Hue In My World (Indian BL)

67. Please don't give me hope.

Nakul and Riddhi were in a taxi. The silence inside the car was haunting. Riddhi sneaked a glance at her brother. His lifeless eyes kept staring outside as tears flowed from his eyes. Her anxiety grew.

She was resting and enjoying her maternity leave when an ominous call, as if threw her into tumultuous currents. The call was from Nakul's number, but a stranger spoke, detailing how her brother tried jumping off the bridge.

The moment she heard those words, her mind went back to nearly 2 years ago when she got another similar call. About how her brother had jumped into a canal and how he was lucky for people to spot him and save him.

She had a guess about what the reason could be. It must be the same as the last one. Especially considering how Nakul was ignoring her calls for the past 2 weeks or only gave her some vague answers. She tried ignoring, trying to believe, praying over and over again that it wouldn't be the same as the last time but....

It was the same nonetheless.

Her husband was out of town and even as a nearly 5 month pregnant lady, she hurried to her brother. It was as if she was experiencing PTSD. The same fear was looming over her. But along with fear and anxiety there was another feeling growing inside her.

Anger.

They reached home and once again, she had to drag the lifeless Nakul inside. He didn't even react. Riddhi could no longer take it.

"Nakul! Why did you do that?" Her patience broke and tears ended up streaming from her eyes.

"Why did you do this? Did something happen with Dhiraj?"

She waited for an answer. It was only then that Nakul looked at her. And when he did, it was the same helpless look he had 2 years ago.

"I...I lost him. He sa-said he never wants to see me again. I lost him." The dam broke and Nakul sobbed. Crying as if he had lost it all to life. He narrated to Riddhi about the events of the past week. As he did that, she realized the gravity of the situation. Rather she already knew it, but the ridge that had developed between Dhiraj and Nakul had only deepened. But there was one thing that Riddhi was confused about.

"Wait but....didn't you say you don't want to be involved with him anymore?" She knew better than anyone else how awfully frustrating her brother could be. He had the absolute talent of testing one's patience. But what Nakul was doing now was on a whole another level.

"That's what I thought too. But-But when he said those words, it felt like....the world was ending. Like....nothing else mattered. And I.....I don't think I can live without him."

Riddhi could feel that same feeling rising inside her once again. Of her patience being tested. If she felt that way, she could only imagine what Dhiraj must've felt. A part of her wanted to scream at Nakul but she held back, trying to hold on the very last string of her patience.

"Then....there must be a way right? A way in which you-you can do something so that he will forgive you and give you another chance?!" She was really trying her best to come up with a solution, rather than sitting around helplessly while crying. Or worse, jumping off a bridge. But her dear little brother gave her possibly the worst response.

"How can I even expect forgiveness after what I've put him through?"

The volcano of anger inside had reached its peak. She made another attempt.

"But-but we need to do something right? We cannot just sit over here and do nothing? Especially when you say you can't live without him?!"

Nakul repeated the same old tale.