Chapter 5

Alia.q

@Alia.q

Sorry everyone! I updated on wattpad but completely forgot to update here!! Here is the next part☺️

Joining Hearts🥰

"AKSHARAAA" yelled Abhimanyu, catching her in his arms. Abhimanyu had never known fear like this. Every time he had saved Akshara, be it from falling or from goons, he felt his heart beat painfully in panic. Today? She had passed out in front of him and her face twisted in agony would have brought him to his knees if he didn't have to catch her.

Hearing Abhimanyu scream finally brought the rest of his family out of their rooms. As they all ran towards the couple, they wondered what had happened. One second they were enjoying Aksharas melodious voice and the next Abhimanyu had sounded as if he had lost the most precious thing in his life. 

Reaching the living room, everyone followed as Abhimanyu carried an unconscious Akshara to his room. Neil hurriedly ran and brought back Abhimanyus medical kit and with no delays Abhimanyu began to check everything that he could.

"Yeh toh hona hi tha" came Harshs voice from Abhimanyus doorway.

"Abhi nahi sir! Aap se baad mein lar lunga abhi sab se zyada zaroori Akshara hai!" Abhimanyu replied, checking Aksharas heartbeat. 

"Mujhe tumse larne ka koi shauk nahi hai. Akshara ke liye hi aaya hu" Harsh replied, surprising everyone.

It was then that Abhi noticed the extra medical supplies being brought in from behind Harsh. A saline drip and a portable oxygen machine?

"Yeh sab kya hai? Aur aapko kaise pata hai ki Akshu ko kya hua hai?" Abhimanyu asked confused as he pulled the mask strings carefully over Aksharas head. 

"Yeh sab tumhare aur tumhare mom ke galat fehmiyo ka nateeja hai. Interrupt karne se pehle puri baat sunlo!" Harsh stopped Abhimanyu before he could defend his mother.

Everyone stood around the bed worried and confused. 

"Akshara ke ghar Arohi ko drop karne gaya tha. Waha pata chala ke yeh larki bhale tilak ke din chup rahi ho par jab bolne par ati hai toh sabki bolti band karti hai" he came forward and placed a hand on Abhimanyus shoulder.

"Aaj tumhare choice par main bhi khush hu. Akshara ke hote hui tumhe kabhi kisi cheez se darne ki zaroorat nahi hai lekin tum dono ke saath rehte rehte iska kya haal hoga yeh mujhe pata nahi hai" he taunted looking angrily at Manjari.

"Abhi peheliyon ke liye waqt nahi hai! Joh bholna hai kulke boliye!"Abhimanyu was shocked and annoyed. Had he just approved of Akshara? Why could he not just answer in a straightforward manner?

"Thik hai, toh baat yeh hai ke aaj Akshara hi thi jisne tumhe aag se bachaya. Aur sirf yeh hi nahi, woh har baat jiski credit tum Ma bete ne Arohi ko de rakhi thi woh sab Akshara ne hi kiya hai. Mandir mein pooja, case mein tumhare liye gavai dena aur aaj aag mein kudke  tumhe bachana. Tabhi toh iski yeh haalat hai"

The Birlas stood shocked. They had all assumed Akshara had recently fallen for their Abhimanyu but had she loved him in secret all this time? She had done so much for him without once asking for anything in return. Actions speak louder than words and this they thought was a live example of this.

Abhimanyu was shaken from the core. As he stared at an unconscious Akshara, he thought of how he spent the past few hours in agony and anger. How did he ever doubt the love he had seen in her eyes at every encounter. He could feel guilt crawling up his chest and wrapping its claws around his heart.

As Abhimanyu remained frozen, holding Aksharas hand and staring at her silently, Harsh took the lead.

"Neil call your friend and let them know Akshara is unwell. Manjari prepare some healthy soup and tea. Her throat will be too sore for solids. Everyone else let her rest, let's go," he commanded, ushering everyone out.

Harsh had noticed Aksharas voice sounding hoarse and her fatigue during the fight. Everyone else had chalked it up to the emotional stress, but Harsh realized that being stuck in the fire would have repercussions. He wanted to be prepared, it was the least he could do for the girl responsible for his son being alive today.

Abhimanyu was so lost in thought that he didn't even notice the lack of an audience, not that it mattered since his entire attention was on the tiny girl lying in front of him. He was so wrong he thought. He thought no one could ever love anyone as much as he loved his Akshu but once again his Akshu surprised him. 

He grabbed her hand in between both of his and held it under his chin. 

