An hour passed. Khushi was contemplating whether to call Mansi or not. More than that, she was wondering if she made a mistake by not telling her. "Rudra was probably right," she thought, touching the stair railings. "This outburst could have been avoided."
"This is not your fault," Shourya murmured, touching her hand.
"Shourya," Khushi murmured, shaking her head.
"No, Khushi," Shourya said, sighing. "If I had just told you about my doubts instead of Rudra, it would have been okay."
"So you were just planning to hide this from me forever?" Maitree said in a high-pitched voice, standing behind Shourya and Khushi.
"Maitree, he didn't mean that," Khushi said, turning around to defend Shourya.
"What else did he mean?" Maitree asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Maitree..." Shourya said.
"I wanna go home," Maitree murmured, more to herself, shaking her head.
"What!" Rudra exclaimed, a few steps away from her.
Maitree looked up to see Rudra.
"Rudraksh, I want to go home," Maitree said, shaking her head. "I need Sonakshi," she whispered.
"Maitree, please talk to me," Rudra said, holding her hand.
"Rudra, you don't have to come with me," Maitree said, pulling her hand away. "I would rather you didn't come," Maitree said as she turned to walk away.
Rudra kept on staring at his hand and looked at Maitree walking away.
"Rudra" Shourya said
"Can you please book her flight ticket?" Rudra said, Shourya nodded. With that Shourya walked away.
Maitree was packing her bag, tears threatening to spill. Khushi knocked on the door.
Maitree turned around to see Khushi fidgeting with her blue dupatta. She glanced at Khushi for a moment before returning to her packing. Khushi cleared her throat and mumbled, "Maitree..."
"I have to pack," Maitree said sharply, her focus on the task at hand.
"Maitree, please, at least listen to what I have to say," Khushi began.
Maitree sharply turned towards her, her tone stern, eyebrows raised. "Do you know what it's like to grow up with nobody? Nobody to share anything with?"
Khushi kept looking at her with teary eyes.
Maitree took a breath, tears streaming down her face. "Khushi, I don't know if you're my sister; it doesn't matter. But you didn't tell me. You and your husband hid it from me, making me feel small and stupid."
"Maitree, nobody thought that. All we wanted was to protect you. We thought telling you would hurt you, and..." Khushi said, reaching out to hold Maitree's hand.
Maitree harshly pulled her hands away from Khushi and exclaimed, "Protecting me? I've been protecting myself since I was a baby." Pointing at Khushi, Maitree continued, "The truth is, you were protecting yourself. You were too scared to know, you used me as an excuse," Maitree ended with a quiet voice and sat on the bed covering her face
"Maitree," Khushi whispered, tears spilling out as she sat beside her, "you have no idea how badly I want you to be my sister. And I am sorry for thinking about myself. I was being selfish. If you're not, it will just break my heart because I started seeing you as my sister."
Maitree looked at her with teary, sad eyes, shaking her head in denial as she gazed at Khushi.
Khushi reached out tentatively, her hand hovering in the air before gently resting on Maitree's shoulder. "I understand if you can't forgive me right now. But please know that I mean every word I say. You've become such an important part of my life, Maitree. Whether we're bound by blood or not, the bond we share is real to me."
Maitree remained silent while Khushi squeezed her hand.
_________
Maitree was about to walk down the stairs with her suitcase and handbag when Rudra stepped in. "Let me," he said, picking up the suitcase. But Maitree held his hand that was wrapped around the suitcase. "Rudra, I..." she started, her voice trembling. Rudra looked at her, setting the suitcase down, and Maitree continued, "I am so sorry."
"Maitree," Rudra murmured, pulling her into a hug, "why are you apologizing?"
"You were only trying to help, and I got upset with you," Maitree said softly, still in the embrace.
"I was hurt, but I understand," Rudra said, breaking the hug.
"I don't know why I said I didn't want you to come with me," Maitree admitted, shaking her head.
"Then it's a good thing I booked one too," Rudra said, showing his ticket he pulled out of his pocket with his usual smile.
"It is," Maitree chuckled, leaning in to kiss him. He smiled as their lips met in a tender kiss, a sense of understanding and forgiveness washed over them.As they broke apart, Maitree smiled up at Rudra, gratitude shining in her eyes.
"Thank you," she whispered, her voice filled with warmth.
Rudra returned her smile, gently squeezing her hand. "Always, Maitree. I'll always be here for you."
____________
After a heartfelt goodbye to Rudra's family, Maitree and Rudra arrived at the airport. Maitree waited for Rudra after checking in her suitcase, fidgeting with her boarding pass. Suddenly, someone touched Maitree's shoulder, and she turned around to see a lady smiling at her.
"Hi, Maitree," the lady whispered.
"Hello," Maitree replied, her tone laced with confusion, while Rudra slowly approached both of them. He leaned in and whispered to Maitree, "This is Manasi aunty, Khushi's mother."
Maitree's eyes widened as she looked at Manasi, who was still smiling gently.
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Threads of Destiny
Romance"I'm not interested in you, so I don't want to know anything about you," Maitree stated firmly. Rudraksh, responded with a playful tone, "Well, maybe you should go on more dates with me. You might find yourself becoming interested once you get to kn...
