4. Facing the past

Mayank kissed her cheek, bringing her attention to him. 

“Dance?” 

“Of course” And she slid into his arms like magic. They were swaying to the words feeling the romance in the air. And instinctively her head lay in his chest as she breathed deep and smiled. This is all I need. Just this for the rest of my life. 

“Nupur” 

“Hmm”

“I know you love me too.” 

Nupur looked at the twinkle in his eyes and in spite of herself, her eyes blurred again. She would never get used to this. Never would she get used to Mayank Sharma’s charm. 

“Mayank, I used to say it to you every night.” She whispered. “Wherever I was, I said those words for you every night, hoping that you would be able to feel my love even though I wasn’t there with you. Never did I think that I would be able to say it to you again.” 

His hands rubbed her back as he let her continue.

“But there were a few times that he heard me.” She shivered. “And he-he-belt se…”

She didn’t continue. His arms were wrapped around her tight. The song forgotten as they swayed in each other’s arms. Mayank tried to absorb her pain so that it wouldn’t be such a burden on her. He knew that his emotions didn’t matter as much as hers in this moment. If she was trusting him to share the worst of it, he would give her that space to talk. She didn’t need a protective husband right now, she needed a friend who would listen. 

“You love me Nupur. And no one can take that from you. Dhruv nahi hai. Woh jaa chuka hai aur tum mujhse jab chahe “I love you” bol sakti ho. No one can take that from you.”

Nupur nodded crying into his chest like she had wanted to do this whole time. 

“I love you Mayank. And I can say loudly and clearly.. No one can take you from me.” she repeated. 

He nodded and then kissed her softly.

Uday returned from the kitchen to watch all his friends coupled up and dancing. He scowled. When would his dancing partner appear in his life? Then his gaze turned to Mayank and Nupur when he saw them share a kiss in the corner of the dance floor, lost in each other. His scowl deepened for second before smiling slightly. He had never really liked Mayank, but had grudgingly accepted him as part of Nupur’s life because he could genuinely see how much he cared for his sister. But, in the past three years, he had grown a soft spot for his jiju. He slowly smiled at the two.

“Aww” he let out catching the attention of all the other couples. “made for each other.” They all looked in his direction and laughed. 

“Ahem”  

Mayank and Nupur looked up just as thunder sounded outside in the garden. It was evening now, but the sound of rain didn’t stop Nupur from quickening her pace to the balcony windows and staring excitedly outside. 

“Mayank” she squealed and he chuckled before joining her side. 

She had tears of joy in her eyes. “I can finally dance in the rain. No one can stop me this time, right?” she looked at him and he nodded. “No one can take that from you.” he repeated. 

With the smile dancing on her face, she ran out into the garden letting the rain soak and wash out every bit of uncertainty in her. If Mayank thought his wife was beautiful, he had no words for what she looked like now - white salwar that clung to her curves as she reached her arms wide and invited the rain into her heart. 

He could not stop himself. He left the others watching behind the glass balcony doors and made his way onto the patio and into the garden feeling the pulse of the rain and watching his angel dancing in it. 

She saw him come to her and winked at him before running playfully to the other end of the garden. He wasn’t prepared. And after a brief moment of shock, a smile warmed his face as he chased after her around the chairs and plants only to catch her by the waist and spin her in place. Her back to his chest and synchronized laughs, they looked no less than a bollywood film playing out in Gunjan’s garden. Yet, there was truth to that moment. A hint of realness that was evident when Mayank lowered her down and saw the tears in her eyes that spilled despite the blush on her cheeks. He touched her cheek, feeling the blush and reminding himself that she wasn’t a dream, she was real. She was his reality now. And she looked so damn beautiful. If heaven and earth could stand still to capture his timeless fairy even for the most fleeting of moments, they would. But alas, they don’t have the fortune that I do of calling her mine, and mine forever. Not for a fleeting moment, but for our forever, which starts now. 

He leaned down and kissed the bend of her neck into her chest, knowing exactly her sensitve spots and teasing his lips on them for a brief moment. He felt her shudder and dipped her into their classic pose, spinning her as he did so. She was completely transformed in this moment. From a scared, nervous, traumatized version of herself to a carefree butterfly who had just gotten wings. 

All because of my man, she thought pulling Mayank closer to her and kissing the nape of his neck where his mole sat. She hadn’t done this before and she knew they had an audience behind the door. But the rain was pouring down on them, her feelings were flowing, and with the flow, her confidence was soaring. She couldn’t help herself. He treated her with a kiss of his own on her cheek before spinning her again and taking her neck from behind. 

They looked beautiful together. So beautiful that the rain stopped to watch as they danced like nobody was watching. Mayank lifted Nupur up to the sky and spun her around feeling her quivering body burst with laughter and delight. This was her, this was exactly what she wanted and needed. He lowered her and let his lips brush hers briefly feeling the heat of the moment. With feet firmly to the ground, he then pulled her closer by the waist and kissed her. Slow, soft, delicate just like a prince for his awakening sleeping beauty. 

Then the laughter bubbled deep within them as it made its way to their lips and spread across their faces. forehead to forehead and heart to heart. They were complete. Completely complete in this very moment. 

A few days later, Mayank was on the bed next to a sleeping Nupur when he got a call from an unknown number. 

“Hello?” 

“Hi, is this Mr. Sharma?” 

Mayank’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. 

“Yes. Who’s this?” 

“Sir, this is Inspector Khanna from the police station. I wanted to speak to you about the complaint and charges against Dhruv Verma.” 

Mayank turned to see Nupur’s sleeping form and after reassuring himself that she was safely tucked away in the comfort of their home, he sneaked out of the room and continued the call. 

“yes, inspector. Tell me.” 

“I just wanted to inform you that Dhruv has decided to contest the charges and is going to go to trial in a couple of weeks. There is a high chance that your wife will need to come in to testify against him. And for that, you may need to get yourselves a lawyer. Perhaps a good one. Abuse cases tend to get messy very fast…” 

Mayank’s mind was spinning. Testify, lawyer, court… All he wanted was a peaceful life where Nupur was free from the trauma that she had lived in and was basking in their love. But things needed to be set right. They couldn’t just ignore what had happened. In order to move forward, they needed to fix their past. So with a deep sigh, he steadied his hand on the phone. 

“Do you have any suggestions for a good lawyer, I want to make sure that b*** pays for the rest of his life.” Mayank said. His calmness was a facade. 

“Yes Mr. Sharma, I can send you some contacts. And like you asked, we have been keeping him in an isolation cell with an order for  24 hour watch on him. There is no way he is going to escape. I can promise you.”

“Good. Thank you, sir.” 

He clicked the phone off and headed back inside with Nupur. Caressing the few stray strands of hair on her cheek, he whispered. 

“I promise Nupur. He will not harm you ever again. Not even in your dreams. But, for that to happen, we might need to relive the past. Talk about what happened. I know that this is not what you wanted. I know that you are still so hidden about what happened, and I want to give you that space. But more than giving you space, I want you to be free from the trauma that’s holding you back. You are my brave girl and I know you will get through this. I love you.”

With a lone tear running down his cheek, he placed a tender, lingering kiss on her forehead and then snaked his way around her waist before falling asleep himself.