"Tumhe zara bhi apni parwah nahi hai haina? Sab ke bhare mein sochti ho bas khudko chor ke" he spoke softly, caressing her hand.

"Meri fikir karne ke liye tum ho na" came a whisper before Akshara slowly opened her eyes with a beautiful smile gracing her lips.

"Dekho na, thora sa chakar kya aagaya aur tumne kamre ko pura hospital bana diya" she teased, coughing a little.

Abhimanyu looked at her with eyes fill with love and questions.

"Baat mat karo! Gale ko aaram do. Aag mein ghusne ki kya zaroorat thi? Aur baad mein check up bhi nahi karwaya? Gharelu doctor ho lekin haar cheez nusko se theek nahi hoti! Ulta yaha aake ghana ghaane lagi?" Abhimanyu scolded.

Akshara despite being reprimanded could not help but smile at her methi dana lovingly. 

"Ghusa karna bhi nahi aata tumhe" she teased him with a giggle. Akshara was in a state of bliss. She could finally openly express her love. She freed her hand and raised it to Abhimanyus  irritated face, wiping a stray tear.

"Tumhe kuch hota toh main kaise jee pati aur itni baar tumhara dil thorne ke liye tumhe manana bhi zaroori tha," she explained.

"Baat mat karo maine kaha na. Meri baat na sun ne ki toh jaise kasam kha rakhi hai" Abhimanyu grumbled as he helped her sit up.

"Meri hone wali bahu ko dant rahe ho Abhi!" Manjari walked in with a platter full of soup and tea. Putting the platter on the table she proceeded to pull Abhimanyus ear. 

"Akshara ko dantne ki socha bhi toh dekhna"

Mother and son continued to entertain and care for Akshara. It was in this moment that the Goenkas following Harsh, entered the room.

As they watched the scene silently, they were reminded of Kartik and Naira. How had they missed this was running through each of their minds. Abhimanyu and Akshara despite only knowing each other for a couple of months, looked as deeply in love as their beloved son and daughter in law. 

Manish and Kairav especially let out a breath of relief. Knowing about her selfless behaviour, they always worried about Akshara and her happiness but now seeing Abhimanyu care for her and treat her like a princess, they felt peaceful. 

Manish had made the decision then and there that he would give this family another chance for the sake of his granddaughter. He turned to Harsh and nodded towards the door. His Akshu was in safe hands, now it was his turn to guarantee her happiness.

Leaving the rest of the family to join the trio, Manish and Harsh went towards the study. 

"Bachon ki khushi ke liye humein beete baatien bhulkar aage barna chahiye" requested Manish and felt relief seeing Harsh nodding his consent.

"Aisa karte hai ki parso tilak rakte hai? Bachon ko surprise denge. Itna kuch sehne ke baad agar unhe aise surprise karenge toh bahot acha lagega unhe" Harsh suggested. 

And so as Abhimanyu spent the night and the following day taking care of his Akshu, both families spent the time preparing for this event. 

The morning of their surprise tilak started off with Abhimanyu bringing breakfast for Akshara. He had been thinking a lot about how he will fare after her family takes his Akshu back to her home. Having her here in front of him 24/7 had been a dream come true but now it was time to wake up he thought.

Akshara on the other hand fully enjoyed being pampered. She had taken full advantage of the situation and often teamed up with Manjari Aunty to tease her chidkuram. She had soaked up the love she had missed both from a mother figure and the love of her life. But she knew that they both had things to discuss, things they were avoiding until Abhimanyu deemed her fit and fine.

As she sat in her rare silence just finishing up her breakfast, she knew she had to explain her reasons behind breaking his heart. And as she finally looked up to him, she noticed he had already been staring at her. She felt her cheeks get warm as she again looked away from him. Now that she had openly expressed her love, she sometimes felt extremely shy when he looked at her with such intense gazes. 

"Acha toh tumhe chup rehna bhi aata hai? Mujhe toh laga ab zindagi bhaar Ma ke saath milkar meri hi band bajane wale ho tum" he said leaning forward and wiping some sauce from the corner of her lips. Not that he would ever mind that. Seeing his mother and his love get along so well made his heart hum in joy.

"Ha..haan toh? Ha.haaq hai mera" she stuttered in reply.

Abhimanyu smiled as if he'd won a prize. He would never get tired of hearing her say things like that. She was right, she owned him completely and hearing her finally accept it after denying it for so long felt like he'd been given rain in the middle of a drought.

