Mine

Chapter 12

'What are you blabbering, Nidhi? Are you insane? Do you even know what are you contemplating?' he whisper yelled. Shocked to see her there, Nidhi stumble and her words choked in her chords, but she managed to recollect herself and started to explain why she needed to do so. Her father was not much convinced and he was rather shocked with his eldest daughter's behaviour. 'you know Nidhi, though I am not completely convinced with whatever you are going to do, I am still letting you help them because Abhimanyu's accident's cause was partially your sister, too. Albeit, I hate to admit it, but that's the truth.' 

'Now how are you going to convince your mother? When you clearly know it is not as easy as it seems. She already worries a lot about you. I am afraid she would not be able to grasp it. Think thoroughly before making any decision. We clearly don't wish to see you heartbroken.' Saying that he gave a final dissatisfied glare to both ladies and stormed out. But that was not it, the actual headache was in convincing her mother into helping Radhika was not anything closer to easy. She threw a fit at both ladies and she even started to give the silent treatment to both father-daughter duos. 

Nidhi was upset and sad, yet that didn't break her determination in helping Radhika. Somehow, her parents had eventually given up on changing her heart and mind by saying, 'do it at your own risk. We are neither supporting you nor stopping you since it's your own decision.' With that, she started to help Radhika by acting as Ridhi. Ridhi was well aware of what her twin was doing, yet she didn't say anything because she knew that Nidhi wouldn't budge once she had made her mind up. Still, she tried her luck by confronting her sister, which was in vain, so, she just reminded her not to keep her hopes high and expect miracles to happen.

Time flew fast as it was almost a month since Abhimanyu was sent home. Abhimanyu was flown to Kerala to his sister's and his case was referred to a prominent hospital under the care of their best doctors. As promised he went for his regular check-ups two days once and was showing some positive improvements. Instead of a wheelchair, he started using crutches as he was undergoing physiotherapy for his leg and arm. The cherry on top, he started to practice his routine independently. His family was elated about his progress.

On the other hand, Abhimanyu was silently distancing himself from people because he was drowning in self-pity. Nobody cared to notice it till Nidhi voiced it out. He was mainly distancing himself from Nidhi. There were times where he will pass crude comments on her, but Nidhi being Nidhi, shrugged it all like it's not a big deal. She still managed to put a nonchalant facade in front of everyone. She handled him with utmost care and patience. She even managed to get a transfer to Kochin, Kerala near his sister's and stayed at a nearby girl's hostel. However, she still needed to travel to Pune prison thrice a month for her counseling session.

Nidhi stayed close to him so that he could come out of the darkness that he had covered himself in. She didn't give in to his absurd demand to be left alone and slowly he started to accept her presence. He quit being an obnoxious jerk around her and became rather friendly to her. Though sometimes his questions caught her off-guard, still she managed to pull the act well. He became more carefree and more comfortable around her. He even started to call her Pari, which startled her. Though she liked the endearment he gave, she stayed conscious that he would eventually become her sister's husband. Once Ridhi comes around to go on with this alliance, she has to give back that place to her. In fact, she knew he thinks of her as her sister. However, she felt a pang of pain every time she was hit with the brutal reality. She understood, she started feeling more than a friend for him. Therefore, she tried to keep her feelings checked so that both parties wouldn't feel the heartbreak.