FF: Memories of a Lifetime- Mayur; Chp14-p65-NEW! - Page 37

part 8-

part 9-

continue soon

Lovely update Rach! I'd like to be PMed for this FF. And update soon, I dont want u to take another decade to update it 😆

hi n hello u have written so many wonderful ffs they r just superb but why r u not updating them
sorry incase ur busy or any other problem but as a reader would love to read it
so its a request if u can then pls do update them 😊

i luved dis ff
wen u update

hey....awesum ff n more over awesum updates ......i was jus jus browsing through this section n ur ff seemed interesting....i've sent u frns req i hope u'll accept n it n plzzz do send me a pm when u update

pooja😊

Thanks for all the comments guys. Will try and update real soon :D

Rachna *hugs*

Okay, so here's the next update. I'm sorry if there are any errors, or if it isn't good enough, cause a lot's been happening with me on the personal front, and I've been going through a lot. But I tried my best. Hope I lived up to your expectations.

Chapter 10.

"I love you Nupur" he whispered slowly into her ears. He finally said what she'd been longing to hear since the past ten years. She looked at him, her eyes glistening with tears. And as she tried to hug him, he was gone.

Nupur woke up with a start, and stared at the ceiling.

"I was" she looked around her room one last time, and sighed, "dreaming"

She slowly walked up to the washroom, to prepare herself for yet another eventful day.

"Happy birthday Adi" Tanvi flung her arms around Aditya the moment he stepped into the canteen. Aditya and Nupur exchanged shocked glances, and giggled.

"Thanks a lot Tanu" Aditya hugged her back. He slowly broke away, and turned to look at Nupur. Nupur smiled at him, and hugged him. "Happy birthday" she whispered.

Aditya felt his cheeks go warm. He hugged her back slowly, cherishing the moment. He would give up anything in this world, to make this moment last forever.

Nupur slowly pulled away, breaking him off his reverie. "Hello, what are you dreaming about?" She giggled. "Anyway, I'll make sure you have the best birthday ever! It'll be nothing less than a dream!"

"I really hope so" Aditya smiled at her.

"Happy birthday Adi" Mayank walked into the canteen to greet Aditya. He went and stood beside Nupur, and as a reflex action, Nupur stepped away from him. They gave each other an awkward glance, and Mayank looked back at Aditya.

"Thanks buddy." Aditya replied. "Okay, enough of wishing me. Remember, we have to work on our presentation?" Both Nupur and Tanvi nodded, and Nupur grabbed the opportunity to get away from Mayank.

Mayank noticed this, and looked dejected. "Why does she run away from me? What have I done?"

Nupur was standing outside Tanvi's cabin. She slowly knocked on the door.

"Come in" Tanvi called out from inside.

Nupur slowly walked in, and sat in front of Tanvi.

Tanvi was busy reading her file, and looked up to see who it was, and was shocked to see Nupur sitting in front of her. "What's wrong?" she asked, sounding concerned.

Nupur shook her head. "I wasn't feeling quite well. I thought I'll come and talk to you for a while."

"Nupur, the only times you've come to talk to me is when you're upset by something. What's the matter?" Tanvi asked, closing the file and placing it on her desk.

"I don't know Tanu, I feel, nothing's going right in my life. I'm still being haunted by the memories of my past. Whatever I do, those thoughts never go out of my head. It's like, they've become my routine. But despite these ten years, I'm unable to get used to it." Nupur said, her voice breaking in between.

Tanvi slowly placed her hand on Nupur's reassuringly. "Why do you feel this way? It's simple. You have decided that you do not want to let go of your past. You don't have the will to do so. I know it hurts you, and that's exactly why you need to forget your past. You do still feel connected to your past. You just need to end that connection."

"I received an e-mail from Mehek today." Nupur whispered. "She said she wished to meet me."

"Mehek; you mean the same Mehek who was your best friend ten years back?" Tanvi asked; the shock evident on her face. "Why does she want to meet you now?"

"To apologize" Nupur replied.

"Ridiculous. She actually has the audacity to even expect you'll forgive her?" Tanvi snapped. "How the hell did she get your email address?"

"Mayank gave it to her" Nupur said quickly, but as she realized what she said, she bit her tongue, and tried to correct herself. "I mean--"

"Never mind, I got it." Tanvi snapped. "Give me Mayank's email address right now; I swear I'm going to give him a piece of my mind."

Nupur looked scared. She knew what this could lead to, considering she'd hidden the fact that their boss was only the guy she loved ten years back. "Forget about it Tanu. I am not meeting her anyway. Let's just keep Mayank out of this."

"Oh yeah, I forgot. You still care for that b****y jerk, don't you? Well, your wish then. Why have you come to me?" Tanvi muttered angrily.

"I just thought I'd feel light after talking to you." Nupur snapped, and got up and left from there.

Tanvi just sighed helplessly, and went back to reading her file.

Mayank was sitting in his cabin, staring at the intercom on his desk. Nupur hadn't spoken a word to him since morning, and it was almost the end of the day now. He contemplated calling her up on the intercom, hoping she hadn't left already. He picked up the receiver, and was about to call her, when his phone began ringing. He indignantly put down the receiver and answered his phone.

