Love that lasts

Chapter 12

"Erm.. I was actually going to apologise for my outburst earlier, before that guy knocked us off" I began awkwardly.

"If we keep recalling every bad memory we had, we would probably spend the rest of my time here apologising to each other." Chandni's voice was full of irony.

Just then her phone buzzed, and she scrunched up her face looking at it.

"How come you have reached here so soon Chacha?" she asked as soon as she answered the call.

I could hear loud giggles and a childish voice on the phone in the silence of our room, even at such a distance.

I was feeling awkward listening to the one-sided phone conversation and tried to get up from the sofa, but she hurried towards the sofa and sat next to me, signalling to me to lie down.

"Atharv! How many times have I told you not to take Chacha's phone and call me?" She admonished her son.

I unlocked my phone and went through the dozens of missed calls and messages I had since morning, but my attention inadvertently kept going back to her and her son.

As I watched the smile that played on her lips while she happily chatted with her son, I wished I could just stare at her face all day.

Deep in my heart, I felt happy for her that, at last, she found happiness with her lovely family. She had an adoring husband and a lovable child, and I found myself feeling grateful to Vikram Mathur once again, for providing her this stability.

But my thoughts soon moved to that scoundrel who left her to the mercy of others, all those years ago. What kind of a monster was that Rahul guy, who would abandon her in that state, pregnant with his child? My blood boiled at the very thought!

But... At the same time, I was filled with a deep sense of angst and jealousy as well. She must have loved him, loved him so much that she wanted to marry him and .....and even bore his child!

I closed my eyes in agony, unable to think beyond that!

Chandni's anxious voice filtered through, even when I felt suffocated and wretched, struggling with my inner trauma.

"Aryan, are you OK? Should I call the Doctor?" The concern and worry in her voice finally broke the lid on all the emotions I have been bottling up ever since I came to know about her son.

"Did you love him, your husband... a lot? The father of your Son...Atharv?" I blurted out, desperate to hear an answer that I knew she would never give, but I was still hopeful to hear it.

"Yes I did, I loved him a lot, once." Chandni's eyes welled up as she swiftly turned her face away from me. Her voice shook as she continued. "Later, I hated him for abandoning me. But somewhere, deep inside, I still love him, for giving me Atharv." Chandni's words still broke my heart, even when I knew that is probably what she would say.

"Why did he leave you, that too when you were pregnant? What kind of a man does that? Why... why on earth did you marry that Rahul guy god damn it?" No matter how hard I tried, my voice shook with all the anger and agony I was trying so hard to suppress.

She turned and looked at me with utter shock, probably because of the sudden change in my temperament.

"I am sorry. Here I go again....I shouldn't have lost my temper... no matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to control myself when you are around me. I just seem to make things worse between us." I tried my best to calm myself and offer my apologies but she kept staring at me in shock, and didn't respond to what I said.

Finally, as if coming out of a trance, she got up and said, "You should take some rest. I... I too promised VikramJi that I will try my best to forget what happened between us and work professionally with you, but somehow or other, something happens and we seem to go back to square one. And you are correct, the things that happened between us are too bitter for us." she paused, hesitating.

"There's no point in raking up those things. I will have to go now." She looked as if she couldn't even bear to look at my face anymore and made a dash for the door.

Just as she opened the door, I called her with her name.... for the first time

"Chandni!"

She stopped, her fingers gripping tightly on to the door handle, as if her life depended on it, and slowly turned around. I could never forget her face then, as she looked at me with a mixture of anguish and hatred.

"But you hate me more, don't you?" I asked her, my voice barely a whisper, my eyes glued to her face, trying to peek into her soul through her eyes.

"YES!" she choked as a lone tear escaped her eye and rapidly rolled on to her cheek, unable to look away from me. After what seemed an eternity, she slowly closed the door behind her. I could still see her outline behind the semi-transparent glass door.

I opened my mobile and played a very old favourite song of my Nani, as well as mine, which earned me even a nickname from Chandni when we were in Goa.

Jalte hain jiske liye, teri aakhon ke diye,

Dhoond laya hoon wohi geet main tere liye

That which the lamps of your eyes are burning for,

I've sought out for you that very same song

I heard a sob and she was gone.

**End of Aryan's POV**

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As Chandni lay in her bed that night, reminiscing the events of the day, all she could feel was this deep weight upon her heart. Will things ever work out between her and Aryan? How do they pass these tough few months before a permanent replacement CEO is found for Synergy?

Just then she heard a knock on the door and Vikram's voice.

"Please come in VikramJi." She got up from the bed and adjusted the pallu of her saree, realising just then, that she still hadn't changed into her night clothes.

"Sorry Chandni I couldn't come earlier, I was stuck in meetings. How is your ankle now? Have you taken the painkillers?" Vikram looked exhausted and tired, but his voice was full of concern for Chandni.

"VikramJi I am perfectly fine. It is just a normal sprain. If it really hurts, I will take a painkiller." Chandni assured him.

"How is Aryan? I thought of calling him but I understand he never picks up his phone." Vikram said in frustration.

"He is OK too. Please don't worry about us. You look very tired. Have you had your dinner? I will serve you some..."

Vikram cut off Chandni.

"I had my dinner at the club, don't worry. And please take a rest."

"Sure"

"Good night Chandni!" Vikram said as he closed the door behind him.

Chandni slowly got up from the bed and went to the washroom to freshen up. She tied her hair up in a knot and turned on the radio as she gathered her pyjamas.

Some old Hindi song was playing but Chandni had no idea which movie it was from.

As she bent down and splashed her face with water, a red streak ran over her forehead and nose and she looked at her reflection in confusion, touching her hair.

On the Radio, there was a change, and a song that she was quite familiar with began to play.

"Jalte Hai Jiske Liye, Tere Aankhon Ke Diye..."

There was a patch of blood in her hair parting, all dried up and mixed with her sindoor.

And then she suddenly remembered!

How Aryan's chin hit her forehead when that guy hit him. His blood must have spilled on to her when his chin hit her forehead.

Chandni's whole body shook as she began to cry suddenly, in abandon, as it brought back a memory that stayed etched in her mind, no matter how hard she tried to suppress it.

~~~~

Aryan struggled to free himself, as two powerful pairs of hands held him back from behind.

He managed to kick one of the two who held him, as he pushed off the grip of the police constable on the other side and rushed towards her. There was blood streaming from the side of his forehead and a deep cut near lips from the injuries he sustained in the hands of police and goons.

He kissed her hard on her hair parting, smearing it with his blood.

He was pulled away from her again, even as she protested in vain, crying, while her mother Aishwarya pulled her towards their car.

"Chandni, DON'T YOU EVER DARE TO FORGET!!! YOU ARE MY WIFE!! YOU ARE MY MINE AND WE BELONG TO EACH OTHER!!"

They dragged him towards the police van as she watched, her eyes pouring out, and then suddenly everything went blank for her as she collapsed on the floor.

~~~

Author Note :

Sindhoor is a red vermillion powder that a married Hindu woman fills her hair parting with. Mangal Sutra is a black beaded necklace worn by a married woman, which is tied around their neck during the marriage by her husband. If you do no understand any word or reference in this book, please don't hesitate to ask me.

Why did Chandni looked at Aryan in such shock when he was blaming Rahul for abandoning her?

The way Aryan's blood filled her hair parting during the skirmish triggered a memory for Chandni when a similar thing happened all those years ago.

This story is multi-layered and you will begin to understand all the events that happened in the past and present as you read on. Please comment and vote so I know what your thoughts are