards her overwhelms me.
Aanchal Madan.
My body sears with the heat of my loathing, it burns.
Aanchal Madan.
My first instinct is to turn away, to avoid her presence altogether, just pretend I never saw her and walk past like she doesn’t exist.
***
Get your copy of World’s Best Ex Girlfriend by Durjoy Datta on Amazon or wherever books are sold.
Few holidays induce as vastly differing reactions as Valentine’s Day, or stir up such a storm of emotion. Whether you’re floating on the throes of first love, nursing a broken heart, enjoying the calm fulfillment of your own company, or simply prefer fictional romance to the messiness of the real thing, we have the book for you!
Our Ultimate Valentine’s Day Book List will give you the perfect book to celebrate love and friendship across the spectrum through the most passionate prose and lyrical longing.
Memory of Light || Ruth Vanita
If there was place and time truly meant for romance, it was 18th-century Lucknow, a vibrant city full of musicians, poets and courtesans, of languorous lovers and lilting poetry. Amidst this milieu Memory of Light weaves the exquisite tale of the love between-two women courtesan Chapla Bai and young poet Nafis Bai as they exchange letters and conversations feeding each other the heady fruit of desire.
French Lover || Nasrin Taslima
The greatest and most basic necessity for a healthy relationship is to be able to know and love oneself. French Lover is a young Bengali woman’s search for love and independence in a strange city. Stifled in an unhappy marriage, Nilanjana’s long road to self-discovery is initiated by Benoir Dupont, a blond, blue-eyed handsome Frenchman. In her passionate, sexually liberating relationship with Benoir, she finally begins to have an inkling of her own desires.
Undying Affinity || Sara Naveed
You’ll fall in love as much with the city of Lahore as with the book’s protagonist in this simple yet touching romance by Sara Naveed. Caught between her childhood friend, Haroon and handsome professor, Ahmar, little does beautiful, spoiled Zarish know that one individual can completely change her perspective towards life. Packed with romance, drama and tragedy, Undying Affinity will stay in your heart forever.
The Beauty of the Moment || Tanaz Bhathena
There’s nothing quite as intense or as memorable as the pangs of first love and this delightful YA romance truly celebrates the thrilling ‘beauty of that moment’When sharp and driven ‘new girl’, Susan meets ‘bad boy ‘ Malcolm, sparks fly. The ways they drift apart and come back together are testaments to family, culture, and being true to who you are.
The Rabbit and the Squirrel || Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi
The critically acclaimed and delightfully illustrated fable for contemporary times is perfect for lending a dash of elegant whimsy this Valentine’s Day. Lit with longing, and tender questions of the heart, The Rabbit and the Squirrel is an ode to the enduring pleasures of friendship, traced through the poignant love story of the eponymous Rabbit and the Squirrel who against all odds are fated for togetherness.
The Penguin Book of Classical Indian Love Stories and Lyrics || Ruskin Bond
When modern vocabulary fails to evoke romance for you, this extraordinarily lyrical compilation of love stories and poems from the classical literature and folklore of India will come to the rescue. Curated by the master of nuanced emotions, Ruskin Bond and set in regions of great natural beauty where Kamadeva, the god of love, picks his victims with consummate ease, these stories and lyrics celebrate the myriad aspects of love.
An Extreme Love of Coffee || Harish Bhat
If you think of love as life’s greatest adventure that hits you like a caffeine kick An Extreme Love of Coffee is your cup of (not)tea! This faced paced mystery romance follows Rahul and Neha who embark upon a quest for treasure, after drinking a cup of ‘magic’ coffee, discovering their passion for warm frothy concoctions and each other as they race from the plantations of Coorg to Japanese graveyards!
Half Torn Hearts || Novoneel Chakraborty
Sometimes Valentine’s Day is a time to reminisce and to dwell upon the fact that first cut is the deepest. Half Torn Hearts is both a thrilling suspense story and a coming-of-age tale of three layered individuals coming to terms with their first loss, which bares the devil that we all possess but are scared of encountering and which eventually becomes the cause of our own ruins.