"Hello" he snapped.

"Bro, what's wrong now? What have I done?" Gunjan asked, sounding confused.

"Oh, it's you" Mayank sighed. "Nothing's wrong. Why did you call anyway?"

"I just wanted to know when you'll be home. Thought we'll go out for dinner today; you, me, Meera aunty and Aryan." Gunjan said cheerfully.

'Sorry for being a spoilsport, but today won't be possible. I'm already going out for dinner with my colleagues today." Mayank said. "We'll go tomorrow, promise."

"Never mind" Gunjan said, sounding disappointed. "You have fun at the dinner, will meet you at home." And saying so, she hung up.

Mayank looked at the phone guiltily. If it were up to him, he wouldn't have even attended the dinner. But he knew why he wanted to. He needed to get Nupur's trust and faith back in him. He still didn't know why she behaved like this, but he knew just one thing; it bothered him a lot.

He suddenly remembered he was to intercom Nupur. He looked at his watch and sighed. "She might have left already." He quickly went out of his cabin, and saw Nupur standing at the entrance to Aditya's cabin. She looked around the office, and her eyes stopped on Mayank for a minute.

Mayank saw her looking at him, and he instantly looked away. He pretended to dial a number on his cell phone, and when he was sure she wasn't looking at him, he put his phone back inside.

Nupur waited impatiently for Aditya to come out of his cabin, but seeing he wasn't going to be doing it anytime soon, she walked into his cabin.

"Adi, for god's sake, how much time are you taking!" Nupur snapped. Aditya looked up at her apologetically. "Sorry, sorry. I am done. Let's leave. Did you inform Mayank?"

Nupur shook her head. "I did not. But Tanu did."

"Okay cool, so let's go." Aditya said, and they both walked outside to the Office's lobby.

Mayank was standing there, with Tanvi to keep him company. She was complaining about Harsh to Mayank, and Mayank, trying to be polite kept nodding at regular intervals. He was absolutely relieved when he saw Nupur and Aditya walk towards them.

"Shall we go?" Aditya spoke. The other three nodded, and they left from there.

"This place is huge." Tanvi said, still gaping at the restaurant in awe. "You sure this is where we're going?"

"Yeah" Aditya replied. "It's not everyday that you celebrate your birthday, right?"

Nupur smiled at the two of them. "They look adorable together." It was more of a whisper, yet Mayank heard it.

"They do" he added in agreement. He just needed a way to start a conversation with her. Nupur looked at him and smiled. And that was the end of their conversation.

They seated themselves inside the restaurant. Nupur felt really awkward sitting beside Mayank. But she couldn't say anything. She tried to distract herself by looking at the menu.

Mayank looked at her and smiled. "You know, I'm reminded of the time when the four of us had traveled to Bandra all alone."

Nupur was astonished. She just stared at him. "What?"

"Don't tell me you don't remember. It was you, me, Nisha and Arjun. Oh, there was Ashna and Sid as well."

"How come you remember it?" Nupur asked.

"I even remember we had a minor misunderstanding cause of Sid. I hated that guy so much. He always tried to create misunderstandings between me and my friends."

"Let's avoid talking about all this. I am not interested" Nupur suddenly cut in. She looked back into her menu card.

Mayank looked dejected. But he didn't say a word. He simply looked down into his own menu card. What has caused her to become so bitter?

The four of them were done eating. Tanvi was busy digging her handbag searching for something. Nupur slowly removed an envelope and extended her hand towards Aditya.

"This is for you." She said.

Aditya smiled sweetly and took the envelope from her. He opened it to see a beautiful hand made card. His eyes sparkled with happiness and excitement.

He slowly opened the card to read what was written inside it.

"Adi read it at home. Please?" Nupur interrupted. Aditya gave her a confused look, but nodded. "I'll just be back" he announced and got up from his seat.

Tanvi was still frantically searching her handbag. "Where the hell is it?" she muttered to herself in anger.

"What are you searching for Tanu?" Nupur asked.

"Adi's gift; I don't know where I misplaced it."

"Be calm Tanu. It might be right here. Just try searching for it with a calm mind." Nupur suggested.

Tanvi calmed down, and closed her handbag. "I'll give it to him later."

Tanvi looked around here and there. "Where is Adi?"

"I have no idea" Nupur replied.

"I'll go look for him." Tanvi said and got up from there.

The thing Nupur feared the most; to be left alone with Mayank. There was an awkward silence all around. Nupur picked up her glass of water and took a sip.

Mayank looked at her, but decided not to speak.

"I'm sorry." Nupur suddenly spoke up. Mayank looked towards her. "Was that for me?" he asked her politely.

Nupur nodded slowly. "I shouldn't have been so rude. I apologize."

"It's alright." Mayank replied. "People do make mistakes."

"Yeah, and sometimes they fail to realize their mistake even after ten years." Nupur muttered to herself.

"I didn't get you." Mayank said.

"It wasn't meant to be heard anyway."

