The Entwined Fates

Chapter 17: His side of the story- Part 1

Dhruva's mom opened the door and greeted us. "Hello, kids. How are you all doing? Ghar pe sab kaise hain?"

"Hello, Aunty. Sab badhiya. How are you all? Dhruva? Is he doing better?"

"Han! Don't worry. We all are doing fine. Dhruva too."

Then followed an awkward silence.

"Um. Dhruva is in his room waiting for you all. Go right in."

"Ok. Thank you, aunty."

We made our way towards his room and knocked on his door. We entered when we heard a 'come in'.

"Hey, guys!!" Dhruva greeted while waving. "Come on in."

"How are you feeling?" Ved asked.

"Oh, I am good. Just waiting for the time when I will be free from this plaster."

“When is that going to happen?” inquired Priyank.

“After a few weeks, maybe.”

To lighten the mood, Aaru jokingly added, “Do you want us to sign your plaster? The way you guys did, when my leg was fractured when we were kids.”

“Haha. Sure. Why not? Grab a marker and go for it.”

A blissful smile made its way on our faces as we remembered that.

“Look at us. We are smiling now recollecting that, but we were so panicked back then.”

We all nodded our heads, agreeing. After signing the plaster and making small talk, Dhruva suddenly got serious. We felt the mood shift in the room instantly.

"I think this talk is long overdue. I will start by saying that I am very sorry for everything."

He extended his hand towards me. I placed mine in his, and he squeezed it tightly. He continued while gazing into my eyes.

"Arya, I am extremely sorry. I know I have disappointed all of you. Especially you, Arya. I hope you all will be able to forgive me."

All I could do was gently squeeze his hand back and remove mine from his hold.

"I cannot even imagine how you all must have felt when I completely disappeared that day. The sheer panic you must have felt. All because of me!"

None of us could give him a fitting reply, just a nod of acknowledgement to continue.

"I will explain everything. Kahan se shuru karu?"

Aaru could not help herself and replied, "the beginning?"

"Huh? Yea right. The beginning."

With that, Dhruva took a deep breath and started recalling everything that happened on that fateful day.

He started while holding my gaze.

"That day. After our call, I was very excited. I was going to ask you to be my girlfriend. I had made all the plans, with the help of these guys and Atharva, of course. All of them were so proud of me that I finally dared to ask you out. Everything was going smoothly. I even called Atharva at the office as I had a hard time deciding what to wear. I wanted to dress to impress. After getting ready, I left for our spot way early than we were supposed to meet. I was very nervous but happy. I was coming to meet you. Believe me. I was. But...."

He paused. He shut his eyes as if the visual was right in front of him, and he did not want to see that. When his eyes opened, we could see the change. They looked haunted. We inhaled sharply and braced ourselves for whatever was coming next.

Gathering himself, he continued.

"But when I was right around the corner, I got a phone call from my father. When I picked up, all I could hear were some laboured breaths. No one was talking. After a few seconds, Dad informed me in broken sentences. Atharva had been involved in an accident. To say I was in shock would be an understatement."

"WHAT?" exclaimed all of us.

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Author's Note:
Hello guys!
How are you finding the book so far?
Let me know in the comment section.
I have divided this chapter in two parts as it was getting a bit lengthy.
Stay tuned for the next part.
Thanks for reading!
- Mitali