Chapter 13

13

She calmed herself down and then walked downstairs to where Simon once stood. When she looked up, he still stood there, in the same position. She stopped on her way and then looked at him with a kind of amazement. "You're still here?"

"Did you want me to leave?"

"No. I meant..I didnt think you would stay after all I said." She bit her lip.

"I'm sorry Kripa but..I dont abandon someone I love so easily."

She clenched her chest and fell to the floor. Simon ran to break her fall but couldnt. Instead he immediately grabbed her as she sunk into his arms. He felt the tears fall on his arms as he held her tight. "Kripa are you okay?"

"I'm so sorry Simon. I never realized how much you love me till today. I've been nothing but this selfish jerk that was dwelling on the past. I cant forgive myself for..." He shut her up by placing his palm against her lips. "Youve said enough Kripa. Youre not selfish and youre not a jerk. Yes you hurt me a few times by hiding the truth but I love you too much to be angry or to hate you. I love you a lot Kripa. But if you love Angad..then I cant do anything to change that. I just wish you had told me earlier."

"There was nothing to say Simon and I dont even know why I just blurted out with that earlier. You know theres no one I love except you."

He stood still for a few moments. He didnt want to believe her. Was this the same Kripa who had ignored him, pushed him away, and then blurted out that she loved someone else? Well it surely didnt seem like it. "Kripa...if this is a joke Im sorry but Im not gonna laugh this time."

She took his hands in hers. "I'm serious, Simon." She smiled and looked into his eyes. "I love you." She repeated in her head almost as if trying to convince herself.

Silence. He was trying to soak all that in. Kripa took a deep breath and held his face between her hands. Then she moved forward to gently kiss his lips. "I love you, Simon." She whispered. He smiled back as the moonlight shone on them through the window and the white curtains blocking them.

One Month Later...

Angad walked as fast as he could so that he could be on time for the meeting. He was able to still keep the contract even after dropping out of the fashion week at the last minute. Considering his accident, he was allowed to continue with the fashion week. Angad still had a limp as he hurried to the conference room of the five star hotel.

"Mr. Khanna. Nice to see you back!" Angad smiled as he was greeted into the conference room. "I'm sorry if Im late Sir. Actually I was.."

"No explanations Angad. Please, just take a seat." Angad bit his lip, not knowing whether the man was angry or just generous. "Now Mr. Khanna. From what I see, you still have a bit of a...limp...when you walk. Trusting your judgment, I'm hoping youre gonna recover completely within 2 weeks?"

"Yes Sir. The doctor has said that within a week I should be fine."

"Great. Then congradulations, you have the job." Angad smiled as widely as he could. "But wait..before you get too excited. Mr. Khanna, you bailed on us the last time and we lost a lot of money. I expect you to take care of yourself this time." Angad nodded. He had decided to stay away from Kripa and after confirming that she would not be a part of this fashion week, he had agreed to come back.

Angad got back in his car and started driving back towards his house. It had been about a week and a half since all the newpapers had carried the news of The Kripa Sharma getting engaged to her boyfriend. He had expected it but the fact that he had found out from the newspapers had hurt him. Simon was, afterall, one of his closest friends.

He stopped by the dry cleaners to pick up his suit that he was going to wear at Kripa's engagement party. Like other models, he had recieved an invitation too but he didnt really want to go. When his friend Sarah insisted that he go for networking purposes, he had reluctantly agreed. And now two days away was Kripa's huge engagement party.

There were several reasons why Angad didnt want to go. First and the most obvious reason was that he didnt want to face Kripa and Simon. They hadnt come face to face for over a month now and he wanted to keep it that way even though he really wanted to be with her. Another reason was that he knew Kripa's parents were going to be there. It had been ten years since he had met them and the last meeting wasnt quite a pleasant one.

"Take a seat Angad." Her father had said when Kripa had introduced them to each other for the first time after being caught making out in the movie theatre by a family friend. Angad remembered how he had quietly done what Mr. Sharma had asked. Angad had always been afraid of Kripa's father. He was an army man who believed that discipline was the main component of life. This was the exact reason why Kripa had been so rebellious since her early days. She just wanted to be what her father never wanted her to be. Why? Because she was the kind to dream, not carefully plan. She wanted a glamorous life with money, cars, diamonds, and anything that said Rich And Famous. She had acheived the same and even though her father was proud of her, he never really accepted and agreed with Kripa's manipulative tactics to get this far. But what the both of them didnt understand was that they were so similar in the way they wanted their lives to be. Both wanted full control of their life, their environment, and their all the relationships in their lives. In the past 26 years they had failed to notice these similarities..and they probably would never realize ever.