"I got Mehek's call yesterday." Mayank said. "She was asking for your email id. And so I gave it to her."

"I know that. I got a mail from her today." Nupur said coldly. "I'd appreciate it if you could avoid talking about Mehek."

"Why should I? Weren't you two like inseparable during school days?" Mayank asked.

"Times have changed Mayank. You'll never understand."

"Why don't you try to explain it to me then? Maybe I will understand."

"For that you need to have a heart." Nupur snapped.

"I've had enough of this Nupur. I really do not understand your behavior." Mayank snapped back.

"Like I said, you never will."

"Fine" Mayank snapped.

Nupur didn't say anything.

"Adi, what the hell are you doing here?" Tanvi asked when she saw Aditya standing right outside the Men's loo.

"I was rehearsing." Aditya replied.

"Rehearsing for what?"

"I told you right? I'm going to tell Nupur how I feel about her today." Aditya said.

"Oh" Tanvi felt a pinch in her heart. "Well, good luck to you."

Aditya looked at her nervously. "Tanu, she'll say yes right?" he asked her skeptically.

Tanvi looked at him and smiled encouragingly. "Of course she will; don't worry about it." Aditya hugged her back in response. "You're the best Tanu! I love you" he said.

Tanvi could only pretend she was happy, when in reality it was killing her.

I love you too; she silently said to herself.

She finally pulled away from the hug. "Let's go. Nupur might be waiting for you."

Aditya nodded and they both went back to where Nupur and Mayank were.

"Sorry to keep you guys waiting" he apologized as he took his seat again. He then looked at Nupur intently. "I need to tell you something Nupur."

"Go ahead" Nupur told him. She had no idea what he was about to say. Aditya slowly took her hands in his.

"I love you Nupur" he spoke softly.

Mayank was shocked beyond words. He stared at Nupur, to see her reaction. He had never expected this to happen. For some reason, it was hurting him. Why didn't he think of this? Maybe there was something more than friendship between Nupur and Aditya.

Aditya was waiting patiently for Nupur to react. She was shocked. She looked at Tanvi who was devoid of any expression. She then looked back at Aditya.

"Y-you're k-kidding, r-right?" she stammered. Aditya simply shook his head. "I'm serious." He clarified.

Nupur was still. The tears in her eyes stung her. She couldn't believe what just happened. She suddenly jerked her hand away from his. "Please don't do this to me. Adi, you know everything, don't you?"

"I do, Nupur. But I swear I'll always keep you. I'll never hurt you." Aditya tried to convince her..

"You are hurting me Adi" Nupur said, tears dripping out of her eyes. She got up from the chair and left the restaurant.

"Nup..."Tanvi tried to go after her but Mayank stopped her. "Adi needs you here with him." He told her. "And don't worry about Nupur. I'll go and check on her."

Tanvi nodded and sat down beside Aditya. Mayank left the restaurant to go and look for Nupur.

Nupur was sitting on a bench a few miles away from the restaurant. She was trying her best to avoid crying, but she couldn't and ultimately broke down. All the memories she'd buried deep down began to flash in front of her eyes. Those were the most painful memories of her past. She did not know how those were connected to her present, but all she knew was that they had given her pain. And just when she thought she had found a best friend again in her life, everything got ruined.

Mayank who had been looking for Nupur everywhere finally found her sitting on the bench and crying. He walked up to her and went and knelt down in front of her.

"Nupur..." he spoke softly. Nupur looked up to see who it was. The moment she saw Mayank in front of her, out of an impulse she hugged him tightly and began crying all the more.

"Nupur, what's wrong?" he asked, gently patting her to calm her down.

"Why is it that when someone is so close to me, I end up losing them?" she sobbed. "Adi was my best friend, but after today he'll start hating him. I hurt him, didn't I? I lost him!" "I even lost you" he voice now began to break. "I needed you so much back then, but you left me. I lost you" she held on to him tighter, and broke down.

Mayank stood still, not saying a word. He let Nupur cry as much as she wanted. He wanted to support her. He did not want to leave her, nor did he want her to leave him. He just stood there, allowing her to hold on to him, to make her realize she was not alone.

"She rejected me" Aditya said. "She doesn't love me."

Tanvi didn't know what to say. She gently patted his shoulder reassuringly. "It's not like that Adi. Maybe she wasn't ready for this. I'm sure she loves you. Give her some time."

"No Tanu, she doesn't." Aditya said looking directly at her. His eyes were filled with tears. "Tanu, she doesn't love me. She never will." He began sobbing.

Tanvi could feel his pain. She placed her hand on his shoulder, to reassure him. He simply hugged her and started crying. Tanvi felt like crying as well. This was the first time she'd ever seen Adi crying. It must have hurt him terribly to have made him cry like this. She just stood there, letting him cry his heart out. She silently wondered how Nupur was. She hoped Nupur was okay, as she knew this wasn't easy for her as well. "I hope she's fine." She thought to herself.

This drastic turn of events had certainly put everyone into an emotional turmoil, but how they dealt with it, was the real challenge.