Bepannaah: Against All Odds || COMPLETED

33. One Last Hurdle

Zoya watched the water boil, lost in her thoughts - the early morning sun rays illuminating their modular kitchen with its glow. She exhaled tiredly as she poured the hot water into her mug, stirring the coffee before adding a drop of honey. Then she picked it up and walked out to the verandah with her bowl of potato chips.

Aditya was supposed to return by afternoon, and a part of her melancholy was definitely from missing him, but another part - the bigger part, it was that hollow feeling of something being wrong and her helplessness of not being able to pin it down.

Aditya had been too silent the last week, mostly dazed and lost in his head. Sometimes she would catch him staring at her with something so profound in his eyes, but he would look away every time she tried to hold his gaze, and shake his head if she raised an eyebrow. It was driving her mad, to put it lightly. And at the same time, fueling her worst fears.

Sometimes, she still found it hard to believe that it had already been an almost year since they got married. Their anniversary was next month. And despite the bone tiring struggle they had to reach this point in their life, the last year had been the most happiest she had been, and peaceful.

Sighing, she leaned back, swinging slowly and watching the beauty of the early morning blooming around her. There was a reason why mornings had become her favorite time of the day now - the silence felt like a comfortable cocoon, the chirping birds beginning their journey for the day felt like music to her ears. It would soothe her in the most calming of ways, taper her anxieties down and make her feel more confident.

But the most nauseating reminder of trauma that people don't talk about often are the vivid reminders creeping up at times, a snake under the skin, coiling tight around the neck and making it too difficult to breathe. Despite the past eleven months or so of her married life being nothing short of a bliss - a peace she hadn't experienced in what felt like decades of living, a nagging feeling kept disturbing her now - especially this past week - filling her heart with dread and ache, making her uncomfortable in her own skin.

Was she doing something wrong?

Was Aditya falling out of love and unable to express it?

No.

She shut down that thought every time it troubled her. If there was one thing she was assured about, it was the fact that he was head over heels for her, just like she was for him. He expressed it in too many ways, including being verbal about it, too frequently for her to doubt.

Exhaling heavily yet again, she was about to stand up and walk back inside when her phone pinged. It was a text from Aditya - he was probably about to board his flight back home.

"I might be a little late today, don't start panicking Urdu Queen".

It made her smile - thinking how well he knew her and how easily he spooked off her worries most days - and then sigh, because she couldn't let go off the air of melancholy surrounding him, and by extension, her.

To distract herself and pass the time, Zoya decided to cook them a heavy lunch - even though she still wasn't wasn't an efficient cook per se, but she managed to follow a cook book pretty well and present a delicious feast if she put her mind to it. Cooking with Aditya had been an experience of its own for her. The joy he felt roasting whole spices and describing their scent, or sautuing vegetables until the color changed just exactly how he preferred - she didn't really have that kind of patience. But she was a fast learner and had quickly picked up what went where and how, and was now Hoodas and Siddaquis approved good cook.

It was past two in the afternoon when she walked out of the shower, her wet hair sprawled all over her back and a towel in her hand to pat them dry. But she stopped short when she saw Aditya sitting on the bed, his back to her, leaning forwards, his hands intertwined and elbows resting on his knees.