"My daughter tells me that you love her. Is that true?" Angad shifted in his seat and then nodded. "Yes Sir." He whispered. "Speak up young man, Do you love my daughter?"

"Yes sir!" Angad blurted out. Plainly put, he was just too terrified at this moment. But no he had not lied. He loved Kripa..perhaps more than he would ever realize. "How old are you Angad?"

"16."

"Sixteen. A teenager. What do you exactly know about love to claim that youre in love huh? Tell me, what is love?"

Angad felt like he was taking one of those tricky tests he took in school. He had always done well on them but this one...this one was going to be hard. He remained silent. Anything he said or did would surely count against him. He knew that!

"Have you ever thought of how many years lie ahead of you? Is this how youre going to waste your life Angad?" His voice had suddenly turned stern. He remembered his own father at this moment. He was always a quiet man who never shared opinions unless he had to. But when he was angry, he wouldnt speak to Angad for days at a time, torturing the guilt inside him everytime. But at this moment, he wished that Mr. Sharma gave him a silent treatment. It was much better to see him angry and quiet rather than angry and yelling or questioning. Especially when Angad didnt have answers. Why did he love Kripa? Because he did. Thats all. He didnt understand why Mr. Sharma had to question everything so much.

"I hope you think about all this again young man. Next time I see you, you better have some answers!" Her father had smiled then, thinking he had scared Angad away forever. He almost had, but Angad was just as stubborn as him. Over the next few months that Angad and Kripa had stayed together, Angad had tried his best to stay away from her father. But he knew he was going to see him again at Kripa's engagement party. He didnt want to face him. Somehow, Angad felt like Kripa's father would be extremely happy about Kripa marrying someone else. Angad just wanted to stay away.

Angad sat down at his desk with his laptop and a glass of wine. As he took a sip, he checked his email that he hadnt done for a while. He knew that there would be a lot fo fan mails and he was right. Inbox: 342 Mails. He took a deep breath and clicked on the button that took him to his inbox. He needed the spirit boost from his fans. His career wasnt going as great as it was a month ago and it was all because of a stupid accident. He was hoping that some fan mails would make him feel better.

He scrolled down his list of mails and then suddenly scrolled back up. He couldnt believe his eyes. It was an email from Chandni. He looked at the date. It was exactly a week before her death. He took another deep breath and opened the email.

Angad felt his heart stop for almost a second. He scrolled down and read the content of the letter.

"Ok so I know you probably wont check this email for dayssss but when youre free (which you probably are rite now lol) can you please get these pictures framed?! kthankbye. love you!

He scrolled down again and looked at the attachment. Did he want to open it? No. But he did anyhow. Downloading File. He waited. Then finally when it was done he opened it and there it was! It was a picture from their 6 month anniversary. He remembered that night. He had taken her to one of the best restaurants in the city and had a perfect candle light dinner. After that they had spent the whole night with their car just staring at the stars and holding hands. That was when he thought this stuff would make chandni happy but he was wrong. It wasnt the candlelit dinner or the expensive car that made her happy, it was that one kiss they had shared that night that was so special. Even though it wasnt their first kiss, it really felt like it for her. And to some degree, he had felt it too.

But today all he felt was regret. He could have made her so happy when she was alive. And now he wanted to go back in time and change so many things but he couldnt. He felt a few tears roll down his cheek in the longest time. He didnt know what was going on. On one side he loved Kripa so much but on the other side, he still couldnt let go of Chandni. Did he love her? Yes. Maybe not in same way but yes he loved Chandni a lot. He rested his head back on his chair and tried to control his sorrow and tears.

The phone rang and it sort of helped angad distract himself. "Hello?"

"Angad! I hope youre ready to go to the party tomorrow!!"

"Sarah? Hey..yeah I'm ready but I dont.."

"Oh shut up Angad. I have someone you wanna meet so you better be there!!"

"Who?"

"Its a surprise! you neeed to come. okay?"

"Yeah"

"Aight bye love. see you tomorrow!" Sarah hung up, leaving Angad confused. Who did she want Angad to meet?