AbhiRa FF - Veritas / Chapter 5 Page 33 - 25 Feb 2022 - Page 16

Originally posted by: hatelove2012

I feel bad for Akshara but at the same time she needs to speak up instead of not saying anything. Being silent is not the key to any solution.

She's been silent for twenty or so years. It'll take her time to get over her guilt. She's as much as a victim of circumstance as she is a lost child. She simply yearns acceptance from Aarohi.

Keep reading :)

Originally posted by: Manju1066

I am really waiting for the day when Akshara gives it off to Arohi and the Goenkas.and I love Naksh and Abhis interaction.💖💖waiting for the next chapter😁

I think we're all waiting for that day - whether it be in the show or in this story😆

I love writing them too. Abhi doesn't have much of a paternal influence in life so I think he values Naksh's view of him.

Thank you :)

Originally posted by: Gurveen

Awesome update

Yaar iss arohi ka kuch karo

Usse door rakho abhi aur akshu se

Please update soon

Thank you :)

She'll keep showing up like and outdoor cat 😆 But rest assured, she's not going to be completely vampish.

Originally posted by: natkhat_angel

Loved the update!

There are only like 2-3 Abhira ffs on the forum so I hope you don't leave this one halfway.

Things in order of what I liked -

1. Abhimanyu's kiss on the wrist☺️

2. Jitna intezaar karana hai kara lo and her finding him waiting for her in the mirror

3. Abhimanyu-Naksh's conversation

4. Both the siblings' songs - both the songs fit the situation and were SO funny! You were right that abhira are shown to be musical so we need songs in every update🤣

5. Akshara realizing that she's starting to care less about Aarohi

6. Phone texting and the song lyrics

Can't wait to read the next update!

Thank you!

You were the only one that commented on the kiss on the wrist, so thank you for that. I think forehead and wrist kisses are hella romantic. Kissing on the lips is made a big deal of and it's passionate/romantic but these kisses make you feel cherished ☺️😆

Originally posted by: sarahehsan

Abhi na jaao chod kar k dil Abhi bhara nahin. Abhi Abhi toh aaye ho..!!! Classic!! 😍😍😂😂🤣🤣

Please, please write more of such scenes!! 😍😍💛

🤣

Thank you. I smiled when I wrote it myself, so I'm glad you liked it :)

Originally posted by: SurrealFantasy

Aww...I'm sure Abhi would be pissed off 😆

Naksh is fun to write because his characteristics are all made up by me here. Don't know where the serial Naksh would have taken the plot 🤣

Thank you :)

I dont think the writers have the intention to let us know either

When is the next update...batao toh plzzzz

Originally posted by: Monstuholic

I dont think the writers have the intention to let us know either

Oh, the Singhanias and Maheshwaris do not even exist for them anyway. Akshara is planning to get married but hasn't even contacted her Mama or Bua/Mami. Isn't the Mama supposed to do shagun and stuff? 🤣

Hey guys.

I've lost ten or so readers since the previous update - so please let me know what should be changed in case the story isn't written well/not according to your taste.

It becomes tedious to write if the matter is not appreciated.

Thank you to everyone who has read and commented. All my love <3

I have tweaked Akshara's past a little bit, so please do not be offended. This is just my version of the story!

P.S: Not proof-read.

P.P.S: I have sole copyright over my work, so please do not copy without permission.

C H A P T E R 3 B

Aarohi smiled as her fellow intern joked about being bonded labour and how they couldn’t have a day off even when almost all senior doctors and consultants were not on regular duty today.

She already had enough on her plate - her OPD duty had just ended and she had to collect the blood samples of the twenty-six new patients her resident had admitted overnight in the Medicine ward she had been assigned to. So it was with great effort that she and her colleagues made their way to the ceremony at the emergency wing, all in the hopes that the resident would get tired of waiting and do their jobs for them.