The God of Small Things || Arundhati Roy
Arundhati Roy’s modern classic is equal parts powerful family saga, forbidden love story, and piercing political drama. The seven-year-old twins Estha and Rahel see their world shaken irrevocably by the arrival of their beautiful young cousin, Sophie. With its exquisite prose , it makes for an unusual, but lyrical Valentine’s Day pick.
The Secrets We Keep || Sudeep Nagarkar
This thrilling romance will have you hooked from start to finish following the story of Rahul, an intelligence officer on a secret mission, who falls in love with the major’s daughter, Akriti. But is anyone who they seem to be, or is Rahul about to face the biggest shock of his life?
Eleven Ways to Love || Sreshtha, Sangeeta, Nadika Nadja, Dhrubo Jyoti, Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan, Preeti Vangani, Shrayana Bhattacharya, Nidhi Goyal, Anushree Majumdar, Sharanya Manivannan, Maroosha Muzaffar, D
Love stories coach us to believe that love is selective, somehow, that it can be boxed in and easily defined. With a foreword by the luminary, Gulazar these eleven remarkable essays, widen the frame of reference: transgender romance; body image issues; race relations; disability; polyamory; class differences; queer love; long distance; caste; loneliness; the single life; the bad boy syndrome . . . and so much more.
Till The Last Breath || Durjoy Datta
This deeply sensitive story explores love in the context of imminent death and reminds us what it means to be alive. Two patients, a young brilliant girl fighting to stay alive, and a youthful drug addict who can’t wait to die come together in Room 509. Two reputed doctors, fighting their own demons from the past, are trying everything to keep these two patients alive. These last days in the hospital change the two patients, their doctors and all the other people around them in ways they had never imagined.
Singing in the Dark || K. Satchidanandan, Nishi Chawla
If love is vulnerability, these strange times have made us even more vulnerable. This global anthology brings together the finest of poetic responses to the coronavirus pandemic. More than a hundred of the world’s most esteemed poets reflect upon a crisis that has dramatically altered our lives, and laid bare our vulnerabilities.
You Are All I Need || Ravinder Singh (Ed.)
This collection of touching stories selected by Ravinder Singh is an ode to the myriad facets of love . This book will make you laugh, cry, think and feel, all at the same time with its eclectic collection of love stories that will warm the cockles of your heart!
Prem Purana || Usha Narayanan
No one is untouched by love, not even devas and asuras, kings and nymphs. This collection of celestial love stories from Indian mythology celebrates the love of Ravana and Mandodari, Nala and Damayanto among many eithers. Tormented by passion, tortured by betrayal and wracked by the agony of separation, these stories deify love in its many splendorous forms.
With Love || TTT
The go-to portal for sweet, sharp, heart-wrenching stories brings this collection of letters that celebrates all the different forms of love and bonds we make, spanning the spectrum from family to our childhood homes , from former loves and future husbands. Deeply personal and intimate, these letters are a great choice to peruse on Valentine’s Day.
This Time Next Year || Sophie Cousens
A lovely contemporary romance that will give you all the warm fuzzies. Quinn and Minnie are born on the same day, but their lives follow completely different trajectories even as fate conspires to bring them together. This moving, joyful love story, This Time Next Year explores the way fate leads us to the people we least expect–no matter what the odds.
The Time Traveler’s Wife || Audrey Niffenegger
This book is a hugely popular modern classic for a reason, its heartwarming, innovative and a moving depiction of the effects of time on love. Henry is a time traveler–cursed with a rare genetic anomaly that causes him to live his life on a shifting timeline, skipping back and forth through the years with no control. Despite the fact that Henry’s travels force them apart with no warning, and never knowing when they will be reunited, he and his wife Clare try to lead a life of normalcy based on an abiding and passionate love.
The Fault in Our Stars || John Green
One of the most popular and moving love stories of our times, this brilliantly explores the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love. Despite the tumour-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda || Becky Albertalli
An incredibly funny and poignant, coming-of-age, coming out story—wrapped in a geek romance! When an email falls into the wrong hands, sixteen year old and not-so-openly-gay Simon finds his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone without fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.
![TILL THE LAST BREATH by [Durjoy Datta]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/512T9fU8ONL.jpg)
![Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by [Becky Albertalli]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51VnsVVcTuL.jpg)