Chapter 14
He stands at the doorsteps, his face drenched in tears. Inside the room are his parents, fighting ruthlessly and beating each other up. Mercilessly, his father pushes his mother away. She falls and her head hits the table nearby. He turns around to see his mother laying unconscious on the floor.
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He stood at the door, his face drenched in tears. The sudden silence in the room made him uneasy. He turned around to find his mother lying unconsciously on the floor, a pool of blood around her. Dreadful fears etched on his fathers face was clear. 'Mumma?' He bend down to take his mother in his lap. 'Mumma?' He repeated, crying softly this time. He bend down carefully, trying to feel her breathe. But he couldn't.
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"Mumma?" As he realized that she wasn't breathing, he shook her harder, trying to wake her up. His sobs grew louder, until he could finally feel his mother's breath.
"Armaan?" The lady slowly opened her eyes and smiled at him, before she slipped to unconsciousness again.
By that time, his father had fled the scene, knowing that this wouldn't end well for him. Disgust and rage filled in Armaan at the cowardice his father shown. He had no had, he told himself.
"Mumma, I will be back." He murmured, and saying so he got up to his feet. He shot a last glance on his mothers unconscious body laying on the floor, and ran downstairs to call his only support.
"Rid-dheema!" He ran to a huge mansion in the neighborhood and pushed away the gates, still sobbing heavily.
"Rid-dheema!" He yelled again. A few moments later, a young girl with green eyes and jet black hair came out and looked at him, horror stricken. She must have noticed his tear drenched face, for she understood that something was wrong immediately.
"What happened, Armaan?" She asked him, concerned.
"Mumma." Was all the grief stricken lad out utter. Rid-dheema grasped the situation almost immediately, and ran back to the house to call her mother, who was a doctor.
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He had managed to save his mother from the crutches of the devil that day. After a day or two in the hospital, the doctors declared that Mrs. Sharma was out of danger. He couldn't stop crying when he saw his mother smiling at him as he had never thought this day would come.
He had seen his mother suffer more than anyone else. She was in pain, with no one to share it with. Marriage, 'the holy institution', had done this to her. From that day, marriage, for him, was something that was meant to spoil your life. It could only bring you heart break, helplessness and grief. Mr. and Mrs Sharma were very much in love before they got married. Look where this commitment that got them-his mother was not a patient in the hospital, whereas his father's location was still unknown. He didn't want to go through that kind of turbulence and disturbance. He didn't want to get married.
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[Riddhima]
Finally, those mid-night nightmares made sense, and I knew why those dreams were so vivid. It was because they're not dreams, they're memories; they're a part of me, and a part of him. They are a part we both share. I looked into his eyes, which were filled with so much pain, and I finally began to understand the reason behind them. It was me. I was not there with him when he needed me the most, and that made me feel guilty.
He made no movement, instead waited for me to say something, a part of him still hopeful. I was finally standing there, with two paths ahead of me, one that could have been and the other was reality.
"Um, I am sorry." I looked away immediately, placing the book right where it was. I did not dare of look at him, 'cause I knew his expression would be more than just shocked.
"Let me help you change." I stood at a distance, waiting for him to respond. The silence was killing me, and what was killing me even more.. was his unreadable expression. I saw him nod, but my focus was on how he hadn't said anything yet. But neither had I. I helped him change his shirt, under his deep and intense gaze.
"Done." I forced a smile.
"And no, I am not angry on you." I told him, still smiling. He still did not say anything, which made me even more impatient. Knowing that my response must have hurt him, I just wanted him to say something, say anything! I could not accept him back in my life, knowing that I was falling for him. It had already messed up my life, such that I wasn't even sure if I could take any of it anymore. But this is the reality of my life, isn't it? I happened to be falling for someone else who is not my fianc, who is the exact opposite of me, who lives a different life than me, who is my long lost friend, who is the support that had been keeping me alive all along. Ugh! I can't breathe. I need air.
"So, I guess I should go back to my room, then? I will see you later, alright?" I faked another smile He didn't look at me.
"Okay, then. See ya." I began walking towards the door when I heard him speak softly.
"We have to let go, don't we?" He asked me, and I stopped and turned, about to cry any second.
"I love him." My heart broke at the look on his face, but there was nothing I could do. This was not going to work. I love Aditya. I am going to marry Aditya. Armaan can never take his place, never. We had to let go.
"He is much better for you than I am." He told me softly.
"No, no!" I stood close to him immediately, taking his face in my palms, making him look at me.
"No, Armaan." I realized that we had been crying.
"No." I told managed to utter, but he understood the meaning behind my words.
"I will always love you." He told me, shattering everything that was left in me. I began crying heavily.
"We have to let go, Armaan." I looked into his eyes, manage to whisper in between my sobs.
"I will always love you." He repeated.
I closed my eyes, our foreheads joining my forehead to his for a moment, both of us crying heavily.
I ran out of his, into my room, locking the door behind me. I kept telling myself that it was not the end of it, although I knew it was.
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