She watched disinterestedly as Harsh gave some speech about how the board had a new member and this ceremony was the naming of the Emergency block in his name. She’d almost taken a step back to get to the hospital cafeteria, when the sight of Naksh Singhania stopped her. He stood there, smiling with her Bua and her cousins, whispering something to the person behind him.

It itched. Aarohi knew Naksh didn’t like her. He didn’t make it a secret. He had been fine when they were kids, and even for sometime after her mother had died. Then slowly, he had started sheltering her half-sister. Rejecting Aarohi’s efforts to bond with him. He didn’t do it outright but he slowly just stopped showing up. And with him so did her Bua, Gayu Chachi and Krish. Vansh still stayed at Goenka Villa but seldom mentioned his mother, preferring to visit her in New York once every few months.

She knew that the reticent behaviour was due to Akshara. It didn’t take a world class surgeon to guess that. She knew that the two faced angel had complained to Naksh about something Aarohi had done. And of course, who wouldn’t believe the sweet, silver-tongued Akshara?

But it still itched to see her cousins standing there, acting as a unit.

She wanted to leave the place, but her feet seemed to have been made of lead. Her gaze wandered over to Abhimanyu, who stood against a pillar, a few yards away from his father. He looked effortlessly charming as usual, his lab coat worn over a blue formal shirt and black trousers. At this point, her feelings for Abhimanyu ranged from anger to indignation. She refused to think about her emotions with regards to him anytime soon. She followed his gaze, as a slow smile appeared on his face, and saw the person he was looking at.

Akshara.

She almost snarled as she realised that she had missed her standing behind her uncle, who had been whispering something to her before. As always, she stood behind everyone, hardly meeting anyone’s eye, looking as though she wanted to dissolve into a puddle rather than be in the limelight.

Aarohi scoffed at her half-sister, decked up in a plain red anarkali - she didn’t know what irked her about her presence. She was just so….so cloyingly sweet. Everyone naturally gravitated towards her. She never even had to try. It didn’t matter that she went away for three years - they were always reminding her of how “sweet”, how “innocent” their Akshara was. She rolled her eyes. As sweet as a bitter gourd dipped in honey.

Claps from around her broke her out of her thoughts, and she saw Naksh smile at the doctors and ministers in attendance.

“I know you are all waiting for me to say something. But the right person to do so would be my niece - Akshara.” He stepped back and she could see Akshara’s eyes open wide as she took a step back subconsciously.

Abhimanyu’s eyes grew wide too as he heard his newest co-conspirator’s words and he saw Akshara’s state. He realised that Naksh had probably not prepared Akshara for this part of the morning because Akshara was swallowing a lot of air and her hands shook as she took the mike from her uncle.

A few moments passed and Abhimanyu grew more agitated, concerned that she would have a panic attack, when he saw her eyes fall upon him. Feeling like Kabir Khan from Chak De India communicating telepathically with the goalie at the end of the movie, he gave her a small reassuring nod before mouthing the words, “I love you.”

She stared at him for a moment before her face broke into a shy smile as she turned towards the crowd.

“I….I have never met my grandmother. But I’ve heard that she was a wonderful woman. She was someone who inspired people to be better. She was a loving daughter, a dutiful daughter-in-law, a devoted wife and a doting mother. She was the kind of woman my mother wanted me to be. Maybe that is why she gave me her mother’s name - Akshara. With the new developments that are going to happen at the hospital, we, Singhanias wish that no one would have to lose their loved ones if they could be saved, like we lost my grandmother.”

Akshara stepped back, almost throwing the mike in her uncle’s direction before hiding behind her aunt. She could feel her feet giving out. Everyone was making their way to the entrance of the wing, for the unveiling of the plaque that held her name and she heard Naksh Mama call out to her, before they were all herded to the place by their board members.

She nodded vaguely at him but felt faint and just about ready to fall, before a pair of warm hands stopped her descent.

“I’ve got you.” Abhi’s hoarse whisper in her ear, and his hands at her waist calmed her down in a way no song had ever been able to do. She nodded and gave in to the plea her heart was making and leaned back into him, taking in his comfort and his strength.

