The Exchange

The Face Off

Their cries were interrupted by Kunal and Maya running towards them, both of them screaming...both of them yelling as loud of they possibly could. Abhi slowly helped Akshu get up from his lap as he stood up in front of her, standing as her shield, standing as her guard. And he looked at the siblings with such bloodshot eyes...eyes full of such anger that both of them stopped dead in their tracks. 

"Ek aur kadam Akshu ke taraf badane ki himmat bhi mat karna tum dono"...he said as peacefully as he could, making sure Akshu was safely behind him. 

"Tumari Akshu aur tum ne jo meri behen ke saath kiya hai na....uski kimat tumhe deni hogi Dr. Abhimaniyu Birla!!" Kunal yelled through clenched teeth, walking towards him, telling his sister to stay away. 

With that, every ounce of patience Abhi had, he lost. He grabbed Kunal by his collar, dragging him to the ground....holding him by the neck. "AUR KYA KIYA HAI MERI AKSHU NE TUMHARI BEHEN KE SAATH? KYA KIYA HAI??" he roared. 

"Tumhari behen jis mein na koi talent na kuch....tumari behen ne...aur tum ne meri Akshu se us ki avaz cheen li....meri Akshu se uska Abhi cheen liya...meri Akshu se uska sab kuch cheen liya..." Abhi snarked, not letting go of Kunal's neck. "Aur iski kimat tum dono do ge...iski kimat TUM do ge Dr. Khera....mera matlab hai Kunal....tum doctor hone ke kabil bhi nahi ho....tum doctor hote toh yeh sab nahi karte...tum doctor hote toh tum kisi se uski jaan nahi lelete..." Abhi said, all of his rage flowing out of him. 

Akshu ran up behind him, telling him to let go, telling him that she could not see him hurt. "Akshu please tum door ho jao...Akshu please peeche ho jao...." he said gently, gesturing her for her to step back. Seeing the destruction in his eyes, she immediately complied, going back to where she was, praying to her kahanji to keep him safe, to protect his wellbeing. 

Kunal shoved Abhi off of him, tossing him to the ground, punching him across the face. 

"ABHI...", Akshu yelled, once again running towards them, seeing the blood dripping from his face. "Abhi please shaant ho jao..Abhi please...tumhe kuch hogaya toh mein jee nahi paongi.."

But before Abhi could tell her to let him fight this fight, to them him avenge every single tear she had shed in the past year, Kunal screamed into his ear, 

"Abhimaniyu tum mujhse nahi jheet sakte...kya is pichle saal ne tumhe kuch nahi sikaya? Apni Akshu ko hi dekhlo...woh kuch bhi nahi hai...KUCH nahi...Maya ne hi usko pechaan di hai...Maya ek star hai...aur tumari Akshu KUCH NAHI..." 

These words pierced through the depths of Abhi's soul. Akshu's voice was his everything....her voice was god's very grace on this earth. Her voice was all he ever wanted in life...her voice was his ultimate love, his heartbeat. And right when she was on the verge of spreading her magic, Kunal had snatched it from her...he had snatched it from THEM. And now, that same man dared to question his Akshu's worth, his Akshu's value. 

He grabbed him by the neck, dragging him across the grass, taking him to the very edge of the mountain...."Kunal, ek aur cheez bol ke dhek meri Akshu ke bare me....mein tujhe isi pahar se neeche gira doon ga..." Abhi roared. "Jis Akshara ke waje se teri behen ko itna stardom mila, itna success mila...uske baare mein yeh sab bolne se pehle teri avaz kaise nahi kampi??", he roared...slapping him uncontrollably, punching him as hard as he possibly could...looking down at his hand with pride for the first time in the past year....the same hand that the monster in front of him had fixed. 

And with every punch he said, 

"Yeh meri Akshu ke avaz cheen ne kilye...

Aur yeh uske har ek aasoon kilye...

Aur yeh uski kamoshi kilye....

Aur yeh us har ek pal kilye jo usne mujse door bitaya...

Aur yeh uski pechaan kilye...

Aur yeh uski..." 

He finally stopped when he felt Akshu's hand on his shoulder, telling him to stop. "Abhi dekho..inka hal dekho...Abhi tum aise nahi ho...please Abhi...Abhi rukh jao..tum ek doctor ho...please Abhi apne gusse ko yahi pe khatam karo..." Akshu said, pulling him away, ripping a piece of her kurta to mend the wound on his forehead, gently wiping away the blood, replacing it with nothing but her love. 

Seeing her innocent face in front of him, seeing the adoration of him she had in her eyes, he finally calmed down. He stood up from the ground and looked down at Khera, watching him slowly lose consciousness. 

With that, he turned to Maya. Before he could speak, she started screaming, telling him that she would send him to jail, that she would make him pay for what he had done to her brother...that she would make sure to destroy him if it was the last thing she ever did. And with those words, Akshu walked up to her, speaking to her loudly, speaking up against her for the first time since they had met. "Maya, tumhe mujhe jo bhi kehna hai kehlo...tumhe mere saath jo kuch bhi karna tha tum ne kiya...aur mein woh sab doobara kar sakti hoon apne Abhi kilye...liken us ke khilaf mein ek shabd bhi nahi sun sakhti..." 

"Akshara, yeh admi ab jail jayega...dekho mere bhai ko....dekho uski halath...mein tumhare pati ko nahi jaane doon gi...Akshara ab dekna tum...." But before she could finish her sentence, Akshu slapped her tightly across her face. She would withstand all of the pain in the entire world on her own, but she could not tolerate even a single word against her Abhi....she would protect him with every ounce of her being. 

And with that, the police that Abhi had called before the concert had even begun showed up to the edge of the mountain, telling Maya she was under arrest and pulling Kunal up to place his hands in handcuffs as well. As Maya was dragged away, Abhi said to her, 

"Maya. Ab tum apni poori zindagi jail mein bitana apne bhai ke saath...jaise tum ne meri Akshu ko duniya se door rakha na...ab tum raho gi...aur ab meri Akshu ki avaz ka saach sab ko pata chalega...aur ab tumhari zindagi mein ansoon ke alava kuch nahi hoga...ab tum dekho gi ki tumare karam kaise tumhe saza dete hai..."