Together Forever

Chapter 26

Uday's POV

My head was pounding, a dull, relentless ache that reminded me of the regret coursing through my veins. My stomach churned with nausea as I forced my eyes open, wincing at the light filtering into the unfamiliar room.

This wasn’t my home. Where was I?

I tried to sit up, rubbing my temples, when a familiar voice cut through the silence. "You woke up."

I turned my head to see Abhinav standing in the doorway, holding a glass of water and some tablets. "Here, take this. You’re probably dehydrated."

I swallowed the tablets with a sip of water, grimacing at the bitter taste in my mouth. "Where am I?" I asked hoarsely.

"My house," he replied, setting the empty glass down on the table beside me.

"What am I doing here?" I asked, confused.

"You really don’t remember, do you?" he said, folding his arms and shaking his head. "You drank so much that I couldn’t leave you. And on top of that, you were shouting 'Anika, Anika!' like a madman. So, I brought you here."

The mention of her name hit me like a punch to the gut. Suddenly, fragments began to surface—the heartbreak, the desperation, the moment I broke down in front of her.

"Where is Anika?" I asked urgently, my heart racing.

"She left," Abhinav said.

His words made my chest tighten. I leaned back against the headboard, closing my eyes as the ache in my heart intensified. I had drowned myself in alcohol, hoping it would numb the pain of losing her. But even in my intoxicated state, I couldn’t stop thinking about her.

"Go freshen up," Abhinav said, breaking the silence. "Your mother called earlier, asking about you. I told her you’re with me, so you’re off the hook for now. But you need to get home soon. Wear these." He handed me a set of fresh clothes.

"Thanks," I muttered, my voice barely audible. He nodded and left the room, giving me some space.

I sat there for a moment, rubbing my temples, trying to make sense of everything. My body felt heavy, but not as heavy as the weight in my chest.

Anika... Her name echoed in my mind like a prayer. Even though I had been drunk, I remembered everything—her touch, her words, the way she had comforted me despite knowing she was slipping away from me.

I wished time had stopped when she was with me, holding me, wiping away my tears.

Suddenly, my phone pinged, breaking through my thoughts. I grabbed it from the bedside table, and my heart leapt when I saw her name on the screen.

Anika.

I immediately unlocked my phone and opened the message, my fingers trembling slightly.

"Uday,I hope you must have woken up by now. Please stop drinking, Uday. It was very disheartening for me to see you like that."

I swallowed hard, already feeling a lump form in my throat as I continued reading.

"You should stop all of this. I can’t always come for you. I want you to move on. I know you are a great guy, and you can find a much better girl than me who will take a stand for you."

"Today I went to see the guy my parents have chosen for me. My parents want us to marry as soon as possible. They are leaving today, and they have restricted me from meeting you. Even I don't have the courage to face you."

Each word struck me harder than the last, her plea for me to let her go suffocating me. I couldn’t believe this was her. My Anika. The same woman who had once promised me a forever filled with love, laughter, and dreams. And now, she was pushing me away, telling me to forget her.

"So, Uday, from now we are strangers. Strangers who once were each other's world. It is very difficult for me to write this—I never knew this day would come. But what is already written can't be changed."

Strangers? How could she call us that? We were never strangers. We were two halves of the same soul, bound by something deeper than words, deeper than promises. But now, she was asking me to erase her from my life. She wanted me to forget everything—the way her smile could light up my darkest days, the way her voice softened every sharp edge of my existence.

"So here our journey ends. I would soon be someone else's bride, wearing someone else's name, someone else's nuptial chain. Please don't do anything to make this harder for me. Please don't look for me or try to contact me. Your Anika is requesting you to forget about her and move on. You will do this for me, right? I know you can do anything for me."

My breath hitched. "Someone else's bride." The words burned into my mind. She was willing to give herself to someone else, willing to walk away from everything we built together. How could she do this? How could she even think that I would just move on, as if she were replaceable, as if the love we shared was just a fleeting moment?

I clenched my jaw, my vision blurring as tears gathered in my eyes. But I didn’t blink. I didn’t want to lose sight of her words, even though they were ripping me apart.

"I really hope you will find a girl better than me and be happy in your life. As for me, I know I will never find someone like you in this life."

She was wrong. There was no one better than her. There never would be. She was my everything, and the thought of losing her felt like losing a part of myself.

"You will always be in my heart. I will always love you. I hope we won't cross paths with each other from now on. This is my last message to you. Goodbye, Uday."

Goodbye. The finality of the word crushed me.

I stared at her text, unable to comprehend that this was really happening. My Anika, the woman who meant the world to me, was slipping through my fingers, and there was nothing I could do to stop her.

Tears slid down my cheeks as I opened the gallery on my phone, searching for her picture. When I found it, my heart ached. It was one I’d taken on one of our happiest days—a day when the world felt perfect because she was by my side.

Her radiant smile stared back at me, and I couldn’t stop myself. I brought the phone closer to my lips, pressing a kiss to the screen. It was foolish, I knew, but it was all I had of her now.

“I love you, Anika. Only you. Always you,” I whispered, my voice breaking.

She wanted me to move on, but how could I? How could I erase the woman who had become my reason for living? My Anika. My heart. My everything.

I closed my eyes, clutching the phone against my chest as the weight of her words threatened to crush me.

But then, a thought struck me—a painful, desperate thought. Will she be able to move on? She claimed she would be someone else’s bride, that she wanted me to forget her, but deep down, I knew her better than anyone. She couldn’t let go of us any more than I could.

She could run, she could block me, she could even change her number, but she couldn’t erase the bond we shared. I wouldn’t let her.

.......

From now on I will put the target for chapters. When you will complete the targets I will update them.

Target for next chapter =10 votes and 5 comments.

This is a very minimal target that I have put. Complete the target and I will update the chapter.

Also I literally cried while writing Uday's POV. It was just so emotional. I tried my best to describe his emotions. I hope you liked it.