Unknown to the them, two pairs of eyes had noticed the exchange.

Aarohi rolled her eyes as she saw Akshara leaning onto Abhimanyu. Shaking her head, she made her way back to her duties.

Naksh, who had been worried about Akshara, had almost changed directions to get to her when he saw the scene. He smiled a little and looked up to his sister somewhere above him. Her Akshu had finally found someone.

**********

The same day saw Akshara going through her emails as she sat in the make-shift cabin she had in the hospital. She saw two very important ones and as she read them, she knew she had a few big decisions to make. She tried to focus on the task at hand, but kept replaying the scene at the naming ceremony. The feel of his hands on her waist, the warmth of his presence on her back, the way his breath tickled her ears as he spoke comfortingly.

It was heady, she decided. This feeling of trust she seemed to have for him. She had always been attracted to him, but this. This was new. She knew why they couldn’t be together. But when she’d felt him behind her, it hadn’t mattered. It hadn’t mattered that her family and his, stood mere feet away. It hadn’t mattered that he had broken off his wedding with Aarohi. It hadn’t mattered that they had known each other just for a few months. Nothing had mattered but him with his arms around her - it had been like floating weightless in still water.

Before she could think more about it, she started walking out of the room, only to accidentally step on the dupatta of the stupid anarkali her aunt had forced her to wear. She waited for the inevitable fall with closed eyes, only to be saved by the same pair of arms she had been thinking about for the past few hours.

Abhimanyu.

“Do you not know how to walk, or was gravity not a topic taught to you when you were in school?” He asked her as she straightened up.

“Somehow I always know that you’ll catch me.” She replied in a low voice, and Abhi looked at her confusedly. “What?”

“Nothing. I was just coming to see you.” She told him, taking a deep breath. It was now or never.

“What happened?” Abhi asked, worried as he took in her expression. He hadn’t seen it before. The glint in her eyes was new too. What was she upto?

“Walk with me?” She asked, and on his nod, started walking out of the hospital.

To say Abhimanyu was confused would be an understatement. He had prided himself on knowing Akshara, even told her uncle the same. But she seemed different today. Like she had figured something out and needed to get it off her chest. They were in the park next to the hospital, and as it was evening, there were people walking and jogging around, children playing, a few older gentlemen gossiping about their children. He walked beside her, as she took in her surroundings, He wanted answers but he was content to just watch her. It seemed blissful to be able to walk with her - her joy on seeing the children was pure, her frown as she saw a woman running away from her partner’s dog was endearing, her grin as she caught a very old couple walking around holding hands was open. He could spend his entire day watching her, he realized, not for the first time.

As she finally turned her gaze towards him, she seemed contemplative.

“I thought of a game we could play.” She told him, lifting up her eyebrows.

“Game?”

“Twenty Questions with Akshara Goenka, if you will.”

“I don’t have any questions for you.” He replied decisively.

She grinned at him. “I do.”

“Ask away. I’m all yours.”

“Favourite colour?”

“Red.” He said, and felt a little pleasure as she flushed when she realised that she was wearing red.

“Mine’s blue.” It almost seemed challenging, he thought to himself. And then he looked down to see the blue shirt he was wearing. Was she flirting?

“Favourite movie?” He asked, deciding to see where this conversation led.

“Promise you’ll not make fun of me? It’s Kabhie Khushi Kabhi Gham.” Her reply made him smile. He himself didn’t care for the movie much, but he could see why she would like it. A movie about family with a little romance thrown in. Why wouldn’t she like it? It was on the tip of his tongue to ask her if she would elope with her lover like SRK did in the movie, but he stopped himself.

“Favourite sport?” She asked.

“Football. Was a centre midfielder in college. Still try to watch every Chelsea match.”

“Ah! Blues, huh? I’m a cricket fan - started watching it young with Naksh Mama.”

