Loving You

Chapter 28 - Abhimanyu - The Truth

"Abhimanyu...I can explain. I didn't lie to you." Akshara pleaded with me, holding me by my forearms.

But I didn't want to listen. Betrayed. I felt betrayed by her. She knew the hard time I had trusting others —and yer I chose to trust her but she was no different than the others.

No different than Shanaya or Vikram. Akshara had lied straight to my face.

The betrayal I was feeling ran like a deep cut on my very conscious.

"Fine Akshara. Explain yourself." I replied, straight faced, removing her grip on my forearms, one after the other.

"I didn't lie to you. I am a Singhania too. From my moms side. But my name, my real name is Akshara Goenka." She confessed, staring directly at me, not once looking away or flinching.

I kept mum, not saying a word as Akshara continued.

"My grandfather is Manish Goenka, the diamond merchant. My father is Kartik Goenka and my mother is Naira Singhania Goenka —the daughter of Naitik and Akshara Goenka. And we are rich. And when I say rich, I don't just mean we have money, but rich enough to be able to own cities at the drop of a hat rich."

I looked down at Akshara without flinching. Not saying a word but not stopping her either. Just waiting for her to continue.

"After my parents died —" I hesitated, just a tiny bit as I looked down at her face, but Akshara avoided my gaze. "My grandfather took sole responsibility of me. And staying in Udaipur became a bad memory for him. Because home —Udaipur would remind him of my parents and he didn't need that daily constant reminder of the son and daughter he had lost."

"And that is why you understood my pain so well. Why you connected with me." I replied mindlessly, connecting our pain together. Because somewhere deep down, both Akshara and I were more similar, more interconnected than we'd like to have believed.

And that's possibly why she understood me so well. Because we weren't that different, she and I.

Akshara nodded her head, wiping away the wetness from her lower lash line.

"My grandfather moved us to California. And with his hard work, dedication and connections, he was able to make Goenka Diamonds popular in California too. He's well known in the celebrity circles of Hollywood and Beverly Hills. He is the diamond supplier for most of the jewelry retailers in California. My grandfather, Manish Goenka. The ever so powerful." Akshara let out a little bitter laugh.

"Then why hide who you are?" I asked, probing her for further explanation.

"Because, he didn't approve of the future I had chosen for myself. See, my grandfather thinks he's worked hard enough for the rest of us to lead hassle free lives. He wanted me to study Business Administration, get a MBA so I could take over the company with brother. But..."

"But you wanted to study music therapy instead." I completed the sentence for her.

Akshara nodded her head and turned her back towards me. I heard muffled sniffles and that is when I felt like an absolute jerk.

"That was the first time he ever yelled at me. He didn't understand my love for music or why I wanted to venture out of the Goenka name and fortune. He didn't understand why I was unwilling to stick to the basics. He wanted me to not worry about money or comfort. He had a plan for me. Take over the family business and then get married to a guy that would empower me and the Goenka name."

I flinched at the word marriage. For a moment there, I tried to imagine my life without Akshara. But I couldn't. She was my anchor. The person who understood me —got me through the day.