"Haq haina? Toh joh bhi tum itne time se soch kar pareshaan ho rahe ho, haq se batao" teasing and bugging her had its place but he could never stand to see her upset.

She sighed looking at him before she grabbed his hand and started to play with his long charming fingers. Her own hands looked so tiny compared to his.

"Jab mein 2 saal ki thi tab meri Naira mumma humein chorkar chali gayi. Jab se hosh sambhala hai bas Sirat Ma ko hi apne mom ke roop mein janti ti. Woh toh bahot waqt baad pata chala ki woh mere biological mom nahi hai."she took a deep breath before explaining the day she had once again lost her parents.

"Jaate jaate Sirat Ma ne mujhse ek cheez mangi ti ki main Arohi ka khyal rakhu, usse uski haar khushiyan du, isliye tilak ke din uska toota hua dil dekh ke apne dil ki baat na sun paye aur na bata paye." She said remorsefully. 

"Mere pariwar ne bahot dard aur dukh jehla hai. Itna ke hum sab ander hi ander se darte hai kuch aur khone se. Isiliye shayad aaj tak Arohi ki har zid, har batameezi chup chap sehti aayi hu. Pariwar ke khushi aur pariwar ke saath se zyada zaroori kuch nahi hai mere liye. Tumhe mana karti rahi is daar se ke kahi Arohi ne kuch karliya aur pura pariwar phir se toot gaya toh main sab kuch haar jaungi." 

Abhimanyu could literally feel his heart break watching Akshara try to control her tears. Seeing her happy go lucky personality, he would have never guessed that so much pain was hidden in her beautiful heart. 

Abhi lifted his free hand and wiped her tears, shaking his head, wanting to stop her from reliving the pain of her past.

Akshara couldn't help the small smile on her lips as she looked at the man who even now could not stand her pain despite her being the cause of his pain. She took a deep breath, wiped her tears and continued.

"Yaad hai maine kaha tha mere liye pyaar sangeet hai. Kab dil ko chu jaye, kab usko gungunane lag jao pata hi nahi chalta? Waise hi kab tumne mere dil mein apne jagah bana di, kab mere liye mere pariwar ka hisa ban gaye pata hi nahi chala. Bas aag mein tumhe dekh kar ehsaas hua ki jaise pariwar ko khone se darti hu waise tumhe khone ke dar ne meri jaan hi leli thi."she confessed, leaning closer and staring right into his love filled eyes.

"Tab hi faisla kiya tha ki chahe kuch bhi hojaye, main humein, humare pyar ko harne nahi dungi. Tumhe hurt karne ke liye khudko kabhi maaf nahi kar paungi lekin I promise zindagi baar tumse itna pyar karungi ki woh din, woh dard hi bhool jaoge" she ended holding his hand to her heart. 

Abhimanyu could hear his own words chime through his head. He had once wondered whether she'd ever be able to love him as much as she loved her family. Hearing his wish come true all he could was send a prayer and a thanks to Mahadev for this blessing. 

Pulling her hand towards himself, he placed a kiss on the back of it. 

"Mujhe meri Akshu milgayi hai, ab na toh koi ghum hai or na koi ghum ki yaadien. Maafi toh mujhe mangni hai. Kehta raha ki pyar karta hu par tumhe samaj nahi paya. Tumne har baar mujhe bachane keliye, meri khushi ke liye itna kuch kiya aur main tumhe hi galat samajta raha.   l'm sorry." He held his ears.

Akshara held his hands and pulled them to her lap. She refused to let him blame himself for thoughts he had under the influence of her words.

"Acha chalo wada karo. Beete baatien bhool jayenge aur ek nayi shruwat karenge. Tum yahan ho mere paas, mere haathon mein tumhara haath hai aur humare dilo mein ek dusre ka naam hai, aur mujhe kuch nahi chahiye" Abhimanyu replied with a smile, holding her hand tightly in assurance.

Akshara smiled widely and nodded. Just as Abhimanyu went in for a hug, a loud voice broke through the little world they had created  for themselves and Abhimanyu jumped back.

"BROOO, jaldi karo humein jana hai aur Akshara, Kairav aaya hai tumhe lene." Neil rambled on quickly followed by Kairav.

"Chale Akshu! Bahot kaam hai aur time toh bilkul bhi nahi hai." Kairav complained before helping Akshara up and out the door.

As the siblings pulled them away from each other without hearing a single word, Abhimanyu and Akshara could only glance backwards for a last glimpse of each other. Despite spending more than 24 hours together, the yearning began as soon as they lost sight of one another.