Abhi didn’t know what they were doing. This random quest for information seemed so out of norm to him, that he resisted the urge to take her back to the hospital and conduct neurological tests on her.

“I’ve never been interested much in cricket,” was what he said though. “Seemed like a very unfi…”

“Aarohi is my half-sister.” His words were cut off by her next sentence. Abhi stopped in his tracks as he looked at her but Akshara simply kept walking.

It took him a few seconds to catch his bearings and he quickly made his way back to her.

She gave him a sad smile as he caught up and continued, “My birth mother, Naira died when I was an infant. She was Naksh Mama’s sister and my dad was Keerti Bua’s brother. Whatever I’ve known about my mother is through others - they say she was a strong woman. Apparently she and my dad had a pretty intense and dramatic love story. My dad married Sirat, a few months after my mother’s death and Aarohi was born. Sirat Ma was the only mother I had ever known. In a twist of fate, she looked like my Mumma. So I didn’t know she wasn’t my real mother till much later.”

“Aaru….she didn’t like sharing her mother with me. As a kid, I never understood it but I think I understand her better now. ”

Taking a deep breath, she continued, stopping to take a seat on a bench in the park. She refused to look at Abhi. She didn’t know if she had the strength to see pity in his eyes.

“It was Sirat Ma’s second marriage too. She had lost her first husband and a year into their marriage, my father passed away. She couldn’t take it. It broke her apart and my family tried to support her - they put her in therapy and she got a little better. She was a very caring mother. But every year on the days of her husbands’ deaths….she’d get a little….carried away. The year she died, she’d decked up as a bride and gone in search of my dead father and Aarohi left searching for her. And like an idiot, I followed Aarohi. And….well. There was an accident which led to her death. But the one who should have died was me.”

Abhi sucked in a breath at her words. Everything she said jackhammered his head but the statement that she should have died - it destroyed a part of him.

Akshara did not notice Abhi’s reaction though. “In trying to save me, she perished. And the only thing she asked me, as she lay there dying in my arms, was to always support Aarohi.”

She looked at Abhi with tears in her eyes and asked, “How could I deny her?”

Abhi shook his head and placed a comforting hand on hers - trying to lend her strength.

“Aaru is complex, Abhimanyu. I know that no one understands my need to centre my life around her. But she’s not just my sister. She’s my responsibility. Sirat Ma did so much for me, she gave up her life for me. How can I not give up my life for her daughter?”

“Wouldn’t any mother have done what she did?” Abhi asked, finally having found his voice.

“Maybe. But she wasn’t my mother, Abhimanyu. At least in Aaru’s eyes, she never was.”

Akshara shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. “I’m not trying to tell you my sad life story to get sympathy, Abhimanyu. Or for you to find a way to absolve me of my guilt. That is my cross to bear. But my conscience can’t take it anymore - it feeds my guilt even more to see you like this.”

Abhimanyu, who was still trying to correlate all the information she seemed to have vomited, with the behaviour of the two sisters, jerked a little at her words.

“My love for you is mine, Akshara. It has nothing to do with making you feel guilty.”

“I know. But, please Abhimanyu. I’m…I cannot tolerate this anymore. Every time I look at you, I forget a little about the promise I made. I forget what happened between you and Aarohi. And…and I can’t take it. Please.”

“Akshu…do you really think your mother gave up her life for you just so you could live in Aarohi’s servitude? Aren’t you disrespecting her gift of life?”

“How would you know, Abhimanyu? My own family doesn’t think that I’m any less guilty for my step mother’s death. There’s not a single day that goes by when I….leave it, please.

And you…I’m just so sorry about everything, Abhimanyu. I’m sorry your life got tangled into mine. I’m sorry you fell in love with me. I’m sorry you have to undergo so much pain everyday because of me. But, just…just please forget about me. I’m not capable of loving you the way you love me. You put me above everyone. You go against your family, against my family for me. I cannot do any of that. You deserve better, Abhimanyu. Please just leave me at my state.”

