Darkhaast

~ 35 ~

Do this. Meet them. Review that. Mahi couldn't catch a moment to herself, let alone find time to meet Abhimanyu.

There was an eerie feeling in the air like the clouds were hazing to make way for an ominous storm. Mahi couldn't place her finger on it, but something was amiss. She asked around if anyone else picked up on it - no one did.

Darkness loomed over the hospital as the clouds shrouded the sun. Hearing about Abhimanyu's visit to her home made her stomach churn. Why hadn't he come and found her if he'd gone home to ask Gurpreet and Sanjeeda for their blessing?

Abhimanyu was camped inside his office, avoiding everyone. Avoiding her. He tapped his foot underneath his desk, picking a rhythm that matched a heavy drum solo. The feeling of a rug swiped from beneath him was all too familiar. Like the day he brought Akshara home for the first time to falsify Sir's allegations of delusional one-sided mohabaat, only to be gaslit by the woman he loved.

Their day danced to the tunes of the weather. When Mahi caught up to him in the unground hospital parking lot, the clouds rumbled and roared when Abhimanyu tore his hand away from her.

"Abhi-"

"Don't." He cut her off.

"What is going on?" The distance between them was no more than a metre, yet it felt like they were worlds across. He wasn't her Abhi anymore with those bloodshot eyes and popping veins.

"You lied." It wasn't an allegation.

"What are you-"

"You lied when you said respect for Ridhi Maa and Anurag's memory held you back." It was a fact, and he would hear no defence. "Woh dehleez tumne banayi thi tumhare liya, Mahi." Mahi gulped.

"That night in Banglore, you said you'd moved on. You showed me a thousand photos on the wall, with only some dedicated to Anurag arguing that your world was beyond him. But in those photos, your eyes always sought out his. If you could only choose 10, they'd all be of him, and I get it. He was amazing, mahaan, funny, and perfect. Woh bhi ek acha aadmi tha aur main bus-" a vision of Akshara and Abhinav passed in the background.

"I never stood a chance, did I?" He poured his heart out and in turn, his body slumped back - the anger that got him through the day dispersed into exhaustion.

"I'm always an afterthought, an option, not the answer." Mahi knew this was about more than just her, and she let him go on. Abhimanyu spent his life competing with ghosts and family. His anger was for all those who passed him over - his Maa for Sir, Akshara first for Aarohi and then for Abhinav, and now Mahi.

"I deserve better than standing here, begging for your love, waiting for you to choose me over someone else. I'm not going to do it, Mahi. Not this time."

He was breathless when Mahi asked him, "Are you done?"

He peered his eyes away from her, but she grabbed his face and kissed him hard as her life depended on it. He was still. Shocked. Abhimanyu imagined their first kiss so many times. He thought her lips would be soft, their kiss slow and tempting, and he'd be the one to initiate it. Her lips were forceful as if carrying the weight of her feelings. Her strawberry lipgloss kept him returning for more as he reciprocated, pulling her close.

is qadar tu mujhe pyaar kar
jise kabhi na main sakoon phir bhula

Resting their foreheads against the other, they caught their breath. They kept their eyes closed, savouring the moment of togetherness, trying to keep the picture in their heads forever.

"You win," She whispered. "Tumhari shiddat jeete, aur main haari. If you choose me, then I'm yours from now till my last breath." Mahi didn't realize he had been at her mercy for two months. His words reiterated the power she held, from choosing their boundaries to deciding their future - he'd left it all in her hands. It was cruel. It was her turn to endure the same uncertainty.

zindagi laayi humein yahaan
koi iraada to raha hoga bhala

He didn't make her wait long before he dived in for another kiss, devouring her lips in a fiery passion. "I love you," she mumbled and he smiled into her lips. It felt like they were 18 again, young and wild. His hand crept up underneath her scrub top, pushing her against his car.

ki hai ye jo aayi raat hai ye
tu meri baahon mein duniya bhula de

They tore apart unwillingly when they heard voices coming from the hallway. Abhimanyu grabbed Mahi's hand and kept her close. "Chale?" They didn't know where they'd go or what they'd do, but the prospect of being together and alone was too exciting to turn down. 

Dedicated to these cuties for commenting and giving me an audience to write this story for!

@v4vardablink 

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