Species Of Life

27. Wounds and Warmth 🤕❤️(Updated)

]Akshu turned toward Sid with a look of disbelief and curiosity. "You sent Faisu to London... for me?"

Sid opened his eyes slowly, catching her gaze. "I didn't send Faisu," he replied, a small smile curving at the corner of his lips, "but I definitely sent your fatty."

Akshu's eyes widened in shock. "He's not my fatty," she muttered, cheeks coloring with embarrassment.

Sid laughed softly. "At least don't lie to me. Who else but me would know that my twin fell in love with my childhood best friend the moment she met him?"

"There's nothing like that," she said, turning her face away.

"Then say it," he challenged gently. "Say it looking into my eyes."

She hesitated but turned back, locking eyes with him. "Okay, fine... I fell for him in childhood only."

Sid's smile deepened, but Akshu, now more composed, frowned. "But why did you send him? And how did you know I was in London?"

"Not everything is meant to be revealed," Sid said cryptically.

"Don't do this," she pleaded. Her voice cracked with frustration and a hint of helplessness.

He looked at her softly. "You haven't changed at all... not even a little."

She sighed. "But you have... a little."

He raised a brow at that.

"I mean," she said shyly, "you've become more handsome than before."

Sid leaned back slightly. "But you always said I'd be ugly in your sight."

"You still are," she shot back quickly, hiding a small smile behind her teasing words.

They both paused, silence stretching just long enough for memories to resurface. Then, suddenly, they burst out laughing, the sound warm and real. In those few seconds, it felt like they had returned to the past, to a time untouched by pain or misunderstandings.

After a while, Sid turned serious. "Can't you stay with us? Like before?"

Akshu looked at him, her expression unreadable. "What do you want me to do?"

He held her gaze. "If I say stay... will you?"

A small, wistful smile touched her lips, but she turned her face away, not answering.

Sid gently straightened her face back toward him. "What does that silence mean?"

Again, there was only quiet between them until Akshu finally whispered, "Did you miss me?"

Sid's eyes softened. He didn't speak, only smiled faintly.

Akshu looked down. "Okay, I got it. You didn't miss me... because we're twins, and I was always with you. In your heart."

Sid's eyes dimmed slightly. "You know me so well."

But after he spoke, his face faltered—just for a moment.

Inside his mind, he whispered:

Then what happened, Akshu? Why didn't you trust me that day? Why didn't you come to me for an explanation? Where was your belief that if your Ashu had done something, there must have been a reason?

A tear slipped from the corner of his eye, but he quickly wiped it away before she could see.

Akshu, facing away, was lost in her own thoughts.

No, Ashu... I don't know you fully. That day, my heart was screaming that there must be a reason behind your actions. But my mind... it said something else. And for the first time, I listened to my mind instead of my heart.