Abhi was enraged and a little confused as he heard her. He could feel his vision blurring with rage and leaving Akshara’s hand, he tried to get a grip on his anger.

“Who are you to decide what I deserve? Who made you God , Akshara? Who are you to decide that I should get married to Aarohi? Who are you to decide that I should get married on the basis of a bunch of lies? Who are you to decide that I need to fall out of love with you? Sab kuch tum hi decide karogi? I don’t get to decide anything, do I? Have I asked you to put me above your family? Have I asked you to do anything other than just accepting that you love me back? Who are you, Akshara, to decide whether I can love you or not?”

Akshara’s conscience could not take it anymore. She got up from the bench suddenly and took a deep breath. She was just proud to have made it through the conversation without breaking down and crying. “I’m no one, Abhimanyu. But for your sake and mine, I hope you’ll move on. From what I know, it doesn’t take more than a few months.”

Abhi refused to look up at her, choosing to stare instead at the children playing on the see-saw. He didn’t know what he would do if he stared into her eyes and saw that same glint again. There was a sign of finality in her tone, a sense of determination in her eyes. As though she had thought her load of bull crap through.

Akshara smiled a little sadly as she saw him sitting there, stewing in barely repressed anger. She was happy he didn’t look up because she didn’t want to see his heart breaking because of her, all over again. She took in his profile, locking away the image of the man she would always cherish in her heart. “Goodbye, Abhimanyu. I’m sorry for everything.”

As she walked away, Abhi looked up trying to understand what had happened in a few hours. A few hours ago she had been in his arms, leaning on him and now…now he had been thrown out of her life like some unwanted weed.

His gaze was on her back till she disappeared. Belatedly he realised two things. One that she never turned back to look at him. And secondly she never addressed him as Abhi throughout the entire conversation. She’d already made him a stranger.

********

Three hours later, Akshara made her way into the ballroom wearing a black strapless dress, following her uncle and aunt. When she had finally made it home, hardly aware of how she reached there, they had all but emotionally blackmailed her into coming to the event - it was to welcome Naksh Mama to the board and to honour him. How could she refuse to come?

Naksh didn’t really know what had happened in the past few hours. From Akshara’s face, he had realised that something had to have happened but there hadn’t been any time to dwell on it as they had already been late. He saw her trying to hide herself and he looked around for Abhimanyu, but couldn’t find him. As he shook hands with the people who came up to him and made small talk, he kept an eye on his niece but she stayed quiet, not meeting anyone’s eyes.

“Did something happen, Akshu?” Kairav asked his sister as she stood inconspicuously behind a pillar. “Why are you hiding?”

“Nothing, Bhaiya. I’m fine. Just tired. The whole day has been a whirlwind.”

“Where’s Abhimanyu?” He asked her, trying to automatically search for the person who determined how his sister’s days went nowadays.

“How would I know?” Akshara answered a little guiltily and then made a show of seeing someone she knew from work and made her escape.

Kairav sighed out loud. Just when things were starting to look up for her, he was sure she had gone ahead and self sabotaged her chances with Abhi. He had to do something.

His Mama, on the other hand also knew that something was amiss. Excusing himself from the guests, he called his protege who didn’t answer. He was getting worried and on his way to finally ask Harshvardhan Birla if he knew where his son was, when he saw him.

Having made his entrance an hour late, Abhimanyu knew he’d suffer the wrath of his father, but the situation made it hard for him to care. His eyes were blood shot and he knew he carried the air of an injured lion waiting to pounce, so he was planning to keep to himself at the party, lest he erupt on someone.

His father, who had been busy entertaining his oh-so-important friends, gave him a glare but Abhi simply ignored him and made his way to the bar. This night called for some alcohol.

His uncharacteristic rudeness hadn’t gone unnoticed but no one made a move to go near him.

He was sitting there nursing his second glass of whisky when Naksh made his presence known.

"What happened between you and Akshu?”

Knowing that his patience hung by a thin thread, he shook his head. “You should ask her, Sir. I wouldn’t be able to tell you if I wanted to.”

Naksh stared at him contemplatively. Last he knew, Akshara and Abhi had been together at the unveiling ceremony and then gone off to their respective works. And now they both stood on different corners of the room, looking various shades of tortured and in pain.

Before he could ask any further questions, the emcee for the night announced that there would be dancing on the floor and invited everyone to join him. Abhi didn’t look in the mood to dance, but knowing that it was his best shot, Naksh surreptitiously directed the emcee in his direction. Not needing any more signs, the emcee winked and made his way to Abhi and coerced him into the young crowd. And Abhi, not wanting to make a scene, gritted his teeth and gave Naksh a dirty look. Naksh simply grinned.

The couple dances were first and while the senior couples danced, the younger ones had to put their names into the bowl and dance with the random person they were assigned to.

Akshara’s belief in her God decreased by a tiny bit more when she heard Abhimanyu’s name being called out with her own. She wanted to refuse and looked at her brother for respite but he simply murmured to go with the flow and not make a hue and cry about it.

Abhimanyu rolled his eyes. Of course he would have to dance with her. In a crowd of close to a hundred people, obviously he would end up with her in his own personal purgatory.

He wanted to turn around but when he saw her for the first time that night, wearing a dress much different than he had ever seen her in, her hair pulled up in an elegant chignon, and wearing a little make up on her face, he couldn’t help but stare at her. She wouldn’t look up at him but as he saw all the other couples begin to sway to the rhythm, he offered her his hand.

A little stunned, Akshara stared at the hand in front of her for a few seconds, before placing her own cold hand in his warm one. And it warmed her from head to toe.

She couldn’t help but look at him in the eyes for the first time since she had begun telling him her story earlier that evening, as he slowly brought her body close to his, one hand going around her waist.

She tried to tell him - and herself - that she didn’t feel anything. That the feel of his hand clasping her own did not increase her heart rate; that the agony that she saw in his eyes was not mirrored in her own; that as she stared into them, she didn’t feel like she was home.

But as she stared into his eyes while they gently moved to the music, she forgot everything. It was just him and her and something divine between them.

Abhi listened to the words of the song as held Akshara close, savouring her proximity. How could she even think for a moment that he would move on from her? That he would stop loving her? That he wouldn’t give an arm and a leg to always feel her so close to him - her heartbeat syncing with his as they both became one soul in two different bodies.

Tere bin jee na paunga

Sach much mar hi jaunga

Yeh tay hai, yeh tay hai...

Hasna rona tujhse hi

Mera hona tujhse hi

Yeh tay hai, yeh tay hai

Maujood hai har saans mein

Tu har dafa, yeh tay hai

Tu hai dawa, ya dard hai

Par hai mera, yeh tay hai

Tu naseebon sa mere hathon pe

Shuru se likha hai

Mera haq hai tu aasmano se

Mujhe jo ataa hai

Tere kadmon pe jahan rakh doon main

Kabhi jo kahe tu

Koi shaq ho toh aazma lena

Kisi din mujhe

Maujood hai har saans mein

Tu har dafa, yeh tay hai

Tu hai dawa ya dard hai

Par hai mera, yeh tay hai

Naksh looked at the young couple lost in each other’s eyes, and told Keerti, “They ended up together again. Maybe it’s fate that keeps bringing them together.”

Kairav handed the emcee a few crisp bills in return for the service rendered, as he saw Abhi and Akshu dancing together. Sometimes it was fate.

Sometimes it was an elder brother who knew how to give fate a little push, he thought smugly.

*****

So that's a long update I guess. Akshara will be a little frustrating but stay with her😆

Also, I hope you like this cupid-like Kairav.

Keep reading and commenting :)

Bisous

NeNe

Song:Tay Hai from Rustom.

Beautiful update.. just hooked to it!!! ❤️ The plot unraveling perectly and Aksharaaa .. iska hum kya kare